Unit Level Of Analysis Research Articles

Challenging experiences differentiation: a theoretical framework of its implications for work units

PurposePrevious research has provided substantial attention to how individual-level challenging experiences lead to individual- and organization-related outcomes. This paper aims to expand existing challenging experiences theory and research by proposing a theoretical framework that addresses how challenging experiences differentiation relates to work unit effectiveness.Design/methodology/approachThe authors integrate the literature on challenging experiences with that of work unit identification and citizenship behavior to shed light on the intervening mechanisms through which challenging experiences differentiation relates to work unit effectiveness.FindingsThe authors’ theoretical framework proposes that challenging experiences differentiation diminishes work unit effectiveness through the mediating roles of variation in work unit identification and variation in citizenship behavior among unit members.Originality/valueBy linking challenging experiences differentiation and work unit effectiveness, the authors’ framework highlights the importance of studying challenging experiences at the unit level of analysis.

HRM system situational strength in support of strategy: its effects on employee attitudes and business unit performance

ABSTRACT Strong HRM systems, characterized by HRM processes that send clear and consistent messages to employees about what their employer values, expects and rewards, should be associated with a range of valued individual and organizational outcomes. Nonetheless, there are few empirical studies of the anticipated ties, especially at a unit-level of analysis. This study uses situational strength theory to test Bowen and Ostroff′s proposition that HRM systems contribute to firm performance when they communicate messages around strategic objectives in a manner that ensures a shared interpretation among employees. As one of the few studies to examine the extent to which shared interpretations of the messages communicated by HR practices associate with strategic organization climate and performance, we assess the effects of the HRM system strength construct at both the individual and group levels. As hypothesized, employee perceptions of HRM system strength associated positively with work-related attitudes and behavior. At the unit level, HRM system strength was positively linked to a strategic climate and to business performance (e.g. net income against target). This study draws attention to the importance of capturing the group level attributes of the HRM system strength construct.

A work-unit level analysis of employees’ well-being and service performance in hospitality industry

In this manuscript, the relationship between hotel work-units’ aggregate well-being and service performance is examined in two different ways. First, by analysing the simultaneous relationship between two main facets of well-being at work (job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion) and service quality perceived by customers, at unit level of analysis. Second, by exploring the moderating role of within-unit dispersion in satisfaction and emotional exhaustion on these links, respectively. The study sample consisted of 398 service employees and 1233 customers from 42 hotels. Using Mplus 5, the results showed that at the unit level of analysis, job satisfaction was positively related to customer-shared perceptions of service quality, while emotional exhaustion was negatively related to it. Moreover, the results provided support for the idea that the positive or negative relationship was more pronounced in hotel work-units where there was less internal variability in satisfaction/exhaustion than in units where the variability was greater. Taken together, our findings highlight the importance of noticing the dispersion in satisfaction and emotional exhaustion in work-units in order to understand the relationship between well-being and service quality perceived by customers and, therefore, for the development of intervention programs aimed at increasing well-being at work and service quality in hospitality companies.

Clarifying and empirically assessing the concept of human capital resource emergence

The microfoundations agenda suggests that human capital resource emergence (HCRE) is an important aspect of understanding how individual human capital combines to form a valuable unit-level resource. We examine and clarify the definition of emergence as it relates to human capital resources that provide competitive advantage. Of particular strategic importance is the synergistic manner in which the value obtained from a given stock of individual human capital is amplified to generate outcomes that are greater than that which can be attributed to the underlying individual human capital parts. We empirically examine these synergistic effects among human capital to show how emergence of unit-level human capital resources can be inferred using multilevel contextual effects models. Our study uses a sample from Major League Baseball and provides evidence of this emergent effect. Specifically, we find that the association between human capital and performance emerges to the unit-level of analysis. In a robustness analysis, we find an emergent effect using an alternative multilevel modeling technique: Within and Between Analysis (WABA). Overall, our findings provide clarification and empirical support for the central notion of amplification in HCRE, thereby advancing knowledge on the important ways in which strategically valuable unit-level human capital resources emerge.

A Multilevel Model Examining the Relationships Between Workplace Spirituality, Ethical Climate and Outcomes: A Social Cognitive Theory Perspective

The role and influence of workplace spirituality on individual and organisational outcomes continue to draw attention among management scholars. Despite this increased attention, extant literature has yielded limited insights particularly into the impact and influence processes of workplace spirituality on performance outcomes at both the individual and unit levels of analysis. Addressing this gap in research, we proposed and tested a multilevel model, underpinned by social cognitive theory, that examines the processes linking perceptions of workplace spirituality and performance outcomes at the individual and organisational level of analysis. Data were obtained from 51 branches of a retail organisation in the United Kingdom. Results from structural equation modelling analysis revealed three salient findings. First, workplace spirituality was positively related to ethical climate, prosocial motivation, and moral judgment. Second, ethical climate partially mediated the relationship between workplace spirituality and prosocial motivation and moral judgment, respectively. Third, aggregated ethical climate significantly relates to branch-level helping behaviour and service performance.

Servant leadership and the Scrum team’s effectiveness

PurposeScrum is a development methodology that has been rapidly gaining popularity over the last decade particularly for software development teams. The Scrum master is sometimes viewed as a servant leader of the Scrum team. The purpose of this paper is to investigate to what extent Scrum masters actually make use of servant leadership and how this impacts on the team’s effectiveness via mediating processes.Design/methodology/approachThe research followed a quantitative approach. An online questionnaire was prepared and completed by 71 Scrum team members (excluding Scrum masters) and 22 Scrum masters in more than ten organizations based in Western Cape, South Africa.FindingsScrum masters in this sample extensively used the servant leadership approach, but those who are also appointed as formal team leaders are seen to be considerably better servant leaders by team members. There is a moderately strong correlation between servant leadership of the Scrum master and team effectiveness. It was found that high levels of psychological safety do not necessarily translate into team performance.Research limitations/implicationsResearch was only performed at the unit level of analysis and not the team or organizational level. This was a cross-sectional study and variations over time were not considered.Practical implicationsThe results confirm the importance of servant leadership skills when identifying and developing Scrum masters, appointing the formal team leader role in Scrum teams and implementing Scrum practices effectively.Originality/valueAs could be established, this is the first time that the role of servant leadership in Scrum teams was formally investigated.

Identification of Aedes albopictus larval index thresholds in the transmission of dengue in Guangzhou, China.

Entomological indices have been used to quantitatively express vector density, but the threshold of larval indices of Aedes albopictus in dengue epidemics is still undefined. We conducted a case-control study to identify the thresholds of Aedes albopictus larval indices in dengue epidemics. Two unit levels of analysis were used: district and street. The discriminative power of the indices was assessed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. The association between the entomologic indices and dengue transmission was further explored by a logistic regression model. At the district level, there was no significant difference in the Breteau index (BI) between districts that reported cases and those did not (t=0.164, p>0.05), but the Container index (CI) did show a significant difference (t=2.028, p<0.01). The AUC (Area Under the Curve) of BI, CI, and prediction value were 0.540, 0.630, and 0.533, respectively. Predicting at the street level, the AUC of BI, CI, and prediction values were 0.684, 0.660, and 0.685, respectively, and 0.861, 0.827, and 0.867 for outbreaks. BI=5.1, CI=5.4, or prediction value =0.491were suggested to control the epidemic efficiently with the fewest resources, where BI=4.0, CI=5.1, or PRE =0.483 were suggested to achieve effectiveness.

Conflict cultures in organizations: How leaders shape conflict cultures and their organizational-level consequences.

Anecdotal evidence abounds that organizations have distinct conflict cultures, or socially shared norms for how conflict should be managed. However, research to date has largely focused on conflict management styles at the individual and small group level, and has yet to examine whether organizations create socially shared and normative ways to manage conflict. In a sample of leaders and members from 92 branches of a large bank, factor analysis and aggregation analyses show that 3 conflict cultures-collaborative, dominating, and avoidant-operate at the unit level of analysis. Building on Lewin, Lippitt, and White's (1939) classic work, we find that leaders' own conflict management behaviors are associated with distinct unit conflict cultures. The results also demonstrate that conflict cultures have implications for macro branch-level outcomes, including branch viability (i.e., cohesion, potency, and burnout) and branch performance (i.e., creativity and customer service). A conflict culture perspective moves beyond the individual level and provides new insight into the dynamics of conflict management in organizational contexts.

The Effects of Social Network Structure on Enterprise Systems Success: A Longitudinal Multilevel Analysis

The implementation of enterprise systems has yielded mixed and unpredictable outcomes in organizations. Although the focus of prior research has been on training and individual self-efficacy as important enablers, we examine the roles that the social network structures of employees, and the organizational units where they work, play in influencing the postimplementation success. Data were gathered across several units within a large organization: immediately after the implementation, six months after the implementation, and one year after the implementation. Social network analysis was used to understand the effects of network structures, and hierarchical linear modeling was used to capture the multilevel effects at unit and individual levels. At the unit level of analysis, we found that centralized structures inhibit implementation success. At the individual level of analysis, employees with high in-degree and betweenness centrality reported high task impact and information quality. We also found a cross-level effect such that central employees in centralized units reported implementation success. This suggests that individual-level success can occur even within a unit structure that is detrimental to unit-level success. Our research has significant implications for the implementation of enterprise systems in large organizations.

Strategy execution through executive process innovation: a longitudinal case example and research model

This article will describe a two-year longitudinal case study that features attempts to improve strategy execution at the business unit level through executive process innovation. The firm is a disguised $120 million steel manufacturing business unit of a larger corporation. This article will describe how one key executive process designed to manage strategic initiatives was used as the catalyst for improvement in strategy execution, continued enterprise development and end results. The article will then offer a research model that will allow academics to better research strategy execution guided by a key executive process at the business unit level of analysis.

Organizational Citizenship Behavior in Work Groups: A Group Norms Approach.

Although the relationship between unit-level organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and unit outcomes has been well established in recent years, the conceptual development of OCB at the unit level of analysis has not been adequately addressed. In an effort to fill this conceptual gap and to spur future research, the authors apply the literature on group norms to the concept of OCB. The resulting framework suggests a cyclical relationship between individual- and group-level processes and ultimately offers an explanation for how OCB norms are established and maintained in work groups. The authors demonstrate how this framework incorporates past research on the relationship between unit-level OCB and unit outcomes and how it extends previous research by suggesting multiple directions for future efforts related to unit-level OCB.

Comparison of Alaskan and Hawaiian humpback whale song at the song-unit level

Humpback whale songs were recorded in Hawaii and Alaska in 1991, 1994 and 1998. Songs from both areas showed the typical hierarchical theme structure. Strong differences between years were noted, as expected. Songs in Alaska tended to be shorter than those recorded in Hawaii, as previously reported. A unit-level analysis was conducted using an automated measurement program. The program reports &amp;gt;100 descriptive variables. The size of the variable set was reduced using principal components analysis. The resulting principal components (PC) set that accounted for 80% of the variance was tested with discriminant analysis for differences between recordings (nominal individuals) and region. Preliminary analysis indicates that the songs were similar between regions at the theme level. There were no significant differences between the two regions at the unit level of analysis. These results support earlier acoustic and visual-resight data that the two regions are both part of the same population. The small size of the Alaskan sample leaves open the possibility that regional differences exist, but were not detected with this sample.