Encouraging or expecting flexibility? How small business leaders’ mastery goal orientation influences employee flexibility through different work climate perceptions

Bibliographic Data

ID9891119
AuthorsElizabeth Solberg (0000-0003-3325-3015, Institute for Energy Technology, Norway; BI Norwegian Business School, Norway, corresponding author), Therese E Sverdrup (0000-0002-1871-9406, Norwegian School of Economics), Therese Egeland (NHH Norwegian School of Economics, Norway; SNF Centre for Applied Research at NHH, Norway), Alexander Madsen Sandvik (0000-0002-3320-2595, NHH Norwegian School of Economics, Norway; SNF Centre for Applied Research at NHH, Norway, corresponding author), Vidar Schei (0000-0002-8131-0099, NHH Norwegian School of Economics, Norway; SNF Centre for Applied Research at NHH, Norway, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume75
Issue12
Pages2246-2271
Publication date2022-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueHuman Relations (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0018-7267 • E-ISSN: 1741-282X
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/00187267211042538
OpenAlexW3197626045
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited72

The employee flexibility desired in changing and uncertain business environments is amplified in small business settings. How can small business leaders facilitate the employee flexibility needed in this context? In the present study, we proposed that mastery goal-oriented leaders who are concerned with learning and competence development would create a work climate that promoted employee flexibility in their firms. We tested our hypotheses with multi-wave, multi-level data collected from leaders and employees in 141 small accounting firms in Norway. Findings revealed that leaders’ mastery goal orientation (MGO) was positively related to employee flexibility through a work climate that encouraged learning and development (a mastery climate). Yet, we also found that leaders’ MGO was negatively related to employee flexibility through a work climate that emphasized the expectations to be adaptive and flexible (an adaptability climate). Taken together, our study suggests that leaders’ mastery goal orientation may fuel employee flexibility when encouraging flexible-related behavior yet backfire when they signal that the same behavior is expected

Adaptability · Business · Competence (human resources · Context (archaeology · Economics · Flexibility (engineering · Goal Orientation · Knowledge management · Management · Organisation climate · Perception · Work (physics · Computer Science · Creativity in Education and Neuroscience · Engineering · Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior · Marketing · Psychology · Social Psychology · Workplace Spirituality and Leadership

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access