Are facilitated mentoring programs beneficial? A randomized experimental field study

Results from a pretest–posttest randomized field experiment study with a control group comparing the impact of high- and low-level-facilitated mentoring programs on new employees’ performance and perceptions about their jobs and organization were reported in this paper. Results indicated increases in job satisfaction, organizational commitment, person-organization fit and performance by participants in both mentoring programs with larger gains made by the high-level-facilitated group. These results suggest that a formal mentoring program can have positive effects on employee’s work-related attitudes, cognition and behavior with significantly greater gains made by formal mentoring programs with higher levels of facilitation.     

Authenticity at Work: A Matter of Fit?

Authenticity at work refers to the extent to which a worker feels in touch with their true self while at work. At first sight this concept seems to overlap with the concept of person-environment (P-E) fit, that is, the degree to which an individual experiences good fit with their work environment. Drawing on a sample of 867 Dutch gifted workers, structural equation modeling was used to investigate (i) whether authenticity at work and P-E fit can be distinguished, and (ii) how authenticity at work and P-E fit were associated with employee well-being. As expected, confirmatory factor analysis revealed that authenticity at work and P-E fit were distinct from each other. Moreover, the mediated effect of authenticity at work was stronger for two negative forms of well-being (burnout and boredom) than for two positive forms of well-being (work engagement and job satisfaction). The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed, especially focusing on the distinction between authenticity and P-E fit.     

The moderating role of interviewer's regulatory focus in the effectiveness of impression management tactics: Regulatory fit as a source of subjective value

Based on the recently explored regulatory fit effect in social contexts, the present research is the first to investigate the interaction between interviewer's regulatory focus and interviewee's impression management (IM) tactics. We hypothesized that assertive and defensive IM tactics would fit with interviewer's promotion and prevention focus, respectively, and that interviewer's experience of this regulatory fit would lead to enhanced interview evaluation. We conducted four studies in which the participants were asked to rate an interviewee after reading a list of the interviewee's IM-related behaviours or watching a videotaped interview. Additionally, the participant's regulatory focus was operationalized as both an induced situational state and a measured chronic trait. The results supported our hypotheses by showing a significant interaction of the interviewer's regulatory focus and the IM tactics on interview evaluation: the promotion-assertive and the prevention-defensive ratings were more positive than the prevention-assertive and the promotion-defensive ratings. Moreover, mediation analysis revealed that the interaction exerts its effects on interview evaluation by providing interviewers with an intrapersonal regulatory fit experience.     

Some Suggestions for Mapping Organizational Members’ Sense of Fit

Despite its importance in the organizational behavior literature, person–organization (P–O) fit remains an elusive construct. One reason for this is the lack of research about organizational members own sense of their P–O fit. In this paper we discuss the criteria required of suitable research tools to explore this domain. Drawing on arguments from the cognition literature, we argue that storytelling and causal mapping techniques are suitable for exploring organizational members sense of fit. We conclude with a short example of the method in action and a discussion of some of the practical issues that researchers will face.     

Model Fit and Item Factor Analysis: Overfactoring,Underfactoring, and a Program to Guide Interpretation

In exploratory item factor analysis (IFA), researchers may use model fit statistics and commonly invoked fit thresholds to help determine the dimensionality of an assessment. However, these indices and thresholds may mislead as they were developed in a confirmatory framework for models with continuous, not categorical, indicators. The present study used Monte Carlo simulation methods to investigate the ability of popular model fit statistics (chi-square, root mean square error of approximation, the comparative fit index, and the Tucker–Lewis index) and their standard cutoff values to detect the optimal number of latent dimensions underlying sets of dichotomous items. Models were fit to data generated from three-factor population structures that varied in factor loading magnitude, factor intercorrelation magnitude, number of indicators, and whether cross loadings or minor factors were included. The effectiveness of the thresholds varied across fit statistics, and was conditional on many features of the underlying model. Together, results suggest that conventional fit thresholds offer questionable utility in the context of IFA.     

Dress fit and body image: A thematic analysis of women's accounts during and after trying on dresses

This study was designed to investigate women's experiences of dress fit and body image. Spontaneous speech of 20 women aged 18–45 years was audio-recorded while they tried on a number of dresses. They were also body-scanned and photographed in their chosen dress and discussed both the scan and the photograph in semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis and four key themes were found: the slim hourglass ideal, functional aspects of clothes fit, body confidence and clothes fit, and clothes dimensions and size coding. All themes and component sub-themes were ratified in follow-up sessions six months after the original interviews. It was concluded that these women had a complicated relationship with clothes fit and sizing and used well-fitting clothes to increase body confidence, cover perceived flaws, and to try to attain a slender hourglass look. Ideas for future directions for research in these areas are discussed.     

Regulatory fit at work: gravitational effects and associations with employee well-being

ABSTRACT

Using a task approach, this study examined the extent to which employee regulatory focus would “gravitate” employees towards promotion- versus prevention-oriented tasks within their jobs, and whether a subsequent regulatory fit/misfit would be associated with their well-being (i.e., mental health and job satisfaction). In a pre-study among 37 employees, we determined the regulatory focus of work tasks from the Netherlands Skill Survey, which are relevant to the general working population, resulting in a selection of 7 promotion and 11 prevention tasks. For our main study, we used the Dutch Longitudinal Internet Studies for the Social Sciences (LISS) panel and collected data from 1,606 respondents. In 2011, we collected respondents’ regulatory focus and in 2012, we collected their work tasks and well-being. Promotion-oriented employees considered both promotion and prevention tasks to be highly relevant in their jobs, and this relevance was associated with their mental health. Prevention-oriented employees, however, did not respond to the relevance of promotion or prevention tasks and generally reported lower well-being, irrespective of the regulatory focus of their tasks. We tentatively conclude that promotion focus gravitates employees towards job with a richer task content, containing both promotion and prevention tasks.     

Regulatory focus and the family–work interface: The role of regulatory fit between cohabiting partners

The aim of the present study was to examine the impact of regulatory focus in goal pursuit and regulatory fit between marital partners on family conditions and the family–work interface. We hypothesized that when both partners are high on promotion focus (fit) they experience higher developmental possibilities at home and have an increased likelihood of family-to-work facilitation (FWF). In addition, we hypothesized that when both partners are prevention focused (fit) they experience less home demands and less family-to-work conflict (FWC). In total, 131 working couples participated in the study. Each partner provided information about his/her own regulatory focus, perceptions of home demands and home developmental possibilities, and experienced FWF and FWC. Results of moderated structural equation modelling analyses largely supported our hypotheses since the interaction between partners’ promotion focus predicted the levels of home developmental possibilities and FWF, whereas the interaction between partners’ prevention focus predicted home demands in the expected direction. In conclusion, the fit between partners’ self regulatory styles can influence family life and, consequently, the impact of family on work.     

Influencing the salesforce through perceived ethical leadership: the role of salesforce socialization and person–organization fit on salesperson ethics and performance

With today's emphasis on building strong customer relationships in the business-to-business sales environment, appropriate leadership is necessary to instill ethical and provide the proper guidance among employees to ensure ethical decision-making and improve sales performance. This research examines the role of perceived ethical leadership as it relates to both formal and informal marketing control mechanisms (i.e. salesforce socialization) that influence person–organization fit, and how this fit relates to salesperson unethical intent and performance. Results from a study of 408 business-to-business salespeople suggest that perceived ethical leadership both directly, and indirectly via salesforce socialization, affects salesperson ethical values person–organization fit, which in turn affects salesperson performance. Based on these findings, both theoretical and managerial implications are provided, as well as directions for future research.