Managers’ Resources for Authentic Leadership – a Multi‐study Exploration of Positive Psychological Capacities and Ethical Organizational Climates

While authentic leadership is highly valued in today's business world, managers do not necessarily have the resources to attain it. Building on conservation of resources theory, we propose a conceptual model to address how personal and contextual resources predict authentic leadership. Study 1 analyses the day‐to‐day variability in managers’ positive psychological capacities as personal resources in relation to changes in authentic leadership. In addition, it tests ethical organizational climates as stable, contextual resources for authentic leadership. In Study 2, we replicate our results on the between‐person level and extend the research model by exploring promotion focus as a link in the relationship between personal resources and authentic leadership. Evidence from an experience sampling study with 89 managers surveyed daily on 10 consecutive working days (Study 1) and a field survey of 130 managers at two points in time (Study 2) supports the hypothesized role of personal resources and promotion focus for authentic leadership. In both studies, only principled but not benevolent ethical organizational climates emerged as a contextual resource for authentic leadership. We discuss the implications for current management research and practice.     

Towards better understanding and narrowing of the science–practice gap: A practitioner-centered approach to management knowledge creation

The lack of mutual communication and collaboration between academic research and management practice, and the limited implementation of the research findings in strategic and tactical decision-making in practice settings, known as the science-practice ‘gap’, remains an essential issue in management research. We challenge the primary focus on academics for the possibilities of bridging the gap by arguing that the picture remains incomplete without a closer look at the positions, perceptions, and attitudes of practicing managers toward the joint production of relevant management knowledge. Based on the inductive, grounded theory approach, we conducted a qualitative study of 47 practicing managers with different organizational and functional responsibilities across various industry sectors. Although practitioners perceived practice-engaged research design and execution, relevant management research, and benefits from complementary knowledge as enablers of fruitful science-practice collaboration, our emerging findings revealed limited trust, limited cognition, coping strategies, and heuristic information processing to be important barriers for practitioners that hamper the collaboration process. Relying on the cognitive and information processing framework and theory of the conservation of resources, we aimed to explain the antecedent of (un)successful collaboration on the practitioners' side, thus extending our understanding of the scholarship of integration.     

Structural impacts on the occurrence and effectiveness of transformational leadership: An empirical study at the organizational level of analysis

This article empirically investigates the role of organizational structure in the transformational leadership (TFL) process. We examine organizational centralization, formalization, and size as antecedents of an organization's TFL climate, and as moderators of the relationship between TFL climate and productive organizational energy (POE). Hypotheses are tested using a sample of 125 organizations. Results show that both the centralization and size of an organization are negatively related to its TFL climate, whereas formalization has a positive association. Further, while there is a positive linkage between TFL climate and POE, both centralization and formalization moderate this relationship. The TFL climate–POE linkage is diminished under conditions of high centralization, and it is enhanced under conditions of high formalization. These findings point to the role of organizational structure as a boundary condition for both the occurrence and the effectiveness of TFL in organizations. The paper concludes by acknowledging its limitations and discussing its implications for practice and research.     

Effects of leader intelligence,personality and emotional intelligence on transformational leadership and managerial performance

This study investigates the effects of intelligence, personality traits and emotional intelligence on transformational leadership and the effective performance of leaders in the organizational context. Data were collected from 134 midlevel managers from a large Brazilian company that operates in the energy sector. Our findings suggest that leadership effectiveness, as measured by the achievement of organizational outcomes, is a direct function of a leader's transformational behaviors, and is an indirect function of individual differences (experience, intelligence and conscientiousness) that work through transformational behaviors. A negative effect of neuroticism on leadership effectiveness was also observed. In addition, while emotional intelligence seemed to be statistically related to transformational leadership if considered in isolation, when ability and personality were controlled for, the effect became non-significant. We discuss implications for theory, research and practice.     

Bridging the awful gap between strategy and action

This article describes the lessons learned from a study carried out within British Telecommunications as part of the author's doctoral research programme. It was found that strategy was formulated and implemented, with direct action taken and resources commited, by Divisional managers at all three organizational levels in BT so that implementation did not always follow the lines intended by the HQ strategic planners. Implementation was found to be an interactive rather than a rational/sequential process. Marked variations in practice were observed and explanations for these are offered. The relative success of the strategies differed widely, both overall and within the divisional field units. The manner of implementation and factors managers perceived to help and hinder it were studied. Success or failure was felt to hinge on getting a few basics right: resources, organizational ‘fit’, historical performance and the expectations it generated (track record), information and support, market acceptance, technical competence, consistent goals and top management support.     

A Step in the Right Direction? Investors in People and the Learning Organization

Investors in People (IiP), the state‐sponsored workplace training initiative, has been interpreted as a tool which managers can apply towards developing a learning organization. In this paper we seek to evaluate the validity of this claim on the basis of a qualitative study of six case‐study organizations which explores the social and micro‐political aspects of IiP from the viewpoints of senior managers, personnel and line managers and employees involved with the standard. We suggest that implementation of IiP involves negotiating a central paradox – the tension between the hard, content‐focused nature of the IiP framework and the softer, process‐focused nature of much workplace learning. In particular, the administrative aspects of implementation associated with the standard can obscure the social processes of sense‐making and collective negotiation of meaning, which are integral aspects of organizational learning. This can lead to an objectification of learning and may not allow for the participatory negotiation of meaning crucial to forming a community of practice. IiP continues to form a central part of the British government’s workplace learning agenda and it is now also being developed as an international standard. We conclude, however, that this institutionalization of practice has the potential to inhibit organizational learning.     

Organizational transformation: Handling the double-edged sword of urgency

A central idea in organizational research and practice is that change efforts demand a sense of urgency. It is also commonly accepted that renewal beyond incremental improvements demand individuals and teams to have what earlier research has called a “promotion focus”—to think innovatively, see opportunities, and think long term. Urgency, however, leads to a “prevention focus,” with which teams and their members are more inclined to seek incremental improvements and error reduction. Hence, urgency seems to both support change and prevent it. Earlier research has not established the conditions under which urgency may lead to creative and productive outcomes. This paper aims to do so. In a study of seven change initiatives at a large media company undergoing a serious crisis, we found that urgency cues could be productively handled by managers and project team members when they addressed three core relationships: (a) the success-failure relationship, (b) the safety-accountability relationship, and (c) the operative-strategic relationship. We make three related theoretical propositions regarding the role of urgency in innovation-driven change and transformation.     

The Identity‐Matching Principle: Corporate and Organizational Identification in a Franchising System*

This paper examines corporate and organizational identification in franchisee organizations from the perspective of the social identity approach. We propose the identity‐matching principle (IMP) as a heuristic for understanding and predicting the different effects of nested identifications. According to the IMP, when identifications and relevant behavioural or attitudinal outcomes address the same level of categorization, their relationship will be stronger. A study is presented with employees (n=281) matched to managers (n=101). Supporting the IMP, organizational identification (but not corporate identification) predicted customer‐oriented behaviour on the level of the local organization, whereas corporate identification (but not organizational identification) predicted attitude toward corporate citizenship behaviour. Furthermore, multilevel analyses showed that these relationships were enhanced in organizations where managers displayed the respective behaviours themselves to a greater extent. Implications for theorizing about leadership and organizational attachments are discussed alongside recommendations for organizational practitioners.     

Motivating talents in Thai and Malaysian service firms

Talent development in Thailand and Malaysian service firms has become a prioritized human resource management practice as these societies move toward knowledge-based economies. This paper discusses talent management in the social, organizational and managerial context of firms in Thailand and Malaysia, and argues that such structures often counterbalance investments made in talent development. The paper concludes that new human resource management practices do not produce a difference per se. It is the mindset and attitude of various managers that makes the difference. The learning for practitioners is that they need to adapt existing social and organizational structures to their new human resource management practices. The paper is based mainly on qualitative interviews with human resource managers from Thai and Malaysian service firms.     

Setting the stage for effective leadership: Antecedents of transformational leadership behavior

Although transformational leadership behavior (TLB) has been linked to a number of positive organizational outcomes, research regarding the antecedents of such behavior is limited. Guided by Ajzen and Fishbein's theory of reasoned action [Psychological Bulletin 84 (1977) 888], we investigated two potentially relevant antecedents to performing TLB: cynicism about organizational change (CAOC) and the leader's social context—specifically peer leadership behavior. We hypothesized that CAOC would negatively predict TLB, while peer leadership behavior would positively predict TLB. Further, we expected that peer leadership behavior would have a positive moderating effect on leader CAOC. Data were gathered from 227 managers from multiple organizations and their 2247 subordinates. Findings supported the proposed hypotheses. Cynicism and peer leadership behavior explained nearly one quarter (24%) of the variance in TLB. Further, it appears that both CAOC and TLB may be malleable in organizational contexts. Implications for leadership research and practice are discussed.     

Factors impacting the knowing-doing gap in sexual harassment training

We examined the gaps between research-based sexual harassment training practices human resource (HR) managers believe their organization should use and the practices their organizations actually use (knowing-doing gaps). We studied individual (attitudes about academics) and organizational predictors (senior management support, managerial rewards, and organizational resources) of gaps at the pre-training, training design and delivery, and post-training stages. Organizational factors generally reduced gaps at the pre-training and post-training stages, while the individual factor marginally increased the gap at the pre-training stage. The knowing-doing gap for training design and delivery practices was not predicted by any of the individual or organizational variables.     

The future of grand challenges research: Retiring a hopeful concept and endorsing research principles

Editorial notes in leading management journals have urged scholars to address Grand Challenges (GC) as an opportunity for producing knowledge that matters for society. This review explores whether current conceptualizations of GC support a productive path for management and organizational scholarship by guiding empirical inquiry, facilitating cumulative theory development, and informing practice. We systematically examine scholarly articles, calls for papers, and editorial notes published in management journals for consistency in how researchers use and define the concept of GC and the scope of associated phenomena and attributes. We find three prominent conceptual architectures in use: discursive, family resemblance, and phenomenon driven. The variety and incoherence of current uses of the GC concept and the lack of efforts to improve its analytical competence lead us to suggest its retirement. Instead, we propose building on the enthusiasm around GC research and using GC as a term to define research principles that collectively help align research efforts and improve theoretical development and practice. The principles we propose capture a genuine origin story for management research on GC.     

Transferring lean knowledge within multinational networks

Abstract

Transferring lean knowledge is crucial for multinational companies; however, it is very difficult. Nevertheless, our knowledge in the area is limited. This paper investigates (a) how lean knowledge is transferred within multinational networks and (b) the type of organizational context that supports it. We use four case studies with 18 interviews in our exploratory study. Our results indicate that companies use a sophisticated knowledge transfer system with a fine web of practices that serve to transfer both explicit and tacit knowledge. The revealed organizational contexts show different patterns of division of labour (and responsibilities) between a central lean office and the particular subsidiary’s lean office. Our findings highlight the importance of transfer coalition, which consists of the cooperation of lean experts and top management during the knowledge transfer process. Top managers play a key role with their weak inter-unit ties, and they provide guidance for lean efforts and allocate sufficient resources to them. Further findings show that the evolution of lean transitions is not linear, and each of our case companies has witnessed turnaround during their journey.     

Imprinting: Toward a Multilevel Theory

The concept of imprinting has attracted considerable interest in numerous fields—including organizational ecology, institutional theory, network analysis, and career research—and has been applied at several levels of analysis, from the industry to the individual. This article offers a critical review of this rich yet disparate literature and guides research toward a multilevel theory of imprinting. We start with a definition that captures the general features of imprinting across levels of analysis but is precise enough to remain distinct from seemingly similar concepts, such as path dependence and cohort effects. We then provide a framework to order and unite the splintered field of imprinting research at different levels of analysis. In doing so, we identify economic, technological, institutional, and individual influences that lead to imprints at the level of (a) organizational collectives, (b) single organizations, (c) organizational building blocks, and (d) individuals. Building on this framework, we develop a general model that points to major avenues for future research and charts new directions toward a multilevel theory of imprinting. This theory provides a distinct lens for organizational research that takes history seriously.     

7 Getting There from Here: Research on the Effects of Work–Family Initiatives on Work–Family Conflict and Business Outcomes

Abstract

Many employing organizations have adopted work–family policies, programs, and benefits. Yet managers in employing organizations simply do not know what organizational initiatives actually reduce work–family conflict and how these changes are likely to impact employees and the organization. We examine scholarship that addresses two broad questions: first, do work–family initiatives reduce employees’ work–family conflict and/or improve work–family enrichment? Second, does reduced work–family conflict improve employees’ work outcomes and, especially, business outcomes at the organizational level? We review over 150 peer‐reviewed studies from a number of disciplines in order to summarize this rich literature and identify promising avenues for research and conceptualization. We propose a research agenda based on four primary conclusions: the need for more multi‐level research, the necessity of an interdisciplinary approach, the benefits of longitudinal studies that employ quasi‐experimental or experimental designs and the challenges of translating research into practice in effective ways.     

Social responsibility goal perception

The intent of this study is to distinguish areas of difference in the perception of organizational goals among managers, hourly workers, and graduate business students. The managers were chosen to represent the present point of view of management, while the hourly workers were selected to be indicative of labor's viewpoint toward the goal selection of organizations. Students were chosen because they represent the potential transfusion into management. The tool used to solicit these responses was a questionnaire composed of twenty questions, with each question divided into two parts. The first part examined the way the individual perceived the achievement level of the organization (‘is’), and the other half represented the level that the individual aspired for the organization to achieve in the future (‘should be’). These two parts were quantified using a Likert scale ranging from 1 (of no importance) to 5 (of extremely high importance). The results indicate the similarities and differences between each of these three groups in terms of present perceptions and future expectations of these goals.     

Refining the Concept of Political Will: A Gender Perspective

While politics are known to be prevalent at managerial levels, there is currently little insight into what drives managers to engage in organizational politics and whether there are gender differences in this respect. In the current study we explore the concept of political will by using a qualitative approach based on 14 semi‐structured interviews with managers (five men and nine women) in a global semiconductor company. We identify key dimensions of managerial political will consisting of three attitudinal ambivalences: functional, ethical and emotional. We also examine gender differences along these dimensions and discuss managers' political will in the context of a masculine organizational setting. We conclude by discussing the theoretical and practical implications of the findings and further research directions.     

Corporate Citizenship and Managerial Motivation: Implications for Business Legitimacy

In 2000, Business and Society Review published a Special Issue of the journal to explore scholars’ ideas about how the practice of corporate citizenship would evolve in the 21st century. Contributors to the volume predicted a change in business motives for engaging in social initiatives, suggesting that managers would begin to see corporate citizenship as a strategic necessity to preserve organizational legitimacy in the face of changing social values. This article uses data from a study of corporate citizenship practices in over 500 Norwegian companies to explore the validity of the Special Issue predictions. We begin by reviewing the foundations of organizational legitimacy theory and examine recent research documenting the growing importance of corporate citizenship for assessments of business legitimacy. We describe our study methods, present our results, and discuss the implications of our findings in this context.