Organizational Reality Research Articles

Team Members’ Resilience and the Emergence of Team Resilience as Drivers of Innovation Performance

Resilience — the capacity to bounce back from adversity — is critical for innovation. However, most studies have examined resilience and its positive effects for innovation performance at the individual level, which does not fully capture the organizational reality of individuals working together in teams. By following core tenets of conservation of resources theory, we ask whether resilient individuals also build a more resilient and, eventually, a more innovative team. To address this critical question, we conduct a three-wave study of 58 newly formed innovation teams with 169 individuals and external performance ratings. Specifically, we examine whether the average level of members’ individual resilience initially available to their teams translates into innovation team performance via team resilience as an emergent state later in the process. We further test whether this indirect effect is contingent on teams’ collective exposure to setbacks. The results support our theorizing that only when there is little exposure to setbacks early in the project, team members’ average resilience capacities relate to innovation team performance via team resilience. We conclude that resilient individuals do not necessarily make resilient teams because the experience of intense setbacks in early project phases tend to inhibit team members’ resilience capacities to materialize in team resilience and innovation team performance. Our findings contribute to current discussions on the emergence of team resilience as a critical process in innovation teams.

Seems Legit! Conceptualizing the Role of Legitimacy in Collective Action for Digital Innovation

The effect of digital transformation on organizing innovation as collective action is still underexplored. Organizational reality shows that nascent organizational units, which we label Digital Innovation Units (DIUs), emerge as actors driving the digital transformation of organizational innovation. Yet, DIUs’ innovation endeavors and internal collaboration efforts still seem challenging for many organizations. We argue that the mere presence of DIUs challenges institutionalized innovation structures and actor arrangements, for instance regarding the legitimate roles of research and development (R&D) units or IT units (ITUs) in digital innovation processes, and impedes collective actions. This trend demands a theoretical reevaluation of how to think about collective action for digital innovation. Adopting an institutional perspective, we build on the collective action of institutional innovation model and consider the role of organizational legitimacy in constructing collective action of R&D, ITUs and DIUs for digital innovation. We offer a complementary intra-organizational dimension by modifying the model’s four central elements and simultaneously transfer its theoretical base into the digital era. By elaborating on the contemporary challenges associated with organizing for digital innovation in general, and with collective action with DIUs in particular, our conceptualization offers crucial insights into the organizational underpinnings enabling collective action for digital innovation.

Social learning and career navigation in the U.S. Military: the personal experiences, observations and socializations of servicewomen

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the interactions of social learning and career navigation and their associated implications for women in military service.Design/methodology/approachSocial learning theory (Bandura, 1977) exposes and aids in understanding the ability of an organization’s members to reconcile their personal experiences, socialization and observations. Drawn from a larger qualitative study of gender in the US military, this study highlights the US military’s rigorous socialization practices and the reliance on communal memory and social learning including matters pertaining to gender including career navigation.FindingsMilitary servicewomen use these processes to learn military culture, acceptable behaviors, institutional norms and organizational realities for career navigation reflective of gender.Originality/valueThis article presents a novel exploration of gender in the military as it pertains to social learning and career progression.

Evolution From Human Virtual Teams to Artificial Virtual Teams Supported by Artificial Intelligence. Results of Literature Analysis and Empirical Research

Design/methodology/approach: The research method is a literature review and our own empirical research concerning the new organizational reality with hybrid virtual teams consisting of humans as well as artificial agents. The research data was the results of a long-term observation of a virtual team which was conducted in June 2021 in a group of students who worked 36 hours using online management tools in TransistorsHead.com and MS Teams. Findings: The research has shown that virtual teams require different ways of communication and that consequences of working in such a team change the types of tasks, time spent working together as a group and social aspects of cooperation between team members. This experiment has shown that the decision-making process based on artificial entities can fulfill the requirements of virtual teams and that such entities can be considered as teammates or teams (Team As A Software – TAAS). It is also possible also to imitate a human-like manager (Manager As A Software – MAAS) or its higher evolutionary copy, namely a “sophisticated superhuman machine”. Research limitations/implications: The research results presented here are an example of research conducted from 2012 on, by means of online managerial tools, concerning the work of virtual teams and the opportunity to replace a human manager with a robot one. The answers to the research questions can only be applied to the studied group of students and cannot be generalized for all teams. Future research will be conducted with a wider group of respondents. Originality/value: The originality of the presented research results lies in the fact that the data collected during the research represents the real activities undertaken by the manager and his/her team members during the 36-hour work on the task concerned rather than being mere declarations of these activities by the respondents.

Exploring the Nature, Facilitators, and Challenges of Program Coherence in a Case of Teacher Education Program Redesign Using Core Practices

Scholars have called for promoting coherence in teacher education programs. Such coherence is often depicted as a state to be achieved. This article reconceptualizes coherence as a dynamic process affected by the simultaneous organizational realities of unity, conflict, and fragmentation; it also aims to clarify factors that can facilitate or challenge the work of enhancing teacher education program coherence. Drawing on a case study of program-wide redesign, we show that promoting coherence requires more than just maximizing unity (instructors’ agreement on means and ends). It also requires addressing conflict and recognizing fragmentation in ways that support what we term “pathway flexibility.” By highlighting the interplay of unity, conflict, and fragmentation, we offer a set of conceptual tools to understand and support the development of program coherence in teacher education.

Subtle Leadership: When Referent Power is Subtly Powerful

The following research presents the construct of “subtle leadership” in a conceptual discussion as a new way of perceiving and studying leaders of the twenty-first century. Its core objective points toward the conceptualization of “subtle leadership,” sharing a basic definition to provoke discussion and emerging theoretical framework in order to better understand the current organizational reality. Some leadership styles such as servant leadership, shared leadership, and authentic leadership are discussed to compare and contrast them with “subtle leadership,” emphasizing that leadership is viewed as a process and not only as styles or personal traits. Subtle leadership is primarily based on a high level of referent power and a holistic perspective of the personal and process factors essential for leading and influencing today’s workplace. Considering the potential of “subtle leadership” for further discussion in the academic world, it aims to generate provoking theory building.

‘We're all Born Naked and the Rest is Drag’: Spectacularization of Core Stigma in RuPaul's Drag Race

AbstractHow can organizations capitalize on core stigma through spectacles? In this paper, we adopt a performativity perspective to address this question. Specifically, we analyze how an assemblage of different actors within and around an organization contributes to the spectacularization of stigma and thus brings a new reality into being. In this new reality, rather than stigma being concealed, it is normalized, and the organization capitalizes on it to enhance success. We focus on RuPaul's Drag Race as a stigmatized organization that has built its success through the active spectacularization of its core stigma. In our analyses, we identify three mechanisms (i.e., reiteration of transgressions, awakening of social consciousness, and language modelling) the organization strategically uses to spectacularize the transgressions associated with the social deviance of drag queens. Through these mechanisms, a new reality around the stigma of drag queens is constructed and stigma is normalized. Overall, we contribute to a better understanding of how organizations can capitalize on their core stigma through spectacularization; we also explore the role of audiences in co‐creating organizational realities around stigma.

Crisiscommunicatie of communicatiecrisis?

Crisis communication or communication crisis? Dysfunctional patterns during internal online discussions about the benefits affair In 2019 it became clear that the Dutch tax authorities had wrongly reclaimed childcare benefits on a large scale, with major consequences for the parents involved. The benefits affair also meant a crisis for the tax authorities. Disruptive events in an organization can lead to what Karl Weick calls a ‘collapse of meaning’: a situation in which people no longer experience their (organizational) reality as logical, consistent and morally acceptable. In such a period people look for meaning, cohesion and identity. This study is about the role of narratives in an organization in dealing with an organizational crisis. We analyzed internal online narratives at the tax authorities about the allowance affair. Our analysis shows, among other things, how identity questions put other questions out of sight and how patterns in the interactions between administrators and employees reinforce certain dysfunctional narratives. Our findings show the importance of an active listening policy and the exemplary role that managers play in this.

Hypothesising in Contemporary Organisational Management Research. What Really Matters?

Abstract Management is an economic science and more than ever, temporal, as a direct effect of the level of social development, with many interdependencies with other fields of knowledge. Generically said, studies and research in the field of organisational management involve a high level of difficulty compared to other types of sciences because they primarily investigate aspects related to the soft component of the organisation, the human resource. The results, operationalised through the design and implementation of decisions, are achieved by people, for people, and people are involved in the (micro or macro) organisational universe with different experiences and expertise, different attitudes, different expectations, transforming other types of resources. It is difficult to translate purely qualitative aspects, which can be extracted from an organisational framework often by observation, into quantitative contexts that support the transformation of conclusions into judgements of principle value. In this context, the article examines the role, importance and usability of the hypothesis as a management tool. Starting from the highlighting of topical issues in the field of management science, an attempt is made to answer the following questions: in what situations can hypotheses be used? what are the application peculiarities and, subsequently, the advantages and disadvantages? what established typologies have been highlighted in the investigation of management issues? The theoretical observations are doubled in significance by a case study based on the use of the Competing Hypotheses Model (CHA). To summarize, the quality of the conceptual representations and semantics of the construction of a working hypothesis can bring us closer or further away from the organisational reality of interest, with direct effects on the relevance and effects of the activity undertaken.

A REVIEW OF TRADITIONAL APPROACHES OF STUDYING LEADERSHIP STYLES

This article is going to present a review of the most influential and mainstream theories about leadership, which are of significant meaning for a successful manager. The author will focus on some leadership theories by giving a more detailed image of the characteristics and attributes that an effective manager should have. The principal message of this article is that it is important to reflect the type of leader that a manager wants to be so that he remains loyal to his principles. In conclusion, the author leads to the fact that the traditional theories of leadership have not provided a completely satisfactory framework for leadership effectiveness. The modern theory emphasizes the image of an effective manager as an organizational reality.

Dual Leadership in the Matrix: Effects of Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) and Dual-Leader Exchange (DLX) on Role Conflict and Dual Leadership Effectiveness

While strategic management theories have heavily engaged with the reality of matrix organizations, leadership theories that actually focus on the people working within such arrangements are missing. We argue that (a) followers perceive dual leadership effectiveness to be more than the sum of each leader's effectiveness, (b) a core detriment to perceived dual leadership effectiveness is role conflict experienced by the follower, and (c) Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) needs to be theoretically extended to the triadic level to capture the influence of dual leadership. Specifically, followers’ role conflict and leadership effectiveness perceptions are driven not only by how they perceive their LMX relationships with both leaders, but also how they perceive the relationship quality between their leaders (dual leadership exchange, DLX). As such, even though higher LMX is still better than lower LMX, having a similar exchange relationship with both leaders reduces employees’ role conflict and, by extension, heightens dual leadership effectiveness. Additionally, we reason that when employees lack a good relationship with one of the leaders, higher DLX can act as a substitute. We find support for our hypotheses by applying polynomial regression analyses to a dataset of 111 managers from a matrix organization who report to both a regional and business unit leader.

Faceless power and voiceless resistance: How a Chinese context challenges a western theory of power

This article examines the applicability to the Chinese context of a western power typology by Fleming and Spicer. In particular, we extend this power framework to exploring the relationship between language policies and organizational power. Drawing from 30 interviews in addition to 6-months of participant observation in a multinational corporation’s subsidiary in China, we question the separability of the different faces of power, and observe the absence of certain corresponding forms of resistance – most notably that of voice. We found Fleming and Spicer’s faces of power to prioritize individualistic and active as opposed to more collectivist and passive dynamics, potentially indicating cultural bias. Drawing on defaced account of the structures of power, we highlight the absence of an adequate emphasis on sociocultural and historical context in power discourse and expand the traditional conceptualization of power to a more multifactorial understanding of the interaction between faced and defaced structures of power as influenced by the historical, economic, socio-cultural and organizational reality of our lived experiences.

Exploring the Reality of Organization of Pedagogical Courses and Practicums for Pre-Service Teachers under the New Model of Initial Teacher Education in Vietnam through A Case Study

This study investigates the effectiveness of pedagogical courses and practicums in the A+B teacher education model at the University of Education, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. Most of the participants in the study said that they were implemented effectively, helping to equip students with what they need to become high school teacher s. However, the practicums at the University of Education are still in need of innovation when compared to the corresponding programs in many other countries. The implementation time of the A+B teacher education model has only been around a decade, so it is necessary to make continuous adjustments for the betterment of this model. The research results not only help stakeholders in the reform of teacher education at the University of Education, but also serve as reference information for other institutions in the process of innovating teacher education programs and models, particularly when it comes to pedagogical courses as well as practicums.

Association of Childhood Trauma and Personality Dimensions with the Duration of Untreated Psychosis.

Understanding causes and consequences of untreated psychosis is important since the duration of psychosis prior to the treatment initiation is a potentially modifiable prognostic factor, and comprehending its impact on outcome may enhance therapeutic strategies. This cross-sectional study was performed on a consecutive sample of 105 participants, 47 first episode participants and 58 with multiple episodes. Primary outcome was the duration of untreated psychosis (DUP). We observed three independent variables: childhood trauma measured by Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, psychotic symptoms measured by Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and personality dimensions measured by the Inventory of Personality Organization (IPO) (primitive defences, identity diffusion and reality testing). All outcomes were observed among total sample and subgroups of first and multiple episode participants. Median DUP in total sample was 60.0 (IQR 14.5-285) days. In the subgroup of multiple episode participants, an association between multiple childhood trauma and shorter DUP was found, while no association between DUP and the existence of any specific trauma was found in neither subgroup, or in total sample. With regards to personality dimensions, in the first episode subgroup, significant positive correlations between DUP and primitive defences and reality testing subscales were found, while no correlations in total sample, nor in multiple episode subgroup were observed. Positive symptoms and general psychopathology correlated positively with DUP in total sample, and in first episode subgroup, while in multiple episodes subgroup only a positive correlation with positive symptoms was found. Total PANSS score positively correlated with the DUP only in the first episode subgroup. DUP was not associated with specific type of childhood trauma. First episode participants with longer DUP had predominant primitive defences and severely decreased ability to test reality, while there were no correlations between personality dimensions and DUP in multiple episode subgroup.

The Impact of E-Governance in the Achievement of Organizational Change Strategies: A Study of Government Departments in Anantapuram District, Andhra Pradesh

The present study seeks to determine the level to which government departments in the Anantapuram district may utilize contemporary and impactful technologies such as e-governance to bridge the gap between them and the people and use it to successfully implement organizational changes to enhance the districts’ existing administrative organizational reality to attain good governance. The relationship between e-governance and organizational change strategies requires an assessment of transparency, e-accountability, e-auditing, participation and change strategy, dialogue and negotiation strategy, deception and camouflage strategy, learning and communication strategy, and support facilitation strategy. A total of 120 executive officials from Anantapuram district’s government agencies were included in the study. To gather data, a questionnaire was used. Ananatapuramu’s government agencies have made extensive use of e-governance. However, it has been restricted in its ability to improve the performance of the organizational reform initiatives that have been implemented. E-Audit adjustments have been implemented in Anantapuram government agencies, which show that they’re serious about using them in their organizational reform initiatives.

Toward A New Political Economy of Human Resource Development

To promote human development and flourishing and the creation of just and sustainable workplaces, HRD professionals need a better understanding of the political and economic forces shaping organizational realities. We need new models, grounded in an updated understanding of the political economy of labor and workforce development. This essay offers a brief critique of the current models and discusses alternative ways of thinking about political and economic mechanisms that can promote human flourishing, equity, and sustainability. We offer suggestions for how HRD researchers and practitioners can use this new lens to develop interventions and advance scholarship.

Good scientific practice in EEG and MEG research: Progress and perspectives

Good scientific practice (GSP) refers to both explicit and implicit rules, recommendations, and guidelines that help scientists to produce work that is of the highest quality at any given time, and to efficiently share that work with the community for further scrutiny or utilization. For experimental research using magneto- and electroencephalography (MEEG), GSP includes specific standards and guidelines for technical competence, which are periodically updated and adapted to new findings. However, GSP also needs to be regularly revisited in a broader light. At the LiveMEEG 2020 conference, a reflection on GSP was fostered that included explicitly documented guidelines and technical advances, but also emphasized intangible GSP: a general awareness of personal, organizational, and societal realities and how they can influence MEEG research. This article provides an extensive report on most of the LiveMEEG contributions and new literature, with the additional aim to synthesize ongoing cultural changes in GSP. It first covers GSP with respect to cognitive biases and logical fallacies, pre-registration as a tool to avoid those and other early pitfalls, and a number of resources to enable collaborative and reproducible research as a general approach to minimize misconceptions. Second, it covers GSP with respect to data acquisition, analysis, reporting, and sharing, including new tools and frameworks to support collaborative work. Finally, GSP is considered in light of ethical implications of MEEG research and the resulting responsibility that scientists have to engage with societal challenges. Considering among other things the benefits of peer review and open access at all stages, the need to coordinate larger international projects, the complexity of MEEG subject matter, and today's prioritization of fairness, privacy, and the environment, we find that current GSP tends to favor collective and cooperative work, for both scientific and for societal reasons.

Promoting remote workers' psychological health: Effective management practices during the COVID‐19 crisis

The aim of this study was to identify specific management practices that promote the psychological health of remote workers in the context of the COVID‐19 crisis. A two‐round Delphi study was conducted among 28 teleworkers and 22 managers. A list of 60 specific management practices was presented and participants had to identify whether each one could be used in the current remote working context and, if so, how useful it was to promote psychological health at work. Results indicate that most specific management practices usually used in a face‐to‐face setting can also be used in a remote context (85%). Practices that show consideration, establishing work structure, and allowing flexibility were also identified as the most useful to promote remote workers' psychological health during the pandemic. This study contributes to the advancement of knowledge about specific management practices, remote working, and crisis management. It also suggests specific practices that managers can adopt to promote the psychological health of their employees during a period of crisis, even while managing from a distance.

How Hybrid Organizations Adopt Circular Economy Models to Foster Sustainable Development

Relying on the hybrid organization literature and the circular economy literature, our study aims at theorizing how hybrid organizations adopt circular economy business models to contribute to sustainable development. Through six in-depth interviews with social entrepreneurs located in different regions of Italy and operating in different industries, we theorize that four aspects are unique to hybrid organizing that adopt a circular economy business model. We find that hybrid organizations foster sustainable development thanks to their ability to develop and maintain relationships with the surrounding organizational realities. Additionally, we find that hybrid organizations contribute to sustainable development thanks to their motivation to guard and watch over the natural environment and human beings. In addition, we find that hybrid organizations foster sustainability by educating, spreading knowledge, and ennobling the human spirit. We therefore present a conceptual model that shows how hybrid organizations that adopt circular economy models contribute to sustainable development. In sum, our findings expand on previous literature, add new knowledge, and integrate fields of research that usually develop in silos.

The dynamic use of a balanced scorecard in an Italian public hospital.

PurposeThis paper aims to analyse the dynamic use of the balanced scorecard (BSC) in an Italian public hospital.Design/Methodology/ApproachA longitudinal case study was conducted at an Italian public teaching hospital over a period of 5 years. The emergence of dynamic use of BSC was traced over a different combination of social, political, economic and organizational realities. A deeper understanding of these realities requires the adoption of a holistic approach to BSC use. Henri's types of system use (i.e., monitoring, attention focussing, strategic decision‐making and legitimizing) frame this approach in a more concrete manner.FindingsThis study adds to the debate on whether BSC is used for aspects other than monitoring in public contexts. The case study offers the first example of a legitimizing use of the system and a first longitudinal case study that traces a dynamic use of BSC: the use evolves from monitoring and attention focussing to monitoring and legitimization. Norms, political parties and top managers play a determining role in this process.Originality/ValueThrough a longitudinal approach, this study presents how BSC can be a dynamic tool steered by legitimacy pressures. The longitudinal study explores how social, political, economic and organizational context shape the implementation and the revision of BSC affecting the use of the tool by top managers. The browse of this dynamism is supported by Henri's type of use along with an in‐depth analysis of the BSC literature evolution in terms of its ‘static, dynamic and expected’ use.