This article discusses the research strategy of theory building from cases, particularly multiple cases. Such a strategy involves using one or more cases to create theoretical constructs, propositions, and/or midrange theory from case-based, empirical evidence. Replication logic means that each case serves as a distinct experiment that stands on its own merits as an analytic unit. The frequent use of case studies as a research strategy has given rise to some challenges that can be mitigated by the use of very precise wording and thoughtful research design.

Theory Building From Cases: Opportunities And Challenges

A three-component conceptualization of organizational commitment

Feedback is one of the most powerful influences on learning and achievement, but this impact can be either positive or negative. Its power is frequently mentioned in articles about learning and teaching, but surprisingly few recent studies have systematically investigated its meaning. This article provides a conceptual analysis of feedback and reviews the evidence related to its impact on learning and achievement. This evidence shows that although feedback is among the major influences, the type of feedback and the way it is given can be differentially effective. A model of feedback is then proposed that identifies the particular properties and circumstances that make it effective, and some typically thorny issues are discussed, including the timing of feedback and the effects of positive and negative feedback. Finally, this analysis is used to suggest ways in which feedback can be used to enhance its effectiveness in classrooms.

http://www.columbia.edu/~mvp19/ETF/Feedback.pdf

The Power of Feedback

University of TorontoThe authors summarize 35 years of empirical research ongoal-setting theory. They describe the core ﬁndings of thetheory, the mechanisms by which goals operate, modera-tors of goal effects, the relation of goals and satisfaction,and the role of goals as mediators of incentives. Theexternal validity and practical signiﬁcance of goal-settingtheory are explained, and new directions in goal-settingresearch are discussed. The relationships of goal setting toother theories are described as are the theory’s limitations.

https://home.ubalt.edu/tmitch/642/articles syllabus/locke pract goal setting 2002 am psy.pdf

Building a Practically Useful Theory of Goal Setting and Task Motivation

In 1974 an article appeared in Science magazine with the dry-sounding title “Judgment Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases” by a pair of psychologists who were not well known outside their discipline of decision theory. In it Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman introduced the world to Prospect Theory, which mapped out how humans actually behave when faced with decisions about gains and losses, in contrast to how economists assumed that people behave. Prospect Theory turned Economics on its head by demonstrating through a series of ingenious experiments that people are much more concerned with losses than they are with gains, and that framing a choice from one perspective or the other will result in decisions that are exactly the opposite of each other, even if the outcomes are monetarily the same. Prospect Theory led cognitive psychology in a new direction that began to uncover other human biases in thinking that are probably not learned but are part of our brain’s wiring.

Thinking fast and slow.

A new construct, entitled “job embeddedness,” is introduced. It includes individuals' (1) links to other people, teams, and groups, (2) perceptions of their fit with job, organization, and community, and (3) what they say they would have to sacrifice if they left their jobs. We developed a measure of job embeddedness with two samples. The results show that job embeddedness predicts the key outcomes of both intent to leave and 'voluntary turnover' and explains significant incremental variance over and above job satisfaction, organizational commitment, job alternatives, and job search.

/pdf/why-people-stay-using-job-embeddedness-to-predict-voluntary-4fqut29twq.pdf

Why people stay: using job embeddedness to predict voluntary turnover

The model of employee turnover described in this paper applies constructs and concepts from decision making, statistics, and social psychology to facilitate understanding and to redirect theory development and empirical research. The process of employee turnover is modeled by four distinctive decision paths; each decision path involves distinctive foci, psychological processes, and external events. Further, five specific contributions of the model are suggested, and recommendations for empirical testing and future research are offered.

An Alternative Approach: The Unfolding Model of Voluntary Employee Turnover

Offering a broad description of qualitative research, this book facilitates the integration of qualitative and quantitative methods in organizational research. It examines the methods and tactics for both generating and testing management theories, including guidelines for deciding whether to use qualitative methods and overviews of four specific research designs. It describes how qualitative data is collected and analyzed and when and how to quantitatively analyze qualitative data. The author articulates the critical roles for reliability and validity and in the final chapter offers conclusions and recommendations for writing articles that report qualitative studies.

Using Qualitative Methods in Organizational Research

Given the extensive research on the topic of voluntary employee turnover in the past decade as well as new managerial approaches to employee retention, labor market dynamism, and evolution in research methodology and technology, it is important that researchers evaluate the current state of the field. In

http://misweb.cbi.msstate.edu/~COBI/faculty/users/jvardaman/files/autoweb/MGT811101oncampus/Holtometalannals2008.pdf

5 Turnover and Retention Research: A Glance at the Past, a Closer Review of the Present, and a Venture into the Future

This study extends theory and research on job embeddedness, which was disaggregated into its two major subdimensions, on-the-job and off-the-job embeddedness. As hypothesized, regression analyses r...

Thomas W. Lee

Papers

Why people stay: using job embeddedness to predict voluntary turnover

An Alternative Approach: The Unfolding Model of Voluntary Employee Turnover

Using Qualitative Methods in Organizational Research

5 Turnover and Retention Research: A Glance at the Past, a Closer Review of the Present, and a Venture into the Future

The Effects of Job Embeddedness on Organizational Citizenship, Job Performance, Volitional Absences, and Voluntary Turnover