Moving to the next level: When and how team social dominance orientation affects innovation in work teams

Purpose – This study aims to examine the role of team coaching in regard to team innovation by considering motivational and behavioral intervening mechanisms.Design/methodology/approach – Based on a multisource approach, data was gathered from 97 work teams (341 members and 97 immediate supervisors) in a public safety organization.Findings – Results of structural equation modeling analyses indicate that the relationship between team coaching and team innovation is mediated by team goal commitment and support for innovation. Specifically, team coaching has a direct effect on support for innovation and an indirect effect on this behavioral team process through team goal commitment. In turn, support for innovation may improve the implementation of successful team innovation.Practical implications – In a global competitive context, innovation represents a key leverage to generate a competitive advantage. Team leaders who engage in coaching behaviors toward their subordinates are likely to foster innovation wi...

Major challenges faced by organisations are employee motivation and performance. Motivated employees drive high productivity, customer satisfaction, and profits (Harter, Schmidt, & Hayes, 2002). As a result, organisations need to find empirically supported ways to motivate employees (Ambrose & Kulik, 1999; Luthans & Stajkovic, 1999; Stajkovic & Luthans, 2003). One approach to enhancing motivation at work is recognizing employees for good performance, Employee recognition is a form of non-monetary, informal reward in which a manager acknowledges and praises employees who have performed according to the company’s values and principles. The literature describing the benefits of employee recognition has argued that recognition as an incentive is often more effective than monetary rewards (Graham & Unruh, 1990: Jeffries, 1997: Stajkovic & Luthans, 1997). Leadership scholars have called for research examining group processes by which managers influence employee outcomes (Goomdman, Ravlin, & Schminke, 1987: Buzzo & Salas, 1995: Hackman, 1992). As current studies have simply investigated the direct effects of recognition on work-related outcomes, a central aim of this research was to explore the role of team-efficacy and goal commitment as mediators in the recognition-outcome relationship. Which the present research, two primary contribution to the existing literature linking recognition and employees outcomes are made. First, drawing upon goal setting theory, social cognitive theory, and attribution theory conceptual hypotheses were developed and empirically tested, proposing mediating effects of team efficacy and goal commitment in the relationship between recognition and employee outcomes. The second main contribution to research on employee recognition lays in investigating performance monitoring by the manager (as perceived by employees), as a moderator that influences the power of employee recognition. The moderating role of performance monitoring was based on importance of applying recognition immediately and contingently on good performance to be most effective (Locke, 1968: Locke & Latham, 1990; Luthans & Staijkovic, 1999). By monitoring employees’ performance, managers are provided with information that can form the basis for delivering recognition in a timely manner. The proposed relationships were examined in three independent occupational samples. The model was explored in two homogeneous samples and then validated in a larger heterogeneous sample. This provides the opportunity to generalise results from specific groups of employees to a broader population of employed workers. In total, three cross-sectionals studies were conducted across a variety of different professional back grounds; looking at a range of outcome variables which are, job satisfaction, role clarity, and employee well-being. In Study 1 (N=69), the sample consisted of employees from a large private hospital pharmacy. Results from Study 1 provided evidence for the predictive validity of employee recognition and the mediating role of team-efficacy and goal commitment in the relationship between employee recognition and the outcome variables. In Study 2 (N=103), data was collected from a global company producing and dealing with harvest machinery. Path model analyses were conducted to evaluate whether the findings of Study 1 could be replicated in a sample of employees from a different organisation. Another aim was to examine the moderating role of performance monitoring in the relationship between recognition and job satisfaction. The meditational results from this study replicated those from Study 1, pointing to the generalisability of the relationships between the variables. The relationship between employee recognition and sob satisfaction was mediated by team efficacy and goal commitment. Moreover, evidence was found that performance monitoring moderated between employee recognition and job satisfaction. As predicted, the relationship between employee recognition and job satisfaction was stronger under high levels of monitoring. To enhance external validity, Study 3 involved 243 employees from a variety of professions and industries. Another aim was to explore the research model with employee well-being as an outcome variable. As predicted, results from SEM analyses confirmed initial findings of team-efficacy as a mediator in the relationship between employee recognition and well-being. Furthermore, evidence was provided for the mediating role of team-efficacy between employee recognition and goals commitment and the mediating effect of goal commitment in the relationship between team-efficacy and well-being. As in Study 2, results showed that the relationship between recognition and well-being is stronger under high condition of monitoring. Overall, the findings of this research provide a unique insight into the important role of employee recognition in predicting work-related consequences, As such, these results expand our understanding of the processes by which employee recognition exerts its influence. Extending the notion of goal setting theory, social cognitive theory, and attribution theory it was found that team-efficacy and goal commitment mediated the relationship between recognition and outcome variable. In terms of practical implications, these results show that by providing recognition managers can raise employees’ motivation and well-being.o

This chapter focuses on the analysis of two factors; the characteristics of new work teams and the management and leadership tools required for these innovative teams, in order to generate greater effectiveness. Firstly, the authors present the differences between a work team and a group and the basic characteristics of innovative work teams (multifunctional teams, self-managing teams, virtual teams and open-innovation teams). Then, the authors focus on the management systems of these teams with the aim of generating greater effectiveness. High-performance practices and management skills are presented as tools for increasing motivation and commitment to the company and its business culture. Finally, the authors analyzed the leadership and the effect of leadership has an impact on the team’s results as well as on the company’s innovativeness, making it an essential part of creating effective innovative teams.

Three varieties of differential intergroup social allocation were examined in a sample of American students as a function of degree of in-group legitimacy, self-esteem, sex, and social dominance orientation within a standard minimal-groups experimental paradigm. The results are consistent with both social identity theory and much previous research in this area: The greater the in-group identification, the greater the allocation of social value in favor of the in-group. The results are also consistent with the expectations of social dominance theory and show that, even after the effects of gender, self-esteem, and in-group identification were considered, the greater the social dominance orientation, the greater the allocation of social value in favor of the in-group. For two of the three indexes of social value, there was a statistically significant interaction between in-group identification and social dominance orientation. Subjects showing strong acceptance of their in-group classification and who had relatively high levels of social dominance orientation displayed greater in-group bias.

The effects of realistic threat and group identification on social dominance orientation

Peer-to-peer aggression and bullying is a social phenomenon and is related to social structures in the school. In-group membership as well as construction of the other and differentiation from other potential groups is an important predictor of one's social identity. Social Dominance Orientation is an important addition to social identity theory as it examines both issues of social dominance and social egalitarianism and is related to out-group denigration. In this study, we examined whether social dominance theory (both the dominance and egalitarian forms) will add to the prediction of physical and relational aggression among adolescents. Using a bias-corrected 3-step approach, we used Latent Profile Analyses to examine the responses of 1617 Israeli adolescents on measures of social dominance and egalitarian orientation, salience of their social groups and moral disengagement. Based on the analysis, we identified four classes of respondents, which can be broken down into two distinct categories: high social dominance and moral disengagement and high social egalitarianism. We compared male and female adolescent respondents and group salience. We then compared the four latent profiles on the two distal variables of physical and relational peer-to-peer aggression. Findings have theoretical and applied relevance to further investigating issues of group dynamics and construction of the other as potential predictive factors in understanding peer-to-peer aggression and bullying.

The study adopted a group status perspective to examine the relationships between social dominance orientation (SDO), prejudice, and “Vladimir’s choice” tendency. It was hypothesized that for high-status group members (Israeli Jews), high SDO levels will be followed by increases in prejudice and “Vladimir’s choice” tendency, while for the low-status group (Israeli Arabs), a negative relationship should appear between SDO and the intergroup measures. The research sample comprising 100 Israeli Jews and 85 Israeli Arabs completed SDO and prejudice questionnaires, and performed a resource allocation task. As hypothesized, group status moderated the relationship between SDO and group prejudice. Contrary to our expectations, however, both samples exhibited a positive relationship between SDO and negative group prejudice. A positive relationship was also found between SDO and the positive prejudice factor in the Jewish sample, while no significant relationship was found between SDO and the positive prejudice factor in the Arab sample. Only group status correlated with Vladimir’s choice preferences.

Team working offers a powerful and ubiquitous strategy for managing organizational change, and team innovation is often the manifestation of teams’ efforts to cope successfully with the changes in their work environments. Developing team innovation will enhance an organization’s ability to redirect and focus resources effectively, appropriately and more quickly than its competitors, because it enables all members of the organization to respond to the demands for change, and to make appropriate changes at a local level. In order to manage and implement change we therefore need to understand how to develop innovative teams. In this chapter, we review relevant research and present twelve principles that theorists and practitioners can use as guides for understanding and promoting innovation in teams. Innovation can be defined as ‘… the intentional introduction and application within a job, work team or organization of ideas, processes, products or procedures which are new to that job, work team or organization and which are designed to benefit the job, the work team or the organization.’ (West and Farr, 1990, p. 9). Innovation is a two-component non-linear process, encompassing both creativity and innovation implementation. At the outset of the process, creativity dominates, to be superseded later by innovation implementation processes. Innovation represents a particular category of change – it is intentional, designed to benefit, and new to the unit of adoption. If a change incorporates these three elements, according to this definition, it is innovation. A framework for research on team innovation In this chapter we describe research which examines the relationships between aspects of the team task (intrinsically and extrinsically motivating task characteristics); team composition (personality of team members, skill and diversity); organizational context (rewards, learning and development practices, climate); team processes (including

The increasing generational diversity in modern teams has sparked an ongoing debate about its impact on team performance. Grounded in decision-making and social identity theories, this study explores the multifaceted relationship between generational diversity and team innovation performance, examining the mediating roles of cognitive and affective conflicts and the moderating role of shared leadership. The findings from a three-wave survey of five multi-generational teams in a Chinese organization reveal that generational diversity predicts both cognitive and affective conflicts, which subsequently exert opposing effects on team innovation. Shared leadership positively moderates the relationship between cognitive conflict and team innovation, amplifying the indirect positive effect of generational diversity. However, shared leadership does not moderate the relationship between affective conflict and team innovation. These results offer a more nuanced understanding of the dual role of generational diversity in team innovation and underscore the importance of shared leadership in harnessing its potential benefits.

Heterosexual males are reported to display higher levels of physical aggression and lower levels of empathy than homosexual males. A characteristic linked to both aggression and empathy is social dominance orientation (SDO). A significant sex difference has been reported for SDO, with heterosexual males scoring higher than heterosexual females. The precise relationship between dominance and aggression is currently contested. Given the association between SDO, aggression and empathy, and the differences between heterosexual and homosexual males, an analysis of how sexual orientation co-varies with SDO might help to clarify the association between aggression and dominance. SDO scores were derived from heterosexual males ( n = 60), heterosexual females ( n = 60) and homosexual males ( n = 60). Heterosexual males reported higher levels of SDO than heterosexual females and homosexual males, while heterosexual females scored higher than homosexual males. These differences were analogous for physical aggression. More work is required to thoroughly understand the aetiology of these effects as well as the strategic value of the behaviours, but for now we have reason to further investigate the organizational hormone hypothesis put forward in this paper.

Objectives According to social dominance theory, intrapersonal and interpersonal mechanisms reciprocally influence social hierarchy through institutional behavior and social structure. The relationship between self-compassion and intergroup attitudes such as social dominance orientation (SDO), or the preference for inequality among social groups, remains unclear. Empathy as an interpersonal construct could represent the bridge between intrapersonal concern and broader social attitudes. This study explored the relationship between self-compassion, empathy, and SDO using psychometric network analysis in diverse college student samples collected before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, a major social disruption that intensified intergroup tensions. Method This study included two independent undergraduate student samples (total n = 1034) collected before (n = 578) and during the COVID-19 pandemic (n = 456). Psychometric network analysis estimated connections between self-reported levels of self-compassion, empathy, and SDO, network centrality indices, and network stability, and compared the pre- and during COVID networks. Results Within both samples, SDO had the strongest connection to empathy, which was in turn connected to the self-compassion sub-network. Empathic concern showed a stronger relationship to SDO than perspective-taking. Findings from this study advance the notion that empathy may be a critical part of SDO theory building. Invariance analysis confirmed that network structure, global strength, and strength and expected influence of the individual variables remained notably similar despite a major social disruption due to COVID-19. Conclusions Empathy is a critical link between self-compassion and social dominance orientation. The preference for social equality is related to intrapersonal and interpersonal traits, such as self-compassion and empathy. Preregistration This study is not preregistered.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to analyse how changes in a set of structural design variables (i.e. liaison position, networked design, innovation teams and work teams) affect the creation of new knowledge within organizations. The enablers intention, autonomy, fluctuation and creative chaos, redundancy, variety, and trust and commitment, taken from Nonaka's framework, are used as intermediate variables.Design/methodology/approach– A sample of 167 large Spanish companies was used to empirically test a general relational model.Findings– The analysis yielded two main conclusions. First, the relationship between structural variables and enablers, and, second, the relationship of enablers with knowledge creation emerged as highly relevant for knowledge creation in organizations.Research limitations/implications– A major limitation of this study was the relatively small number of variables used to define organizational structure. In reality, a large number of variables combine to create organizational structure, yet this study only included four: liaison position, networked design, innovation teams and work teams. A further limitation is the importance of the organizational context itself, which was not addressed in this study.Practical implications– This research has yielded findings that can help firms to understand and appreciate the changes that may occur in certain organizational design variables that affect knowledge creation. Equally, this research shows that knowledge creation has the potential to act as a catalyst for innovation, and may consequently drive change within the firm.Originality/value– Despite a long tradition of research into organizations and the ways in which these entities create knowledge, the literature requires enhancing through the publication of articles that provide a deeper knowledge of the context and tools that aid knowledge creation. The novel approach adopted in the current study verified whether certain variables related to organization design (i.e. liaison positions, networked design, innovation teams and work teams) exert a relevant influence on knowledge creation.

Most studies investigating the relationship between cultural constructs and ethical perception have focused on individual- and societal-level values without much attention to other type of cultural constructs such as social beliefs. In addition, we need to better understand how social beliefs are linked to ethical perception and the level of analysis at which social beliefs may best predict ethical perceptions. This research contributes to the cross-cultural ethical perception literature by examining the relationship of individual-level social cynicism belief, one of five universally endorsed social beliefs, together with individual social dominance orientation and the perception of unethical behavior. By means of two studies, we examine these relationships across societies that significantly differ on societal-level social cynicism belief. Using 371 business students from Russia and the U.S. in Study 1 and 268 professionals from Portugal and the U.S. in Study 2, we found that individual-level social cynicism belief was positively associated with social dominance orientation. Social dominance orientation, in turn, mediated the relationship between individual social cynicism belief and the perception of unethical behavior. Although we found significant societal-level differences in social cynicism belief in both studies, the relationships between individual-level social cynicism belief, social dominance orientation, and the perception of unethical behavior were structurally equivalent across societies in both studies, suggesting that societal-level differences did not significantly affect these relationships. Implications for cross-cultural business ethics research and practice are discussed.

Studies with adults of social dominance orientation (SDO), a preference for inequality among social groups, have found correlations with various prejudices and support for discriminatory practices. This study explores the construct among adolescents at an age when they are beginning to recognize the social groups in their environment, particularly adolescent crowds. The relationship of SDO and perceptions of parents' responsiveness and demandingness were also investigated. Subjects were in grades 9-12 (N = 516, 53% female, 96% White). Mother's and father's responsiveness significantly predicted adolescent's SDO scores, with greater perceived responsiveness associated with lower SDO. To analyze the multiple crowd memberships of the 76% belonging to more than one crowd, two-step cluster analysis was used to identify patterns, resulting in 8 clusters of distinct, heterogeneous composition. SDO differed significantly among males in different clusters, but not females. The importance of membership was positively associated with SDO among high-status crowds and negatively associated with SDO among the academic and normal crowds. The findings have implications for prejudices that may be developing in adolescence and indicate a need for further research into the social context of SDO and its development.

Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) and Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) are two constructs which have been demonstrated to explain differences in political orientation as well as opinions concerning how society should be structured. More recently, Moral Foundations Theory (MFT) has demonstrated its ability to also delineate between political and social groups. Past research, however, has presented an unclear image of how RWA, SDO, and MFT interact with their influence on political orientation. In order to provide firmer grounding, this study examined the relationship between these three constructs as well as their ability to predict political orientation and perceived threat towards immigrants in a student sample (N = 300). Large correlations were found between SDO, RWA, and MFT. A path analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between political orientation, perceived threat towards immigrants with SDO, RWA, and MFT. Basic demographics were also considered. Several models were assessed, the model containing SDO, RWA, as well as MFT best fit the data. Furthermore, MFT demonstrated significant pathways with both political orientation and perceived threat towards immigrants. Our finding suggest that MFT contributes to the explanation of political orientation beyond the variance accounted for by SDO and RWA.