Showing papers in "Personnel Psychology in 2021"

Are they worth it? Warmth and competence perceptions influence the investment of slack resources in and the efficacy of HPWS

Abstract: Utilizing research on organizational slack and the stereotype content model, the antecedents and consequences of high performance work system (HPWS) utilization are assessed in a sample of 108 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in South Korea. The paper advances theory to demonstrate that organizational slack drives HPWS adoption, but only when the CEO views employees as worth the investment. A social psychology lens is used to illustrate the significance of CEO perceptions of employee warmth and competence as moderators of the relationship between slack resources and HPWS adoption in small firms. CEOs with available financial resources who also hold a high view of employee trustworthiness (i.e., warmth) and ability (i.e., competence) are likely to utilize higher levels of HPWS. Further, employee perceptions of CEO warmth and competence moderate the relationship between HPWS utilization and firm performance, such that high levels of perceived CEO warmth and competence enhance the efficacy of HPWS. The results serve to highlight the significance of perceptual factors in both the antecedents and outcomes of HPWS adoption, particularly in smaller firms. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Personal brand equity: Scale development and validation

Abstract: Crafting a personal brand has become an important factor for career success. Despite the growing literature on topics associated with personal brands, the conceptualization and measurement of personal brand equity (PBE) have received little attention. By drawing upon and integrating the marketing and careers literatures on branding, we reconceptualized the definition of PBE and delineated its dimensions and conceptual boundaries. Furthermore, we developed a 12-item scale to measure PBE. Among seven different samples (total N = 3,273), including two samples of employees, this study tested the construct and criterion-related validity of the PBE scale. First, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a three-dimensional structure of PBE (brand appeal, brand differentiation, and brand recognition). In two samples, the convergent and discriminant validity of the PBE scale was established. Finally, this study showed that PBE predicts perceived employability, career success, and job performance. The PBE scale offers new opportunities to understand and measure career behaviors by considering individuals’ personal brand positioning.

Leader-follower risk orientation incongruence, intellectual stimulation, and creativity: a configurational approach

Abstract: Prior work suggests that follower and leader risk orientation is positively associated with follower creativity. We suggest that this view is oversimplified and propose that follower creativity can be stimulated when leader and follower have diverging risk orientations. We, therefore, apply a configurational approach to creativity, evaluating varying combinations of leader and follower risk orientation on follower creativity. Across two field studies, we demonstrate that: (a) follower creativity increases as leaders’ and followers’ risk orientations become more discrepant (i.e., incongruent); (b) follower creativity is higher when leader- follower dyads are congruent at moderate levels of risk orientation compared to congruence at the extremes (i.e., low and high levels); (c) follower experienced intellectual stimulation mediates the relationship between leader-follower risk-orientation incongruence and congruence and follower creativity; and (d) that leader authority openness moderates the indirect effect of leader-follower risk orientation incongruence on creativity via follower experienced intellectual stimulation. Theoretical and practical implications specific to creativity and leader-follower relationships are discussed.

Too much of a good thing: Examining the curvilinear relationship between team‐level proactive personality and team performance

Abstract: Research has largely shown a positive linear relationship between proactive personality and job performance at the individual level. However, it remains unknown whether the same relationship holds at the team level. In this research, we propose and test a curvilinear relationship between team mean level of proactive personality and team performance. We also examine team potency and team cohesion as the explanatory mechanisms and the dispersion of proactive personality as a boundary condition for the relationship. We conducted two studies to test these ideas. In Study 1, we collected data from 93 teams in four companies from different industries. In Study 2, we collected data from 101 nursing teams in three hospitals. We found a curvilinear relationship between team mean level of proactive personality and team performance in Study 1 and replicated it in Study 2. We further demonstrated in Study 2 the moderating role of dispersion of proactive personality and the mediating role of team potency and team cohesion, respectively, in this curvilinear relationship. The positive trend of the curvilinear relationship is strengthened (weakened) when the dispersion of proactive personality is high (low). The negative trend is mitigated under high dispersion of proactive personality but is not significant under low dispersion of proactive personality. Practically, managers must be aware that team mean level of proactive personality benefits team performance only up to a certain point.

My fault or yours? leaders’ dual reactions to abusive supervision via rumination depend on their independent self‐construal.

Abstract: In this research, we propose a novel goal‐failure perspective based on cognitive theories of rumination to examine how leaders react to their own abusive supervision in distinct ways. Findings from two multi‐wave, multisource field studies conducted with organizational leaders and an online experiment support hypotheses that leaders ruminate on their abusive behavior and this rumination triggers reconciliation efforts (a problem‐solving reaction) or the blaming of victims (a self‐serving reaction). In line with cognitive theories of rumination, leaders’ independent self‐construal functions as a key qualifier for the effects of rumination, such that, when they ruminate, leaders who have low levels of independent self‐construal are more likely to seek reconciliation, while leaders who have high levels of independent self‐construal are more likely to blame their victims. Furthermore, reconciliation is not significantly related to subordinates’ evaluation of their leaders’ effectiveness but blaming is negatively related to it. These findings are an important extension of nascent perpetrator‐centric research regarding abusive supervision.

With a frown or a smile: How leader affective states spark the leader-follower reciprocal exchange process

Abstract: 1 Department ofManagement, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA 2 Department ofManagement, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA 3 Department ofManagement, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA 4 Krannert School ofManagement, Purdue University,West Lafayette, Indiana, USA 5 School ofManagement and Economics, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China 6 Madden School of Business, LeMoyne College, Syracuse, NY, USA

Is beauty more than skin deep? Attractiveness, power, and nonverbal presence in evaluations of hirability

Abstract: Organization andHuman Resources Department, School ofManagement, University at Buffalo, The State University of NewYork, Buffalo, New York, USA 2 Business Administration Department, Williams College of Commerce, Economics, and Politics,Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia, USA Department ofManagement,Warrington College of Business Administration, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA

What are the career implications of “seeing eye to eye”? Examining the role of leader–member exchange (LMX) agreement on employability and career outcomes

Abstract: Are there career benefits to leaders and followers agreeing about the quality of their leader-member exchange (LMX) relationship? Is LMX disagreement always detrimental for a follower’s career? Can the examination of LMX agreement as a substantive variable help us cast new light on some of the inconclusive findings of past research on LMX and career outcomes? These questions motivate our research. Using theories of social exchange and sponsorship, and responses from 967 leader–follower dyads of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) professionals in seven European countries, we examined the role of LMX agreement on subjective and objective career outcomes. After conducting polynomial regression combined with response surface analysis, we found that both follower-rated and leader-rated employability were higher when the leader agreed with the follower at a high level of LMX (versus a low level of LMX). In case of disagreement, strong support was found for leader-rated employability being higher when the leader’s perceptions of LMX exceeded those of their follower. Furthermore, follower-rated employability was found to mediate the relationship between LMX (dis)agreement and perceived career success, promotions, salary, and bonuses. Support was also found for the mediating role of leader-rated employability in the case of perceived career success, promotions, and salary but not for bonuses. Our findings highlight the importance of LMX (dis)agreement for career outcomes and further point to the possibility of employability offering an alternative explanation for the mixed findings of past LMX-career research.