Organizational Phenomena Research Articles

Linking workplace digitalization to work engagement: evidence from China public sector organizations

PurposeThe construction of “Digital Government” has greatly facilitated the workplace digitalization in the public sectors of China. Workplace digitalization has become a pervasive phenomenon in modern organizations, including the public sector. Existing research on the impact of workplace digitalization on individual behavior has yielded conflicting results, making the impact of workplace digitalization on employee work engagement remains a subject of debate and investigation. Based on the transactional theory of stress, this article aims to examine how workplace digitalization influences government employees’ work engagement through different appraisals (i.e., challenge and threat) and the moderating role of a personal trait (i.e., digital literacy).MethodsStructured questionnaires and a three-wave research design were used to collect data. A total of 290 employees from public organizations in Guangdong Province, in China, participated in the study. SPSS and MPLUS were used to analyze the data using the latest bootstrapping and process macro techniques.ResultsThe results show that workplace digitalization can produce both beneficial and detrimental impacts on work engagement of government employees via challenge and threat appraisals, respectively. The digital literacy of government employees was confirmed to moderate the impacts of perceived workplace digitalization on stress appraisals (i.e., challenge and threat).ConclusionOur study proposes a theoretical framework that explain the mixed impacts of workplace digitalization on government employees’ work engagement via challenge and threat appraisals. It also offers practical suggestions to public sector and managers on how to balance the challenge and threat aspects of digitalization in the workplace.

Attentional Control: Institutions, Management, Organizations, and Algorithms

This paper presents my development of an integrated, cross-level theory of attentional control in macro-organizational behavior. Viewing organizations as complex adaptive systems of joint and distributed attention, the paper highlights the importance of attention in facilitating joint attention, collective intentionality, coordinated action, and adaptation. The theory posits that intentional organizational behavior is shaped by top-down attentional control mechanisms: institutions and institutional logics, organizational structures and processes, managers and management, and, in the digital age, algorithms. I trace the theory's roots to my personal, educational, and professional experiences, emphasizing the need for integration across perspectives, interdisciplinary and multilevel research, and connecting research to practitioners’ needs. I conclude by calling for a more unified understanding of organizational phenomena through a theory of attentional control and encourage dialogue across scholarly communities to build a more integrative and impactful organizational science.

Learning From Mistakes in Project-based Organizations

Knowledge sharing and learning play a pivotal role in improving performance in organizations. Organizational activities such as projects provide the necessary arena for creating new knowledge (knowledge exploration) as well as sharing of existing, well-proven solutions (knowledge exploitation). This can lead organizations to increase their productivity, innovation and profitability. Sustainable competitive advantage can also be gained by being keen on knowledge sharing and learning, since focusing on continuous learning and improvement can make organizations as learning organizations. Learning organizations, which are characterized as having a genuine interest, willingness and ability to learn and improve continuously, can effectively deal with typical organizational phenomena such as changes and uncertainty both reactively and pro-actively. As a result, they can quickly adapt to and master changing environments. This paper will look at the topic of learning from mistakes in an organizational context. “To err is human” – As the idiom points out how natural it is to make mistakes, organizations too are prone to make mistakes. Though mistakes can be seen as natural in organizations, it is important to look at how the person who has made a mistake as well as other relevant people can learn from the mistake. Learning from a mistake helps to avoid doing the same mistake in the future and hence contribute to save time, energy and cost. It can also trigger to find a correct or better alternative way / solution to deal with the situation at hand, resulting in providing opportunities for single- or double-loop learning. This paper will focus on (1) identifying barriers that hinder learning from own mistakes and sharing that knowledge with others and (2) how to facilitate learning from mistakes and sharing that knowledge with others in project-based organizations. The study on which this paper is based, uses qualitative research method. Data have been collected through conducting interviews with Norwegian public organizations.

Chaxu Climate as a Double-Edged Sword: A Moderated Mediation Model of Organizational Justice, Hierarchy Level on Turnover Intention

Research on chaxu climate, a prevalent organizational phenomenon in China, has captured significant academic attention in recent years. This study aims to explain why some employees who experience chaxu climate in hospitality organizations contemplate leaving, while others do not. We propose a moderated mediation model to examine the double-edged sword impact of chaxu climate on turnover intention. Through one qualitative study and two scenarios-based experimental studies, we reveal that organizational justice plays a crucial role as a contextual cue, influencing employees’ attribution of chaxu climate and subsequent turnover intention. Perceived insider status is identified as a mediator. Furthermore, we establish a second-level moderating effect of the hierarchy level, distinguishing between supervisor and front-line employees. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed accordingly.

Measuring cultural friction in cross-border mergers and acquisitions using a microfoundation-based approach

PurposeCultural friction (CF) was introduced by researchers to overcome the issues and challenges of cultural distance measurement in the context of cross-border mergers and acquisitions (CBMAs). However, this construct has proved itself to be problematic to operationalize. To address this challenge, this paper aims to elaborate on a CF measurement instrument based on individual perceptions in CBMAs. This study used a microfoundation approach to measure CF, relying on managers’ interactions in CBMA settings.Design/methodology/approachTo develop and validate a CF measurement in the context of CBMAs, this study followed a classical procedure including items development, lab tests and one field-study and an assessment of the construct validity.FindingsThe final instrument developed for measuring CF is composed of six critical incidents with three associated items each. The factor analysis revealed that the scale used in the field-test measures two factors of CF: internal and external. Reliability and discriminant validity are tested, demonstrating a good discriminant validity of “external” CF. The final measurement can be used as a valid and reliable scale in further studies to assess CF in the context of CBMAs.Originality/valueThis paper’s originality lies in developing and validating a CF measurement instrument that does not rely on cultural distance frameworks. The resulting scale shows the interest in considering micro-individual perceptions – the microfoundation level – for analyzing an organizational phenomenon as culture in CBMA contexts. Using a micro-founded approach, this study offers promising avenues for researchers who wish to study cultural interactions in international settings.

Organization of atrial flutter during pulse field ablation for atrial fibrillation

Abstract Background Pulse Field Ablation (PFA) has been acknowledged as an effective and safe tool for ablation of Atrial Fibrillation (AF). It is known that during AF ablation, the arrhythmia may organize into atrial flutter. The left atrial posterior wall is identified as a critical source of non-Pulmonary Vein (PV) triggers that facilitate maintenance of atrial fibrillation. Objective The purpose of this study is to investigate the phenomenon of atrial flutter organization from AF during the application of PFA. Methods This prospective multicentric study encompasses 117 consecutive patients with persistent AF across American and European institutions, undergoing first time catheter ablation. All receive isolation of the Pulmonary Veins (PV) plus Posterior Wall (PW) isolation. The PW isolation procedure targeted the standard area between the PVs and extended to the area demarcated by the line connecting the inferior borders of the inferior PV-encircling lesions to the coronary sinus defined lower part of PW (Fig. 1). The study documented the specific locations where AF organized into atrial flutter with a stable cycle length during PFA. Results Organization of AF to atrial flutter during PFA was observed in 72 (61.5%) patients. Analysis of the organization of flutter revealed that in 41 (56.9%) of these cases, flutter began while ablating the lower part of the PW. Moreover, 9 (12.5%) initiated at one of the PVs, and 22 (30.5%) during the ablation of the posterior wall. Notably, the flutter was described as perimitral flutter in 33 (45.8%), as typical flutter in 24 (33.3%), and as roof-dependent flutter in 15 (20.8%) of cases. Conclusion The findings underscore that during PFA for AF, there is a pronounced tendency for the arrhythmia to organize into atrial flutter, particularly during the ablation of the lower posterior wall. Notably ablation in the left atrium organized AF in typical atrial flutter at a considerable rate.Ablation on lower part of PW

Workplace dignity amongst clinical nurses

BackgroundThe workplace environment plays a pivotal role in employees’ lives as they spend many hours there. Recently, greater attention has been placed on workplace conditions as a key social determinant of health. One way through which workplace conditions may affect health is workplace dignity. This study aimed to describe clinical nurses’ workplace dignity.MethodsThe study design was descriptive and cross-sectional. Clinical nurses within a tertiary institution were randomly sampled. Data collection included the Workplace Dignity scale which is an 18 item-seven-point Likert scale consisting of dignity and indignity questions (α.98, and 0.95, respectively). Data collection commenced with a pilot followed by a final data collection phase. Ethical considerations were included via informed consent, anonymity, and confidentiality. Data analysis included means, standard deviations, and Pearson correlations.ResultsThe pilot test yielded a reliability coefficient – α 0.93. Two hundred and thirty-six clinical nurses participated in the study resulting in a response rate of 87.4%. The average mean age of participants was 37.966 ± 0.635 (min 25- max 60) years. Most participants were female (92.8%) with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree (77.5%). The overall mean experience as a registered nurse was 16.038 ± 0.589 years. Nationality responses were divided into Saudi (41.5%) and non-Saudi (58.5%). The construct of general dignity had the highest mean score of 5.52 (SD 1.46), with question 14: “I have dignity at work” having the highest overall mean score of 5.63 (SD 1.4). There was a positive correlation and statistical significance with a ‘p < 0.000 i.e. as a nurses’ experience as a registered nurse increased, workplace dignity scores increased.ConclusionThe findings of this study indicated that inherent value and general dignity were the highest-scored constructs while indignity and respectful interaction scored the lowest. This study allows for reflection on the importance of workplace dignity, as an impactful and important organizational phenomenon that affects either positively or negatively on employee well-being and performance, hence workplace dignity must be prioritized within work environmental infrastructures.

Exploring academic careers through the metaphors of doors and ladders: A relational, feminist, and vulnerable approach

Building on Sara Ahmed’s work on use and exploring the value of metaphors in theorizing organizational phenomena, this paper develops the metaphorical conceptualizations of doors and ladders, surfacing several complexities involved in women’s academic careers in neoliberal workspaces. In doing so, it challenges the idea of linearity in academic career trajectories, underscoring the contested and constantly (re)negotiated dynamics and unfixed processes of both praxis and sensemaking in neoliberal academia. Empirically, we focus on the microlevel of organizing academic careers, sharing personal narratives nurtured by feminist vulnerability and facilitated through a relational autoethnographic approach. Contributing to critical approaches to academic careers, theoretically we articulate the conceptual relevance of doors and ladders in revealing the hidden dynamics therein, discussing the nuances of navigating the neoliberal academic professional context at different career stages. We consider the spatial and temporal dynamics of doors and ladders, their shifting and disorienting nature, offering visibility to the everyday experience of academic work.

Embeddedness in complex networks: Theoretical central debate, policy implications, and research agenda in ethnic entrepreneurship

Objective: This article explores ethnic entrepreneurship as an emerging organizational phenomenon, aiming to provide a comprehensive overview through a systematic literature review. Method: Triangulation employed bibliometric analysis, network analysis, citation and co-citation analysis, co-citation network, and a meta-analysis of bibliometrics over the period. It also includes content analysis demonstrating study characteristics, key findings, and suggestions for future research. Key Findings: The crucial role of ethnic networks in identity valorization and overcoming obstacles, exerting a moderating influence on entrepreneurial decisions, was identified. Furthermore, a broader theoretical framework for understanding the ethnic entrepreneurship phenomenon is synthesized. Theoretical/Methodological Contributions: A combined method of analyses is employed, offering an approach that can be adopted by similar research. The theoretical framework in which ethnic entrepreneurship studies are anchored is presented, emphasizing social immersion, co-ethnic network building, and Economic Sociology. Relevance/Originality: In a growing global migration movement, individuals have become entrepreneurs in the pursuit of ethnic valorization, equality, and survival. They face various barriers in host countries, influencing the decision to undertake entrepreneurship and their business. This study fills a gap by elucidating how research explains the interplay of these emerging phenomena. Social/Management Contributions: The article identifies future directions for ethnic entrepreneurship research, addressing crucial issues such as gender, network construction, financing, international refugee policies, public policies, ethnicity, ethnic markets, marginalization, and prejudice. Its conclusions offer valuable insights for managers, researchers, and policymakers.

Líneas de investigación y perspectivas futuras de los estudios organizacionales: una revisión

Organizational studies allow us to analyze and understand the functioning of organizations, generate knowledge and improve their management and performance, from perspectives different from the classic ones with which the organizational phenomenon has been analyzed in a traditional way; These perspectives invite a critical look at this phenomenon. However, it is relevant to evaluate its potential to provide theories, models and tools that help advance the field of management and improve the effectiveness and sustainability of organizations. To date, no review has been identified in Scopus that synthesizes the literature on organizational studies from a bibliometric analysis, by doing so, this article provides a basis for researchers in organizational studies to learn about various future lines of research. The objective of this document is to review scientific documents published in Scopus(r) on organizational studies, to propose a structure of published scientific knowledge, so that different future lines of research are offered. 1091 documents were found that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria in the database that were processed with Bibliometrix, VosViewer and ToS. The main lines of research identified were: a) Leadership and management of organizational change; b) Changing, diverse and inclusive work environments; c) Legitimation, sustainability and organizational responsibility.

STEM leaders promoting resilience within equity-centered K-12 STEM education organizations

IntroductionThis study examines storytelling’s role in supporting organizational resilience for equitable STEM instruction by schools and districts. Within K-12 organizations, some practices may be perceived as mundane, but storytelling supports transformation toward achieving equitable STEM learning opportunities in a school. Therefore, storytelling is a means for achieving organizational resilience.MethodsThrough a comparative case study design, this paper explores challenges identified by educational leaders through focus groups who worked with teams to activate interdisciplinary learning to support thriving STEM programming to enhance equitable science instruction.ResultsWe characterize STEM systems’ social and organizational phenomena from three educational contexts. We start by sharing these systems’ backgrounds and educational goals, with specific attentiveness to their STEM programming. We then share the stories told by their leaders to promote organizational resilience (these characteristics, as previously described, are italicized throughout this section) within each of the given contexts.DiscussionThe STEM stories in this study shared the state of STEM within a school and district, the instructional mission of STEM, and a community STEM story.

Introduction to the Special Issue on Philosophy and Organization Studies: How Does Philosophy Illuminate the Study of Organizations?

Although not always apparent, generating theories about organizational phenomena inevitably involves philosophical questions. The latter are concerned with the meaning of the concepts researchers use to describe, interpret, explain, and, in general, understand organizational phenomena. A philosophical approach to organization studies aims to scrutinize, critique, and clarify key concepts, modes of thinking, research practices, as well as assumptions about reality and ways of justifying knowledge claims. Similar to other institutionalized practices, organizational research legitimates and takes for granted certain ways of engaging with, and talking about, the world, leading inevitably to some closure of meaning. Philosophical inquiry can counteract such closure by questioning commonly accepted meanings and fostering an inquisitive mindset that allows us to perceive the world anew. The aim of this Special Issue is to further develop and critically enhance the existing endeavours that explicitly incorporate philosophical approaches in organization studies. Specifically, the objective is to promote a more philosophically oriented approach in the field, focusing on both critical analysis and the development of innovative conceptual advancements. In this Introduction, we not only introduce the featured papers but, also, reflect on the broader purpose of philosophy, its relationship to organization studies, and how it can inform and enrich the field.

Voluntary turnover of high achievers: A systems psychodynamics analysis with CIBART

Orientation: Voluntary turnover is a costly and frequently disruptive organisational phenomenon, particularly when it involves high achievers.Research purpose: The study aimed to develop a psychodynamic exposé of voluntary turnover by applying the conflict, identity, boundaries, authority, roles and task (CIBART) model to the lived experiences of high achievers.Motivation for the study: The research primarily focusses on voluntary turnover as an individual, rational decision-making process. It recognises the contribution of unconscious systems psychodynamics to voluntary turnover. Research conducted from this perspective is necessary to gain a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the topic.Research approach/design and method: Seven case studies of individual voluntary turnover were conducted in a large private retail company. Data were collected using free association narrative (FANI) interviews. The analysis of the data was guided by hermeneutic phenomenology, and the interpretive frame used was the CIBART model.Main findings: Six themes were constructed to describe the conflict dynamics along each of the six CIBART dimensions. Within each theme, the conflict dynamic is exposed, revealing the subsequent anxiety and defences that accumulate leading to the decision to leave. Ultimately, the six themes synthesise to propose that voluntary turnover is a conscious manifestation, yet an unconscious defence against system-wide conflict.Practical/managerial implications: Facilitating leaders’ understanding and processing of the conflict dynamics that occur across the CIBART dimensions, and which contribute to voluntary turnover, create opportunities for both transformation and prevention.Contribution/value-add: The research offers insights into the psychodynamics of voluntary turnover, which consulting psychologists and organisational leaders can utilise to address this phenomenon within their work groups.

Do Investors Value Workforce Gender Diversity?

We examine whether investors value workforce gender diversity. Consistent with the view that investors believe workforce gender diversity can be valuable in major firms, we use event studies to demonstrate that U.S. technology firms and financial firms experience more positive stock price reactions when it is revealed that they have relatively higher (versus lower) workforce gender diversity numbers. For instance, we find that Google’s revelation of relatively low workforce gender diversity numbers triggered a negative stock price reaction, whereas eBay’s revelation of relatively high workforce gender diversity numbers triggered a positive stock price reaction. These stock price reactions are both economically and statistically significant; for example, we estimate that if a technology firm had revealed gender diversity numbers that were one standard deviation higher, its market valuation would have increased by $1.11 billion. Corroborating this plausibly causal field evidence, we also find positive investor reactions to workforce gender diversity in randomized experiments using Prolific participants with investing experience; these reactions seem to be underpinned by investors’ beliefs about potential upsides of diversity for the firm (e.g., reduced legal risks; increased creativity) but not by investors’ beliefs about potential downsides of diversity for the firm (e.g., increased conflict). Our findings highlight the importance of understanding investors’ intuitions or beliefs about major organizational phenomena such as workforce gender diversity. Our results also point toward a new type of business case for diversity, driven by investors: if major firms had more workforce gender diversity, investors may “reward” them with substantially higher valuations. Funding: This research is supported by NUS (National University of Singapore) Startup Grant WBS A-0003900-00-00 to D. P. Daniels.

A “quiet quitting” scale: development and validation

Purpose Many principles and paradigms that influenced the labour system before the COVID-19 pandemic have changed, and the academic and corporate communities are struggling to make sense of the paradigm shifts the authors have entered. One of the organisational phenomena highlighted after the COVID-19 pandemic is “Quiet quitting”, that is, the tendency for workers to do the bare minimum tasks necessary for their occupations to avoid getting dismissed. This phenomenon may substantially impact both organisations and workers. As a result, academic interest in “Quiet quitting” has recently proliferated. Upon using leader-member exchange, organisational support and social exchange theories, this paper aims to propose and validate a scale measuring the new construct, “Quiet Quitting”. Design/methodology/approach A sample of 1,430 valid questionnaires from individuals working in different industries, organisations and regions in the USA were examined using normality and Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin tests, as well as factor, reliability and nomological validity analyses. Findings Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and reliability and nomological validity evaluations validate the proposed “Quiet Quitting” scale. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the proposed and validated “Quiet Quitting” scale is original. Since this scale may help to examine crucial management-worker dynamics in organisations, it may be subsequently developed and used by researchers in future studies.

The contested terrain of sport, media & indigenous representation: a case study of sámi sport organisation in Norway

This paper examines the representation of Sámi sport in Norwegian media by applying a Nordic-informed ‘critical ethnicity theory’, and a media framing perspective. The study extends previous analyses that have focused on media stereotyping of Indigenous athletes to explore how the media represent Sámi sport. Drawing from a combined quantitative and qualitative analysis of Norwegian print media from 1994-2017, Sámi sport is represented as both a unique organisational phenomenon and as part of the overarching Norwegian sport context. Three main findings are revealed. First, Sámi sport has shifted from being an exotic exhibit to being framed as a potential partner for mainstream (Norwegian) sport within specific contexts, such as during an Olympic bid process. Second, there is an emerging tension between the understanding and celebration of Sámi sport as something exclusive within Norwegian society and its potential to be inclusive via organisational mergers. Third, the findings illustrate the need to recognise that Sámi culture, including sport, also spans Sweden, Finland, and Russia thus any structural reorganisation creates consequences across multiple state borders. Overall, the results indicate several co-existing, and sometimes competing and contradictory representations, all of which must consider the postcolonial conditions of the Sámi as an Indigenous people.

(Re-)Vitalizing the Concept of Organization: Inspirations From Recent Social Theory

In this essay, we introduce recent debates on both concepts of organization and organization’s future. Since Max Weber’s ideas gained acceptance, there has been a strong link between social theory (rationalized modernity) and a concept of organization (bureaucracy) in organization theory as well as organizational sociology. Today, organizational scholarship challenges, but at the same time defends, this classical link. We argue that both positions can be substantiated empirically. This situation motivates a debate on updating and revitalizing the link between organizational concepts and social theories that we aim to put forward with this special issue of Critical Sociology. We discuss the assembled contributions in relation to this fundamental conceptual debate of organization research and conclude that the richness of social theories can still serve as an inspiration to explain recent organizational phenomena.

Federal principles in constitutional organization for the unorganized provinces in Iraq

In the constitutional organization of the provinces in Iraq within the framework of the current constitution (2005) and considering them as a constituent unit of the federal system in Iraq, this is clearly emphasized in the constitutional text in Article (116) K.C Federal oppression in Iraq consists of the capital, regions and provinces Decentralization and local administrations thus reflect the principles and phenomena of a different constitutional organization. Therefore, the constitutional status of the provinces and the consequences of implementing the system differ from the legal nature and interpretation within the local governance process. In this study, we will examine the position of the unorganized provinces in the Kurdistan Region within the framework of the constitutional organization in force in Iraq for the year (2005) and highlight the provision of the principles of the federal system in this period.

Multilevel empirical research: A call for more mixed-methods approaches

Organizations are complex multilevel social systems, in which individual members frequently execute diverse tasks within their functional units or teams to advance strategic goals over a period of time. Diverse organizational phenomena are, therefore, inherently shaped by factors from different levels and can be comprehensively studied by embracing multilevel research designs. In this introductory paper, we review different multilevel approaches used in management and organization studies to contextualize four papers published as part of this management focus on multilevel research. We also discuss several directions for future research. We strongly advocate for scholars to conduct more multilevel qualitative and mixed-methods studies that can address complex business and societal challenges. The need for such research designs is urgent and important in our scholarly field, and your contribution can make a significant difference.

Mitigating Workplace Burnout Through Transformational Leadership and Employee Participation in Recovery Experiences.

Description Burnout is a complex organizational phenomenon that diminishes employee well-being and overall organizational productivity. Researchers propose that leadership style contributes to employees' well-being, which impacts employee productivity. Organizations and leaders must address the causes of burnout and promote techniques employees can use to mitigate burnout, such as employee participation in recovery experiences. Recovery experiences are non-work activities that create positive outlooks and restore the energy needed to focus on one's work. This literature review examines current research in employee recovery experiences, conservation of resource theory (COR), burnout, and transformational leadership theory. Studying burnout through the lens of COR shows how important resource gain and recovery activities are to healthy employees and their job performance within the organization. The research reviewed suggests that transformational and transactional leadership styles have higher probabilities of promoting employee participation in recovery experiences than passive avoidant leadership style. The literature consistently showed burnout as a significant organizational phenomenon negatively affecting productivity, employee well-being, and turnover rates. The literature revealed that mitigating burnout happens through participation in recovery experiences. The literature on leadership styles supports the assumption that leaders play a significant role in employee well-being, group identity, and organizational climate. Leaders who desire to mitigate employee burnout will benefit from research that links transformational leadership style behaviors and employee participation in recovery activities.