Organizational virtuousness and job performance in Japan: does happiness matter?
International Journal of Organizational Analysis
ISSN: 1934-8835
Article publication date: 4 September 2017
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the effect of subjective well-being, often referred to as happiness, on the relationship between organizational virtuousness and job performance among Japanese employees. The concept of happiness has been receiving more attention over the past decade as research suggests that it may be a source of greater performance.
Design/methodology/approach
This research uses a questionnaire survey and conditional process analysis among Japanese managers and front-line workers within Japanese firms in Japan.
Findings
This paper found that positive subjective well-being partially mediates the relationship between general organizational virtuousness and self-management-related job performance, while it acts as a moderator in the relationship between general organizational virtuousness and leadership-related job performance.
Practical implications
These findings indicate that in the Japanese context, the firm’s investment in organizational virtuousness will increase one part of job performance, but that investment may not be sufficient in itself to positively affect leadership competency, unless it also pays attention to its employees’ positive subjective well-being.
Originality/value
Based on this growing realization of the importance of subjective well-being, or happiness, and the lack of academic research in Japan on its impact on organization, this paper investigates its effect on employees’ ability to manage their own tasks and lead others.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Funding: This study was funded by a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (KAKENHI #26590066).
Conflict of interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Citation
Magnier-Watanabe, R., Uchida, T., Orsini, P. and Benton, C. (2017), "Organizational virtuousness and job performance in Japan: does happiness matter?", International Journal of Organizational Analysis, Vol. 25 No. 4, pp. 628-646. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOA-10-2016-1074
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited