Interest in the problem of method biases has a long history in the behavioral sciences. Despite this, a comprehensive summary of the potential sources of method biases and how to control for them does not exist. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to examine the extent to which method biases influence behavioral research results, identify potential sources of method biases, discuss the cognitive processes through which method biases influence responses to measures, evaluate the many different procedural and statistical techniques that can be used to control method biases, and provide recommendations for how to select appropriate procedural and statistical remedies for different types of research settings.

/pdf/common-method-biases-in-behavioral-research-a-critical-53ocysaemj.pdf

Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies.

Self-Reports in Organizational Research: Problems and Prospects

Cognitive evaluation theory, which explains the effects of extrinsic motivators on intrinsic motivation, received some initial attention in the organizational literature. However, the simple dichotomy between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation made the theory difficult to apply to work settings. Differentiating extrinsic motivation into types that differ in their degree of autonomy led to self-determination theory, which has received widespread attention in the education, health care, and sport domains. This article describes self-determination theory as a theory of work motivation and shows its relevance to theories of organizational behavior. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

/pdf/self-determination-theory-and-work-motivation-42ilnslrq4.pdf

Self‐determination theory and work motivation

As a potential theory, the elemental resource-based view (RBV) is not currently a theoretical structure. Moreover, RBV proponents have assumed stability in product markets and eschewed determining resources' values. As a perspective for strategic management, imprecise definitions hinder prescription and static approaches relegate causality to a “black box.” We outline conceptual challenges for improving this situation, including rigorously formalizing the RBV, answering the causal “how” questions, incorporating the temporal component, and integrating the RBV with demand heterogeneity models.

http://lib.cufe.edu.cn/upload_files/other/4_20140522031922_Is_the_Resource-based_%E2%80%9CView%E2%80%9D_a_Useful_Perspective_for_Strategic_Management_Research%20(1).pdf

Is the Resource-Based “View” a Useful Perspective for Strategic Management Research?

\"What are your assumptions (implicit as well as explicit) about the most effective way to manage people?\" So began Douglas McGregor in this 1960 management classic. It was a seemingly simple question he asked, yet it led to a fundamental revolution in management. Today, with the rise of the global economy, the information revolution, and the growth of knowledge-driven work, McGregor's simple but provocative question continues to resonate-perhaps more powerfully than ever before. Heralded as one of the most important pieces of management literature ever written, a touchstone for scholars and a handbook for practitioners, The Human Side of Enterprise continues to receive the highest accolades nearly half a century after its initial publication. Influencing such major management gurus such as Peter Drucker and Warren Bennis, McGregor's revolutionary Theory Y-which contends that individuals are self-motivated and self-directed-and Theory X-in which employees must be commanded and controlled-has been widely taught in business schools, industrial relations schools, psychology departments, and professional development seminars for over four decades. In this special annotated edition of the worldwide management classic, Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld, Senior Research Scientist in MIT's Sloan School of Management and Engineering Systems Division, shows us how today's leaders have successfully incorporated McGregor's methods into modern management styles and practices. The added quotes and commentary bring the content right into today's debates and business models. Now more than ever, the timeless wisdom of Douglas McGregor can light the path towards a management style that nurtures leadership capability, creates effective teams, ensures internal alignment, achieves high performance, and cultivates an authentic, value-driven workplace--lessons we all need to learn as we make our way in this brave new world of the 21st century.

The Human Side of Enterprise.

This article presents a cognitive model of empowerment. Here, empowerment is defined as increased intrinsic task motivation, and our subsequent model identifies four cognitions (task assessments) as the basis for worker empowerment: sense of impact, competence, meaningfulness, and choice. Adopting an interpretive perspective, we have used the model also to describe cognitive processes through which workers reach these conclusions. Central to the processes we describe are workers' interpretive styles and global beliefs. Both preliminary evidence for the model and general implications for research are discussed.

Cognitive Elements of Empowerment: An “Interpretive” Model of Intrinsic Task Motivation

Conflict and negotiation processes in organizations.

Conflict and conflict management: Reflections and update

This paper describes the rationale and development of a new measure of five interpersonal conflict-handling modes (competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding, and accommodating), which attempts to control for the social desirability response bias. The instrument is entitled: "Management-of-Differences Exercise," or the MODE instrument. The results of this study indicate that the new instrument significantly reduces the social desirability bias for overall population tendencies in comparison to three other conflict behavior instruments, although all four instruments may still be susceptible to some individual tendencies in this response bias. This study also investigated other aspects of substantive validity and structural validity. Lastly, this paper presented emerging evidence on external validity, which, while encouraging, suggests the need for continuing research efforts to investigate this aspect of validity for the new MODE instrument.

Developing a forced-choice measure of conflict-handling behavior: The "MODE" instrument.

Recent criticisms of the practical relevance of organizational behavior, organization development, and organization theory research are surveyed for the purpose of identifying key components of research relevance Five such components are identified, corresponding to dimensions of practitioner needs: descriptive relevance, goal relevance, operational validity, nonobviousness, and timeliness General implications are discussed for the interaction between researcher and practitioner

Kenneth W. Thomas

Papers

Cognitive Elements of Empowerment: An “Interpretive” Model of Intrinsic Task Motivation

Conflict and negotiation processes in organizations.

Conflict and conflict management: Reflections and update

Developing a forced-choice measure of conflict-handling behavior: The "MODE" instrument.

Necessary Properties of Relevant Research: Lessons from Recent Criticisms of the Organizational Sciences