Effects of Race, Gender, Perceived Similarity, and Contact on Mentor Relationships

This study examined the effects of similarity, both actual (race and gender) and perceived, and amount of contact between mentor and protégé on the quality of mentor relationships. Mentor relationship quality was measured by liking, satisfaction, intended retention, and degree of psychosocial and instrumental functions experienced by the protégé. The participants were 104 summer intern protégés and their volunteer staff mentors employed at a large West coast media organization. Protégés were randomly assigned to one of two types of mentor pairings—same and different race mentors. Results indicate that liking, satisfaction, and contact with mentor were higher when protégés’ perceived themselves to be more similar to their mentors. Actual race pairing was related to protégés’ perceptions of the amount of career support and to mentors’ liking of protégés.     

Establishing the psychometric properties of the Self and Perceived-partner Authenticity in Relationships Scale-Short Form (AIRS-SF): Measurement invariance,reliability, and incremental validity

This article evaluates the psychometric properties of Self and Perceived-partner versions of the Authenticity in Relationships Scale (AIRS; Lopez & Rice, 2006). Two samples were collected. Sample 1 (N = 487) was comprised of romantically involved adults residing in the United States, recruited from the Amazon Mechanical Turk, who completed Self and Perceived-partner versions of the AIRS, along with a number of other self-report measures. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to establish measurement invariance across Self and Perceived-partner versions of the scale and eliminate non-essential items. The revised 12-item short-form (AIRS-SF) exhibited excellent reliability in the validation sample, as well as a holdout sample of romantically involved college students (N = 112). Multi-group path analysis provided additional evidence for the incremental validity of the AIRS-SF. Consistent with prior experimental work, the Perceived-partner AIRS-SF predicts relationship satisfaction and commitment through interpersonal trust, independent of attachment avoidance.     

The Long Arm of Mentoring: A Counterfactual Analysis of Natural Youth Mentoring and Employment Outcomes in Early Careers

Young people often develop natural mentoring relationships with nonparental adults during adolescence and young adulthood. While much has been learned about the benefits of natural mentoring for more proximate outcomes such as mental health and education, relatively little is known about the causal impact of youth mentoring relationships on career opportunities. This study uses data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) survey to explore the effects of different kinds of natural mentoring relationships on employment outcomes during the early career years (when workers are in their late twenties and early thirties). Whereas traditional methods of causal conditioning show a broad range of employment benefits from being mentored, results from counterfactual analysis using propensity score matching reveal that the benefits of mentoring are confined to intrinsic job rewards. The findings imply that mentors help steer youth toward intrinsically rewarding careers.     

Perceived organizational support, organizational commitment and psychological well-being: A longitudinal study

Using longitudinal data (N = 220), we examined the contribution of perceived organizational support and four mindsets of organizational commitment (affective, normative, perceived sacrifice associated with leaving and perceived lack of alternatives) to employee psychological well-being. In order to assess the contribution of support and commitment independently from workplace stressors, we controlled for the effects of role ambiguity, role conflict and role overload. Analyses showed affective organizational commitment to mediate a positive relationship between perceived organizational support and well-being. In addition, perceived organizational support negatively related to perceived lack of employment alternatives which, in turn, was negatively related to well-being. Normative commitment and perceived sacrifice associated with leaving were unrelated to well-being. The implications of these findings are discussed under the lenses of social exchange and conservation of resources theories.     

Protégé-mentor agreement about the provision of psychosocial support: The mentoring relationship, personality, and workload

Protégé-mentor agreement (PMA) about the provision of psychosocial support was examined in relation to job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and work self-esteem. One-hundred and sixty-six junior administrative and information technology (IT) staff at an Australian university and their matched mentors completed a questionnaire that assessed three antecedents to PMA: (1) structural and experience aspects of the mentorship (type and length of relationship, frequency of meetings, previous experience with mentoring, and gender-mix); (2) protégé and mentor personality (agreeableness, openness, extroversion, neuroticism, and conscientiousness); and (3) protégé and mentor workload. Structural Equation Modeling using Partial Least Squares revealed that PMA was predicted by structural and experience aspects of the mentorship (type of mentorship, frequency of meetings, and experience of the mentor), protégé personality (agreeableness, openness, extroversion, and conscientiousness), mentor personality (agreeableness, openness, and extroversion), and mentor workload. Protégé-mentor agreement was positively related to job satisfaction and organizational commitment for protégés and mentors.     

The Test of Time in School-Based Mentoring: The Role of Relationship Duration and Re-Matching on Academic Outcomes

The influence of match length and re-matching on the effectiveness of school-based mentoring was studied in the context of a national, randomized study of 1,139 youth in Big Brothers Big Sisters programs. The sample included youth in grades four through nine from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. At the end of the year, youth in intact relationships showed significant academic improvement, while youth in matches that terminated prematurely showed no impact. Those who were re-matched after terminations showed negative impacts. Youth, mentor, and program characteristics associated with having an intact match were examined. Youth with high levels of baseline stress and those matched with college student mentors were likely to be in matches that terminated prematurely, while rejection-sensitive youth and mentors who had previous mentoring experience were more likely to be in intact relationships. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

The incremental validity of organizational commitment,organizational trust,and organizational identification

Organizational commitment (OC), organizational trust (OT), and organizational identification (OI) are three types of psychological attachment to an organization. Each of these three variables captures an organization-targeted attitude toward an employment relationship, but it is unclear whether they have incremental validity over each other. To address this question, this study examined the incremental validity of each variable in predicting job involvement, job satisfaction, turnover intentions, and non-self-report measures of task performance and citizenship behavior. It also examined whether perceived organizational support and psychological contract breach, two other organization-targeted attitudinal variables, were related to OC, OT, and OI when the latter were considered jointly. Meta-analytical evidence suggests that OC, OT, and OI have incremental validity over and above one another in their relationships with some, but not all, of the above correlates. This highlights the need for future research to distinguish these three types of psychological attachment to an organization.     

Antecedents of mentoring support: a meta-analysis of individual,relational, and structural or organizational factors

The value of mentoring is growing substantially as organizations take a renewed interest in employee development to better survive in the dynamic and competitive market today. In the wake of this renewed interest, this meta-analysis was conducted to quantitatively review the multi-level antecedents (e.g., individual, relational, and structural/organizational) of different kinds of mentoring support (e.g., career, psychosocial, role modeling) in organizational settings and to revisit the theoretical underpinnings of each antecedent. Results indicated some key antecedents of mentoring support at individual (e.g., protégé's proactivity, protégé's learning goal orientation, mentor's transformational leadership), relational (e.g., affect based trust, perceived similarity), and structural/organizational levels (e.g., organizational support for mentoring, supervisory mentoring). Recommendations for future research and organizational practice of mentoring are presented.     

Relational accommodation in negotiation: Effects of egalitarianism and gender on economic efficiency and relational capital

Highly relational contexts can have costs as well as benefits. Researchers theorize that negotiating dyads in which both parties hold highly relational goals or views of themselves are prone to relational accommodation, a dynamic resulting in inefficient economic outcomes yet high levels of relational capital. Previous research has provided only indirect empirical support for this theory. The present study fills this gap by demonstrating the divergent effects of egalitarianism on economic efficiency and relational capital in negotiation. Dyads engaged in a simulated employment negotiation among strangers within a company that was described as either egalitarian or hierarchical. As hypothesized, dyads assigned to the egalitarian condition reached less efficient economic outcomes yet had higher relational capital than dyads assigned to the hierarchical condition. Negotiations occurring between females resulted in lower joint economic outcomes than negotiations occurring between males. Results are consistent with the theory of relational self-construal in negotiation.     

The mediating influence of role stressors in the relationship between mentoring and job attitudes

This study investigated the influence of two role stressors—role ambiguity and role conflict—on previously established relationships between mentoring activities—vocational support, psychosocial support, and role modeling—and prominent job attitudes. Full and partial mediation models were tested with a sample of 355 protégés. Results showed that both role conflict and role ambiguity completely mediated the relationships between psychosocial support and role modeling with job attitudes. There was also support for role conflict as a partial mediator of the relationship between vocational support and job attitudes. Additional analyses revealed that psychosocial support served as a suppressor-variable in this study. Implications for future research and mentoring practice are discussed.     

The effects of similarity and liking in formal relationships between mentors and protégés

A longitudinal study of mentoring dyads was used to investigate the antecedents and consequences of liking in formal mentoring relationships. Demographic and deep-level similarity were examined as antecedents to liking in mentoring relationships. Following this, the association between the degree of liking and reports of mentoring functions provided was examined. Mentors and protégés differed in the similarity characteristics that impacted their perceptions of the mentoring relationship. Results also indicated that mentors’ level of liking for protégés was not related to protégés’ perceptions of mentoring functions received. Longitudinal data allowed examination of whether early perceptions of similarity predict final evaluations of mentoring functions. Analyses indicate that relationships change over time, further emphasizing the need to examine developmental relationships longitudinally.     

A Two-way Street: Mentor Stress and Depression Influence Relational Satisfaction and Attachment in Youth Mentoring Relationships

Over the past two decades, youth mentoring programs have increased in popularity as an intervention for children exposed to a range of stressful life circumstances. Such programs have been shown to promote positive youth development and reduce risk for emotional and behavioral problems; yet, the effect size of youth gains remains small. The current study examined the influence of college student mentors’ history of early life stress and baseline depressive symptoms on their effectiveness in youth mentoring relationships using 340 randomized mentor–youth pairs from College Mentors for Kids, a well-established mentoring program with chapters across the United States. Hierarchical linear models revealed that mentors with higher levels of depressive symptoms reported lower relationship satisfaction and increased avoidance in the mentoring relationship. In contrast, mentors who experienced higher levels of early life stress had youth who reported greater satisfaction in the mentoring relationship and decreased relational anxiety. These findings are some of the first to examine the impact of mentor characteristics on mentor–youth relationships and highlight the importance of considering factors relevant to psychosocial functioning and emotional distress when recruiting, training, and supporting college student mentors.     

Self-Efficacy in Romantic Relationships: Prediction of Relationship Attitudes and Outcomes

ABSTRACT

Three studies examine discriminant and predictive validity of a self-report measure of self -efficacy in romantic relationships (Self-Efficacy in Romantic Relationships; SERR). Study 1 indicates SERR scores predict relationship anxiety and expectations of relationship success when general self-efficacy, self-esteem, social desirability, and efficacy beliefs about relating to specific relationship partners are considered. Study 2 indicates SERR scores predict later relationship satisfaction and commitment when relationship type and length are considered. Study 3 indicates that SERR scores predict later relationship outcomes when other self-efficacy indicators are considered. The SERR assesses broad feelings of relationship self-efficacy, independent of specific relationships or partners.     

授权赋能领导行为对员工内部人身份感知的影响:基于组织的自尊的调节作用

从组织投资的视角,研究授权赋能领导行为、内部人身份感知与组织公民行为之间的关系.通过问卷调查,搜集了一家企业146名主管和下属的配对数据.研究结果表明,领导授权赋能行为对员工内部人身份感知有积极的影响作用,同时,内部人身份感知在授权赋能领导行为和员工组织公民行为之间起到完全中介作用,同时,员工基于组织的自尊对内部人身份感知的中介效应起到调节作用.最后还讨论了未来的研究方向和实际应用的意义等内容.     

The Mentoring Relationship Challenges Scale: The impact of mentoring stage, type, and gender

The current study investigated the role of relational challenges as reported by 309 protégés in various stages and types of mentoring relationships. The Mentoring Relationship Challenges Scale (MRCS) was newly constructed using the results of an earlier qualitative study (Ensher & Murphy, 2005). The scale measured three factors of relational challenges which were: Demonstrating Commitment and Resilience, Measuring Up to a Mentor's Standards, and Career Goal and Risk Orientation. The results demonstrated that with respect to mentoring stages, those protégés in the beginning stages of their relationships reported experiencing significantly fewer challenges related to Demonstrating Commitment and Resilience than those in the mature or ending stages of the relationship. Also, it was found that the type of mentoring relationship (traditional, step-ahead, or peer) affected the prevalence of the three types of challenges. Protégés in peer relationships reported significantly fewer of all three types of challenges than those in step-ahead or traditional relationships. However, contrary to predictions, there were no significant differences found between those in informal versus those in formal mentoring relationships. As expected, protégé and mentor gender interacted significantly. Female protégés reported experiencing significantly fewer challenges related to the factor of Measuring Up to a Mentor's Standards, than did male protégés. Also, female protégés reported experiencing a significantly higher degree of relational challenges related to Career Goal and Risk Orientation from their male mentors than from their female mentors. Finally, after controlling for perceptions of career and psychosocial support for protégés in traditional mentoring relationships, two of the three relational challenges factors remained significant and explained a significant amount of variance in overall satisfaction with the mentoring relationship. This suggests that relational challenges, at least for traditional mentoring relationships, serve as an important mechanism to impact overall relationship satisfaction.     

Dimensionality of organizational commitment in volunteer workers: Chamber of commerce board members and role fulfillment

This study explores the multi-dimensionality of organizational commitment of volunteer chamber of commerce board members using the Meyer and Allen (1997) scale. The effect of organizational commitment on desirable board member roles is also tested. Theory is developed by uniting past research in both organizational commitment and employee motivation. A proposed scale is tested using Confirmatory Factor Analysis with data gathered from 616 respondents at 116 chambers of commerce in 36 states. Structural Equations Modeling is then used to examine the effects of organizational commitment on several critical roles the board member is hoped to perform. Unlike prior research using Meyer and Allen’s (1997) scale that focused on paid employees, our results indicate that normative, affective, and continuance commitment based on low alternatives are the three distinct constructs applicable to volunteer employees. Moreover, these components have a positive effect on board member’s roles.     

Gender, Race, and Perceived Similarity Effects in Developmental Relationships: The Moderating Role of Relationship Duration

The authors examine the doctoral student-faculty advisor dyad as a developmental relationship and investigate how gender, race, and perceived similarity are related to doctoral student perceptions of mentoring received. They hypothesized that the relationship of similarity with mentoring received would be moderated by duration of the relationship. Specifically, they expected that gender and race dissimilarity would lead to less mentoring early in the relationship but that such effects would dissipate later in the relationship. Furthermore, the authors predicted that perceived similarity, conceptualized as underlying similarity of attitudes, values, and beliefs, would be more strongly related to outcomes for longer duration versus shorter duration dyads. They found that, in general, duration of the relationship moderated the effects of gender similarity and perceived similarity on mentoring received, although the pattern of means was more complex than originally hypothesized.     

Multiple commitments in the Chinese context: Testing compatibility, cultural, and moderating hypotheses

This paper evaluates the contribution of the multiple constituencies of commitment framework in explaining work attitudes and behaviors in a sample of Chinese manufacturing workers. Findings suggest that the organization, the supervisor, and co-workers were seen by respondents as separate commitment foci. Although the various commitments were moderately positively correlated, they were related differently to the dimensions of organizational citizenship behavior and withdrawal cognitions, in a way which provides support for the “compatibility” hypothesis. There was only limited support for our “cultural” hypothesis. An analysis of interactions between commitments suggested that commitment to supervisor was a stronger positive predictor of protecting company resources and interpersonal harmony when commitment to work group was lower, providing partial support for our moderating hypotheses.     

The Moderating Role of Intergroup Contact in Race Composition,Perceived Similarity,and Applicant Attraction Relationships

Purpose

This study investigated the moderating effect of intergroup contact on the relationship between the race composition of organizational representatives, perceived similarity, and minority applicant attraction.

Design/Methodology/Approach

344 minority Malaysian-Chinese university students read a job advertisement that varied the racial composition of organizational representatives (100 % Malay or 50 % Malay–50 % Chinese or 100 % Chinese). Of these participants, 161 were Malaysian-Chinese in Malaysia (high intergroup contact location) and 183 were Malaysian-Chinese in Australia (low intergroup contact location). After reading the advertisement, participants responded to a series of scale items (e.g., perceived surface-level similarity, perceived deep-level similarity, and applicant attraction).

Findings

Results showed that the effect of race composition on attraction was stronger for minority participants in Australia than for minority participants in Malaysia. Perceived deep-level similarity mediated this moderated relationship.

Implications

The study findings suggest that organizations should include minority representatives in their recruitment advertising to attract minority applicants, particularly to attract minorities in locations with few opportunities for intergroup contact.

Originality/Value

By testing the mediating effects of perceived surface-level and deep-level similarity, this study contributes to our understanding of the mechanism linking the interaction between race composition and location with applicant attraction.

     

Exploring the Relationships Between Perceived Coworker Loafing and Counterproductive Work Behaviors: The Mediating Role of a Revenge Motive

Purpose  The purpose of this study is to explore the relationships between perceived coworker loafing and counterproductive work behaviors toward the organization (CWB-O) and toward the coworkers (CWB-I). Design/Methodology/Approach  Data were collected from 184 supervisor–employee pairs from multiple sources (i.e., self-rated and supervisor-rated). Structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses were conducted to test our hypotheses. Findings  The results of SEM showed that perceived loafing was positively related to CWB-O (self-rated) and CWB-I (self-rated and supervisor-rated). Moreover, a revenge motive toward the organization fully mediated the relationship between perceived loafing and CWB-O, whereas a revenge motive toward coworkers fully mediated the relationship between perceived loafing and CWB-I. Implications  This study advances our understanding as to how and why perceived coworker loafing increases employees’ CWB-I and CWB-O. Our investigation also highlights the important cognitive mediator: revenge motive in the perceived loafing–CWB linkage. Originality/Value  This is one of the first studies which examines the relationships between perceived coworker loafing and two facets of CWB, and investigates a cognitive mediator (i.e., a revenge motive) that underlines the perceived loafing–CWB linkage. In addition, we respond to Bennett and Robinson’s (J Appl Psychol 85:349–360, 2003) call to test the nomological network of CWB in a collectivist culture (i.e., Taiwan).