No / Purpose- Promoting a safe workplace for everyone is a key tenet of Sustainable Development Goal 8 (SDG-8), which focuses on promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment, and decent work for all. Therefore, this study explores how responsible leadership ensures a psychologically safe workplace for everyone, leveraging employee-oriented human resource management. Specifically, drawing on signalling theory, this study aims to examine the impact of responsible leadership on employee-oriented HRM and the subsequent effect of employee-oriented HRM on employees' psychological safety. Furthermore, it investigates the mediating role of employee-oriented HRM in the relationship between responsible leadership and psychological safety. Design/methodology/approach- Data was collected from banking professionals through a survey questionnaire. A total of 270 samples were collected using both online and face-to-face data collection strategies. The data was analysed using the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) approach. Findings- The findings reveal that responsible leadership significantly ensures employee-oriented HRM, which subsequently enhances employees' psychological safety. Further, the results suggest that employee-oriented HRM acts as a mediator between responsible leadership and psychological safety. Originality/value- Past studies have often emphasized HRM practices as antecedents of various attitudes and behaviours. The present study offers a novel contribution by conceptualizing and empirically validating employee-oriented HRM as a mechanism that links responsible leadership and psychological safety. It stands as the first of its kind to establish this significant relationship, shedding new light on the dynamics between responsible leadership, HRM practices, and employees' sense of psychological safety.

The subject matter of this thesis is governance principles in global management concepts and the application of such principles by managers at a local level. The thesis includes a case study on a foreign-owned Swedish group of companies that has introduced the management concept of High Performance Culture in all of its consolidated group countries. Global management concepts usually originate from the United States and make use of neorational governance principles. High Performance Culture is a management concept that puts increased performance and individualisation in the foreground. In addition, the concept advocates co-determination and self-development. The governance principles further promote employee autonomy orientation and self-development in addition to a leader-centric approach. The case study results indicate a discrepancy in the requirements of the governance principles of the management concept, highlighting the various dimensions of cultural layers and values to which managers in the same organisation are subject. The same values had an effect in different ways on the managers’ interpretation and handling of the management concept. This interpretation and handling of the management concept tools led to an implementation that partially opposed what the French management team and management concept advocated. The managers choosing to oppose the governance principles of the management concept can be seen as an example of modern individualism, according to which people are increasingly questioning rigid and hierarchic authority while showing initiative and assessing one’s own personal work. Hence, the values of modern individualism can act as a counterforce to neorational governance principles. / <p>Akademisk avhandling för avläggande av doktorsexamen i Arbetsvetenskap, som med tillstånd av Fakultetsnämnden vid Fakulteten för humaniora och samhällsvetenskap, vid</p><p>Karlstads universitet framläggs till offentlig granskning fredagen den 25 oktober 2013 kl. 13.00, sal C203, Högskolan i Borås.</p>

The subject matter of this thesis is governance principles in global management concepts and the application of such principles by managers at a local level. The thesis includes a case study on a foreign-owned Swedish group of companies that has introduced the management concept of High Performance Culture in all of its consolidated group countries.  Global management concepts usually originate from the United States and make use of neo-rational governance principles. High Performance Culture is a management concept that puts increased performance and individualisation in the foreground. In addition, the concept advocates co-determination and self-development. The governance principles further promote employee autonomy orientation and self-development in addition to a leader-centric approach.  The case study results indicate a discrepancy in the requirements of the governance principles of the management concept, highlighting the various dimensions of cultural layers and values to which managers in the same organisation are subject. The same values had an effect in different ways on the managers’ interpretation and handling of the management concept.   This interpretation and handling of the management concept tools led to an implementation that partially opposed what the French management team and management concept advocated.    The managers choosing to oppose the governance principles of the management concept can be seen as an example of modern individualism, according to which people are increasingly questioning rigid and hierarchic authority while showing initiative and assessing one’s own personal work. Hence, the values of modern individualism can act as a counterforce to neo-rational governance principles. / Avhandlingen studerar styrningsprinciper i globala managementkoncept samt hur de översätts av chefer på lokal nivå. En fallstudie har genomförts i ett svenskt utlandsägt företag där managementkonceptet Högpresterande kultur har införts i koncernens samtliga länder. Högpresterande kultur är ett globalt nyrationellt managementkoncept med ökad prestation och individualisering i förgrunden. Men konceptet förordar även medbestämmande och självutveckling. Av resultatet framgår att i kraven från managementkonceptets styrningsprinciper uppstod en krock som synliggjorde olika dimensioner av kulturella lager med värderingar som cheferna omfattades av, i en och samma organisation. Organisatoriska identiteter på skilda nivåer och funktioner, med skillnader i värderingar, påverkade hur cheferna översatte och hanterade managementkonceptet. Även utlandsägandet var av betydelse för genomslaget. Cheferna tog till sig styrningsverktygen då de gav sken av medarbetarorienterade styrningsprinciper. En krock uppstod dock med ledarcentrering inbäddad i konceptets verktyg. Chefernas val att gå emot konceptets styrningsprinciper skulle kunna tolkas i enlighet med en modern individualism. Den säger att människor i allt högre utsträckning ifrågasätter rigida och hierarkiska auktoriteter, samt tar egna initiativ och gör egna bedömningar i arbetet. Den moderna individualismens värderingar skulle således kunna stå som en motkraft till nyrationalistiska styrningsprinciper.