Individual Participation in Organizational Information Commons

This research extended earlier public goods research on individual incentives to use an organizational information commons that was based in Marwell and Oliver's (1993) collective action model. A revised theoretical model that incorporated team‐level social influence and technology‐specific competence was proposed. The model was tested using online survey data from 150 individuals in 13 work groups across 5 organizations. The research demonstrated that perceived team member behavior and technology‐specific competence were positively related to individual use of intranets, over and above the collective level influences modeled in earlier research. These findings supported a more “socialized” model of individuals' motivations to participate in organizational information sharing via collective repositories and suggested that management could boost levels of intranet usage through group level social influence and technology‐specific training.     

Physical violence at the workplace: Consequences on health and measures of prevention

Based on definitions and theoretical models of physical violence at the workplace, this paper presents scientific knowledge and working hypotheses regarding both, the causes and effects of physical violence on health, and pertinent preventive measures of intervention to be taken by enterprises. Four groups of determinants of violence are presented and discussed: determinants relative to the structure and the culture of the enterprise; the aggressor; the victim; and the socio-cultural environment. The theoretical model by Baron and Neumann [Public Admin Q 21 (1998) 446–64] is used to explain the complex origin of violent behavior at work based on these determinants. Moreover, the various and multiple consequences of a violent act are examined. In addition to the direct effects of such an act on the social, organizational and individual level, the indirect effects are also taken into consideration. In this analytical context, health problems are more particularly underlined, such as the psychological trauma suffered by victims of a violent act. Finally, two different areas of intervention will be distinguished: interventions on the physical environment and interventions on the level of company management or an organizational group which aims at changing the behavior of the members of the organization. Different scientific evaluations of action programs to reduce violent acts are presented. In conclusion, this paper calls for further research on physical violence in the workplace.     

Determinants of Smoking and Cessation Among Latinos: Challenges and Implications for Research

Tobacco is a significant burden to individual and public health, and disparities exist among Latino smokers with respect to use and cessation. Although the prevalence of smoking is lower for Latinos than for non‐Latino Whites and the general U.S. population, numerous health disparities exist within the population of Latino smokers. Much is known about determinants of smoking and cessation but the vast majority of this knowledge is based on research with non‐Latino White smokers. This results in at least two important challenges in tobacco research among Latino smokers: (i) demonstrating the generalizability of known determinants of smoking and cessation, and; (ii) identifying culturally relevant variables that influence smoking and cessation among Latinos. An argument for increased research in these areas is presented with a review of existing research among Latino smokers that demonstrates these needs. Research is summarized that suggests socioeconomic position, depressive symptomatology, physical dependence, and gender function differently as determinants of smoking and cessation among Latinos compared with the general population of smokers. Research is also reviewed that suggests the promise of acculturation, acculturative stress, and discrimination as culturally relevant determinants of smoking and cessation. Research and practice implications are discussed, and specific areas for future research are offered.     

INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AMONG EMPLOYEES,MANAGEMENT COMMUNICATION STYLE,AND EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION: REPLICATION AND EXTENSION

Portions of three previous studies relating individual differences in employee satisfaction and one study relating Management Communication Style (MCS) to employee satisfaction were replicated across four organizational contexts. Major findings were supportive of the generalizability of the results observed in the previous studies. The interface of superior-subordinate relations and their impact on employee satisfaction were examined through perceptions of employees with regard to the MCS of upper management and the task behaviors (supervision and administration) of their immediate superiors. Results were supportive of the MCS conceptualization and indicated that MCS of immediate superior and MCS of upper management had their primary impact on different dimensions of employee satisfaction. Perceptions of superiors' task behaviors were found to have different impact on employees satisfaction for different organizational contexts. Variability in employee satisfaction predictable from individual employee differences and that predictable from superior-subordinate interface were found to have little overlap. It is recommended that both the individual differences (trait) and superior-subordinate interface (situational) approaches to the study of communication in organizational contexts be continued since the two generate independent predictions of unique variance.     

Employee identification before and after an internal merger: A longitudinal analysis

Earlier studies have shown that perceived external prestige (PEP) and communication climate influence employees' overall organizational identification. This paper presents the results of a longitudinal study into the determinants of organizational identification at two organizational levels during an internal merger. Data were collected in a university where four divisions merged into two new divisions. Respondents filled out a questionnaire on organizational identification, PEP and communication climate 4 months before the merger (T1) and 2 years after the merger (T2). Results indicate that pre‐merger identification primarily influences post‐merger identification at the same organizational level. Furthermore, the determinants of employees' overall organizational identification differ from the determinants of employees' division identification. Internal communication climate is particularly important for employees' identification with their division. PEP affects employees' identification with the overall organization. Management implications are discussed for monitoring employee identification both in times of (internal) mergers and in general.     

Publication Bias: A call for improved meta‐analytic practice in the organizational sciences

Previous research has introduced the threat of publication bias to meta‐analytic reviews in management and industrial/organizational (I/O) psychology research. However, a comprehensive review of top‐tier journals demonstrates that more than two thirds of meta‐analytic studies in management and I/O psychology ignore the issue. Of the studies that do empirically evaluate publication bias, almost all use methods that are based on problematic assumptions (e.g., the Failsafe N and subgroup comparisons by source of data). The current paper reviews the issue of publication bias and introduces to management and I/O psychology new methodological techniques to assess this bias. To illustrate the methods, multiple publication bias methods are demonstrated in a meta‐analytic review of conditional reasoning tests for aggression. We offer specific recommendations that address both design and analysis issues to mitigate the existence and influence of publication bias.     

Levels of measurement and analysis issues in organizational citizenship behaviour research

The majority of work in organizational behaviour has been conducted at the individual level of theory, measurement and analysis. While the field of organizational behaviour may be viewed as largely mixed‐level, incorporating individual, group and organizational‐level phenomena, relatively few group‐level and mixed‐level theories with corresponding levels of research exist. This is particularly problematic for organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) research, since OCB is theorized to exist at multiple levels. Several individual‐level and group‐level antecedents affect OCB, but it is OCB in the aggregate (i.e. group and organizational level) which impacts organizational effectiveness, which is another organizational‐level phenomenon. A brief review of group‐level and mixed‐level research methodology is presented and these methods are then applied to a burgeoning area of organizational behaviour research, one which is inherently group and mixed‐level, organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB). Implications of the different levels of measurement and analysis for OCB theory development and testing are discussed.     

Call for Research on Bystander Intervention to Prevent Sexual Violence: The Role of Campus Environments

An important next step for the field is to determine what setting‐level factors beyond the individual are critical to fostering campus environments that support pro‐social, helpful bystander intervention action to prevent sexual violence. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to provide a research agenda to investigate key areas of the campus environment and their potential influence on bystander intervention. To create the research agenda, a number of steps were followed including: (1) systematically reviewing the larger bystander literature to identify key environmental areas, (2) assessing what research is available specific to college campuses and sexual assault in each of these areas, and (3) outlining future research to address each of these areas on college campuses and determine their applicability to sexual violence situations. Five main groups of factors were found to influence bystander intervention beyond the individual, group and situational levels, including: social norms, sense of community, pro‐social modeling, policies, and the physical environment. Certain areas of research on environmental influences on bystander intervention are more developed such as social norms, with little research on areas such as policies and the physical environment. However, further research is needed in each of the identified five areas to help identify how college campuses can support bystander intervention.     

Perspectives on Models of Job Performance

Contemporary models of job performance are reviewed. Links between task performance, contextual performance, organizational citizenship behaviors, counterproductivity and organizational deviance are pointed out. Measurement issues in constructing generic models applicable across jobs are discussed. Implications for human resource management in general, and performance appraisal for selection and assessment in particular, are explored. It is pointed out that the different dimensions or facets of individual job performance hypothesized in the literature are positively correlated. This positive manifold suggests the presence of a general factor which represents a common variance shared across all the dimensions or facets. Although no consensus exists in the extant literature on the meaning and source of this shared variance (i.e., the general factor), rater idiosyncratic halo alone does not explain this general factor. Future research should explain the common individual differences determinants of performance dimensions.     

成为自己的掌舵者：个体自我领导的多层次驱动机制

在信息化、数字化、智能化的新经济背景下, 自我领导对组织和个人都有更为积极的价值。然而, 已有的自我领导概念与研究局限于控制理论, 实证考察多限于单一层次, 且未能充分揭示自我领导的驱动机制。首先拓展自我领导的概念内涵, 并开发新的测量工具。在此基础上, 分别构建个体自我领导的跨层次驱动机制和多层次垂滴模型, 并尝试探究个体特征、领导因素、组织情境因素和工作特征等对于个体自我领导的影响。由此, 有望为自我领导提供更为丰富、准确、更新的内涵与测量, 深化个体自我领导形成的驱动机制及边界条件, 也有助于组织实践中有效激发自我领导。     

Work attitudes,career success and health: Evidence from China

Research on the determinants and implications of career success, and in particular on how they are related to health among Chinese workers is scarce. This research explores the impact and relevance of individual attitudes of trust and organizational citizenship behavior on objective and subjective career success, and their relevance to physical and mental health. Further, we explore the moderating role of a career system on the relationships between work attitudes and career success. Using a random sample of 10,372 people in China we used multi-level linear regression methodology to explore a mediation–moderation model based on organizational theories. We found support for the impact of organizational citizenship behaviors and trust, for both objective and subjective career success as mediators of mental and physical health, and for a career system as a moderator, with significant differences emerging between workers employed in the public and private sectors. The results are important as they shed light on the relationship between work and life attitudes on outcomes of high relevance at national level. The original contribution would be of interest to policy makers at both organizational and national level.     

Exploring the Nature of Interpersonal Influence in Elite Individual Sport Teams

The purpose of this study was to investigate teammate interpersonal influence in individual sport. Fourteen elite individual sport athletes (i.e., 6 mid- to long-distance runners, 6 cross country skiers, 1 mountain biker, and 1 wrestler) participated in semi-structured qualitative interviews exploring their sport experiences with teammates. Athletes suggested that teammates were a primary source of motivation, social facilitation, social comparisons, and teamwork. Athletes also described how concepts such as cohesion and competitiveness acted as determinants of interpersonal influence. Group experiences are influential for individual sport athletes, and the management of group processes is an important concern for coaches and practitioners.     

A dispositional approach to employability: Development of a measure and test of implications for employee reactions to organizational change

This study develops and validates a dispositional measure of employability (DME). Dispositional employability was defined as a constellation of individual differences that predispose individuals to (pro)active adaptability specific to work and careers. A dispositional approach to employability represents an alternative conceptualization to those previously found in the literature. Three independent studies were conducted to establish construct validity. Using exploratory factor analysis (Study 1) and confirmatory factor analysis (Study 2), a 25‐item DME instrument was confirmed. Study 2 supported the hypothesized second‐order latent multidimensional factor structure of the DME. Study 3 confirmed the stability of the DME and provided support for its construct validity by longitudinally showing that dispositional employability was significantly related to employees' positive emotions and affective commitment related to organizational changes. It was shown that these effects were above and beyond those found for tolerance for ambiguity, work locus of control, self‐esteem, and optimism. Implications for future organizational research and practice are discussed.     

The susceptibility of the Rorschach to malingering: a critical review

Empirical studies of malingering on the Rorschach are reviewed. Results from these studies are to this point inconsistent and inconclusive. Although several indices are related to malingering in individual studies, no specific malingering pattern has been found that replicates across studies. A methodological problem specific to this literature is discussed and future research designs are recommended.     

The Susceptibility of the Rorschach to Malingering: A Critical Review

Empirical studies of malingering on the Rorschach are reviewed. Results from these studies are to this point inconsistent and inconclusive. Although several indices are related to malingering in individual studies, no specific malingering pattern has been found that replicates across studies. A methodological problem specific to this literature is discussed and future research designs are recommended.     

The concept and status of trait in research on temperament

The aim of the paper is to show that research on temperament is inescapably bound with the concept of trait as applied in personality research. It is the individual differences approach on which temperament studies are based, and traits are the basic units by means of which these differences are described. Taking as a point of departure the definition of trait understood as a relatively stable and individual‐specific generalized tendency to behave or react in a certain way expressed in a variety of situations, the hypothetical status of temperament traits is discussed. Special attention is paid to states and behaviour by means of which temperament traits are inferred as well as to the biological and environmental determinants of these traits. Temperamental traits constitute only a part of the personality structure viewed from the perspective of individual differences and this perspective is only one of the many from which the complex nature of personality should be viewed. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of gender diversity management on perceptions of organizational attractiveness: the role of individual differences in attitudes and beliefs

In this study, the authors examined how individual gender-related attitudes and beliefs affect the reactions of men and women to gender diversity management programs in organizations. They found that whereas there were no significant between-sex differences in the effects of gender diversity management on organizational attractiveness, there were strong within-sex differences based on individual attitudes and beliefs. Specifically, within the sexes, centrality of one's gender identity, attitudes toward affirmative action for women, and the belief that women are discriminated against in the workplace moderated the effects of gender diversity management on organizational attractiveness. The findings, combined with prior research, suggest that it is critical for organizations to incorporate efforts to manage perceptions of gender diversity management programs into their diversity management strategies.     

Monitoring and Performance: A Comparison of Computer and Supervisor Monitoring1

This research addresses how computer monitoring affects the way individual workers perform on their jobs. The study tests the effects of a supervisor's physical versus electronic presence on individual worker performance. Forty-two women were hired to perform a simple data entry task. The women worked in one of three conditions: (a) alone, (b) in the physical presence of the supervisor who monitored their work, or (c) computer-monitored (electronic presence) by the data entry system without the physical presence of the supervisor. It was hypothesized that social facilitation effects would result from either the physical or electronic presence conditions. Electronic presence does seem to result in social facilitation, though the mean differences are not statistically significant. The results for physical presence are mixed. Profile analysis indicates that there are significant differences in the patterns of performance. When subjects work alone or with electronic presence, performance follows a steady pattern. When subjects work with physical presence, performance is somewhat lower than in the alone condition, except when the supervisor is actively monitoring, then individual performance is significantly increased. There are no satisfaction differences between the three conditions. The results of this research suggest that “Big Brother” is not lurking inside every computer-monitoring system.     

调节焦点理论:组织管理中的应用

根据调节焦点理论,人们在实现目标的过程中存在两种调节焦点:促进焦点驱动人们关注理想,防御焦点驱动人们避免失误。虽然调节焦点理论源自社会心理学,但近年来却越来越多地被用于解释组织现象,对管理研究产生了重要影响。在回顾调节焦点内涵的基础上,归纳了常见的操作化方法,梳理了调节焦点理论在组织管理研究中的应用,并提出未来研究的发展方向。     

Organizational Commitment in the Sales Force

Abstract

Research concerning the determinants of salesperson performance has emphasized expectancy theory. While results of such studies have added greatly to our understanding of sales force behavior, the expectancy theory approach has been questioned concerning its ability to explain consistency in behavior. A potential alternative explanation for behavioral consistency lies in the concept of organizational commitment. This paper explores organizational commitment in a sales setting, discussing research findings from other disciplines and providing a conceptual framework to help guide future research in sales management.