The concept of imprinting has attracted considerable interest in numerous fields — including organizational ecology, institutional theory, network analysis, and career research — and has been applied at several levels of analysis, from the industry to the individual. This article offers a critical review of this rich yet disparate literature and guides research toward a multilevel theory of imprinting. We start with a definition that captures the general features of imprinting across levels of analysis but is precise enough to remain distinct from seemingly similar concepts, such as path dependence and cohort effects. We then provide a framework to order and unite the splintered field of imprinting research at different levels of analysis. In doing so, we identify economic, technological, institutional, and individual influences that lead to imprints at the level of (a) organizational collectives, (b) single organizations, (c) organizational building blocks, and (d) individuals. Building on this framework, we develop a general model that points to major avenues for future research and charts new directions toward a multilevel theory of imprinting. This theory provides a distinct lens for organizational research that takes history seriously.

Imprinting: Toward A Multilevel Theory

Summary
Generational differences in the workplace have been a popular topic over the past two decades, generating a volume of articles, book chapters and books. We critically review the research evidence concerning generational differences in a variety of work-related variables, including personality, work values, work attitudes, leadership, teamwork, work–life balance and career patterns, assess its strengths and limitations, and provide directions for future research and theory. Our review indicates that the growing body of research, particularly in the past 5 years, remains largely descriptive, rather than exploring the theoretical underpinnings of the generation construct. Evidence to date is fractured, contradictory and fraught with methodological inconsistencies that make generalizations difficult. The results of time-lag, cross-temporal meta-analytic and cross-sectional studies provide sufficient “proof of concept” for generation as a workplace variable, but further theoretical and qualitative work is needed to flesh out mediators and moderators in the relationship between generation and work-related variables. We conclude by arguing for a more nuanced and theoretical research agenda that views generation as a social force in organizations rather than as merely a demographic variable. We also call for qualitative research, greater consideration of context and more methodological rigor. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Generational differences in the workplace: A review of the evidence and directions for future research

Differences among generations on a wide variety of outcomes are of increasing interest to organizations, practitioners, and researchers alike. The goal of this study was to quantitatively assess the research on generational differences in work-related attitudes and to provide guidance for future research and practice. We conducted a meta-analysis of generational differences on three work-related criteria: job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and intent to turnover. Our review of published and unpublished research found 20 studies allowing for 18 generational pairwise comparisons across four generations (Traditionals, Baby Boomers, Generation Xers, and Millennials) on these outcomes using 19,961 total subjects. Corrected mean differences for job satisfaction ranged from .02 to .25, for organizational commitment they ranged from −.22 to .46, and for intent to turnover the range was −.62 to .05. The pattern of results indicates that the relationships between generational membership and work-related outcomes are moderate to small, essentially zero in many cases. The findings suggest that meaningful differences among generations probably do not exist on the work-related variables we examined and that the differences that appear to exist are likely attributable to factors other than generational membership. Given these results, targeted organizational interventions addressing generational differences may not be effective. This is the first known quantitative review of research on generational differences in the workplace.

Generational differences in work-related attitudes: A meta-analysis.

The concept of imprinting has attracted considerable interest in numerous fields—including organizational ecology, institutional theory, network analysis, and career research—and has been applied a...

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Imprinting: Toward a Multilevel Theory

Prevailing beliefs suggest that Eastern cultures hold older adults in higher esteem than Western cultures do, due to stronger collectivist traditions of filial piety However, in modern, industrialized societies, the strain presented by dramatic rises in population aging potentially threatens traditional cultural expectations Addressing these competing hypotheses, a literature search located 37 eligible papers, comprising samples from 23 countries and 21,093 total participants, directly comparing Easterners and Westerners (as classified per UN conventions) in their attitudes toward aging and the aged Contradicting conventional wisdom, a random-effects meta-analysis on these articles found such evaluations to be more negative in the East overall (standardized mean difference = -031) High heterogeneity in study comparisons suggested the presence of moderators; indeed, geographical region emerged as a significant moderating factor, with the strongest levels of senior derogation emerging in East Asia (compared with South and Southeast Asia) and non-Anglophone Europe (compared with North American and Anglophone Western regions) At the country level, multiple-moderator meta-regression analysis confirmed recent rises in population aging to significantly predict negative elder attitudes, controlling for industrialization per se over the same time period Unexpectedly, these analyses also found that cultural individualism significantly predicted relative positivity-suggesting that, for generating elder respect within rapidly aging societies, collectivist traditions may backfire The findings suggest the importance of demographic challenges in shaping modern attitudes toward elders-presenting considerations for future research in ageism, cross-cultural psychology, and even economic development, as societies across the globe accommodate unprecedented numbers of older citizens

Modern Attitudes Toward Older Adults in the Aging World: A Cross-Cultural Meta-Analysis

Generational phenomena underlie several complex organizational challenges. Yet many fundamental questions regarding what generations mean and what the implications of generational differences in organizations are remain unanswered. The framework proposed in this paper allows us to incorporate multidisciplinary conceptualizations of generations as various dimensions of a generational identity, to specify conditions under which these dimensions may be activated in organizational contexts, and to derive implications for intergenerational interactions.

Gentz Franz

Papers

Unpacking Generational Identities in Organizations

Generations in organizations