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Because of the devolution of tasks and powers from the national political level to subnational levels, subnational governments such as municipalities and provinces are increasingly compelled to express their interests in the national and European arenas. However, to achieve substantial weight, authority, receptiveness, and success in both arenas, active cooperation with other subnational authorities is needed. The question is to what extent subnational authorities acknowledge this need for cooperation and how this cooperation is being organized and structured. More specifically, in this study, the function and role of collective public affairs (PA) activities are investigated. Qualitative interviews with 17 PA professionals and 24 PA practitioners, experienced in working for subnational authorities, were held to find out how subnational governments in the Netherlands together organize PA in both arenas. The results show that subnational cooperation is of ultimate importance for creating a favorable position in these arenas. Such cooperation is favorable if subnational authorities together constitute a clear profile and render thematic collaboration in which the citizen is seen as the most important stakeholder. Further, the level of knowledge concerning the national and European arenas should be optimal among all parties involved in which the PA professional serves as a liaison officer who connects the various stakeholders.

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to investigate the main and combined effects of self‐efficacy and organisational efficacy on three dimensions of organisational commitment. A fourfold typology of employees is proposed and tested.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire was sent to employees of a chemical plant. Data were analyzed using dichotomisation and moderated multiple regression.FindingsBoth organisational efficacy and, to a lesser extent, self‐efficacy contribute to affective, normative and continuance commitment. The results concerning the fourfold typology are promising when reviewing the median split technique, but a hierarchical multiple regression test of interaction between self‐efficacy and organisational efficacy does not fulfil this promise.Research limitations/implicationsAs the self‐efficacy hypotheses especially did not meet expectations, the authors suggest another way of assessing self‐efficacy in organisational contexts.Practical implicationsThe results stress the contribution of organisational efficacy perceptions to commitment, leading to new opportunities for managing commitment. The role of feedback about organisational successes and failures appears to be crucial.Originality/valueThis attempt to build a typology by considering the efficacy expectations of employees regarding both themselves and their organisation opens up a route to further individualisation of employees and their relations to work.

Research into workplace mentoring is primarily focused on the experiences and perceptions of individuals involved in the relationship, while there is scarcely any research focusing on the impact of mentoring relationships on their social environment. This exploratory research aims to give insight into how coworkers' perceptions and experiences of informal mentoring relationships in their workgroup are related to their perceptions of workgroup functioning. The results of 21 semistructured interviews show that coworkers believe that mentoring relationships affect their workgroup's functioning by influencing both their workgroup's performance and climate. Coworkers applied an instrumental perspective and described how they think that mentoring relationships both improve and hinder their workgroup's performance as they influence the individual functioning of mentor and protégé, the workgroup's efficiency, and organizational outcomes. Furthermore, coworkers applied a relational perspective and described how mentoring relationships may influence their workgroup's climate in primarily negative ways as they may be perceived as a subgroup, cause feelings of distrust and envy, and are associated with power issues. The results of this study emphasize the importance of studying mentoring relationships in their broader organizational context and set the groundwork for future research on mentoring relationships in workgroups.

Although the profession of public affairs (PA) is increasingly important for organizations, relatively little is known about the range of competences PA professionals need. This article presents a qualitative study among 41 experienced Dutch PA professionals and practitioners, who were interviewed about the competences needed in regional and local PA. The results show that a combination of skills‐related, attitudinal, and knowledge‐related competences is needed. Skills‐related competences involve two broad domains: politics and communication. Attitudinal competences comprise the almost paradoxical qualities of authentic professionalism and flexibility. Knowledge‐related competences comprise political and communicative knowledge. These competences are used in a delicate process of swapping, depending on the situation of the very moment and the PA file at hand. Every competence may be of decisive importance. The PA professional is a silent diplomat.

Dutch subnational governments such as municipalities and provinces are increasingly compelled to express their interests in the national and European political arenas. Effectiveness in these arenas requires an optimal arrangement of Public Affairs (PA) activities in the subnational organization. Based on 41 in‐depth interviews with prolific PA professionals and practitioners in the Netherlands, this article provides an overview of initiatives that subnational government organizations have to develop in their own organization after their "discovery" of how useful PA may be, but before the moment they enter the arenas. According to the participants, the creation of individual, collective, and regional commitment regarding PA is the first initiative. Subsequently, conditional and instrumental terms should be fulfilled, so that PA will be used as a tool to model PA messages. Concluding from the interviews, human aspects and internal cooperation determine the sensemaking of PA in a subnational organization, but a lack of arena knowledge frustrates this process.