No abstract

Purpose This study aims to explore the moderating role of cynicism about change in the positive relationship between authentic leadership and employee commitment to change. Design/methodology/approach This study used an exploratory research design with deductive approach to invite responses of doctors, nurses and para medical staff of public sector district hospitals, set to be privatized, on structured close-ended questionnaires. Data gathered from four hospitals chosen because they were undergoing restructuring that facilitated the testing of our propositions were analyzed through structural equation modeling using AMOS. A total of 271 usable responses (response rate of 65 per cent) were analyzed. Interaction and simple slope tests were applied to test moderating effects. Findings Results indicate that authentic leadership is positively related to commitment to change. Cynicism about change moderated this positive relationship such that a high level of authentic leadership has a stronger impact on commitment to change when cynicism is low rather than when cynicism is high. Practical implications Results show that in Pakistani hospitals undergoing restructuring, leaders who use authentic leadership will have followers who are more committed to enacting the planned changes, but this effect is magnified if followers are not cynical about the change. Thus, regulators of public sector hospitals may benefit from this study by developing authenticity in hospital leaders to mitigate cynicism about and enhance their commitment to change. Originality/value This study is the first which has explored relationships among cynicism about change, authentic leadership and commitment to change in a privatization context of Pakistan. Findings should be tested in other cultural contexts to determine generalizability.

This study examines the impact of managerial trustworthy behavior on employees’ engagement and the mediating role of perceived insider status. This study has adopted an exploratory research design and positivist philosophy. The data are collected from 205 healthcare staff working in public sector hospitals in Pakistan through survey questionnaires, using a convenience sampling technique. Partial Least Square Structural equation modeling is used to analyze the data and test hypotheses. Results indicate that managerial trustworthy behavior relates positively to employee engagement. Perceived insider status mediates the relationship between managerial trustworthy behavior and employee engagement. The major limitation of this study is its cross-sectional design which limits the casualty. However, this study offers important insights regarding trust-building, engagement, and inclusion in the health sector. This study highlights the importance of trust-building among managers and employees. Managers who instill more trust in employees will garner more positive behavior. This study offers fresh insights into managers’ trustworthy behavior toward employees’ engagement and the employees’ perceived insider status within their organizations.

Determinants of graduate employability is a point of major concern for academician, practitioners, and Governments across the globe as more than 80 percent (74 percent in Pakistan)

<p>Access to higher education has been the subject of considerable debate among policy makers and academicians. But the concept lacks empirical evidence regarding its impact upon students and societal outcomes. This study provides empirical answer to the research question: how do access to higher education and teachers’ support relate to graduates’ self-perceived employability and psychological wellbeing? The data were collected from 520 students of bachelors and master’s programs in rural campuses of an oldest University of Pakistan and analyzed through Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) using AMOS and SPSS software. Results reveal that access to higher education and teachers support are positively related with selfperceived employability of graduating student with little or no difference among gender. Whereas, teachers support also contributes to psychological wellbeing of the students. The impact of access to higher education on psychological wellbeing was insignificant. This study provides implications for universities, policy makers, and human resource management professionals regarding enhancement of graduate employability.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Keywords:</strong> access to higher education, psychological well-being, self-perceived<br />employability, teachers’ support</p>