Why seeking feedback from diverse sources may not be sufficient for stimulating creativity: The role of performance dynamism and creative time pressure

We explore how the impact of seeking feedback from different sources (i.e., feedback source variety) on employee creativity is shaped by perceptions of the work environment. Specifically, we argue that two contextual factors, namely, performance dynamism (Study 1) and creative time pressure (Study 2), moderate the relationship between feedback source variety and creativity such that under conditions of high performance dynamism and low creative time pressure, individuals benefit from diverse feedback information. In Study 1 (N = 1,031), the results showed that under conditions of high performance dynamism, the relationship between feedback source variety and self‐reported creativity was nonlinear, with employee creativity exponentially increasing as a function of feedback source variety. Similarly, in Study 2 (N = 181), we found that under conditions of low creative time pressure, the relationship between feedback source variety and employee creativity was nonlinear, with supervisor‐rated creative performance exponentially increasing at higher levels of feedback source variety. Such results highlight that the relationship between feedback source variety and creative performance is affected by the perceptions of the work environment in which feedback is sought.     

Identifying the antecedents of coping with an organizational acquisition: a structural assessment

This study used Lazarus and Folkman's ( 1984 ) cognitive–phenomenological model of coping and Lazarus's ( 1991 ) theory of emotions to develop and test a model of how individuals cope with an organizational acquisition. The model identifies the origins and process used to select both problem‐focused and emotion‐focused coping strategies. Covariance structure analysis of data from 172 individuals indicated that problem‐focused coping was directly influenced by primary appraisal and negative emotion, while only certain types of emotion‐focused coping were directly related to negative emotion. All coping strategies were impacted by social support. Furthermore, negative emotion was predicted by primary appraisal, which in turn was related to perceived control, coping efficacy, and environmental conditions. Recommendations for future research and applications are discussed. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Team conflict management and team effectiveness: the effects of task interdependence and team identification

The present study explores the dynamics of conflict management as a team phenomenon. The study examines how the input variable of task structure (task interdependence) is related to team conflict management style (cooperative versus competitive) and to team performance, and how team identity moderates these relationships. Seventy‐seven intact work teams from high‐technology companies participated in the study. Results revealed that at high levels of team identity, task interdependence was positively associated with the cooperative style of conflict management, which in turn fostered team performance. Although a negative association was found between competitive style and team performance, this style of team conflict management did not mediate between the interactive effect of task interdependence and team identity on team performance. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Leader self‐awareness: An examination and implications of women's under‐prediction

Self‐awareness represents an important aspect of leadership. However, past research on leader self‐awareness has focused on one component of self‐awareness, self versus others' ratings, leaving the second component, the ability to anticipate the views of others, largely neglected. We examined this second component of self‐awareness by focusing on women leaders who have been found to under‐predict how others rate them. In two studies, we measured how women leaders anticipate the views of their bosses in regard to their leadership. In Study 1, 194 leaders rated their leadership, were rated by their bosses, and then predicted how their bosses rated their leadership. While we found that women under‐predict their boss ratings compared with men, we did not find that boss gender or feedback played a role in this under‐prediction. In Study 2, 76 female leaders identified (via open‐ended questions) possible reasons and consequences of under‐prediction for women in organizations. Results from Study 2 reveal the following: (1) the reasons for women's under‐prediction include a lack of self‐confidence, differences in feedback needs, learned gender roles, and self‐sexism; and (2) the perceived consequences of under‐prediction are negative for both women and the organization. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cognitive and affective identification: Exploring the links between different forms of social identification and personality with work attitudes and behavior

Individuals often identify with groups in order to either reduce perceived uncertainty or to feel better about who they are as individuals. This suggests that cognitive and affective identification are two distinctive forms of social identification in organizational settings. Because neurotic individuals are highly motivated to reduce perceived uncertainty, they will tend to identify cognitively with groups. Extraverted individuals, on the other hand, are highly motivated to enhance how they feel about themselves and thus identify affectively with groups. Across three studies, we develop measures of cognitive and affective identification and then show that neuroticism is positively related to cognitive identification, whereas extraversion is positively related to affective identification. We also find that affective identification provides incremental predictive validity over and above cognitive identification in the prediction of organizational commitment, organizational involvement, and organizational citizenship behaviors. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The moderating role of task characteristics in determining responses to a stressful work simulation

Two experimental studies were conducted to examine whether the stress‐buffering effects of behavioral control on work task responses varied as a function of procedural information. Study 1 manipulated low and high levels of task demands, behavioral control, and procedural information for 128 introductory psychology students completing an in‐basket activity. ANOVA procedures revealed a significant three‐way interaction among these variables in the prediction of subjective task performance and task satisfaction. It was found that procedural information buffered the negative effects of task demands on ratings of performance and satisfaction only under conditions of low behavioral control. This pattern of results suggests that procedural information may have a compensatory effect when the work environment is characterized by a combination of high task demands and low behavioral control. Study 2 (N=256) utilized simple and complex versions of the in‐basket activity to examine the extent to which the interactive relationship among task demands, behavioral control, and procedural information varied as a function of task complexity. There was further support for the stress‐buffering role of procedural information on work task responses under conditions of low behavioral control. This effect was, however, only present when the in‐basket activity was characterized by high task complexity, suggesting that the interactive relationship among these variables may depend on the type of tasks performed at work. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rivals or allies: How performance‐prove goal orientation influences knowledge hiding

Previous research suggests that performance‐prove goal orientation is positively related to knowledge hiding. However, we argue that this effect depends on the focus of performance feedback (i.e., individual‐ and group‐focused feedback), which shapes the nature of the competitive expression of performance‐prove goal orientation (i.e., intragroup and intergroup oriented). We conducted three studies to test our theoretical model. The results of Study 1 with time‐lagged data from 128 part‐time MBA students showed that performance‐prove goal orientation was positively related to knowledge hiding when performance feedback focused more (vs. less) on individual performance but was negatively related to knowledge hiding when performance feedback focused more (vs. less) on group performance. Study 2 replicated these moderation findings in an experimental study of 210 undergraduate students. Study 3 again replicated the moderation effects using multisource data from 317 employees and their supervisors. It also included creativity as an outcome of knowledge hiding and illustrated the distal consequence of the moderation effects of individual‐ and group‐focused performance feedback. We then discussed the implications for the theory and practice of performance‐prove goal orientation and knowledge hiding.     

Enhancing employee creativity via individual skill development and team knowledge sharing: Influences of dual‐focused transformational leadership

Addressing the challenges faced by team leaders in fostering both individual and team creativity, this research developed and tested a multilevel model connecting dual‐focused transformational leadership (TFL) and creativity and incorporating intervening mechanisms at the two levels. Using multilevel, multisource survey data from individual members, team leaders, and direct supervisors in high‐technology firms, we found that individual‐focused TFL had a positive indirect effect on individual creativity via individual skill development, whereas team‐focused TFL impacted team creativity partially through its influence on team knowledge sharing. We also found that knowledge sharing constituted a cross‐level contextual factor that moderated the relationship among individual‐focused TFL, skill development, and individual creativity. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of this research and offer suggestions for future research. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Leadership behaviors and follower performance: Deductive and inductive examination of theoretical rationales and underlying mechanisms

There are competing theoretical rationales and mechanisms used to explain the relation between leadership behaviors (e.g., consideration, initiating structure, contingent rewards, and transformational leadership) and follower performance (e.g., task performance and organizational citizenship behaviors). We conducted two studies to critically examine and clarify the leadership behaviors–follower performance relation by pitting the various theoretical rationales and mechanisms against each other. We first engaged in deductive (Study 1) and then inductive (Study 2) theorizing and relied upon 35 meta‐analyses involving 3327 primary‐level studies and 930 349 observations as input for meta‐analytic structural equation modeling. Results of our dual deductive–inductive approach revealed an unexpected yet surprisingly consistent explanation for why leadership behaviors affect follower performance. Specifically, leader–member exchange is a mediating mechanism that was empirically determined to be involved in the largest indirect relations between the four major leadership behaviors and follower performance. This result represents a departure from current conceptualizations and points to a common underlying mechanism that parsimoniously explains how leadership behaviors relate to follower performance. Also, results lead to a shift in terms of recommendations for what leaders should focus on to bring about improved follower performance. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the relationship between intragroup conflict and social capital in teams: A longitudinal investigation in Taiwan

In response to the prevalent deployment of teams in organizations, there is a need to jointly consider conflict and social capital within the teams to offer novel ways to understand group process. This study proposes that the association between intragroup conflict and group social capital may be dynamic and reciprocal. Specifically, this study investigates longitudinally how intragroup conflict influences group social capital within cross‐functional teams and recognizes whether the teams with high group social capital can further produce intragroup conflict. The two‐year longitudinal study sampled 527 individuals in 90 teams across two time periods. This study finds that when teams are formed (Time 1), task conflict relates positively to structural social capital, and relationship conflict relates negatively to cognitive social capital. There is an inverted U‐type relationship between task conflict at Time 1 and social capital at Time 2. Established teams (Time 2) with higher levels of social capital experience higher levels of task conflict and lower levels of relationship conflict than teams with lower levels of social capital. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Extension of TACOM to the complexity of tasks designed for abnormal situations in nuclear power plants

TACOM (TAsk COMplexity) is a measure for evaluating the complexity of tasks prescribed for emergency situations in nuclear power plants. Five sub-measures constituting TACOM represent five different aspects of the task complexity exhibited in operating procedures for emergency situations. The practicality of TACOM has been verified through a series of empirical studies. However, tasks designed for abnormal situations that can significantly affect the safety of nuclear power plants, also need a proper measure for evaluating their complexity. TACOM provides a process, a systematic cognitive task analysis method and a set of guidelines to support its application. Therefore, although the characteristics of abnormal task situations are not the same as those of emergency situations, TACOM seems to be reasonably applied to abnormal situations or at least to offer meaningful insights for developing a measure for evaluating the complexity of tasks in abnormal situations. Thus this study examined the applicability of TACOM to abnormal situations through case studies. Particular attention was paid to the sufficiency and appropriateness of the three methodological tools, which are the process, the cognitive task analysis method and the set of guidelines. Collective consideration of the case studies and the characteristics of tasks prescribed for abnormal situations led us to draw the conclusion that TACOM could be reliably used for abnormal situations as well. This paper reports the process of how to apply TACOM to the tasks of abnormal situations and discusses some lessons learned through this application.     

Incremental effects of reward on experienced performance pressure: positive outcomes for intrinsic interest and creativity

Two field studies and a laboratory study examined the influence of reward for high performance on experienced performance pressure, intrinsic interest and creativity. Study 1 found that employees' expected reward for high performance was positively related to performance pressure which, in turn, was positively associated with the employees' interest in their jobs. Study 2 replicated this finding and showed that intrinsic interest, produced by performance pressure, was positively related to supervisors' ratings of creative performance. Study 3 found that college students' receipt of reward for high performance increased their experienced performance pressure which, in turn, was positively related to intrinsic interest and creativity. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multilevel outcomes of creativity in organizations: An integrative review and agenda for future research

Employee creativity is critical for an organization's innovativeness and survival in today's competitive business environment. As such, scholars have devoted significant attention to the predictors of employee creativity, seeking to understand how to best increase employees' creative output. However, employee creativity may not always translate into organizational innovation and performance. In fact, employee creativity may result in various outcomes for creative individuals, their coworkers, teams, and organizations. While there have been several integrative reviews on the antecedents of creativity, an in-depth review of the outcomes of creativity is still needed to gain a holistic understanding of the benefits and costs of employee creativity and identify fruitful areas for future research. Thus, we aim to provide a comprehensive multilevel examination of the theories, methods, and creativity-related constructs used to examine the outcomes of creativity. We also provide several theoretical and empirical opportunities for future research. This review may provide managers with knowledge of the pros and cons of employee creativity, enabling them to make informed decisions on how to better manage employee creativity.     

Energy's role in the extraversion (dis)advantage: How energy ties and task conflict help clarify the relationship between extraversion and proactive performance

While academic and practitioner literatures have proposed that extraverts are at an advantage in team‐based work, it remains unclear exactly what that advantage might be, how extraverts attain such an advantage, and under which conditions. Theory highlighting the importance of energy in the coordination of team efforts helps to answer these questions. We propose that extraverted individuals are able to develop more energizing relationships with their teammates and as a result are seen as proactively contributing to their team. However, problems in coordination (i.e., team task conflict) can reverse this extraversion advantage. We studied 27 project‐based teams at their formation, peak performance, and after disbandment. Results suggest that when team task conflict is low, extraverts energize their teammates and are viewed by others as proactively contributing to the team. However, when team task conflict is high, extraverts develop energizing relationships with fewer of their teammates and are not viewed as proactively contributing to the team. Our findings regarding energizing relationships and team task conflict clarify why extraversion is related to proactive performance and in what way, how, and when extraverts may be at a (dis)advantage in team‐based work. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cognitive and motivational effects of participation: A mediator study

Previous experimental studies of participation have typically examined its motivational (especially commitment) benefits. These studies showed that these benefits are neither large nor consistent. The present study focused on the cognitive benefits of participation in decision making (pdm) and on the role of a different motivational mediator, self-efficacy. Unlike previous research which claimed to study the cognitive (informational) effects of participation, the present experiment: (a) allowed the information concerning task strategies to emerge from group discussion rather than being manipulated by the experimenter; (b) measured the actual strategies that were developed and used by subjects in the pdm condition; and (c) measured self-efficacy which was associated with the discovery and use of these strategies. It was found that the strategies developed by the subjects and their self-efficacy completely mediated the effect of participation on performance. Further, participation in setting goals, consistent with previous studies, did not affect performance but did affect self-efficacy.     

Does homesickness undermine the potential of job resources? A perspective from the work–home resources model

Rapid economic development in recent decades has resulted in a considerable increase in the number of people working far away from their home locations. Homesickness is a common reaction to the separation from home. Our research uses the work–home resources model to explain how the experience of homesickness can undermine the positive effect of job resources on job performance (i.e., task performance and safety behavior). In addition, we hypothesize that emotional stability and openness are key resources that can buffer the negative interference of homesickness with the job resources–performance relationship. We conducted two studies to test our hypotheses. Study 1 was a two‐wave longitudinal study using a migrant manufacturing worker sample. In this study, homesickness was measured at the between‐person level, and performance was measured three months later. Study 2 was a daily diary study conducted in a military trainee sample. In this study, homesickness was measured at the within‐person level to capture its fluctuations over 20 days, and daily job performance was assessed using supervisor ratings. Both studies showed evidence of the hypothesized moderating effect of homesickness and three‐way interaction effects of job resources, homesickness, and key resources (i.e., emotional stability and openness) on task performance and safety behavior.     

Occupational embeddedness and job performance

While researchers have recently focused their attention on organizational embeddedness, occupational embeddedness has received little theoretical and empirical attention. Using multisource data on 162 employees in multiple jobs and organizations, we found that occupational embeddedness is positively related to both task performance and creativity and is negatively related to counterproductive work behavior, even after controlling for the effects of organizational embeddedness. In addition, we found that trait affect moderated the relationships of occupational embeddedness to job performance. Occupational embeddedness was more strongly related to counterproductive work behavior when trait negative affect was high, while occupational embeddedness was more strongly related to both citizenship behavior and creativity when trait positive affect was high. Results also indicated that the various components of occupational embeddedness had different effects on job outcomes. Fit had a strong positive effect on core task performance, links had a positive effect on creativity, and sacrifice had a small positive effect on citizenship behavior. The article concludes with a discussion of implications for future research and management practice. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The impact of anger on creative process engagement: The role of social contexts

Drawing on the cognitive persistence perspective of creativity and conservation of resources theory, we investigated how 2 social contexts (perceived relationship conflict and coworker support for creativity) influence the relationship between anger and creative process engagement (CPE) in organizations. We tested our hypotheses using 422 daily surveys from 98 participants, collected over 5 consecutive workdays. The results show that anger perceived relationship conflict and coworker support for creativity interact to influence CPE. Specifically, when relationship conflict is high, the anger–CPE relationship is positive for employees who receive high coworker support for creativity, but negative for those who receive low coworker support for creativity. In contrast, when relationship conflict is low, the anger–CPE relationship is positive but does not differ at high versus low coworker support for creativity.     

Differential effects of strain on two forms of work performance: individual employee sales and creativity

In this research, we develop and test a model of the links between psychological strain (subjective experiences of feeling conflict and tension) and work performance. Our model includes two types of strain (work strain and home strain) and two forms of work performance (quantity of individual sales performance and creativity). Thus we acknowledge the importance of work and non‐work sources of strain as well as the multidimensional nature of work performance. We test the proposed relationships with data collected over six months from a field sample of 195 hair salon stylists (personal service workers who interact directly with customers and provide services directly to individuals and not to other firms). Results demonstrate a positive relation between work strain and individual employee sales performance and a negative relation between home strain and employee creativity at work. Leader–member exchange moderated the effects of work strain and home strain on creativity. We discuss findings and implications, emphasizing multiple roles, the importance of differentiating types of strain, and the multidimensionality of work performance. We conclude by suggesting that strain may be particularly relevant to work performance of employees in jobs like those in our sample which are characterized by high social interdependence and low task interdependence. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

When does benevolent leadership lead to creativity? The moderating role of creative role identity and job autonomy

The present study identified creative role identity and job autonomy as two moderators that influence the relationship between benevolent leadership, a leadership style that prevails in paternalistic contexts, and creativity. Using 167 dyads of supervisor and subordinate as a sample, we found that both creative role identity and job autonomy have significant moderating effects: When each moderator is high, the positive relationship between benevolent leadership and creativity is stronger; when each moderator is low, this relationship is weaker. Our results suggest that the effect of benevolent leadership upon creativity is dependent on the coexistence of important individual and contextual factors. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.