Business Commons^™

Sensemaking In The Process Of Inquiry: A Qualitative Case Study Of A Networked Improvement Community, Bethany Fillers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There are persistent and pervasive issues plaguing American education, and almost seventy years of educational reform efforts have failed to adequately improve educational outcomes for many of America’s children. Networked improvement communities (or NICs) are a type of social organization created to address such problems and are proposed as an effective and efficient way to organize improvement efforts. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the sensemaking experience of a newly-formed networked improvement community as members engaged in inquiry around a chosen problem of practice. During network initiation, NIC members engage in experiences to collaboratively identify and …

Program, Policy, And Culture Factors Minority Millennials Perceive As Important Within Their Workplace For Retention, Tanesha C. Watts

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Millennials make up the largest segment of the current workforce. However, research about minority Millennials and their needs are relatively unknown. The purpose of this study was to find out what minority Millennials deemed important within an organization’s culture and the policies and programs that would persuade them to remain with the company. Purposeful sampling was used to identify participants for this study. Participants met the criterion of a Millennial by age, identified as a minority, currently worked at an organization with 50 or more employees in an office location and had worked for their current employer for one year …

Middle-Status Conformity Revisited: The Interplay Between Achieved And Ascribed Status, Matteo Prato, Emmanuel Krypraios, Gokhan Ertug, Yonghoon G. Lee

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Decisions about conforming to or deviating from conventional practices in a field is an important concern of organization and management theory. The position that actors occupy in the status hierarchy has been shown to be an important determinant of these decisions. The dominant hypothesis, known as middle-status-conformity, posits that middle-status actors are more likely to conform to conventional practices than high- and low-status actors do. We challenge this hypothesis by revisiting its fundamental assumptions and developing a theory where actors’ propensity to conform based on their achieved status further depends on their ascribed status that actors inherit from their social …

Envy In Response To Help: A Helping As Status Relations Model, Kenneth Tai, Katrina Lin, Catherine K. Lam

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Social exchange theory suggests that after receiving help, peopleexperience gratitude and they reciprocate by helping the original help giver.However, it remains unclear whether people experience other emotions that drive positive reciprocation after receiving help.Building on helping as status relations framework, we suggest that when higherperformers provide task-related help to lower performers, help recipients perceivethat help givers have higher status, and respond to the help with envy. Torebalance the status relation, help recipients are motivated to reciprocate byhelping the help giver. Results from three studies progressively support our predictionsthat help recipients respond with envy when they receive task-related help, butonly toward …

How Do Anticipated And Self Regulations And Information Sourcing Openness Drive Firms To Implement Eco-Innovation? Evidence From Korean Manufacturing Firms, Cheon Yu, Junghoon Park, Yun Seop Hwang

Publications and Research

Building upon institutional theory and the concept of openness to external sources in terms of breadth and depth, this study investigates the following three understudied drivers of eco-innovation in terms of external and internal factors: Anticipated regulation and self-regulation as external drivers, and information sourcing openness comprised of breadth and importance as internal drivers. Toward this end, this study employs a sample of 1824 Korean manufacturing firms collected from the Korean Innovation Survey 2010, which is compatible with the Oslo Manual and the Eurostat Community Innovation Survey (CIS). The current research adopts a multivariate probit model for the nine binary …

Organizational Cognition As Intervened By Organizational Support And Engagement On Medical Coders’ Exhibition Of Organizational Citizenship Behaviors, David W. Conley

Human Resource Development Theses and Dissertations

Informed by the social cognitive theory and social exchange theory, this study examined medical coders’ evaluation of organizational cognition in the presence or perception of organizational support and organization engagement and their resultant behavior. The reciprocal exchanges present in the employee and organization relationship are identified, as positive valuations facilitate mutually beneficial outcomes. Specifically, the examination of cognitions, implicit employee judgments, and behaviors provide a framework to examine the state of engagement and its related outcomes. The use of perceived organizational support and organization engagement as intervening variables provided insight into the complex relationships between medical coding employees’ evaluation of …

Factors Of Women-Founded High-Growth Technology Startup, Renee Gillard

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to identify and describe critical startup factors of high-growth technology startups as identified by women founders in Seattle, Washington.

Methodology: This mixed-method study identified and described 15 women founders of high-growth technology startups in Seattle. Participants were chosen based on specific criteria and recommendations of a sponsor and expert panel. Interviews were conducted with the participants and they completed an online survey.

Findings: Ten major findings emerged from the data. Founders fostered a strong network of professional and personal relationships to help develop and solidify their identity; they also …

A Small Fix To A Huge Problem: Student Loans, Andrew Birkhead, Mohammad Rashad, Luke Webb, Nickolas Yusupov

Governor's Scholars Program Poster Presentations

A poster presented by Andrew Birkhead, Mohammad, Luke Webb and Nickolas Yusupov for the class Business, Accounting and Entrepreneurship: Proposed Business Plans.

Community Unite: Spreading Hope And Encouraging Growth In The Community Through Education, Diana Alonso, Clay Ehr, Lauren Ervin, Alaya Murphy

Governor's Scholars Program Poster Presentations

A poster presented by Diana Alonso, Clay Ehr, Lauren Ervin and Alaya Murphy for the class Business, Accounting and Entrepreneurship: Proposed Business Plans.

Leadership Behaviour And Worker Performance In The Nigerian Construction Industry, Abiodun Kolawole Oyetunji, John Adebiyi, Nathaniel Ayinde Olatunde

The Journal of Values-Based Leadership

Leadership is a dynamic process in which an individual influence other to contribute to the achievement of an assigned task. This paper investigates leadership behaviour and its impact on construction workers’ performance in Lagos, Nigeria. Purposive sampling technique was adopted to select 50 site-supervisors and 250 construction-workers involved in simple construction works. An investigation was carried out using a questionnaire survey method. The leadership variables investigated were ranked, regressed and correlated to workers performance. From the primary data analysis, leadership behaviour exhibited by supervisors were found to influence the site workers commitment to achieving the goal of the construction projects. …

Multi-Study Analysis Of Learning Culture, Human Capital And Operational Performance In Supply Chain Management: The Moderating Role Of Workforce Level, Robert E. Overstreet, Joseph B. Skipper, Joseph R. Huscroft Jr., Matt J. Cherry, Andrew L. Cooper

Faculty Publications

Purpose — The purpose of this study is to empirically evaluate the relationship between learning culture, workforce level, human capital and operational performance in two diverse supply chain populations, aircraft maintenance and logistics readiness. Design/methodology/approach — Drawing upon competence-based view of the firm and human capital theory, this paper analyzes data from two studies. Findings — The results provide support for the hypothesized model. Workforce level moderates the relationship between learning culture and human capital, and human capital partially mediates the relationship between learning culture and operational performance. Research limitations/implications — The findings have implications for behavioral supply chain management …

Peak Learning Experiences: A Group-Based Phenomenological Investigation And Description, Thomas A. Conklin

Organization Management Journal

This paper explores peak learning (PL) experiences through a semi-longitudinal approach across the life space of multiple groups of learners. Appreciative inquiry (AI) was used to gather data through interviews that resulted in unique examples of PL experiences. Once collected, a novel application of phenomenology was employed to identify the structural elements of participants’ experiences. Finally, thematic analysis was applied to the aggregated structural elements of each group to identify those common to all who participated in the AI. The final synthesis description was written in alignment with the structural themes and could be applied as a qualitative assessment to …

Strategy Implementation As Performative Practice: Reshaping Organization Into Alignment With Strategy, Sander Merkus, Thijs Willems, Marcel Veenswijk

Organization Management Journal

Much of the existing scholarly work on strategy implementation focuses on factors that either catalyze or obstruct the infusion of strategy into the organization. While this renders valuable knowledge about factors enabling or frustrating implementation, the actual process of strategy implementation is treated as a black box and as a step in the strategy model which is not further explained. To understand this process, this conceptual paper draws from performativity literature in which a strategy is conceptualized as a performative device. This means that a strategy triggers practices which reshape the organization so that the strategy is actualized in the …

Exploring Inclusion Of Leadership Development Into New Employee Orientations: A Proposed Approach From Army Leader Development, Michael J. Kirchner, Mesut Akdere

Organization Management Journal

Regardless of industry, organization leaders recognize the need for a strong leadership pipeline and a culture of sustained leader development, and the U.S. Army is no exception. Beginning in basic training, Army leaders offer soldiers leader development training through various methods, including defining leadership expectations, providing experience-based developmental exercises, and offering self-development opportunities. The early introduction is part of a continuous leader development regimen engrained in military service, and—as a result—military veterans are often credited by employers for their leadership skills. This paper, through exploring Army leader development, proposes a framework for introducing leadership development during new employee orientations based …

Integrity According To Whom? An Experiment Of The Effects Of Gender, Moral Integrity, And Behavioral Consistency On Evaluations Of Leaders, Benjamin J. Thomas

Organization Management Journal

Organizational stakeholders place great importance on leaders’ integrity, which, current theory indicates is a multidimensional construct. Drawing from leadership categorization theory and multidimensional leadership perspective, this research offered novel tests of the independent and interactive effects of a leaders’ behavioral consistency (the alignment between a leader’s words and actions) and moral integrity (doing right and not doing wrong) using experimental methods. The results of the 2x3x3 between-subjects (N = 781) factorial design reveal the moderate-strong magnitude of the effects of leader integrity on followers’ evaluations, and indicate the two dimensions of leader integrity—behavioral consistency and moral integrity—interact in fascinating ways. …

Psychological Underpinnings Of The Work-Site Selection Process Of Knowledge Workers, April J. Spivack, Ashay Desai

Organization Management Journal

As a result of technological advances, knowledge workers have become increasingly mobile; people can perform work in a variety of new locations via an assortment of new working arrangements. Knowledge workers are now faced with the question of where to work. We argue that the process of work-site selection depends on the relationship between a variety of individual factors such as motivation, cognitive and affective evaluation, and regulatory focus as they interact with self-regulatory resources. Specifically, we use a dynamic interactionist perspective to integrate components of social exchange, self-determination, regulatory focus, and selfregulation theories. The resulting conceptual model contributes to …

Examining Self-Monitoring And Neuroticism As Predictors And Self-Efficacy As An Outcome Of Authentic Leadership, Richa Chaudhary, Chinmay Panda

Organization Management Journal

The present study explores the role of personality traits of neuroticism and self-monitoring as determinants of authentic leadership, and self-efficacy as an outcome using a sample of 300 employees from automobile and heavy engineering companies in India. Support for the study hypotheses was mixed. Although the effect of neuroticism on authentic leadership was negative, the relationship was not significant. The trait of self-monitoring showed significant positive association with the ratings of authentic leadership. With regard to the outcomes of authentic leadership, the results provided support for the positive relationship between authentic leadership and self-efficacy. The study makes significant contribution to …

All Of The Above?: An Examination Of Overlapping Organizational Climates, Alice M. Brawley Newlin, Cynthia L.S. Pury

Management Faculty Publications

We examined the largely unexplored issue of strong associations between multiple specific climates (e.g., for safety and for service). Given that workplaces are likely to have more than one specific climate present, it is important to understand how and why these perceptions overlap. Individual ratings (i.e., at the psychological climate level) for seven specific climates and a general positive climate were obtained from 353 MTurk Workers employed in various industries. We first observed strong correlations among a larger set of specific climates than typically studied: climates for collaboration, communication, fair treatment, fear, safety, service, and work-life balance were all strongly …

Virtual Leadership In Organizations: Potential Competitive Advantage?, Thomas Kohntopp, J Mccann

Walden Faculty and Staff Publications

The present and future of virtual leadership is connected to the rise and direction of the digital economy, as new technologies and applications will change the way business connects internally and externally with stakeholders. Data are at the heart of the digital economy and its protection is critical. The digital economy is of great interest both domestically and internationally. Its development and future are at the heart of every country’s economic competitiveness (U.S. Department of Commerce, 2017).

Family As A Source Of Inequality Reproduction In Organizations: The Role Of Family Impact On Work In Explaining The Class Ceiling, Pooja Mishra

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Being born into a poorer family is associated with lower socioeconomic attainment even when people are provided with identical educational and job opportunities, a pattern known as the “class ceiling.” The class ceiling is generated within organizations, but specific reasons causing this effect are not well understood. I propose that one important explanation why employees from poorer families do not fare as well as their more fortunate co-workers concerns differences in families themselves. I integrate research from sociology and psychology explaining challenges faced by families with scarce resources with organizational research on specific pathways through which families can interfere with …

The Importance Of Leadership Motivational Activities In Encouraging International Students To Return To Their Tier 1 Universities, Eric Hall

Dissertations

Abstract

The problem is international students are not returning to their undergraduate Tier 1 institutions during a period when quality student enrollment is essential, and there is scant research on academic advising strategies that can be used to combat international student attrition at these universities (O’Keefe, 2013). Studies have often lumped all international students together and made efforts to attract more international students, but the reasons why international students chose research universities, and returned, were not being investigated in this manner (Hegarty, 2014).

The purpose of this proposed study was to gain an understanding of the decision-making and reasoning processes …

Socioeconomic Mobility And Talent Utilization Of Workers From Poorer Backgrounds: The Overlooked Importance Of Within-Organization Dynamics, Marko Pitesa, Madan M. Pillutla

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Socioeconomic mobility, or the ability of individuals to improve their socioeconomicstanding through merit-based contributions, is a fundamental ideal of modern societies.The key focus of societal efforts to ensure socioeconomic mobility has been on the provision of educational opportunities. We review evidence that even with the same education and job opportunities, being born into a poorer family undermines socioeconomicmobility because of processes occurring within organizations. The burden of poorerbackground might, ceteris paribus, be economically comparable to the gender gap. Weargue that in the societal and scientific effort to promote socioeconomic mobility, the keycontext in which mobility is supposed to happen—organizations—and the …

Organizations And Societal Economic Inequality: A Review And Way Forward, Hari Bapuji, Gokhan Ertug, Jason D. Shaw

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We review research on the organizational causes (how do organizations contribute?) and consequences (how are organizations affected?) of economic inequality. Our review of 151 conceptual and empirical articles indicates that organizational research on economic inequality encompasses a wide range of topics at multiple levels of analysis, but also that this broad-scope literature exhibits conceptual ambiguities and lacks overarching organizing frameworks. To address these two issues, we develop an organizational perspective on economic inequality and clarify it as uneven distribution in the endowment and/or access to resources in a society, which manifests in differential abilities and opportunities to engage in value …

Toward A Typology Of Organizational Creativity, Gilbert Tan

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Both researchers and practitioners realize the importance of organizational creativity as a source of competitive advantage and long-term organizational success. Although, research on organizational creativity abounds, many researchers and practitioners view organizational creativity as a unidimensional construct. This narrow view of creativity limit our understanding on how organizations generate creative ideas to compete in the market. This paper examines organizational creativity using a two-by-two matrix along 2 dimensions: Thinking Approach (Analytical versus Intuitive) and Problem Type (Bounded versus Unbounded). According to the framework, there are four types of organizational creativity: (1) Imaginative Creativity (application of intuitive approach to unbounded problem); …

A Case Study Of Participant Responses To Organizational Change Involving Technology In The National Security Domain: How Informal Processes Iterate Structure And Outcomes, Brian E. Martinez

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

Nuanced differences between organizations and the pace of change within the national security domain have routinely produced equivocal results involving information and communication technology (ICT) development. These results are characterized by unpredictable costs, unrealistic delivery schedules, and dubious ICT performance in-use. This research is a case study exploration of organizational change involving technology (also referred to as ICT) in the national security domain of the public sector.

This research used machine learning and manual content analysis to compare the results of three experiments on interview transcripts. The first experiment investigated linkages between empirical and interpretive elements of organizational change. Empirical …

Overcoming The Race-Sex Barrier: What Matters Most In The Executive Sponsorship Of Black Women, Stephanie B. Smith

College of Business Theses and Dissertations

This study was conducted to examine the factors that are common, different and most important in the executive sponsorship of Black female protégés in comparison to the executive sponsorship of White male protégés. Drawing on social capital and social exchange theory, I propose a model that examines specific protégé and sponsor attributes relevant to career mobility and sponsorship for White male and Black female protégés. A sample of existing sponsors (n=72), comprised of C-suite executives (CEO, President, Managing Directors), and their protégés (n=59) who were senior level professionals (Division Presidents, General Managers, and Vice Presidents) participated in the study. Notwithstanding …

"The James Gang": Keys To The Success Of Tobin James Cellars, Natalie A. Fink

Communication Studies

This study looks at what motivates people to join and sustain membership with a particular wine club in the Paso Robles area. The four flows of organizational communication were applied to discover what allows wineries to be successful in the direct-to-consumer wine market. The study will uncover the research question: Using the four flows of organizational communication, why do individuals join and sustain membership with Tobin James Cellars as part of the “James Gang” wine club? Interviews were conducted with both wine club members and employees in order to collect data to answer the research question. Strong relations amongst employees …

Understanding The Consequences Of Newcomer Proactive Behaviors: The Moderating Contextual Role Of Servant Leadership, Talya N. Bauer, Serge Perrot, Robert C. Liden, Berrin Erdogan

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

Proactive newcomers are more successful in terms of integration and job satisfaction, than newcomers who are less proactive. However, it is unclear whether contextual factors, such as the leadership style experienced by newcomers, matter. To address this gap in the literature, we gathered data at three times from 247 new employees across their first six months after joining a company in France. Given that past research has found that newcomers play an active role in their own adjustment process, in the current study we investigate how newcomer proactive behaviors relate to the key outcomes of job satisfaction, person-job fit, and …

The Center Of Success: A Case Study On Hilton's Company Culture, Elsie G. Lamo

Experience Industry Management

Company culture is an essential element to the success of any organization. This is especially true in the hospitality industry where positive employee experiences are vital to customer satisfaction. The purpose of this study was to examine the company culture of Hilton. Data were sourced primarily from Hilton websites, third-party websites, and academic articles. This study found that Hilton’s culture is shaped by compelling mission, vision, and value statements that drive every organizational aspect. Additionally, award-winning reward, recognition, and training programs sustain and reinforce a culture that grants Hilton a unique competitive advantage. To maintain market leadership, Hilton must continually …

Exploratory Analysis Of Individuals' Mobility Patterns And Experienced Conflicts In Workgroup, Nur Camellia Binte Zakaria, Kenneth T. Goh, Youngki Lee, Rajesh Krishna Balan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Much research argues the importance of supporting social interactions in teams and communities. The field of mobile sensing alone offers significant advances in recording and understanding human and group behaviours. However, little is known about behavioural changes as a consequence of in-group phenomena. One prominent example is intra-group conflict, which naturally arises between diverse groups of people. We demonstrate the feasibility of our approach to extract mobility patterns of individual's group behaviours sensed from a WiFi indoor localisation system and explore how these patterns relate to their team processes. 62 students enrolled in a project-intensive module, Software Engineering, were tracked …