Innovation with field experiments: Studying organizational behaviors in actual organizations

Organizational scholarship centers on understanding organizational context, usually captured through field studies, as well as determining causality, typically with laboratory experiments. We argue that field experiments can bridge these approaches, bringing causality to field research and developing organizational theory in novel ways. We present a taxonomy that proposes when to use an audit field experiment (AFE), procedural field experiment (PFE) or innovation field experiment (IFE) in organizational research and argue that field experiments are more feasible than ever before. With advances in technology, behavioral data has become more available and randomized changes are easier to implement, allowing field experiments to more easily create value—and impact—for scholars and organizations alike.     

Innovation through initiatives—a framework for building new capabilities in public sector research organizations

The accelerating pace of change in science and technology has resulted in new attention to the process of identifying and developing ideas that ultimately lead to new scientific capabilities and business opportunities for an organization. The need to refresh research programs and capabilities is as important in federally funded research institutions as it is for industry. This paper explores the critical success factors for new initiatives at a federal laboratory, and building on lessons learned through this study and in private industry, identifies a more systematic process that could potentially improve the effectiveness of these initiatives in achieving results.     

Generations in organizations

Despite a rich tradition of scholarship across many disciplines, organizational research on the topic of generations has been relatively scarce. In this article we develop a framework for studying generations in organizations that draws on multiple conceptualizations across multiple disciplines. Our framework distills two distinct critical elements that give ‘generations’ agency in organizational settings – chronology (the idea that a unique location in time creates a ‘generation’) and genealogy (the idea that generations are linked through the transmission/descent of ideas/values/skills/knowledge). After an historic overview of the evolution of the topic of generations, we review generational research across the fields of political sociology, family sociology, psychology, social anthropology, cultural sociology, demography, and gerontology. Our framework elucidates how linkages between generations, based on chronology and genealogy, can be characterized in organizations and how the nature of intergenerational contact and transfer predicts a wide range of organizational outcomes such as change/innovation, conflict, turnover, and socialization. We outline the implications of this framework for future research on generations in organizations.     

Implicit affect in organizations

Our goal is to integrate the construct of implicit affect—affective processes activated or processed outside of conscious awareness that influence ongoing thought, behavior, and conscious emotional experience—into the field of organizational behavior. We begin by offering a definition and review of implicit processes, including implicit cognition, motivation and affect. We then draw upon recent empirical research in psychology and neuroscience to make the case for a three category framework of implicit affect: (1) implicit sources of affect (2) implicit experiencing of affect and (3) implicit regulation of affect. To demonstrate the use of this framework in organizational scholarship, we present illustrative examples from organizational behavior research that represent each category. Given the limited amount of research in the organizational domain, we focus on demonstrating how an implicit affect perspective might alter or extend theoretical perspectives about a variety of organizational phenomena. We then discuss methodological options and challenges for studying implicit affect within the organizational domain. In sum, we provide a theoretical and methodological roadmap as well as a call for action for understanding the role of implicit affective processes in organizational behavior.     

Unjust punishment in organizations

What causes leaders to punish subordinates unjustly? And why might leaders keep punishing subordinates unjustly, even when this increases workplace misconduct? In the current paper we address these questions by suggesting that power and status cause leaders to punish unjustly. We review evidence on the effects of power and status on punishment, review how unjust punishments foster misconduct, and highlight how this creates a self-perpetuating feedback loop—leaders are more likely to punish in an unjust manner when subordinates engage in misconduct, but subordinates’ misconduct is partly caused by unjust punishments. We also discuss how leader-subordinate distrust may be at the heart of this phenomenon and how organizations may counteract unjust punishments. We draw attention to research areas that have received little attention and draw up an agenda for future research. Taken together, we integrate the literatures on power, status, punishment and trust, review evidence on when unjust punishments become perpetuating, challenge research suggesting that leaders are cautious when punishing, and guide future research on the topic of punishment in organizations.     

Research on innovation in organizations: Distinguishing innovation-generating from innovation-adopting organizations

Research on innovation in organizations has generally examined the differences in the characteristics of innovative and non-innovative organizations, an endeavor that has often produced inconsistent results. In this paper, we propose that future research may resolve those inconsistencies by incorporating in the theory the differences between organizations that mostly generate innovations and those that mostly adopt innovations. We refer to the former, which are primarily producers or suppliers of innovation, as innovation-generating organizations, and to the latter, which are preponderantly users of innovations produced by innovation-generating organizations, as innovation-adopting organizations. Building on the notion that the processes of generating and adopting innovation are distinct phenomena that are facilitated by different organizational conditions, we discuss how the distinction between innovation-generating and innovation-adopting organizations would contribute to clarifying several inconsistent research findings, such as the relationship between innovation and size, the role of innovation radicalness, and the selection of appropriate measures of innovation.     

Leadership in complex organizations

This paper asks how complexity theory informs the role of leadership in organizations. Complexity theory is a science of complexly interacting systems; it explores the nature of interaction and adaptation in such systems and how they influence such things as emergence, innovation, and fitness. We argue that complexity theory focuses leadership efforts on behaviors that enable organizational effectiveness, as opposed to determining or guiding effectiveness. Complexity science broadens conceptualizations of leadership from perspectives that are heavily invested in psychology and social psychology (e.g., human relations models) to include processes for managing dynamic systems and interconnectivity. We develop a definition of organizational complexity and apply it to leadership science, discuss strategies for enabling complexity and effectiveness, and delve into the relationship between complexity theory and other currently important leadership theories. The paper concludes with a discussion of possible implications for research strategies in the social sciences.     

HRD and specialists in organizations

This paper describes the issues for HRD arising from research into the role of government statistical staff in the British and Canadian public policy processes. It identifies the influences of strategy, structure and location on that role, the barriers to increasing the policy impact of the statistical staff, and the training and development implications of staff needing to deliver more with fewer resources. The paper finishes by outlining how the findings raise general HRD issues for organizations employing specialist groups.     

Management of conflict in organizations

Effective communication is the fundamental principle for managing organizations. Building effective communication should begin with improvements at the lowest level, one-to-one. Conflict in an organization is an indication of the most basic communication failure. Failure to talk with someone. Failure to notify someone of something before it becomes public. Failure to involve someone in a problem-solving process.     

Aggregate planning in decentralized organizations

This paper deals with aggregate planning problems in decentralized organizations, i.e. organizations where the suborganizations have a fair amount of autonomy in control because information load, uncertainty and fast changing circumstances limit the possibilities of centralized control. The functions of aggregate planning, its place in the overall control structure of the company and the control variables involved are discussed and subsequently the additional complications of a decentralized setting. As a typical example of aggregate planning problems in a network of semi-autonomous organizations the so-called ‘internal business cycle’ is discussed: due to this phenomenon the network is not able to follow smoothly its final demand but moves from shortages in one period to surplusses in another. The causes, various positive feedback mechanisms through variations in the buffers between the units, are analyzed and illustrated with a simple simulation model. The paper concludes with a discussion on the use of aggregate planning to improve the control of the network and to dampen this internal business cycle.     

Investigating modular organizations

This paper explores a new organizational form—modular organization—through a case-study approach. The aim is to isolate the specific properties that set this form apart from other known organizational forms. The case studies examined focus on the manufacturing process of small, medium and large companies in different industries, and provide a clear picture of modular organization. The analysis shows that modular organizations are an innovation per se and not the mere outcome of modular products. Modular organizations leverage decomposition by employing small units within a larger organization. Each unit is responsible for a specific domain, it is quasi-independent and makes autonomous decisions on various business issues. Modular organizations deal with suppliers directly, and are characterized by a flat structure. Companies based on modular organization can improve their efficiency in the high-tech and mature markets, and fully exploit their resources.

Medical practice in large-scale organizations.

The traditional role of the physician as the principle resource allocator in the health care system is rapidly giving way to a shared decision-making. As more and more physicians practice in large organizational settings, an adversarial relationship is developing that affects both the quality of care and the efficiency of medical practice.     

Human resource development in small organizations

This article draws upon case-study research into human resource development (HRD) within three small organizations in the north west of England. It positions the case-study work within an overall framework of doctoral research and summarizes the research design; discusses the characteristics and values of small organizations and how they influence HRD policies and practices: presents findings and conclusions about HRD in the case-study organizations, focusing in particular upon one case in the voluntary sector; compares and contrasts the different models of HRD in the three cases; and concludes with some suggestions for further research.     

组织结构的立体多核网络模型

对立体多核网络模型进行了新的阐释,将原来的概念模型向操作层次推进了一步,该模 型是将组织作为一个由相互作用的元素构成的、动态的复杂系统来考虑的,它高度概括了组织 结构的包括关系多样性、要素多样性、动态特性和层次交错性等方面在内的复杂性和网络中节 点的异质性和差异性,是为研究复杂组织而进行仿真设计的前期建模工作. 从要素的多样性和 关系的多样性出发,初步勾画出立体多核网络的图论描述框架,对以后的仿真设计和计算机编 程提出了粗略的设想. 最后用一个学术群体的网络研究案例对立体多核网络模型在组织行为 宏观处理方面的优点进行了示例性的说明.     

Seeing systems in health care organizations

"Systems" in health care organizations are difficult to visualize and understand by people across the organization. Systems exist as behaviors that have reasons and consequences rather than strict, linear cause and effect relationships. Learn how to sketch and see the systems at work in health care, and how to change them to help end the blame game.     

Narrative, organizations and research

Given the rapid expansion of narrative approaches in management and organization theory in recent years, this paper investigates the contribution of this literature to the understanding of organizations and processes of organizing. The paper tells the story of the development of narrative approaches in organizational theory. Narrative's contribution to substantive areas of organization theory is evaluated. These developments are then reviewed in relation to an ongoing tension between story and science. We conclude by contemplating some of the criticisms, and the future, of narrative research.     

A model of goal dynamics in technology-based organizations

The purpose of the present work is to build a suitable system dynamics model for goal dynamics in organizations, as proposed by Barlas and Yasarcan (2008). The proposed model does not bear any ambition of being exhaustive: the main objective of this paper is to propose a model of goal dynamics in which Goal Setting, Management by Objectives and Training are viewed as human resource practices able to enhance workers’ goal commitment, and therefore, improve organizational performance. In the first part of this paper, an analysis of the Goal Setting Theory and the role of goal setting practices, in bettering worker's performance, are stressed. In the second part, a case-study, the causal loop and a quantitative model of goal dynamics in organizations are described. In the third part, behaviour reproduction testing, optimization analysis for parameter estimation and scenario analysis are presented. Limitations of the present research and conclusions are finally discussed.