The Journal of applied psychology
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Although considerable research demonstrates that employees are unlikely to be proactive when they view their supervisors as discouraging this type of behavior, we challenge the assumption that this is true for all employees. Drawing on motivated information processing theory, we argue that prosocial motivation can spark employees to be proactive even when supervisors are perceived as discouraging. ⋯ We test our hypotheses across three studies, using multisource data from employees and supervisors in two organizations (Studies 1a and 1b), and lagged data from employees working in a range of industries (Study 2). By identifying the mechanisms driving prosocially motivated employees to be proactive despite having supervisors who are perceived to be discouraging, we offer novel theoretical and practical insights regarding the effects of context on proactivity at work. (PsycINFO Database Record
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Hierarchy has the potential to both benefit and harm team effectiveness. In this article, we meta-analytically investigate different explanations for why and when hierarchy helps or hurts team effectiveness, drawing on results from 54 prior studies (N = 13,914 teams). ⋯ The predictions regarding the positive effect of hierarchy on team performance as mediated by coordination-enabling processes, and the moderating roles of several aspects of team tasks (i.e., interdependence, complexity) and the hierarchy (i.e., form) were not supported, with the exception that task ambiguity enhanced the positive effects of hierarchy. Given that our findings largely support dysfunctional views on hierarchy, future research is needed to understand when and why hierarchy may be more likely to live up to its purported functional benefits. (PsycINFO Database Record
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We investigate forgiveness as a human service employee coping response to client-instigated victimizations and further explore the role of workgroup conflict in (a) facilitating this response, and (b) influencing the relationship between victimization and workplace outcomes. Using the theoretical lens of Conservation of Resources (Hobfoll, 1989), we propose that employees forgive clients-especially in the context of low workgroup conflict. ⋯ Extending this model to workplace outcomes, findings also demonstrate that the indirect effects of victimization on job satisfaction, burnout, and turnover intentions are mediated by forgiveness when workgroup conflict is low. Experiment- and field-based studies provide evidence for the theoretical model. (PsycINFO Database Record
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Leaders often influence whether an employee stays or quits and yet research in collective turnover, or turnover at the work-unit level, has neglected leadership as a key antecedent. In the current study we examine how the quality of leader-member relationships within a group (i.e., leader-member exchange, LMX) influences building a shared mindset of collective organizational commitment and ultimately influences collective turnover. We build on a key tenet of LMX theory that leaders form differentiated relationships with followers and propose that not all LMX differentiation is the same and therefore, researchers must take into account the configuration, or mix of high and low LMX relationships, within a group. ⋯ We find 5 configurations of LMX relationships, including a bimodal, solo-status low LMX, solo-status high LMX, and 2 fragmented configurations. As hypothesized, LMX differentiation positively relates to collective organizational commitment and negatively relates to collective turnover in a solo-status low LMX configuration and a fragmented LMX configuration, and negatively relates to collective organizational commitment and positively relates to collective turnover in a bimodal configuration. Theoretical implications and future research directions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record
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By integrating the fundamental principles of the theory of purposeful work behavior (TPWB; Barrick, Mount, & Li, 2013) with cognitive-affective personality system (CAPS) theory (Mischel, 1977; Mischel & Shoda, 1995), we examine how and when salespeople's job-relevant personality traits relate to their performance. We argue that individuals with personality traits that fit outdoor sales jobs (i.e., conscientious, extraversion, openness to experience) will perceive their work as more meaningful and as a result achieve heightened performance. ⋯ Specifically, the conditional indirect effects of conscientiousness or openness on performance through perceived meaningfulness are more positive under low, rather than high, levels of transformational leadership. Implications for research and practice are discussed along with study limitations and future research directions. (PsycINFO Database Record