| The Internet and digital technology have changed economic patterns and job characteristics,and more and more jobs and economic activities have been transferred online.According to the 51 st "Statistical Report on China’s Internet Development Status" survey data by the China Internet Network Information Center,The online office market in China has developed rapidly.By December2022,the number of online office users in China had reached 540 million,an increase of 70.78 million compared to December 2021,accounting for 50.6% of the total Internet users.With the development of 5G,Internet of Things technology,and industrial Internet,workplace virtualization will gradually deepen.In the context of the digital economy,this study defines the concept of workplace virtuality from a holistic perspective at the individual level as the degree to which employees rely on virtual technologies and tools(including but not limited to computers,smartphones,and other devices,the Internet,big data,AI,and social media)to complete their work during the process of assuming their work roles.Furthermore,this research centers on "workplace virtuality" conceptual connotation,structural dimensions,measurement tools and builds a theoretical model to explore its different impact paths on employees’ dual work passion.Because,in practice,the work characteristics of workplace virtuality are normalized,scholars also have great interest in it in academic research.However,compared with the research on the extreme dichotomy concept of the virtual team,the research on the continuity concept of virtuality is relatively less,and even there is no unified concept of virtuality at the individual level.More scholars pointed out that due to different methods and definitions,virtuality in organizations has been one of the most controversial concepts in organizational research in the past decade,which limits the further development of virtuality research.The research on workplace virtuality still has much room for development,but the premise is to clarify its basic concepts and measurement to lay a good foundation for subsequent research.Based on this,this dissertation first discusses the conceptualization and structural dimensions of workplace virtuality based on the role theory and develops a measurement scale.On this basis,based on the JD-R model,this dissertation discusses the double-edged sword effect of workplace virtuality on employees.Specifically,this dissertation intends to conduct a systematic and comprehensive study of workplace virtuality and its impact mechanism from the following three aspects.First,clarify the conceptualization and structural dimensions of workplace virtualization at the individual level.Strictly follow the qualitative research procedure,obtain the original data through in-depth interviews and open-ended questionnaires,and sort them out and code them level by level to explore the connotation and structural dimensions of workplace virtuality.Second,develop a workplace virtuality measurement scale.In strict accordance with the standard procedures for scale development,the initial items were obtained based on the previous qualitative research.In the first round,254 valid questionnaires were collected for the scale item purification(including the T-test,correlation,and CITC test)and exploratory factor analysis using SPSS software.In the second round,613 data were collected for confirmatory factor analysis using AMOS software(including the scale structure and reliability and validity test).Third,explore the impact mechanism and boundary conditions of workplace virtuality on employees’ dual work passion.In this part,567 valid questionnaires were collected through three periods.Under the framework of the work demand-resource(JD-R)model,a multi-point theoretical model is built to incorporate work demands(including workload,emotional demands,and work-family conflict)and work resources(including work autonomy,career development opportunities and social support of colleagues)into the model,and capture the impact mechanism of workplace virtualization on employees’ dual work passion(including obsessive work passion and harmonious work passion),And further explore the moderating role of employees’ self-leadership level in each path.Through the above research,the main conclusions of this dissertation are as follows: First,through semi-structured interviews,open-ended questionnaires,induction and interpretation,and content description,workplace virtuality is divided into two main categories(communication virtuality and synergy virtuality).Second,a two-factor,16-item workplace virtuality measurement scale was developed through the pre-test and item purification of the scale.Third,this study confirms that workplace virtuality has a double-edged sword effect on employees:from the negative side,employees’ obsessive work passion can be improved by increasing their perception of work demands;from the positive side,employees’ harmonious work passion can be further promoted by improving their work resources.At the same time,the two dimensions of workplace virtuality will play a slightly different roles in the above paths.Finally,the above process will be moderated by employees’ self-leadership level.The higher the level of self-leadership,the weaker the role of the negative path and the stronger the role of the positive path.The main innovation points of this dissertation include the following: First,unlike the previous study of virtuality at the team or organizational level,this study focuses on the characteristics of workplace virtuality experienced by employees at the individual level.Workplace virtuality is the new typical work characteristic of employees in the information age.This research topic is innovative and can provide a new perspective on the work characteristics and related empirical research experienced by current employees.At the same time,the qualitative method is used to explore the conceptual connotation and structural dimensions of workplace virtuality and the status quo of previous studies that focus on quantitative rather than qualitative,and theory rather than practice is innovated.Second,through qualitative research,this study has developed a subjective self-evaluation workplace virtuality scale that conforms to the current work characteristics situation,laying a theoretical foundation for subsequent empirical research.Third,based on the work demand-resource model(JD-R),this dissertation examines the mechanism and boundary conditions of workplace virtuality on employees’ dual work passion.The theoretical model deduction and empirical test are not only based on the existing research on workplace virtuality but also bring new theoretical perspectives and research conclusions to its process mechanism,effect,boundary conditions,etc.In general,at the theoretical level,this study focuses on the core theme of workplace virtuality,solves the fundamental problems of the conceptualization,structure,and measurement of workplace virtuality,and verifies the impact mechanism and boundary conditions of workplace virtuality on employees’ dual work passion.At the practical level,this study will help managers and employees to improve their dialectical and comprehensive understanding of workplace virtuality to provide ideas for managers to do an excellent job in employee management,especially in work passion management,according to different situations of workplace virtuality,and also help to provide direction for human resource management practices such as employee recruitment and training in the normalized work characteristics of workplace virtuality. |
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