Xue-Jun Wang

Amid the growth of COVID-19 pandemic, SMEs are facing greater uncertainties and pressures to survive because even though they are efficiently managed, their human resource organizations lack a large number of resources and a well-developed training system to foster the sustainable development of employees. Employees are important assets of the company, and their continuous growth and development are keys to the survival of the company. In this context, the individual worker’s assessment of his or her job role and how the assessments drive the employee to exhibit an appropriate proactive work behavior are particularly important. Previous research has typically focused on how organizations and leaders perceive employees but has rarely explored employees’ own implicit followership cognitive states. This study integrates the traits of positive implicit followership of employees, namely, industry trait, enthusiasm trait, and good citizen trait, with perceived supervisor support (PSS) and feedback-seeking behavior (FSB) into one research framework. In this study, 207 valid questionnaires were collected by using offline convenience sampling, and structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis was conducted. The results show that employees’ industry traits directly and positively influence FSB, while enthusiasm traits and good citizen traits have no direct effect on promoting FSB. In addition, industry trait, enthusiasm trait, and good citizen trait significantly and positively influence PSS, with good citizen trait having the greatest positive effect on PSS. Furthermore, PSS has a significant positive effect on FSB. Finally, PSS was found to mediate between industry traits and FSB. Corresponding to the results of the study, the actions shaping employees’ positive implicit followership cognition and forming a good supportive atmosphere to promote employees’ performance of more feedback-seeking behaviors are recommended.

Under turbulent, boundaryless, and Internet age, the characteristics of career sustainability development have shifted from the perspective of development within the organization to the career development track of self-efficacy. New employees usually face the difficult stage of adapting to the new environment and establishing interpersonal relationships with new colleagues. When new employees enter an organization, they usually have different implicit followership cognitions. Previous studies have focused on the treatment of new employees by the organization and the leader, however, the implicit followership cognitive state of new employees has not been studied specifically. This research integrates employees' positive and negative implicit followership, perceived supervisor support, workplace friendship, and perceived self-efficacy into a research framework. This study used a questionnaire survey by an online professional survey website. A total of 394 valid questionnaires were collected. Structural equation model (SEM) analysis was carried out and according to the results, new employees' positive and negative implicit followership significantly affects perceived supervisor support. Furthermore, perceived supervisor support had a significant impact on perceived self-efficacy. Moreover, perceived supervisor support was found in a mediating role between the relationship of implicit followership theories and perceived self-efficacy. Finally, workplace friendship was found to be a significant moderator in the relationship between perceived supervisor support and perceived self-efficacy. Based on the research results, business managers are suggested to pay more attention to new employees' self-cognition of their job roles and enhance the self-efficacy of new employees in the entry stage.