Chapter 1 The End of Expressionism: A Conditional Approach to Bounded Emotionality in Organizations

Abstract

Historically, research in organizational behavior has denied and even denounced the presence and impact of emotions in the workplace. Today, after little more than 10 years of research on emotions in the workplace, organizational behavior scholars look to emotions as an important determinant of nearly every facet of workplace behavior. From interpersonal behavior, to team performance, and strategic decision-making in top management teams, researchers have argued that the role of emotions is fundamental to our understanding of these organizational processes. Research on emotions in the workplace has had a fast and furious growth, facilitated by a lack of critical reflection upon the limits of bounded emotionality as a framework for understanding individuals’ actions in organizations. It is undeniable that emotions influence some facets of organizational behavior. But the questions of interest in this chapter are, in which areas of organizational behavior do emotions play a critical role in the determination of individual and organizational outcomes and under what conditions?