Social scientists often estimate models from correlational data, where the independent variable has not been exogenously manipulated; they also make implicit or explicit causal claims based on these models. When can these claims be made? We answer this question by first discussing design and estimation conditions under which model estimates can be interpreted, using the randomized experiment as the gold standard. We show how endogeneity – which includes omitted variables, omitted selection, simultaneity, common-method variance, and measurement error – renders estimates causally uninterpretable. Second, we present methods that allow researchers to test causal claims in situations where randomization is not possible or when causal interpretation could be confounded; these methods include fixed-effects panel, sample selection, instrumental variable, regression discontinuity, and difference-in-differences models. Third, we take stock of the methodological rigor with which causal claims are being made in a social sciences discipline by reviewing a representative sample of 110 articles on leadership published in the previous 10 years in top-tier journals. Our key finding is that researchers fail to address at least 66% and up to 90% of design and estimation conditions that make causal claims invalid. We conclude by offering 10 suggestions on how to improve non-experimental research.

On making causal claims : A review and recommendations

which is used to describe a third component of thinking processes, particularly preverbal, and it denotes the concept that the world is activated by some generalized "energy" that links together causally all objects and events ; it is presumably revealed by a person's lack of curiosity about causal connections, as though they were self-evident. Aside from the rather frequent use of such key words, having strong connotations for this reviewer far away from what the author is aiming to denote, the book is written in a lucid and stimulating style that makes reading it an invigorating intellectual exercise. It is a book that is likely to have somewhat limited attraction to the full-time clinician, especially one treating adult patients. And child psychiatrists and psychologists, if reasonably well read, will most likely be familiar with the majority of references from which this author has synthesized his material. On the other hand, the scholarly and refreshing con¬ ceptual approaches of the author will appeal to psychologists, philosophers, linguists, and psychiatrists with a research bent and anyone else who wants to be provoked to do some thinking on the problems of language, language development, and the psychology of cognition. Louis A. GOTTSCHALK, M.D. Plans and the Structure of Behavior. By George A Miller, Eugene gALANTER, and Karl H. Pribram. Price, $5.00. Pp. 226. Henry Holt & Co., Inc., New York 17, 1960. This is an important book for psychiatrists and behavioral scientists, since it presents a clear, concise study of the application of cybernetics, information and computer theory to the problem of analyzing behavior. The authors have been actively engaged in behavioral research in different areas\p=m-\Millerin information and communication, Galanter in experimental psychology, and Pribram in neurophysiology. The book resulted from a series of discussions which they engaged in during a year they spent together at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Palo Alto, Calif. Their original intent was to write a diary, as it were, of the development of their ideas and, fortunately, enough of this remains to make the book clear, easy to read, and interesting. It is also fortunate, however, that in the final writing a variety of studies comparing the "behavior" of computing machines with human "cognitive behavior" have been reviewed and summarized. The result is one of the best presentations of the present status of the brain-computer problem. The authors, however, do not discuss certain aspects of this problem, such as the difference between the brain and its vast number of parallel channels, but few operations, and the modern high-speed computer with its few channels and vast numbers of operations. This omission is consistent with their interest, since it would introduce the question of mechanisms rather than the problem of the structure of behavior as it is observed in everyday life in the clinic and in experiments on learning, conditioning, etc. Similarly, they do not discuss the qualitative differences between mechanisms of memory in the computer and those in the brain. In the former, a "memory"\p=m-\ i.e., stored information\p=m-\isidentified, metaphorically speaking, by an address, whereas no such mechanism is known in the brain (personal communication, Dr. Julian Bigelow). With few exceptions, however, the data, concepts, and theories presented are handled with elegant precision, as illustrated by the discussion of Sherrington's concepts of the "Reflex" and the "Synapse," Kurt Lewin's ideas of "tension states," and the numerous references to the work of Newell, Shaw, and Simon on computers and logic. There are, nevertheless, areas with

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1057%2Fjors.1968.86.pdf

Plans and the Structure of Behavior

El presente trabajo de investigacion de tipo aplicado toma los conceptos de los estilos de liderazgo transformacional y transaccional, y el desempeno laboral, con el objetivo de establecer las relaciones de influencia de ambos estilos de liderazgo con el desempeno laboral. Para alcanzarlo, se recolecto la informacion acerca de los estilos de liderazgo de 7 gerentes de Mabe, empresa multinacional dedicada a la fabricacion de electrodomesticos de linea blanca, para lo cual se utilizo el MLQ (Cuestionario de Liderazgo Multifactorial); y se obtuvo tambien por medio de una evaluacion global de desempeno, la informacion acerca del nivel de cumplimiento de los objetivos de los 40 colaboradores que hacen parte de la linea directa de los gerentes evaluados. 
 
Esta informacion se proceso y se estudio realizando analisis estadisticos descriptivos, dentro de los cuales se examino el comportamiento de los componentes del liderazgo transformacional y del liderazgo transaccional en los gerentes evaluados, y la calificacion de desempeno de los colaboradores que le reportan directamente a estos gerentes para entender el nivel de cumplimiento de los objetivos; y posteriormente se efectuaron analisis relacionales de tipo bivariado para identificar, tanto la relacion entre los componentes de los estilos de liderazgo transformacional y transaccional mostrados en los gerentes con el desempeno laboral de los colaboradores, como la relacion entre los estilos de liderazgo transformacional y transaccional con el desempeno laboral. 
 
Dentro de los principales resultados se obtuvo que los dos estilos de liderazgo estan presentes en los gerentes de la muestra y ambos producen el cumplimiento satisfactorio del desempeno, sin embargo, se observa lo que indica la teoria referente a la relacion de los estilos de liderazgo transformacional y transaccional con el desempeno laboral, evidenciando que el liderazgo transformacional es percibido en mayor proporcion por aquellos colaboradores que exceden en su desempeno de manera parcial o total siendo la motivacion inspiracional y la estimulacion intelectual los componentes que mas influyen; mientras que el estilo de liderazgo transaccional se presenta con mayor frecuencia influenciando a aquellos colaboradores que cumplen en su desempeno de acuerdo a lo esperado, siendo la recompensa contingente el componente que mas influye en la relacion.

Los estilos de liderazgo transformacional y transaccional, y su impacto en el desempeño laboral

Every organization is confronted with errors. Most errors are corrected easily, but some may lead to negative consequences. Organizations often focus on error prevention as a single strategy for dealing with errors. Our review suggests that error prevention needs to be supplemented by error management--an approach directed at effectively dealing with errors after they have occurred, with the goal of minimizing negative and maximizing positive error consequences (examples of the latter are learning and innovations). After defining errors and related concepts, we review research on error-related processes affected by error management (error detection, damage control). Empirical evidence on positive effects of error management in individuals and organizations is then discussed, along with emotional, motivational, cognitive, and behavioral pathways of these effects. Learning from errors is central, but like other positive consequences, learning occurs under certain circumstances--one being the development of a mind-set of acceptance of human error.

Action Errors, Error Management, and Learning in Organizations

Networked: the new social operating system

We investigate how transformational and transactional leadership motivates employees to commit to an organizational ideation program so that they subsequently generate ideas that benefit the organization. To resolve the mixed and contradictory findings of earlier studies about these leadership styles, we propose that more attention needs to be devoted to the leader's personal beliefs. Specifically, we study the degree to which a leader identifies with an organization and how this possibly unlocks the effects of transformational or transactional leadership. Using multilevel data collected in a large multinational company, our findings reveal that both transformational and transactional leadership is effective in motivating followers to commit to the goals of an ideation program. Increased commitment, in turn, is associated with more ideas that followers generate. In contrast to the effect of transactional leadership, however, the effect of transformational leadership is contingent on how strongly leaders identify with the organization.

Leveraging transformational and transactional leadership to cultivate the generation of organization-focused ideas

We investigate how the successes and failures of people who initiate radical ideas influence (a) the inclination to take new personal initiatives and (b) the outcome of those initiatives. Using the data of 1,792 radical ideas suggested by 908 employees in a multinational firm’s idea and innovation program, we unexpectedly find that failures, rather than successes, of initiators increase the likelihood of repeat initiative taking. We confirm our hypothesis that involving initiators with prior success in initiative taking has a positive effect on the outcome of a subsequent radical initiative. Our findings illustrate how learning unfolds in the context of radical initiatives and provide insights into how managers can support continuous and superior radical initiative taking.

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Rising from Failure and Learning from Success: The Role of Past Experience in Radical Initiative Taking

textIn this dissertation, we focus on how leadership styles, individual learning behaviors, and social network structures drive or inhibit organizational members to repeatedly generate and develop innovative ideas. Taking the idea management programs of three multinational companies as the research setting, we investigate, in four empirical papers using different sources and methods, how innovative behavior can be supported, influenced, or changed. Within this context, we concentrate on a) the quantity of ideas, b) the quality of ideas, and c) the repeated participation of employees in idea management programs.

The findings demonstrate that managers can stimulate employees to submit more ideas through a combination of their leadership style and the organizational mindset they embrace. We also find that people whose prior ideas were rejected in the past are more inclined to initiate new ideas. However, only employees who successfully initiated ideas in the past learn to improve or demonstrate consistency in the quality of their subsequent ideas. We further show that the embeddedness of ties in a network predicts how much time people invest in the development of an idea. Moreover, we find that social network structures dynamically evolve between one idea to the next. In particular, strong ties and a higher network size influence the quality of ideas and vice versa.

Together, the insights of the studies illustrate how through leadership, learning, and social networks idea inventors exchange knowledge, build on each other’s expertise, make sense of experiences, and become motivated to constantly generate ideas that move the organization forward.

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Idea Management: Perspectives from Leadership, Learning, and Network Theory

Research summary
The advantages of working with a team to develop an idea are well established but surprisingly little is known about why some idea generators ignore these advantages by developing their ideas alone. To answer this question, we study two important trade-offs. First, working with a team provides access to additional resources but also leads to increased coordination costs. Second, sharing the risks and costs of developing an idea necessitates sharing the potential rewards of a successful idea. We use unique data on idea generators and their submission of ideas to an innovation program in a large European company between 1996 and 2008 to show how the two different trade-offs affect the decision of idea generators to collaborate with a team.

Managerial summary
Organizations usually form teams to develop and execute innovative ideas. When people have the choice, however, will they also form a team or will they develop ideas alone? By studying idea generators and their voluntary submissions of breakthrough ideas to an innovation program, we find that the success rate is much higher for team ideas. Although teamwork has important benefits, idea generators will often develop incremental ideas alone and only accept increased coordination costs for developing radical ideas—this is even more so when they have prior team experiences. Moreover, only when idea generators were successful before and—even more so—when they developed that idea alone, will they be more open to sharing the rewards and risks of developing another idea with a team.

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I can do that alone…or not? How idea generators juggle between the pros and cons of teamwork

Online communities have been identified as key platforms for innovation and knowledge sharing. While many studies have consistently identified that social capital and cultural factors are important for online knowledge sharing, their joint effect has to date received less attention. Addressing this gap helps us to move away from a one-size-fits-all approach of managing online communities to one which takes into account that social capital (i.e., trust, reciprocity, and a shared vision) may have differential effects on the sharing of high-quality knowledge. We therefore ask: To what extent does national culture shape the effect of social capital on perceived knowledge quality? We use survey data from two online communities from Germany and the Netherlands and demonstrate that the relationship between social capital and perceived knowledge quality differs in the two different national cultures, in particular for effects of reciprocity and shared vision. Besides practical contributions, we add to the literature by first integrating a social capital and online knowledge sharing lens and highlighting the moderating effect of national culture. Second, we provide a fine-grained understanding of the influence of national culture on knowledge sharing by delving deeper into differences between national cultures often regarded as similar.

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Dirk Deichmann

Papers

Leveraging transformational and transactional leadership to cultivate the generation of organization-focused ideas

Rising from Failure and Learning from Success: The Role of Past Experience in Radical Initiative Taking

Idea Management: Perspectives from Leadership, Learning, and Network Theory

I can do that alone…or not? How idea generators juggle between the pros and cons of teamwork

Knowledge sharing in two cultures: The moderating effect of national culture on perceived knowledge quality in online communities