Business Commons^™

Towards A Formal Theory Of Humor In Organizations, Richard Joseph Hayes

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Current theories and models of humor conceptualize humor at the individual, dyadic, and organizational level. These theories laid the foundation for research and empirical findings that have established humor’s impact in the workplace. Yet, because these theories are not integrated, they individually do not offer a comprehensive view of humor in the workplace across different levels, hindering the development of multilevel research designs. Additionally, the ambiguity of these narrative theories hampers empirical testing precision. This dissertation expands the literature by introducing a mathematical, multilevel model of humor and tests that theory using computational simulation methods. Synthetic environments reproduced observed correlations …

Engaging Gen Z Through Humor, Wendy Gillis, Fred Pozin

Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2023

ABSTRACT

The current generation of undergraduate students in the classroom (Gen Z) is the loneliest generation in the U.S. (Twenge, 2017), and they know it. What are they spending time on? Their phones. What are they not spending time on? Time with friends (Twenge, 2017). Gen Z has more of a life online versus offline, yet Gen Z yearns for in-person interaction, and the pandemic has only made it worse. The authors’ advice? Tell a joke. By combining theories from psychology, management, and marketing, this conceptual paper explores the relationship between humor, trust, and persuasion.