Results 11 - 20
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622
Transformational leadership and job behaviors: The mediating role of job characteristics
- Academy of Management Journal
, 2006
"... Although the effects of transformational leadership on task performance and organi-zational citizenship behavior (OCB) are well-documented, the mechanisms that ex-plain those effects remain unclear. We propose that transformational leadership is associated with the way followers view their jobs, in ..."
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Cited by 82 (0 self)
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Although the effects of transformational leadership on task performance and organi-zational citizenship behavior (OCB) are well-documented, the mechanisms that ex-plain those effects remain unclear. We propose that transformational leadership is associated with the way followers view their jobs, in terms of Hackman and Oldham’s (1976) core job characteristics. Results of our study support a structural model whereby indirect effects supplement the direct effects of transformational leadership on task performance and OCB through the mechanisms of job characteristics, intrinsic motivation, and goal commitment. Additional analyses revealed that transformational leadership relationships were significantly stronger for followers who perceived high-quality leader-member exchange. Over the past two decades, transformational leadership has emerged as one of the most popular approaches to understanding leader effectiveness. Transformational leadership theory rests on the as-sertion that certain leader behaviors can arouse fol-lowers to a higher level of thinking (Bass, 1985; Burns, 1978). By appealing to followers ’ ideals and values, transformational leaders enhance commit-ment to a well-articulated vision and inspire fol-lowers to develop new ways of thinking about problems. Indeed, the positive association between transformational leadership and follower behaviors is well documented (Fuller, Patterson, Hester, &
The Work Design Questionnaire (WDQ): Developing and validating a comprehensive measure for assessing job design and the nature of work
- Journal of Applied Psychology
, 2006
"... Although there are thousands of studies investigating work and job design, existing measures are incomplete. In an effort to address this gap, the authors reviewed the work design literature, identified and integrated previously described work characteristics, and developed a measure to tap those wo ..."
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Cited by 75 (6 self)
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Although there are thousands of studies investigating work and job design, existing measures are incomplete. In an effort to address this gap, the authors reviewed the work design literature, identified and integrated previously described work characteristics, and developed a measure to tap those work characteristics. The resultant Work Design Questionnaire (WDQ) was validated with 540 incumbents holding 243 distinct jobs and demonstrated excellent reliability and convergent and discriminant validity. In addition, the authors found that, although both task and knowledge work characteristics predicted satisfaction, only knowledge characteristics were related to training and compensation requirements. Finally, the results showed that social support incrementally predicted satisfaction beyond motivational work characteristics but was not related to increased training and compensation requirements. These results provide new insight into how to avoid the trade-offs commonly observed in work design research. Taken together, the WDQ appears to hold promise as a general measure of work characteristics that can be used by scholars and practitioners to conduct basic research on the nature of work or to design and redesign jobs in organizations.
Workplace Spirituality and Employee Work Attitudes
- Journal of Organizational Change Management
, 2003
"... Abstract One important question in the field of workplace spirituality concerns the relationship of this construct with employee work attitudes. This study attempts to make a rigorous empirical examination of the relationship between workplace spirituality and five prevalent employee job attitudinal ..."
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Cited by 72 (0 self)
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Abstract One important question in the field of workplace spirituality concerns the relationship of this construct with employee work attitudes. This study attempts to make a rigorous empirical examination of the relationship between workplace spirituality and five prevalent employee job attitudinal variables. It assesses the validity and reliability of the measures used and discusses the results of the analysis, which indicate that each of the three dimensions of spirituality used has a significant relationship with two or more of the five job attitude variables examined. While acknowledging that spirituality at work is an abstract concept, this study attempts to provide some of the first empirical support that there is a positive association between spirituality at work and employee job outcomes. The paper concludes with a number of implications and research directions for both academics and business managers, including the need to investigate the comprehensive impact of spirituality at work on individuals and organizations. An important trend in business in the twenty-first century is a focus on employee spirituality in the workplace (Shellenbarger, 2000). Workplace spirituality has been the subject of many business magazines, such as the cover story for both Business Week (Conlin, 1999) and Fortune (Gunther, 2001). In
Integrating motivational, social, and contextual work design features: A meta-analytic summary and theoretical extension of the work design literature
- Journal of Applied Psychology
, 2007
"... The authors developed and meta-analytically examined hypotheses designed to test and extend work design theory by integrating motivational, social, and work context characteristics. Results from a summary of 259 studies and 219,625 participants showed that 14 work characteristics explained, on avera ..."
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Cited by 65 (6 self)
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The authors developed and meta-analytically examined hypotheses designed to test and extend work design theory by integrating motivational, social, and work context characteristics. Results from a summary of 259 studies and 219,625 participants showed that 14 work characteristics explained, on average, 43 % of the variance in the 19 worker attitudes and behaviors examined. For example, motivational characteristics explained 25 % of the variance in subjective performance, 2 % in turnover perceptions, 34 % in job satisfaction, 24 % in organizational commitment, and 26 % in role perception outcomes. Beyond motivational characteristics, social characteristics explained incremental variances of 9 % of the variance in subjective performance, 24 % in turnover intentions, 17 % in job satisfaction, 40% in organizational commitment, and 18 % in role perception outcomes. Finally, beyond both motivational and social characteristics, work context characteristics explained incremental variances of 4 % in job satisfaction and 16 % in stress. The results of this study suggest numerous opportunities for the continued development of work design theory and practice.
Modeling the antecedents of proactive behavior at work
- Journal of Applied Psychology
, 2006
"... Using a sample of U.K. wire makers (N 282), the authors tested a model in which personality and work environment antecedents affect proactive work behavior via cognitive-motivational mechanisms. Self-reported proactive work behaviors (proactive idea implementation and proactive problem solving) wer ..."
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Cited by 64 (7 self)
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Using a sample of U.K. wire makers (N 282), the authors tested a model in which personality and work environment antecedents affect proactive work behavior via cognitive-motivational mechanisms. Self-reported proactive work behaviors (proactive idea implementation and proactive problem solving) were validated against rater assessments for a subsample (n 60) of wire makers. With the exception of supportive supervision, each antecedent was important, albeit through different processes. Proactive personality was significantly associated with proactive work behavior via role breadth self-efficacy and flexible role orientation, job autonomy was also linked to proactive behavior via these processes, as well as directly; and coworker trust was associated with proactive behavior via flexible role orientation. In further support of the model, the cognitive-motivational processes for proactive work behavior differed from those for the more passive outcome of generalized compliance.
The significance of task significance: job performance effects, relational mechanisms, and boundary conditions.
- Journal of Applied Psychology,
, 2008
"... Does task significance increase job performance? Correlational designs and confounded manipulations have prevented researchers from assessing the causal impact of task significance on job performance. To address this gap, 3 field experiments examined the performance effects, relational mechanisms, ..."
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Cited by 61 (18 self)
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Does task significance increase job performance? Correlational designs and confounded manipulations have prevented researchers from assessing the causal impact of task significance on job performance. To address this gap, 3 field experiments examined the performance effects, relational mechanisms, and boundary conditions of task significance. In Experiment 1, fundraising callers who received a task significance intervention increased their levels of job performance relative to callers in 2 other conditions and to their own prior performance. In Experiment 2, task significance increased the job dedication and helping behavior of lifeguards, and these effects were mediated by increases in perceptions of social impact and social worth. In Experiment 3, conscientiousness and prosocial values moderated the effects of task significance on the performance of new fundraising callers. The results provide fresh insights into the effects, relational mechanisms, and boundary conditions of task significance, offering noteworthy implications for theory, research, and practice on job design, social information processing, and work motivation and performance.
Organizational Climate and Company Productivity: The Role of Employee Affect and Employee Level
, 2004
"... Consistent with a growing number of models about affect and behaviour and with a recognition that perception alone provides no impetus for action, it was predicted that associations between company climate and productivity would be mediated by average level of job satisfaction. In a study of 42 manu ..."
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Cited by 51 (0 self)
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Consistent with a growing number of models about affect and behaviour and with a recognition that perception alone provides no impetus for action, it was predicted that associations between company climate and productivity would be mediated by average level of job satisfaction. In a study of 42 manufacturing companies, subsequent productivity was significantly correlated in controlled analyses with eight aspects of organizational climate (e.g. skill development and concern for employee welfare) and also with average job satisfaction. The mediation hypothesis was supported in hierarchical multiple regressions for separate aspects of climate. In addition, an overall analysis showed that company productivity was more strongly correlated with those aspects of climate that had stronger satisfaction loadings. A second prediction, that managers ’ perceptions of climate would be more closely linked to company productivity than would those of non-managers, was not supported. However, managers ’ assessments of most aspects of their company’s climate were significantly more positive than those of non-managers.
Inherent limitations of demographic proxies in top management team heterogeneity research
- Journal of Management
, 1999
"... Top management team (TMT) heterogeneity—performance re-search using demographic indicators has contributed to strategic man-agement by showing that top managers do indeed “matter ” to firm outcomes. We argue, however, that limitations inherent in demograph-ics-based TMT studies preclude their use in ..."
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Cited by 49 (1 self)
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Top management team (TMT) heterogeneity—performance re-search using demographic indicators has contributed to strategic man-agement by showing that top managers do indeed “matter ” to firm outcomes. We argue, however, that limitations inherent in demograph-ics-based TMT studies preclude their use in specifying how top man-agers influence their firms. This is an elemental problem because questions of how top managers can and should influence their firms are central to strategic management. Demographics-based TMT heteroge-neity studies are limited by intrinsic trade-offs, which sacrifice: con-struct validity for measurement reliability; explanation for prediction; and prescription for description. We suggest “next steps ” for improving the usefulness of future TMT studies (i.e., addressing the “how ” ques-tion) by: (1) incorporating more substantive heterogeneity constructs, such as within-TMT power distributions, psychographic variances, and judgment differences; and (2) integrating qualitative research with the quantitative as a base for developing research questions that are more informed, salient, and interesting. We urge researchers to eschew demographic proxies, and instead direct their efforts toward more difficult, but potentially more rewarding, TMT issues. © 1999 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved. Hambrick and Mason (1984) introduced the “upper echelons ” perspective, arguing that executives make choices based upon their idiosyncratic experiences, values and dispositions. Demographic characteristics, intended to represent exec-
Integrating Theories of Motivation
, 2003
"... Progress towards understanding human behavior has been hindered by discipline-bound theories, dividing our efforts. Fortunately, these separate endeavors are converging and can be effectively integrated. Focusing on the fundamental features of Picoeconomics, Expectancy, Cumulative Prospect Theory, a ..."
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Cited by 44 (1 self)
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Progress towards understanding human behavior has been hindered by discipline-bound theories, dividing our efforts. Fortunately, these separate endeavors are converging and can be effectively integrated. Focusing on the fundamental features of Picoeconomics, Expectancy, Cumulative Prospect Theory, and Need Theory, Temporal Motivational Theory (TMT) is constructed. TMT appears consistent with the major findings from many other investigations, including psychobiology. Potential applications of TMT are numerous, including: consumer behavior, aggression, stock market, and governmental behavior.
