Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

Prior research has questioned the utility of empowerment for high power distance employees. Rather than abandon empowerment in these contexts, we test the plausibility of empowering high power distance employees vicariously through observation, normalization and legitimization of empowered behavior. Extending theories of empowerment and social cognition to account for cultural norms, we provide evidence for the effectiveness of vicarious empowerment among those with high power distance. From a sample of 3,383 employees in 10 companies across six countries, we find a positive association between vicarious empowerment and subjective unit performance, that this relationship is mediated by empowerment climate, and that the indirect effect is moderated by power distance orientation. These relationships contrast with prior research which examines more traditional forms of empowerment across cultures. We explain how our findings inform theory on cross-cultural organizational psychology and workplace empowerment.

Keywords

communication cultural values employee empowerment industrial/organizational psychology interpersonal relationships social cognition

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Ahearne

Mathieu

Rapp

(2005). To empower or not to empower your sales force? An empirical examination of the influence of leadership empowerment behavior on customer satisfaction and performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(5), 945–955. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.90.5.945

Arnold

J. A.

Arad

Rhoades

J. A.

Drasgow

(2000). The empowering leadership questionnaire: The construction and validation of a new scale for measuring leader behaviors. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 21(3), 249–269. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-1379(200005)21:3<249::AID-JOB10>3.0.CO;2-%23

Asparouhov

Muthén

(2014). Auxiliary variables in mixture modeling: Three-step approaches using M plus. Structural equation modeling: A multidisciplinary Journal, 21(3), 329–341.

Bandura

(1997). Self efficacy: The exercise of control. W. H. Freeman.

Bandura

(2001). Social cognitive theory: An agentic perspective. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.1

Bartunek

J. M.

Spreitzer

G. M.

(2006). The interdisciplinary career of a popular construct used in management: Empowerment in the late 20th century. Journal of Management Inquiry, 15(3), 255–273. https://doi.org/10.1177/1056492606291201

Becker

B. E.

Huselid

M. A.

(1998). High performance work systems and firm performance: A synthesis of research and managerial implications. Research in Personnel and Human Resources Journal, 16, 53–101.

Bentler

P. M.

(1990). Comparative fit indexes in structural models. Psychological Bulletin, 107(2), 238–246. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.107.2.238

Bentler

P. M.

(2007). On tests and indices for evaluating structural models. Personality and Individual differences, 42(5), 825–829.

10.

Bozdogan

(1987). Model selection and Akaike’s information criterion (AIC): The general theory and its analytical extensions. Psychomerika, 52(3), 345–370. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02294361

11.

Brew

Cairns

D. R.

(2004). Styles of managing interpersonal workplace conflict in relation to status and face concern: A study with Anglos and Chinese. International Journal Conflict Management, 15(1), 27–56. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb022906

12.

Browne

M. W.

Cudeck

(1993). Alternative ways of assessing model fit. In Bollen

K. A.

Long

J. S.

(Eds.), Testing structural equation models (pp. 111–135). Sage.

13.

Carver

C. S.

Ganellen

R. J.

Froming

W. J.

Chambers

(1983). Modeling: An analysis in terms of category accessibility. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 19(5), 403–421. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1031(83)90019-7

14.

Chang

S.-J.

van Wittleloostuijn

Eden

(2010). From the editors: Common method variance in international business research. Journal of International Business Studies, 41, 178–184. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22113-3_20

15.

Chen

Kirkman

Kanfer

Allen

Rosen

(2007). A multilevel study of leadership, empowerment, and performance in teams. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(2), 331–346. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.92.2.331

16.

Chen

Lam

Zhong

J. A.

(2007). Leader-member exchange and member performance: A new look at individual-level negative feedback-seeking behavior and team-level empowerment climate. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(1), 202–212. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.92.1.202

17.

Chen

Z. X.

Aryee

(2007). Delegation and employee work outcomes: An examination of the cultural context of mediating processes in China. Academy of Management Journal, 50(1), 226–238. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2007.24162389

18.

Cheong

Yammarino

F. J.

Dionne

S. D.

Spain

S. M.

Tsai

C. Y.

(2019). A review of the effectiveness of empowering leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 30(1), 34–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2018.08.005

19.

Choi

Hecht

Tafkov

I. D.

Towry

K. L.

(2016). Vicarious learning under implicit contracts. The Accounting Review, 91(4), 1087–1108. https://doi.org/10.2308/accr-51293

20.

Conger

J. A.

Kanungo

R. N.

(1988). The empowerment process: Integrating theory and practice. Academy of Management Review, 12, 471–482. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1988.4306983

21.

Cooke

W. N.

(1994). Employee participation programs, group-based incentives, and company performance: A union-nonunion comparison. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 47(4), 594–609. https://doi.org/10.1177/001979399404700405

22.

D’Andrade

(1984). Cultural meaning systems. In Shweder

R. A.

LeVine

R. A.

(Eds.), Cultural theory: Essays on mind, self and emotion (pp. 65–129). Cambridge University Press.

23.

DiBernardo

G. A.

Vezzali

Stathi

Cadamuro

Cortesi

(2017). Vicarious, extended, and imagined intergroup: A review of interventions based on indirect contact strategies applied in educational settings. TPM-Testing, Psychometrics, Methodology in Applied Psychology, 24(1), 3–21. https://doi.org/10.4473/TPM24.1.1

24.

D’Innocenzo

Luciano

Mathieu

J. E.

Maynard

M. T.

Chen

(2016). Empowered to perform: A multilevel investigation of the influence of empowerment on performance in hospital units. Academy of Management Journal, 59(4), 1290–1307. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2013.1073

25.

Earley

P. C.

Erez

(1997). The transplanted executive. Oxford Press.

26.

Earley

P. C.

Gibson

C. B.

(2002). Multinational work teams: A new perspective. Routledge.

27.

Eylon

K. Y.

(1999). Exploring empowerment cross-cultural differences along the power distance dimension. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 23(3), 373–385. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0147-1767(99)00002-4

28.

Feldman

Khademian

(2003). Empowerment and cascading vitality. In Cameron

Dutton

Quinn

R. E.

(Eds.), Positive organizational scholarship (pp. 343–358). Jossey-Bass.

29.

Fuller

C. M.

Simmering

M. J.

Atinc

Babin

B. J.

(2016). Common methods variance detection in business research. Journal of Business Research, 69(8), 3192–3198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.12.008

30.

Geertz

(1973). The interpretation of cultures. Basic Books.

31.

Gelfand

M. J.

Erez

Aycan

(2007). Cross-cultural organizational behavior. Annual Review of Psychology, 58(20), 1–35. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.58.110405.085559

32.

Gibson

C. B.

Birkinshaw

(2004). The antecedents, consequences, and mediating role of organizational ambidexterity. Academy of Management Journal, 47(2), 209–226. https://doi.org/10.5465/20159573

33.

Gibson

C. B.

Porath

C. L.

Benson

G. S.

Lawler

E. E.

(2007). What results when firms implement practices: The differential relationship between specific practices, firm financial performance, customer service, and quality. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(6), 1467–1480. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.92.6.1467

34.

Hayes

A. F.

(2015). An index and test of linear moderated mediation. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 50(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/00273171.2014.962683

35.

Hofstede

(2001). Culture’s consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions and organizations across nations (2nd ed.). Sage.

36.

House

R. J.

Hanges

P. J.

Javidan

Dorfman

P. W.

Gupta

(2004). Cultures, leadership and organizations: A 62 nation GLOBE study. Sage.

37.

Hui

M. K.

Fock

(2004). Empowerment effects across cultures. Journal of International Business Studies, 35(1), 46–60. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400067

38.

Huselid

(1995). The impact of human resource management practices on turnover, productivity, and corporate performance. Academy of Management Journal, 38(3), 635–672. https://doi.org/10.5465/256741

39.

Huselid

Becker

(1996). Methodological issues in cross-sectional and panel estimates of the human resource-firm performance link. Industrial Relations, 35(3), 400–422. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-232X.1996.tb00413.x

40.

Javidan

Dorfman

P. W.

Luque

M. S. D.

House

R. J.

(2006). In the eye of the beholder: Cross cultural lessons in leadership from project GLOBE. Academy of Management Perspectives, 20(1), 67–90. https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2006.19873410

41.

Jiang

Colakoglu

Lepak

D. P.

Blasi

J. R.

Kruse

D. L.

(2015). Involvement work systems and operational effectiveness: Exploring the moderating effect of national power distance. Journal of International Business Studies, 46(3), 332–354. https://doi.org/10.1057/jibs.2014.61

42.

Jöreskog

K. G.

(1969). A general approach to confirmatory maximum likelihood factor analysis. Psychomerika, 34(2), 183–202. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02289343

43.

Katz

Kahn

R. L.

(1978). The social psychology of organizations. John Wiley.

44.

Kirkman

B. L.

Chen

Farh

J. L.

Chen

Z. X.

Lowe

K. B.

(2009). Individual power distance orientation and follower reactions to transformational leaders: A cross-level, cross-cultural examination. Academy of Management Journal, 52(4), 744–764. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2009.43669971

45.

Kuenzi

Schminke

(2009). Assembling fragments into a lens: A review, critique, and proposed research agenda for the organizational work climate literature. Journal of Management, 35(3), 634–717. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206308330559

46.

Labianca

Gray

Brass

D. J.

(2000). A grounded model of organizational scheme change during empowerment. Organization Science, 11(2), 235–257. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.11.2.235.12512

47.

MacDuffie

J. P.

(1995). Human resource bundles and manufacturing performance: Organizational logic and flexible production systems in the world auto industry. Industrial Labor Relations Review, 48, 197–221. https://doi.org/10.1177/001979399504800201

48.

Manz

C. C.

Sims

H. P.

Jr. (1981). Vicarious learning: The influence of modeling on organizational behavior. Academy Management Review, 6(1), 105–113. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1981.4288021

49.

Mathieu

Gilson

L. L.

Ruddy

T. M.

(2006). Empowerment and team effectiveness: An empirical test of an integrated model. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(1), 97–108. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.91.1.97

50.

Menon

S. T.

(2001). Employee empowerment: An integrative psychological approach. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 50(1), 153–180. https://doi.org/10.1111/1464-0597.00052

51.

Merkin

Taras

Steel

(2014). State of the art themes in cross-cultural communication research: A systematic and meta-analytic review. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 38, 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2013.10.004

52.

Miron-Spektor

Erez

Naveh

(2011). The effect of conformist and attentive-to-detail members on team innovation: Reconciling the innovation paradox. Academy of Management Journal, 54(4), 740–760. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2011.64870100

53.

Muthén

L. K.

Muthén

B. O.

(2018). Mplus user’s guide (8th ed.).

54.

Newman

Nollen

(1996). Culture and congruence: The fit between management practices and national culture. Journal of International Business Studies, 27(4), 753–779. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8490152

55.

Podsakoff

P. M.

MacKenzie

S. B.

Lee

J.-Y.

Podsakoff

N. P.

(2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879–903. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.5.879

56.

Primo

D. M.

Jacobsmeier

M. L.

Milyo

(2007). Estimating the impact of state policies and institutions with mixed-level data. State Politics and Policy Quarterly, 7(4), 446–459. https://doi.org/10.1177/153244000700700405

57.

Ralston

D. A.

Russell

C. J.

Terpstra-Tong

Trevino

L. J.

Ramburuth

Richards

. . .Brock

D. M.

(2022). Are societal-level values still relevant measures in the twenty-first century businessworld? A 39-society analysis. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 1–44. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-022-09822-z

58.

Robert

Probst

T. M.

Martocchio

J. J.

Drasgow

Lawler

E. J.

(2000). Empowerment and continuous improvement in the United States, Mexico, Poland, and India: Predicting fit on the basis of dimensions of power distance and individualism. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(5), 643–658. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.85.5.643

59.

Schwartz

S. H.

Sagie

(2000). Value consensus and importance: A cross-national study. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 31(4), 465–497. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022100031004003

60.

Sclove

S. L.

(1987). Application of model-selection criteria to some problems in multivariate analysis. Psychometrika, 52(3), 333–343. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02294360

61.

Seibert

S. E.

Silver

S. R.

Randolph

W. A.

(2004). Taking empowerment to the next level: A multiple-level model of empowerment, performance, and satisfaction. Academy of Management Journal, 47(3), 332–349. https://doi.org/10.5465/20159585

62.

Siemsen

Roth

Oliveira

(2010). Common method bias in regression models with linear, quadratic, and interaction effects. Organizational Research Methods, 13(3), 456–476. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428109351241

63.

Spreitzer

(1995). Psychological empowerment in the workplace: Dimensions, measurement, and validation. Academy of Management Journal, 38(5), 1442–1465. https://doi.org/10.5465/256865

64.

Spreitzer

Doneson

(2005). Musings on the past and future of employee empowerment. In Cummings

(Ed.), Handbook of organizational development (pp. 311–324). Sage.

65.

Staw

B. M.

Epstein

(2000). What bandwagons bring: Effects of popular management techniques on corporate performance, reputation, and CEO pay. Administrative Science Quarterly, 45, 523–559. link.gale.com/apps/doc/A68217155/AONE?u=anon~952d4ed6&sid=googleScholar&xid=b9a71985

66.

Steiger

J. H.

(1980). Tests for comparing elements of a correlation matrix. Psychological Bulletin, 87(2), 245–251. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.87.2.245

67.

Sumpter

D. M.

Gibson

C. B.

Porath

(2017). Act expediently, with autonomy: Vicarious learning, empowered behaviors, and performance. Journal of Business and Psychology, 32(2), 131–145. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-016-9440-2

68.

Taras

Steel

Kirkman

B. L.

(2016). Does country equate with culture? Beyond geography in the search for cultural boundaries. Management International Review, 56(4), 455–487. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11575-016-0283-x

69.

Thomas

K. W.

Velthouse

B. A.

(1990). Cognitive elements of empowerment: An “interpretive” model of intrinsic task motivation. Academy of Management Review, 15, 666–681. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1990.4310926

70.

Uzuegbunam

Geringer

J. M.

(2021). Culture, connectedness, and international adoption of disruptive innovation. Journal of International Management, 27(1), 100807. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intman.2020.100807

71.

Wang

Guan

(2018). The positive effect of authoritarian leadership on employee performance: The moderating role of power distance. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, Article 357. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00357

72.

Zhang

Bartol

K. M.

(2010). Linking empowering leadership and employee creativity: The influence of psychological empowerment, intrinsic motivation, and creative process engagement. Academy Management Journal, 53(1), 107–128. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2010.48037118

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.00 MB

0.16 MB

Vicarious Empowerment as a Novel Mechanism for Empowering High Power Distance Employees

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References

Supplementary Material