The antecedents and consequences of reputation with employees : viewing the organisation through an emotional lens

Although many researchers emphasise the important role of employees in the formation of Reputation amongst external stakeholders, the actual development of Reputation with employees as a singlestake holder group and its link to behaviour has not received much attention. This thesis adopts Money and...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Camara, Nuno Zarco Da
Published: University of Reading 2013
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Online Access:http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.607149
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Summary:Although many researchers emphasise the important role of employees in the formation of Reputation amongst external stakeholders, the actual development of Reputation with employees as a singlestake holder group and its link to behaviour has not received much attention. This thesis adopts Money and Hillenbrand's (2006) causal approach to Corporate Reputation to develop a Model of the Antecedents and Consequences of Organisational Reputation with Employees (MACORE) based on previous research in Corporate Reputation and Organisational Behaviour. Using an emotional lens to view the organisation, the model proposes that employees distinguish between organisational level experiences of Organisational Emotional Intelligence (OEI) and local level experiences of Psychological Climate (job, role, and direct leader domains). These antecedents influence Reputation, namely Organisational Emotional Appeal (i.e. overall Reputation), Trust in Senior Management and Trust in Manager, which has consequences for the behavioural intentions of Advocacy and Intention to Leave. The model is supported by empirical research in three organisations in the not-for-profit, public and private sectors (N=495). In particular, the results show that OEI is a strong predictor of Organisational Emotional Appeal and Trust in Senior Management, beyond the impact of Psychological Climate; and, in turn, that Organisational Emotional Appeal strongly predicts Advocacy and Intention to Leave beyond the impact of Trust in Senior Management and Trust in Manager. The study therefore confirms that emotionally relevant behaviours are critical to the development of organisational Reputation with employees. While, contrary to the commonly held view that 'employees leave their manager and not their organisation', the study shows that overall Reputation is a stronger driver of employee retention and advocacy than trust in the line manager or trust in senior management. The implications for organisations in terms of managing their Reputation with employees are discussed. A new Organisational Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (OEIQ-21) is developed and validated for future research.