Employee Recognition, Task Performance, and OCB: Mediated and Moderated by Pride

Abstract

Employee recognition, an incentive approach often used in management practice, plays an important role in organizations. In comparison to other incentive methods, employee recognition does not focus on the amount of money and material, but it does recognize employees and their achievements and values in the workplace. We would like to reveal the outcome and emotional mechanism of employee recognition in this work. Based on the broaden-and-build theory, we explored the role of the emotion pride on the relationship between employee recognition with task performance and OCB. Using a cross-section sampling approach, 256 valid questionnaires from 58 groups by the leader-member dyad method were collected. SPSS20.0 and Amos21.0 were used to perform the data analysis and verify the hypothesis. The results showed that: (1) Employee recognition has a significantly positive effect on task performance and OCB. (2) Authentic pride mediates the relationship between employee recognition with (a) task performance and (b) OCB. (3) Hubristic pride positively moderates the relationship between employee recognition with (a) task performance and (b) OCB. In conclusion, this study reveals the emotional response and behavioral results of employee recognition by focusing on the role of pride in the path of employee recognition with task performance and OCB.