Organizational Psychology Literature Research Articles

Solvers' participation in crowdsourcing initiatives for social innovation: Exploring interactions among motivational forces

We know that solvers self‐selecting in social innovation challenges come from diverse backgrounds including, among others, scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, researchers, and professionals from various industries. However, we are not aware of what motives actually bring such solvers to self‐select to address these challenges. This study aims at understanding how different kinds of motivations intervene and interact with the solvers' intention to participate considering the specific context of crowdsourcing for social innovation. Drawing on the self‐determination theory, we built a theoretical framework that hypothesizes how intrinsic, extrinsic, and prosocial motivations interact with one another and affect solvers' self‐selection process in social innovation initiatives. Empirically, to investigate the theoretical framework, a survey research design involving the use of questionnaires was adopted to obtain primary data from solvers engaged in crowdsourcing initiatives for social innovation to solve Covid‐19‐related problems in the HeroX platform. We found that prosocial motivations positively affect the solvers' self‐selection process. Moreover, our results highlight that intrinsic and extrinsic motivations differently moderate the relationship between prosocial motivations and intention to participate. The results of this study offer relevant contributions to previous crowdsourcing and organizational psychology literature and provide critical implications for managers designing and organizing crowdsourcing for social innovation challenges.

Longitudinal investigation of restructuring, psychosocial safety climate and burnout in Australian universities during COVID-19 2020–2022

Australian universities have undergone considerable restructuring within the last few decades such as downsizing, unit amalgamations and adopting new digital work practices. This article draws together industrial relations and organisational psychology literature, exploring restructuring and effects within universities. It presents national data on university restructuring, levels of organisational psychosocial safety climate (PSC), and burnout from 2020 to 2022, from the workers’ perspective. Survey responses were collected across 39 Australian universities at 3 time points: 2020 (n = 2191), 2021 (n = 1731) and 2022 (n = 1373). A large proportion reported ‘high’ levels of restructuring at each data collection phase (2020 = 41%, 2021 = 56% and 2022 = 49%). A multi-level model showed that PSC is an organisational climate predictor of restructuring, and in turn, worker burnout. Hierarchical linear modelling of the longitudinal data revealed significant pathways and a good model fit. Findings suggest that organisations with poor climates for psychological health (i.e. low PSC) are more likely to restructure, which is then associated with higher levels of burnout. Primary-level PSC-focused interventions are needed to prioritise the psychological health of the workforce over persistent productivity concerns, which is the conventional driver of restructuring.

Research on the Impact of Mental Health on Employee Resignation and Strategies for Enhancing Workplace Well-Being

Psychological health issues not only affect individuals worldwide but also have an impact on many organizations. Research evidence indicates a close connection between the rising employee resignation rates within organizations and the mental health status of employees. Taking an organizational perspective and drawing from relevant organizational behavior and psychology literature, this paper studied the influence of individual psychological health on resignation behavior to demonstrate how organizational strategies interact with mental health, affecting the dynamic relationship between individual employees and the organization as well as the outcomes of these dynamics. Subsequently, this paper provides recommendations for improving workplace well-being and reducing resignation rates. The organization should invest substantial efforts to consider employees mental health and establish a supportive working environment to reduce resignations directly and indirectly caused by psychological problems, therefore maintaining the sustainable operation of the organization, and articulating the research objectives. Ultimately, it emphasizes that organizations should investigate effective strategies that prioritize mental health and retain talent.

Person-Centered Modeling: Techniques for Studying Associations Between People Rather than Variables

The goal of person-centered methods is to identify subpopulations of individuals based on within-group similarity of data relative to between-group variability. In this article, we provide an overview of specific person-centered methods, thus shifting the attention from studying relations between variables to studying relations between people or entities of interest. Next, we present a selective and critical review of recent research utilizing person-centered modeling approaches, highlighting key trends in the organizational psychology and organizational behavior literature from both the methodological and the conceptual perspectives. Lastly, we conclude with reflections and recommendations, highlighting several areas that need careful consideration when conducting person-centered research.

Start-up Incubators for Refugees: Applying Psychological Methods to Increase Chances of Entrepreneurial Success

An increasing number of start-up incubators offer programmes designed specifically for refugees. They provide entrepreneurship training and access to a closely-knit community for start-up development. Beyond that, they also support refugees in overcoming typical challenges, including a lack of language skills and required qualifications, an uncertain residence status, discrimination and psychological distress on various levels. While these incubators have already contributed to refugees’ social and economic integration, the number of successful participants is still relatively low. The question remains about what can be done to multiply the potential so that more significant numbers of refugees can benefit. To support incubators in achieving more significant numbers, this work presents a framework of methods and tools based on health and organisational psychology literature. More specifically, this work focuses on methods and tools to be applied during two critical phases of the incubation cycle, namely the selection process and the actual programme. First, suitable candidates may be overlooked and/or less suitable candidates admit-ted during selection. This work proposes approaches to improve the accuracy of assessment methods so that more significant numbers of candidates with good chances of success are admit-ted. In addition, these methods can help identify those candidates who may appear unsuitable at first sight but could likely get ready with a preparatory course before joining the programme. Second, participants may have difficulty keeping up during the programme for various reasons (often related to the mentioned challenges) and therefore drop out early. This work proposes science-based approaches which help to adapt and improve existing programme elements and/or implement new elements to increase the chances of successful programme completion. Overall, this work seeks to contribute to the academic discussion on innovative approaches to upscale the work of incubators for refugees. Further research will involve co-developing practical approaches with incubators for refugees, cooperating on the implementation, and measuring impact. The goal of providing incubators with relevant practical insights is to deploy more significant numbers of refugees as entrepreneurs and contribute to broader social and economic impact.

Impact of Human Resource Management Practice and Employees’ Behavioural Outcomes in the Saudi Arabian Manufacturing Sector

The significance of Human Resource (HR) practices in enlightening employee attitudes, such as work satisfaction, organizational commitment and job engagement, have been widely researched in the industrial and organizational psychology literature. However, the research has not uncovered contradicting findings about the connections between employee positive and negative behavioural outcomes in the case of organizational change. This research analyzes the impact of human resources management on employee’s behavioural outcomes of organizational change with variables such as organizational commitments, job performance, absenteeism, turnover of employees, employee productivity and workplace bullying in the Saudi Arabia manufacturing sector (e.g. power generation, telecommunications, natural gas exploration, and petrochemical sectors). It is widely acknowledged that the influence of HRM practices may produce a comparative advantage in the performance of organizations with the well-being of the employees. To find the relationship between the variables, the study incorporates descriptive research methodologies and quantitative analysis of a valid questionnaire is performed utilizing stratified and simple, random samples by HR managers and employees. For data interpretation, a questionnaire of self-administered data was collected from a sample of 300 in Saudi Arabia. Employee behavioural outcomes of HRM practices have a significant and positive relationship between Organizational Commitment, Job Performance, Absenteeism, and Employee Productivity. A negative direct relationship is found between employees’ negative behaviour regarding the use of workplace bullying and employee turnover. The instrument’s internal reliability was established to be 0.793. Followed by inferential evaluations, a significance-level T-Test assessment for the benefit of the manufacturing sector evaluates the Hypothesis Test for HRM practice. The study has some limitations. Although data were collected from various sectors in Saudi Arabia, the findings of the study have limited generalizability. Future studies could extend the analysis to include other workplaces. This is the study of the factors affecting the organizational change of employees’ positive and negative behaviour outcomes which impact organisational growth and employee wellbeing. This study will contribute to the development of the Saudi Arabian power generation, telecommunications, natural gas exploration, and petrochemical sectors sector, which may lead to maintaining this sector work effectively that will have a positive impact on the economy of Saudi society.

Job flourishing research: A systematic literature review

Research on job flourishing is still in its infancy, relies on a plethora of different theories, and shows inconsistent results, but has already shown numerous beneficial effects on various organizational outcomes. In this state-of-the-art review, we identify the theoretical frameworks used to examine (the dynamics of) job flourishing, including its predictors and outcomes, and offer an integrated approach that is, thus far, missing. We selected and analyzed 40 empirical studies and derived from them a comprehensive multilevel conceptual model with matching propositions. This review extends our current knowledge of organizational psychology literature by suggesting how to combine the evidence obtained so far on how job flourishing arises and unfolds in organizational work contexts and its effects (e.g., on job performance, turnover intention, etc.). Rooted therein, we provide both directions for impactful future research and recommendations for managers on how to foster this desirable mental-health state at work.

Presenteeism Is Reloaded and Ready for Further Research – A Commentary on Priebe, J. and Hägerbäumer, M. (2023)

Presenteeism Is Reloaded and Ready for Further Research – A Commentary on Priebe, J. and Hägerbäumer, M. (2023)

Analyzing the Effect of Organizational Commitment, Spiritual Motivation and Spiritual Leadership on Employee Performance through Job Satisfaction

Organizational commitment has become a topic of discussion in various literatures, such as the public sector literature (non-profit sector) and the private sector, which are generally profit-oriented (profit orientation). These are listed in various kinds of literature, for example, industrial and organizational psychology literature on education, theology, health, hospitality, social workers, and medicine using processed data using SEM with Amos version 24 software, the sample of respondents is 165. The results indicated that organizational commitment, spiritual motivation, and leadership significantly positively affect employee job satisfaction. Also, this study found that employee satisfaction, organizational commitment, and spiritual motivation significantly positively affect employee performance. Besides that, spiritual leadership does not significantly affect employee performance. In conclusion, this study has successfully examined the effect of organizational commitment, spiritual motivation, and spiritual leadership on employee performance through job satisfaction.

Composing a Life that Works with a Life that Counts for Nurses.

The life of a nurse since the Covid-19 pandemic is characterized by high rates of anxiety, depression, and burnout, leading national organizations to declare the nursing shortage a national emergency. Solutions cite work-life balance, but this term has no clear guiding definition. Experts in the organizational psychology and personal development literature suggest other ways to reconsider this dilemma, that of integration. In this paper the concept of integration is proposed to focus on relationships with family and friends, work, and oneself. The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses 'standards for a healthy work environment are used to frame the benefits of an integrated life. Strategies to achieve an integrated life, one with meaning and purpose, are described to create more happiness and joy and to begin to mitigate the nursing shortage.

Putting Their Money Where Their Mouths Are: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Addressing Disparities in Health Research, Grant Funding, and Recruitment of Black Women to Breast Cancer Clinical Trials

Background and Objective: On this literature review and textual analysis, we apply theories from health communication and psychology to better understand the cultural and structural factors that may discourage Black women’s participation in clinical trials, paying particular attention to the public and private organizations and agencies that fund this research. We use breast cancer clinical trials as an extended example to illustrate the wider issue of a lack of funding for formative and community-based research.
 Design: We begin by reviewing the recruitment of Black women to breast cancer research and identifying themes in the literature where gaps exist. We then examine the social and organizational psychology literature on influencing the recruitment of women and racial/ethnic minorities, suggesting this field may be helpful for addressing the recognized gaps. Throughout the work, we identify points at which disparities may arise. We suggest that these theoretical approaches are helpful in reducing disparities and illuminating the structural factors that discourage participation from minoritized groups. Finally, we suggest future research opportunities for using these perspectives to increase participation of Black women in breast cancer and other health research.
 Results: Researchers could benefit from employing psychology principles of contingency cues and identity safety when recruiting Black women into clinical trials, especially for breast cancer. Further, funding organizations such as the NIH must fund formative research which seeks out the voices of Black women and other marginalized populations to fully address and eliminate health disparities.
 Conclusions: This work highlights the need for increased cross-sectional literature in the fields of communication and psychology. As scholars explore directions for future research, we encourage them to consider the expertise of Black women, themselves, in solving these problems.

The relationship between alexithymia and counterproductive behaviors in the workplace

Purpose. The concept of alexithymia which is expressed as individuals having difficulty defining, regulating, and expressing their emotions, is believed to be on the rise in organizational life. It is argued that it is not possible for employees who have difficulty defining their emotions to build positive relationships in the workplace. Therefore, this study aims to investigate whether alexithymia has an impact on counterproductive work behaviors. Study design. Data were collected through the convenience sampling method from 334 employees working in public and private sector organizations in Turkey. The mean age of the participants is 34.1 years, the mean seniority in the profession is seven years, and the mean seniority in their organizations is three years. The data was collected through asurvey form. The Counterproductive Work Behaviors Scale (CWB) and Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) were used in the data collection tool. Findings. The study revealed that alexithymia has a significant contribution to counterproductive work behaviors. Moreover, it was found that alexithymia has a stronger contribution to organizational deviance (Cwb-O) than employee deviance (Cwb-P). As a result of the simple regression analysis carried out to determine to what extent the sub-dimension of alexithymia predicts counterproductive work behaviors in the workplace. “Having difficulty recognizingand verbalizing emotions” significantly predicted counterproductive work behaviors towards the organization (β = .65, t = 15.7, p = .00) and counterproductive work behaviors towards the employee (β = .42, t = 8.52, p = .00). Value of results. The findings of the study will provide a new perspective on counterproductive work behaviors in organizations and contribute to the industrial and organizational psychology literature as it is the first study in Turkey regarding the relationship between alexithymia and counterproductive work behaviors.

Дослідження кар'єрних переходів українських IT-проєктних менеджерів на перше місце роботи

The article is devoted to the analysis of career transitions to the first place of work among Ukrainian IT project managers. Background. Software development is an increasingly important branch of the Ukrainian economy, especially in the period of rebalancing caused by the war and the flow of human talent from traditional economy sectors to new creative industries. Career transition to the project manager position is one of the easiest ways to attract personnel from other sectors of the economy to the IT industry. In this regard, it seems important to determine which socio-psychological factors contribute to the career transition of project managers in IT to the first place of work and to provide recommendations regarding measures to increase the number of IT specialists in Ukraine. Methods. A career and organizational psychology literature review was carried out on career transitions, career stages, and career choice. Analysis and synthesis were used to identify the methodological foundations of this psychological phenomenon. An online survey was conducted and an analysis of the sources of transitions to the first place of work in IT by project managers was presented. The method of transition to the first place of work is analyzed. Results. The concept of career transitions and related terms are revealed. The hypothesis about the predominance of the desired psychological portrait over the necessary knowledge when hiring project managers without experience in IT for the first place of work was confirmed. Based on the results of the research analysis, it is shown that the majority of transitions (53 %) to the position of the project manager are now taking place from within the IT industry due to self-study (79 %). Conclusion. The main factors that will contribute to a greater number of career transitions to the first position of non-IT project managers are determined to decrease the contrast between the position of an IT project manager and the position of a project manager from other areas of business. And also the minimization of negative surprises that can lead to the dismissal of such sweaters during the first employment. The expediency of introducing a greater number of activities to gain experience in project management, leadership, working communication, and creating and managing projects in university programs is indicated. Recommendations are provided for the following researchers and practitioners of project management who will work with the topic of career transitions to the first place of work of IT project managers in Ukraine.

Meaningful Leadership and Employees’ Well-being: Process through Meaningful Work

Based on the principle of intrinsic motivation of self-determination theory, the purpose of the present research was to unearth the effect of meaningful leadership on followers’ positive emotional well-being indirectly through meaningful work. The following 665 workers were recruited from varied organizations and surveyed 3 times over a period of one month. To test the current study’s hypotheses, we checked whether meaningful work explained meaningful leadership’s relationship with employees' positive emotional well-being in the form of intrinsic motivation. Structural equation modelling was applied interesting of a mediation model in Mplus. The results suggested that the employees who perceive their leaders’ behaviors as meaningful recognize their work more meaningful and ultimately have positive emotional well-being. Overall, the results of our study support and contribute to the positive organizational psychology literature, specifically empirically found that meaningful leadership contributes to the meaningful work of the followers and positive emotional well-being. Further, suggested measures for managers to improve the well-being of employees

What has employee loyalty to do with “love” to clients? Testing approaches to work as mediators

PurposeDrawing on the organizational psychology literature and social resource theory, this research aimed to investigate how attitude toward the employer (i.e. loyalty) and attitude toward the client (i.e. approach to work: professional, market-oriented and person-centered) relate to the perceived importance of socio-emotional resources in providing care to older people.Design/methodology/approachSwedish frontline care staff members participated in an electronic survey using a cross-sectional design. Mediation analyses were conducted to examine proposed direct and indirect effects of loyalty on the perceived importance of socio-emotional resources in care through three different approaches to work in care settings.FindingsIn general, the results confirmed the hypotheses. Thus, the analyses showed a positive association between employee loyalty and the perceived value of socio-emotional resources in care, which was partially mediated by the person-centered and professional approaches to work. Moreover, the analyses showed that the person-centered approach was more strongly related to the perceived value of socio-emotional resources in care than the other two approaches, lending support to the superiority of the person-centered approach in this context.Originality/valueThe study highlights that there exist multiple approaches to work in care settings. Also, the insights about how loyalty toward the employer relates to approach to work in care settings and the perceived value of socio-emotional resources in care are novel and of crucial importance to practitioners and the outcomes of care.

Is Justice Colorblind? A Review of Workplace Racioethnic Differences Through the Lens of Organizational Justice

It is difficult to draw definitive conclusions about the workplace impact of race from the organizational psychology and organizational behavior literature. Topical coverage is spotty and the findings are fragmented, with little existing theory to orient, integrate, and reconcile them. Consequently, it is unsurprising that public opinion is highly divergent about the influence of race at work, and practitioners are left largely unassisted in determining evidence-based approaches to leveraging this form of difference among their personnel. To fill this void, we review the relevant findings through the lens of organizational justice to help clarify the impact of race on organizational experiences. Our findings suggest that justice indeed varies as a function of race, the magnitude of differences depends on the type of justice, and there are several potentially fruitful areas for additional inquiry.

Employee-Organization Identity Fusion: Connecting Leadership and Symmetrical Internal Communication to Identity- and Engagement-Related Outcomes

Employees are key organizational stakeholders whose value to the enterprise’s functioning has long been emphasized in business communication literature. The present study serves to integrate business communication, organizational psychology, and leadership literature to advance a theoretically grounded model explaining employees’ job engagement. Drawing upon recent advances in consumer psychology and social identity scholarship on brand identity fusion, this study examines how employee-organization identity fusion, or a visceral feeling of oneness with the organization experienced by employees may contribute to their job engagement. Surveys conducted among employees belonging to corporations with one thousand or more employees revealed not only the power of authentic leadership and symmetrical communication in engendering employee-organization identity fusion, but also how leadership and communication can foster workers’ job engagement. The theoretical and managerial implications of this work are discussed (132 words).

Cultivating Positivity to Achieve a Resilient Society: A Critical Narrative Review from Psychological Perspectives

With the rapid speed of globalization and technological breakthroughs, current social issues have become more complex than in past decades. As many issues such as pandemics, terrorism, and interracial conflict are realistically unpredictable, the idea of resilience offers an intuitively plausible and attainable strategy to deal with these potential adversities. The current narrative review explores the cultivation of positive emotions and traits as a plausible way to achieve a resilient society. Based on research in the social and industrial organizational psychology literature, we reviewed the role of positive emotions and traits on resilience. Lastly, we highlight important experiences and interventions that have been shown to be effective in cultivating positivity and discuss several potential considerations and boundary conditions.

Motivation of Freelance Employees in the Gig Economy in Turkey

In the current industrial and organizational psychology literature, predominantly salaried, paid, permanent and full-time employees in a certain workplace and in a certain time period are represented. This study examines the motivations that pull / push the freelancers working on various online labour platforms to the gig economy in Turkey. In the study, mixed method was used as data collection technique. In the quantitative stage of the research, a survey was conducted on 117 people, while semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 people in the qualitative phase. Survey data in the SPSS 20.0 program, qualitative data were analyzed descriptively. As a result, it was understood that the most obvious motivation factors of freelancers are independence, success drive and flexibility. The Gig economy provides employees with the opportunity to work flexibly, allowing them to organize their own work programs and control their labor processes, while also contrasting with the optimistic depictions of a flexible economy. It is also seen that freelance employees feel free of friendship relationships, excluded and isolated from other people.

A Literature Review of Perspective taking Research Relevant for Entrepreneurship

Perspective taking enhances an entrepreneur’s ability to recognize better market opportunities in terms of desirability, feasibility, alignment, and creativity. Although the perspective taking construct is well-established in organizational psychology literature, entrepreneurship scholars have yet to realize its full potential. To this end, this paper offers a literature review and synthesis of perspective taking research relevant to entrepreneurship to elucidate perspective taking’s role as a mechanism for entrepreneurial learning. This paper identified 25 articles in which perspective taking plays a central role, and the relevance for entrepreneurship is clearly apparent. Additionally, this review is informed by another 26 articles covering the broader topics of perspective taking within psychology, cognition, and entrepreneurial learning. This review describes the various roles of perspective taking in existing scholarship, including its antecedents, consequences, mediators, and moderators, and concludes with suggestions for additional research avenues. Taken together, this literature review shows that perspective taking, and the learning that it evokes, play a valuable and necessary role across the spectrum of entrepreneurship research.