Showing papers in "Journal of Organizational Behavior in 2004"

Job demands, job resources, and their relationship with burnout and engagement: a multi‐sample study

Abstract: This study focuses on burnout and its positive antipode—engagement. A model is tested in which burnout and engagement have different predictors and different possible consequences. Structural equation modeling was used to simultaneously analyze data from four independent occupational samples (total N = 1698). Results confirm the hypothesized model indicating that: (1) burnout and engagement are negatively related, sharing between 10 per cent and 25 per cent of their variances; (2) burnout is mainly predicted by job demands but also by lack of job resources, whereas engagement is exclusively predicted by available job resources; (3) burnout is related to health problems as well as to turnover intention, whereas engagement is related only to the latter; (4) burnout mediates the relationship between job demands and health problems, whereas engagement mediates the relationship between job resources and turnover intention. The fact that burnout and engagement exhibit different patterns of possible causes and consequences implies that different intervention strategies should be used when burnout is to be reduced or engagement is to be enhanced. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Transformational leadership and organizational commitment: mediating role of psychological empowerment and moderating role of structural distance

Abstract: Summary Using a sample of 520 staff nurses employed by a large public hospital in Singapore, we examined whether psychological empowerment mediated the effects of transformational leadership on followers’ organizational commitment. We also examined how structural distance (direct and indirect leadership) between leaders and followers moderated the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational commitment. Results from HLM analyses showed that psychological empowerment mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational commitment. Similarly, structural distance between the leader and follower moderated the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational commitment. Implications for research and practice of our findings are discussed. Copyright # 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Psychological ownership and feelings of possession: three field studies predicting employee attitudes and organizational citizenship behavior

Abstract: Summary An increasing number of scholars and practitioners have emphasized the importance of ‘feelings of ownership’ for the organization (even when employees are not legal owners). In this exploratory study, we examine the relationships of psychological ownership with work attitudes and work behaviors. We start by developing hypotheses based on the psychology of possession and psychological ownership literatures. We then test these hypotheses with data from three field samples, using responses from over 800 employees, as well as manager and peer observations of employee behavior. Results demonstrate positive links between psychological ownership for the organization and employee attitudes (organizational commitment, job satisfaction, organization-based self-esteem), and work behavior (performance and organizational citizenship). More important, psychological ownership increased explained variance in organization-based self-esteem and organizational citizenship behavior (both peer and supervisor observations of citizenship), over and above the effects of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Contrary to prior theoretical work on psychological ownership, results, however, fail to show an incremental value of psychological ownership in predicting employee performance. Copyright # 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Evidence toward an expanded model of organizational identification

Abstract: Recent research on organizational identification has called for the consideration of an expanded model of identification, which would include a more thorough treatment of the ways an individual could derive his or her identity from the organization. This paper begins to answer that call by testing operationalizations of the four dimensions of the expanded model: identification, disidentification, ambivalent identification, and neutral identification. Survey results from 330 employed adults support the discriminability of the four dimensions. This exploratory study also begins to establish the criterion-related validity of the model by examining organizational, job-related, and individual difference variables associated with the four dimensions of the model, and suggests implications for the expanded model's strong potential for applications in organizational identification research. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The routinization of innovation research : A constructively critical review of the state-of-the-science

Abstract: Summary In this review we argue that facilitators of innovation at the individual, group, and organizational levels have been reliably identified, and that validated process models of innovation have been developed. However, a content analysis of selected research published between 1997 and 2002 suggests a routinization of innovation research, with a heavy focus on replication–extension, cross-sectional designs, and a single level of analysis. We discuss five innovative pathways for future work: Study innovation as an independent variable, across cultures, within a multi-level framework, and use meta-analysis and triangulation. To illustrate we propose a ‘distress-related innovation’ model of the relations between negatively connotated variables and innovation at the individual, group, and organizational levels of analysis. Copyright # 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Imaginative writers, the reader will have noticed, dropped out of this [Soviet] history when it moved from the 1920’s into the period of Stalinism. Of course industrious typewriters continued to manufacture novels, plays and poems, but they no longer revealed authors in search of the authentic self and true community, as the works of Olesha and Babel had, not to speak of the pre-revolutionary masters. From 1930 to 1953 Stalin’s engineers of human souls typed out their works to formula. Their product has its fascinations, like mass-market fiction and popular drama in the West, but hardly for understanding the psychologies of high culture. They help one understand mass psychology in its relation with the authorities.

The customer is not always right: customer aggression and emotion regulation of service employees

Abstract: Research on work aggression or anger has typically focused on supervisors and co-workers as the instigators of aggression; however, aggressive customers are also likely and may have unique consequences for the employee. We explore this phenomenon with a sample of 198 call center employees at two work sites. The employees reported that customer verbal aggression occurred 10 times a day, on average, though this varied by race and negative affectivity. Using LISREL, our data indicated that both the frequency and stress appraisal of customer aggression positively related to emotional exhaustion, and this burnout dimension mediated the relationship of stress appraisal with absences. Stress appraisal also influenced employees' emotion regulation strategies with their most recent hostile caller. Employees who felt more threatened by customer aggression used surface acting or vented emotions, while those who were less threatened used deep acting. Job autonomy helped explain who found these events more stressful, and implications of these results are discussed. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Do personal characteristics and cultural values that promote innovation, quality, and efficiency compete or complement each other?

Abstract: This study examines whether the same personal and contextual characteristics that enhance innovation could also contribute to quality and efficiency. Three hundred and forty-nine engineers and technicians in 21 units of a large R&D company participated in the study. Using CFA and HLM models, we demonstrated that people have the ability to both be creative and pay attention to detail, and that an innovative culture does not necessarily compete with a culture of quality and efficiency. Yet, to reach innovative performance creative people need to take the initiative in promoting their ideas, with the possible corresponding price of low performance quality. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Networking behaviors and career outcomes: differences for men and women?

Abstract: Summary Engaging in networking behaviors, by attempting to develop and maintain relationships with others who have the potential to provide work or career assistance, is considered to be an important career management strategy. This study explores the relationship between networking behavior and career outcomes (i.e., number of promotions, total compensation, perceived career success) in a sample of managerial and professional employees. Furthermore, we investigate whether networking behavior is as beneficial for women as it is for men. Results indicated that some types of networking behavior were related to both objective and perceived career outcomes. In addition, gender differences do impact the utility of networking behavior as a career-enhancing strategy. Explanations of our results and implications for engaging in networking behavior are discussed. Copyright # 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The bright and dark sides of individual and group innovation:a special issue introduction

Abstract: This introduction essay proposes a challenging program for researchers eager to explore factors and process mechanisms contributing to the benefits and costs individuals and groups incur from pursuing innovative approaches. With respect to individual innovation, such moderating factors might be found in the characteristics of the innovative idea, the innovator, co-workers, supervisors, the broader organizational context, and in national culture. Examples of factors that are likely to shape the beneficial and detrimental outcomes of group innovation include knowledge, skills and ability of group members, group tenure, diversity among group members, group processes (clarifying group objectives, participation, constructive management of competing perspectives), and external demands on groups. This Special Issue contains a state-of-the-science paper, three articles dealing with the benefits and costs of individual innovation, and three articles addressing the bright and dark sides of group innovation. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A longitudinal analysis of the impact of workplace empowerment on work satisfaction.

Abstract: A longitudinal predictive design was used to test a model linking changes in structural and psychological empowerment to changes in job satisfaction. Structural equation modeling analyses revealed a good fit of the data from 185 randomly selected staff nurses to the hypothesized model. Changes in perceived structural empowerment had direct effects on changes in psychological empowerment and job satisfaction. Changes in psychological empowerment did not explain additional variance in job satisfaction beyond that explained by structural empowerment. The results suggest that fostering environments that enhance perceptions of empowerment can have enduring positive effects on employees. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Workplace deviance, organizational citizenship behavior, and business unit performance: the bad apples do spoil the whole barrel

Abstract: The influences of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and workplace deviant behavior (WDB) on business unit performance were investigated using data from branches of a fast food organization. Data included measures of WDB and OCB obtained from staff, ratings of performance provided by supervisors, and objective measures of performance. It was found that WDB was negatively and significantly associated with business unit performance measured both subjectively and objectively. OCB, however, failed to contribute to the prediction of business unit performance beyond the level that was achieved by WDB. It appeared, therefore, that the presence of deviant employees among business units impinges upon the performance of the business unit as a whole, whereas OCBs had comparatively little effect. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

General self-efficacy and self-esteem: toward theoretical and empirical distinction between correlated self-evaluations

Abstract: To test whether general self-efficacy and self-esteem relate differently to motivational and affective constructs, we collected data from samples in academic and work settings. Results suggest that general self-efficacy is more highly related to motivational variables than is self-esteem, whereas self-esteem is more highly related to affective variables than is general self-efficacy, as hypothesized. Furthermore, results support the notion that motivational and affective states differentially mediate the relationships of general self-efficacy and self-esteem with task performance. These results confirm the theoretical distinction between general self-efficacy and self-esteem and suggest that failure to distinguish between them might exact a price in terms of precision, validity, and understanding of determinants of performance. Implications for research and practice in organizations are discussed. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

How fairness perceptions make innovative behavior more or less stressful

Abstract: Summary The purpose of this study was to examine how perceptions of distributive and procedural fairness moderate the relationship between innovative behavior and stress. The results of a survey carried out among 118 first-line managers from six organizations in the public health domain demonstrated that innovative behavior was positively related to the stress reactions of job-related anxiety and burnout only when levels of both distributive fairness and procedural fairness were low. Copyright # 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The relationship between individual creativity and team creativity: aggregating across people and time

Abstract: Summary This paper investigates how the creativity of individual team members is related to team creativity, and the influence of climate for creativity in the workplace on individual and team creativity. A multilevel theoretical model is proposed, and the authors report a study which tests the model using a sample of 54 research and development teams. The results showed that team creativity scores could be explained statistically by aggregation processes across both people and time. Team creativity at a particular point in time could be explained as either the average or a weighted average of team member creativity; the creativity of project outcomes was explained by either the maximum of or average of team creativity across time-points. According to the model, failure to account for aggregation across time as well as across individuals can result in misleading empirical results, and can result in the erroneous conclusion that team climate influences team creativity directly rather than indirectly via individuals. Copyright # 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Surface- and deep-level diversity in workgroups: Examining the moderating effects of team orientation and team process on relationship conflict

Abstract: Summary The increased use of teams in organizations, coupled with an increasingly diverse workforce, strongly suggests that we should learn more about how team diversity affects functioning and performance. The purpose of this study was to explore the differential impact of surface-level diversity (gender, ethnicity), deep-level diversity (time urgency, extraversion), and two moderating variables (team orientation, team process) on relationship conflict over time. Hypotheses were tested by tracking 45 student project teams in a longitudinal design. Results revealed that team orientation and team process moderated the diversity–conflict link. Specifically, team orientation helped to neutralize the negative effects of surface-level (gender) diversity on relationship conflict. In a similar manner, team processes worked to weaken the deleterious effects of deep-level diversity (time urgency) on relationship conflict. In addition, relationship conflict resulted in lower perceived performance by team members. Copyright # 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A field study of group diversity, workgroup context, and performance

Abstract: We explore how the context of an organizational workgroup affects the relationship between group diversity and various performance outcomes. In particular, we theorize and empirically examine the moderating effects of three categories of workgroup context variables: cultures (people- and competition-oriented), strategies (stability-, growth- and customer-oriented), and human resource practices (diversity- and training-oriented). We perform analyses on 1528 workgroups from a Fortune 500 information-processing firm. The results showed, for example, that members of groups diverse in functional background were paid higher composite bonuses when their workgroup context emphasized people-oriented cultures and lower levels of bonuses in contexts with a focus on stability-oriented strategies. In addition, members of groups diverse in level of education were awarded higher amounts of bonuses in workgroup environments that emphasized customer- and growth-oriented strategies. However, members of such groups had lower levels of composite bonuses in environments that focused on training- and diversity-oriented human resource practices. We discuss future research directions regarding diversity, workgroup context, and performance outcomes and outline some implications for managers and group leaders. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A reciprocal and longitudinal investigation of the innovation process: the central role of shared vision in product and process innovation teams (PPITs)

Abstract: Summary This research longitudinally investigates the innovation process by examining the relationship between innovation effectiveness, shared vision, and product and process innovation team (PPIT) dynamics in the innovation process. The research was conducted with a sample of 71 PPITs. Results indicate that when teams are charged with implementation of sophisticated innovation, a complex set of team dynamics is set in motion. Our results indicate that innovation effectiveness and shared vision are reciprocally and longitudinally related and that shared vision and team dynamics are also reciprocally and longitudinally related. As such, this research suggests that shared vision occupies a core role in the team innovation process. Copyright # 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Diversity in social context: a multi-attribute, multilevel analysis of team diversity and sales performance

Abstract: Summary Prior research on demographic diversity in work teams has yielded mixed results, with the effects of team diversity ranging from positive to neutral to negative. This article shows that an improved understanding of the relationship between team diversity and team performance can be reached by considering the combined effects of team diversity and demographic social context. We hypothesized that three aspects of the social context would moderate the effects of demographic diversity on performance: the combination of diversity dimensions within a team, the demographic characteristics of the team manager, and the demography of the work unit. In a study of 365 sales teams distributed across 42 sales districts in a large U.S. company, we found support for the general proposition that the demographic social context moderates relationships between team diversity and team performance. We discuss the practical implications of these results as well as the research implications for future studies of team diversity. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Decoupling task and relationship conflict: the role of intragroup emotional processing

Abstract: The present paper focuses on the role of emotion in intragroup conflict processes. We propose that how group members handle emotion affects intragroup interactions and has implications for task and relationship conflict. Three types of variables—collective emotional intelligence, intragroup relational ties, and conflict-relevant interactional norms—constrain negative emotionality and may determine whether task conflict results in damaging relationship conflict. The moderating influence of these variables is discussed, as are compositional issues associated with measuring them. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Voluntary employee turnover: combining variables from the ‘traditional’ turnover literature with the theory of planned behavior

Abstract: In this study we tried to answer the question of whether the three predictors from the theory of planned behavior provide a satisfactory explanation for intentions and behaviors in the context of voluntary employee turnover. We examined whether variables which have traditionally played a prominent role in the study of turnover, i.e., job satisfaction, organizational commitment, age, and tenure, were capable of explaining additional variance in turnover intentions and voluntary turnover. We conducted a longitudinal study in which 296 respondents serving as professionals in the Royal Netherlands Navy completed a questionnaire. Half a year later they were asked to answer a second identical questionnaire; data were obtained from 202 participants who answered all relevant questions in both questionnaires. Their actual behavior (staying versus leaving) was registered during a 2-year period following the completion of the first questionnaire. Behavioral intentions proved to be the best predictor of turnover in which the effects of all other variables were accounted for. Job satisfaction and tenure explained a significant proportion of the variance in intentions after the effects of the predictors from the theory of planned behavior had been taken into account. The results are discussed in relation to theoretical, methodological, and practical issues. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A field study of group diversity, participation in diversity education programs, and performance

Abstract: Summary This study examined the impact of four dimensions of diversity—tenure, age, sex, and race— on performance in 486 retail bank branches and assessed whether employee participation in the firm’s diversity education programs influenced these relationships. Data came from archives of the demographic composition of branches, an employee attitude–satisfaction poll, and branch performance assessed as part of the bank’s bonus incentive plan. Race and sex diversity were unrelated to performance. The direct effects of tenure and age diversity were largely negative, but were moderated by quality of team processes, suggesting that cooperation and teamwork may suppress potentially task-enhancing differences associated with these aspects of diversity. Diversity education programs had minimal impact on performance. The results of this study suggest that there is a complex relationship between age and tenure diversity and performance and that, even in firms with characteristics that should be conducive to performance benefits from diversity, other conditions must be in place to foster such effects. Copyright # 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The contexts of knowing: natural history of a globally distributed team

Abstract: Summary The focus of this paper is cognitive convergence in a globally distributed team (GDT), defined as the process by which cognitive structures of distributed team members gradually become more similar over time. To explore the convergence process, we employed a longitudinal, ethnographic research strategy that allowed us to follow a naturally occurring GDT over a 14-month period, producing a rich case study portraying factors and processes that influence convergence. Confirming previous studies, we find that increases in shared cognition alone are not sufficient to account for performance gains on a GDT. Rather, it may be necessary not only to increase the sharing of cognition, but also to reverse a pattern of increasing divergence that can result from rejection of key knowledge domains. We also found that several factors influence the process of cognitive convergence beyond direct knowledge sharing. These include: separate but parallel or similar learning experiences in a common context; the surfacing of hidden knowledge at remote sites by third-party mediators or knowledge brokers; and shifts in agent self-interest that motivate collaboration and trigger the negotiation of task interdependence. Also relevant to cognitive convergence on a GDT is the geographical distribution pattern of people and resources on the ground, and the different ways in which leaders exploit the historical, cultural and linguistic dimensions of such distribution to further their own political agendas. Several propositions related to these observations are suggested. We conclude that GDTs can be effective in bringing together divergent points of view to yield new organizational capabilities, but such benefits require that leaders and members recognize early and explicitly the existence and validity of their differences. Copyright # 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Interpreting workplace identities: the role of office décor

Abstract: Using qualitative methods, I examine how employees in corporate office environments interpreted a variety of relatively permanent office decor (e.g., furniture, photos, personal mementos) as indicators of their colleagues' workplace identities (i.e., central and enduring categorizations regarding employees' status and distinctiveness in the workplace). Similar to the encoding of behavioral cues of identity, findings suggest that interpretation of physical identity markers begins with either (1) a top-down process of social categorization, in which specific rules are applied to encoding a few, focal, and visually salient pieces of office decor as evidence of management prototypes, or (2) a bottom-up process of social categorization, in which a variety of physical artifacts are examined and compared to specific managerial exemplars to develop a complex representation of workplace identity. Findings also suggest that some of the unique attributes of physical identity markers (i.e., their potential to be viewed independently from their displayer, and their relative permanence) may be associated with the focus of each profiling process (i.e., on interpreting status vs. distinctiveness, and consistency vs. change). Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Planning behavior and perceived control of time at work

Abstract: This study investigated two mediation models of time management. The first model consisted of parts of Macan's (1994) model. The second model combined this model with Karasek's (1998) Job Demand–Control model. Two sets of self-report questionnaires were collected and were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The first model, in which perceived control of time was hypothesized to fully mediate the relation between planning behavior and work strain, job satisfaction, and job performance, was found to be less adequate than the second model, which added workload and job autonomy as independent variables. Results also indicated that partial, rather than full, mediation of perceived control of time fitted the data best. The study demonstrated the importance of studying both planning behavior and job characteristics, which was not part of past research. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Assessing the nature of psychological contracts: a validation of six dimensions

Abstract: Summary The purpose of this study is to develop a feature-oriented assessment of psychological contracts, an underdeveloped approach to psychological contracts. Relying on theoretical frameworks in psychological contract research, industrial relations studies, and a cross-national study on psychological contracts, we identify six dimensions that capture the nature of psychological contracts: tangibility, scope, stability, time frame, exchange symmetry, and contract level. We validate this expanded conceptualization of psychological contracts by developing a nomological network and testing it in a large, representative sample of 1106 employees. The results indicate the significance of formal contract characteristics and HR practices as two antecedents shaping the nature of psychological contracts. In addition, the hypothesized relationships between the three dimensions of time frame, exchange symmetry, and contract level with affective commitment are confirmed as well as the relationships between tangibility, scope and flexibility with personal control. The results further indicate the importance of assessing both employer and employee obligations given the differential effect of the contract makers. Copyright # 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Expectations of organizational mobility, workplace social inclusion, and employee job performance

Abstract: Two new concepts, employees' Expectations of Organizational Mobility (EOM) and Workplace Social Inclusion (WSI), were developed in part from the burgeoning literature on social capital. Two independent tests of the hypotheses in two different organizations found that the greater employees' EOM, the lower their WSI, which in turn was associated with lower employee job performance ratings. Further, the mediating role of WSI was confirmed. Our findings support the arguments of those who have warned that employees' EOM, and implicitly the human resources philosophy of ‘employability’ that encourages such expectations, is associated with comparatively worse individual job performance via lower levels of employee WSI. The value of these concepts for current employability debates, for the use of subjective supervisory judgments in performance appraisal ratings and for researchers interested in organization-based communal social capital, is discussed. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Integrated manufacturing, empowerment, and company performance

Abstract: There is controversy over whether integrated manufacturing (IM), comprising advanced manufacturing technology, just-in-time inventory control and total quality management, empowers or deskills shop floor work. Moreover, both IM and empowerment are promoted on the assumption that they enhance competitiveness. We examine these issues in a study of 80 manufacturing companies. The extent of use of IM was positively associated with empowerment (i.e., job enrichment and employee skill enhancement), but, with the minor exception of AMT, bore little relationship with subsequent company performance. In contrast, the extent of empowerment within companies predicted the subsequent level of company performance controlling for prior performance, with the effect on productivity mediating that on profit. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Do birds of a feather shop together? The effects on performance of employees' similarity with one another and with customers

Abstract: Summary Theories have suggested that employee diversity can affect business performance both as a result of customer preferences and through changes of relations within the workplace. We examine these theories with data from more than 700 retail stores employing over 70 000 individuals, matched to census data on the demographics of the community. While past theories predict that increasing the similarity between employees and customers will increase sales, we find no consistent relationship. The exception is that Asian employees appear to be most productive when many nearby residents are Asian immigrants who do not speak English. Diversity of gender and race within a store had no important effect on sales, while age diversity predicted lower sales. Copyright # 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Interactive effects of impression management and organizational politics on job performance

Abstract: The purpose of this research was to explore the interactive effect of organizational politics and impression management on supervisor ratings of employee performance. We hypothesized that the negative relationship between organizational politics and supervisor-rated performance is weaker among employees who are high in impression management than among those low in impression management. Data were collected from a matched sample of 112 white-collar employees and their supervisors. Results indicated that the interaction of organizational politics and impression management explained a significant incremental amount of variance in supervisor ratings of employee performance. These findings demonstrated that the extent to which an individual engaged in impression management in a non-political atmosphere may have been a key component to receiving favorable performance ratings. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Firm or subgroup culture: where does fitting in matter most?

Abstract: Using the Organizational Culture Profile (OCP), this research investigated the extent to which fit between individuals (n = 136) and their competency groups (P–G fit) and the organization (P–O fit) were related to job satisfaction. Even in a consulting firm with a strong organization culture, we found small, but interpretable, differences between the value-based cultures of the competency groups in the firm. Although the two forms of fit were highly correlated, both individual consultants' fit with the culture of their competency group and the organization as a whole were significant predictors of job satisfaction. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.