Authentic leadership has become increasingly important in the literature, attracting the attention of many scholars in the last decade. This study adopted an employee-centered perspective to guide its examination of the relationship between authentic leadership and individual performance and investigation of the sequential mediation of employees’ affective commitment and individual creativity. An analysis was conducted of data collected from 214 employees working in different business sectors. The results reveal a statistically significant positive relationship between authentic leadership and employees’ workplace performance, which are both directly connected and indirectly linked through the two proposed psychosocial mechanisms. The findings thus indicate that authentic leadership reinforces workers’ emotional connection with their organizations, thereby increasing their individual creativity and, subsequently, promoting better on-the-job performance. This study presents new and significant results since, on the one hand, it relied on a sequential mediation analysis of variables and, on the other hand, integrated the four main constructs into a single model. The proposed model displays the chain of effects between authentic leadership, affective commitment, individual creativity, and employee workplace performance. Implications for organizational management are discussed.

PurposeThis study sought to provide a more comprehensive understanding of how managers' coaching skills can affect individual performance through the mediating role of affective commitment.Design/methodology/approachThe sample included 198 employees from diverse organizations. Based on an online survey, respondents assessed their managers' coaching skills and reported their own individual performance and affective commitment to their organization.FindingsThe findings show that managers' coaching skills have a positive impact on individual performance and affective commitment, with the latter mediating the relationship between the first two variables.Research limitations/implicationsAdditional studies with larger samples are needed to understand more fully not only the impact of managers' coaching skills on individual performance but also other psychosocial variables affecting that relationship.Practical implicationsOrganizations can increase employees' affective commitment and individual performance by encouraging managers to integrate more coaching skills into their leadership styles.Originality/valueThis study is the first to integrate managers' coaching skills, affective commitment and individual performance into a single research model, thereby extending previous research on this topic.

Purpose This study aims to examine the impact of authentic leadership (AL) on employees’ organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) by investigating the mediating effect of affective commitment (AC). Design/methodology/approach Data were collected on 194 leader-follower dyads in diverse organizations, using individual surveys. Followers reported their perceptions of AL and their AC, and leaders assessed each follower’s level of OCB. Findings The results support the research hypotheses proposed, confirming that employees’ perceptions of AL are positively related to both their AC and OCB. Moreover, AC completely mediates the relationship between AL and OCB, indicating that authentic leaders increase employees’ affective bonds to their organization, and therefore, strengthen workers’ tendency to engage in OCB. Research limitations/implications Additional studies with larger samples are needed to clarify more fully not only AL’s influence on OCB but also other psychosocial variables affecting this relationship. Practical implications The findings suggest that organizations can foster employees’ AC and OCB by encouraging managers to adopt a more AL style. Authentic leaders are likely to focus on the collective as they care about their teams, the wider organization and even society’s welfare and sustainability. Social implications Growing concerns about sustainability and business ethics and the crisis of trust in organizations can be addressed through further research on positive leadership forms such as AL. This study’s findings suggest that AL fosters employees’ affective bond to organizations and their willingness to engage in OCB, which are two indicators related to organizational sustainability. Originality/value This study integrated AL, AC and OCB into a single research model, thereby extending previous investigations. In addition, the data were collected from two sources (i.e. both leaders and followers in dyads) to minimize the risk of common-method variance.

Organisations are currently strongly encouraged to adopt more responsible production patterns aligned with sustainable development goals (SDGs). Pro-environmental behaviours (PEBs) in the workplace can strengthen the expected positive impacts of organisations’ environmental performance and engender more sustainable transitions to low-carbon production. Research on PEBs at work is relatively recent, so this field still lacks studies of the role of organisational policies and practices in workers’ adoption of these behaviours and of psychosocial processes that contribute to more sustainable workplaces. The present research examined how perceptions of organisations’ environmental policies and practices (i.e., organisational climate or injunctive norms) and of coworkers’ PEBs (i.e., descriptive norms) affect employees’ self-reported voluntary PEBs. Thogersen’s norm taxonomy model was also applied to address the role of personal norms. Self-commitment to sustainable goals at work can play a fundamental role in workers’ behavioural choices, so this research further investigated whether personal norms mediate the relationship between perceived pro-environmental organisational climate and reported workplace PEBs. To test the proposed model, data were collected on 210 workers from different business sectors, who completed an online questionnaire. The analyses showed that, after controlling for the effects of tenure, education level, and a management position, a pro-environmental organisational climate predicts stronger personal norms and a greater tendency to adopt PEBs at work (adjusted R squared=0.36), providing evidence of complete mediation. Coworkers’ perceived descriptive norms also contribute directly to self-reported PEBs. The discussion of the results focuses on the importance of organisational level initiatives as a way to promote change in individuals’ behaviours, which can have positive consequences for workplaces’ transition to sustainability.

Seaweeds are popular foods due to claimed beneficial health effects, but for many there is a lack of scientific evidence. In this study, extracts of the edible seaweeds Aramé, Nori, and Fucus are compared. Our approach intends to clarify similarities and differences in the health properties of these seaweeds, thus contributing to target potential applications for each. Additionally, although Aramé and Fucus seaweeds are highly explored, information on Nori composition and bioactivities is scarce. The aqueous extracts of the seaweeds were obtained by decoction, then fractionated and characterized according to their composition and biological activity. It was recognized that fractioning the extracts led to bioactivity reduction, suggesting a loss of bioactive compounds synergies. The Aramé extract showed the highest antioxidant activity and Nori exhibited the highest potential for acetylcholinesterase inhibition. The identification of the bioactive compounds in the extracts allowed to see that these contained a mixture of phloroglucinol polymers, and it was suggested that Nori’s effect on acetylcholinesterase inhibition may be associated with a smaller sized phlorotannins capable of entering the enzyme active site. Overall, these results suggest a promising potential for the use of these seaweed extracts, mainly Aramé and Nori, in health improvement and management of diseases, namely those associated to oxidative stress and neurodegeneration.