Towards a Multilevel Perspective of Human Energy in Organizations

Abstract

Organizational scholars have shown growing interest in how organizations can create and sustain the energy of their employees (e.g., Bruch & Ghoshal, 2003; Cross, Baker, & Parker, 2003; Fritz, Lam, & Spreitzer, 2011) and how the feeling of energy on an individual level can contribute to better performance (Carmeli, Ben-Hador, Waldman, & Rupp, 2009). This symposium presents four methodologically rigorous studies that focus on how human energy is transferred between different actors and how it manifests on a collective level. The first two presentations contribute with a focus on the relational aspects of human energy. In an ethnographic field study McDaniel and Gibson find, contrary as assumed in prior research, that feelings of energy can be different from the expression of it. Building on network analysis Garbesi et al. find that de-energizing relationships have a harmful effect on the performance of others, especially the performance of those who perform best in organizations. The two following presentations address the gap how collective energy manifests on a collective level. Leicht-Deobald and Bruch find that buffering the team boundaries against external uncertainties and disturbances protects collective human energy within the team and ultimately increases team innovation. Using longitudinal team data, Knight and Barsade show that certain team characteristics can be particularly conducive in creating the feeling of shared emotional energy within teams and how this shared feeling of energy flows from a team to external stakeholders. Finally, the two foci, energy as a relational process and as a collective state, will be drawn out by the discussant Ryan Quinn, who is a recognized expert in the field of human energy in organizations (Dutton, 2003; Quinn, Spreitzer, & Lam, 2012). A particular characteristic of our symposium is its international composition, including researchers from Australia, Europe and North America. The Dynamics of Emotional Energy in Entrepreneurial Teams Presenter: Andrew P. Knight; Washington U. in St. Louis Presenter: Sigal Barsade; U. of Pennsylvania Destructive De-energizers: The Impact of Negative Social Network Ties on Performance and Turnover Presenter: Alexandra Gerbasi; Grenoble Ecole de Management Presenter: Christine L. Porath; Georgetown U. Presenter: Andrew Parker; Grenoble Ecole de Management Presenter: Robert L. Cross; U. of Virginia Presenter: Gretchen M. Spreitzer; U. of Michigan, Ann Arbor Sustaining Productive Energy by Buffering Team Boundaries: The Consequence of Innovation Presenter: Ulrich Leicht-Deobald; U. of St. Gallen Presenter: Heike Bruch; U. of St. Gallen Energy as Practice: Relational Energy in Organizations Presenter: Dana McDaniel Sumpter; California State U. Long Beach Presenter: Cristina Gibson; U. of Western Australia