Business Commons^™

Formal Versus Informal Supervisor Socio-Emotional Support Behaviours And Employee Trust: The Role Of Cultural Power Distance, Jaee Cho, S. Arzu Wasti, Krishna Savani, Hwee Hoon Tan, Michael W. Morris

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This research investigates how formal versus informal supervisor support behaviours shape employees' affect- and cognition-based trust across cultures of varying power distance. Using data from in-depth interviews, Study 1 found that trust-enhancing supervisor behaviours were more formal, status conscious and imposing in India (a high power distance culture) than in the Netherlands (a low power distance culture); unlike in India, supervisors acted more like friends or equals with their subordinates in the Netherlands. Using vignettes, Study 2 found that, compared to informal support behaviours, formal support behaviours increased both affect- and cognition-based trust among Indian participants, but among US participants, …

Going Beyond The Call Of Duty Under Conditions Of Economic Threat: Integrating Life History And Temporal Dilemma Perspectives, Nina Sirola

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Under conditions of economic threat, such as during economic downturns, organizations can benefit from employees’ willingness to go beyond the call of duty and engage in organization-directed citizenship behavior (OCBO). Yet, such behavior is discretionary and competes for time with employees’ other interests and priorities. I integrate life history theory with the temporal dilemma perspective on organizational citizenship behavior to propose that childhood environments sensitize individuals to prioritize different goals in response to economic threat later in life. Consistent with strategies for responding to threat that are functional in their childhood environments, employees from wealthier backgrounds respond to economic threat …

Why Your Organisation Needs A Language Management Strategy, John Fiset, Devasheesh P. Bhave

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This article discusses the challenges and benefits of managing language dynamics at work, where both standard and hybrid forms of language coexist. It reviews the literature on language-related misunderstanding and its effects on employee outcomes through three pathways: relational, emotional, and informational. It also suggests some interventions to enhance communication effectiveness and foster an inclusive culture in linguistically diverse workplaces.

On The Trajectory Of Discrimination: A Meta-Analysis And Forecasting Survey Capturing 44 Years Of Field Experiments On Gender And Hiring Decisions, Michael Schaerer, Christilene Du Plessis, My Hoang Nguyen, Robbie C. M. Van Aert, Leo Tiokkin, Daniel Lakens, Elena G. Clemente, Thomas Pfeiffer, Anna Dreber, Magnus Johannesson, Cory J. Clark

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

A preregistered meta-analysis, including 244 effect sizes from 85 field audits and 361,645 individual job applications, tested for gender bias in hiring practices in female-stereotypical and gender-balanced as well as male-stereotypical jobs from 1976 to 2020. A “red team” of independent experts was recruited to increase the rigor and robustness of our meta-analytic approach. A forecasting survey further examined whether laypeople (n = 499 nationally representative adults) and scientists (n = 312) could predict the results. Forecasters correctly anticipated reductions in discrimination against female candidates over time. However, both scientists and laypeople overestimated the continuation of bias against female candidates. …

Formal Versus Informal Supervisor Socio-Emotional Support Behaviors And Employee Trust: The Role Of Cultural Power Distance, Jaee Cho, S. Arzu Wasti, Krishna Savani, Hwee Hoon Tan, Michael W. Morris

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This research investigates how formal versus informal supervisor support behaviours shape employees' affect- and cognition-based trust across cultures of varying power distance. Using data from in-depth interviews, Study 1 found that trust-enhancing supervisor behaviours were more formal, status conscious and imposing in India (a high power distance culture) than in the Netherlands (a low power distance culture); unlike in India, supervisors acted more like friends or equals with their subordinates in the Netherlands. Using vignettes, Study 2 found that, compared to informal support behaviours, formal support behaviours increased both affect- and cognition-based trust among Indian participants, but among US participants, …

Interpersonal Behavior In Assessment Center Role-Play Exercises: Investigating Structure, Consistency, And Effectiveness, Simon M. Breil, Filip Lievens, Boris Forthmann, Mitla D. Back

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Although the behaviors displayed by assessees are the currency of assessment centers (ACs), they have remained largely unexplored. This is surprising because a better understanding of assessees' behaviors may provide the missing link between research on the determinants of assessee performance and research on the validity of performance ratings. Therefore, this study draws on behavioral personality science to scrutinize the behaviors that assessees express in interpersonal AC exercises. Our goals were to investigate (a) the structure of interpersonal behaviors, (b) the consistency of these behaviors across AC exercises, and (c) their effectiveness. We obtained videotaped performances of 203 assessees who …

Trust Across Borders: A Review Of The Research On Interorganizational Trust In International Business, Tengjian Zou, Gokhan Ertug, Ilya R. P. Cuypers, Donald L. Ferrin

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Trust between organizations has been recognized as crucial in international business (IB) and has attracted extensive research attention. Researchers have conceptualized and measured interorganizational trust in multiple ways, investigated numerous determinants and outcomes of interorganizational trust, and explored interorganizational trust in several types of international relationships across a range of country combinations using varied research methodologies. Our review aims to consolidate and advance this literature by focusing on (i) how interorganizational trust has been conceptualized in IB; (ii) how interorganizational trust has been operationalized in IB; (iii) what factors promote or hinder interorganizational trust in IB; (iv) what the outcomes …

Of Headlamps And Marbles: A Motivated Perceptual Approach To The Dynamic And Dialectic Nature Of Fairness, Michael Ramsay Bashshur, Laurie J. Barclay, Marion Fortin

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

How do people perceive fairness? Recently, fairness scholars have raised important theoretical questions related to what information is used in fairness perceptions, why this information is emphasized, and how fairness perceptions can change over time. Integrating the Brunswikian lens approach with a motivated cognition perspective, we develop the Motivated Perceptual Approach (MPA) to highlight how people can be motivated to selectively perceive and weight cues to form fairness perceptions that align with their motives. However, these motives can change over time and through interaction with motivated others. By illuminating the dynamic and dialectic processes underlying fairness perceptions, the MPA sheds …

Effects Of A Mindfulness-Based Leadership Training On Leadership Behaviors And Effectiveness, Nina Tan, Eva Katharina Peters, Jochen Reb

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Objectives: Organizations increasingly integrate mindfulness elements into their leadership development. However, there is limited evidence supporting the efficacy of mindfulness-based leadership training (MBLT) due to a scarcity of intervention studies. Theoretically, little is known about mediating mechanisms through which MBLT might affect leadership effectiveness. Thus, this research examined whether MBLT can improve leadership effectiveness and whether leadership behaviors mediated this effect.MethodsWe conducted a quasi-experimental study conducted in a real-world setting with an active control condition. Sixty leaders from various industries participated in either a 2-day intensive MBLT workshop followed by three individual coaching sessions over 3 months, or a presentation …

Overcoming Procrastination: Time Pressure And Positive Affect As Compensatory Routes To Action, Jana Kuhnel, Ronald Bledow, Angela Kuonath

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The current work seeks to identify factors that support action initiation from the theoretical lens of self-regulation. Specifically, we focus on factors that reduce procrastination, the delay of the initiation or completion of activities. We draw from action control theory and propose that positive affect operates as a personal and time pressure as a situational factor that unblock routes to action. High positive affect makes people less prone to procrastination because positive affect reduces behavioral inhibition and facilitates the enactment of intentions. By contrast, when positive affect is low, people depend on time pressure as an action facilitating stimulus. We …

Gender Bias In Cultural Tightness Across The 50 U.S. States And Its Links To Gender Inequality In Leadership And Innovation, Xin Qin, Roy Y. J. Chua, Ling Tan, Wanlu Li, Chen Chen

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Cultural tightness theory, which holds that “tight” cultures have rigid norms and sanctions, provides unique insights into cultural variations. However, current theorizing has not analyzed gender differences in cultural tightness. Addressing this gap, this research shows that women are more constrained than men by norms within the same society. By recruiting 15,425 respondents, we mapped state-level gender bias in cultural tightness across the United States. Variability in gender bias in cultural tightness was associated with state-level socio-political factors (religion and political ideology) and gender-related threats. Gender bias in cultural tightness was positively associated with state-level gender inequality in (business and …

Correcting For Range Restriction In Meta-Analysis: A Reply To Oh Et Al. (2023), Paul R. Sackett, Christopher M. Berry, Filip Lievens, Charlene Zhang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Oh et al. (2023) question a number of choices made in our article (Sackett et al., 2022); here we respond. They interpret our article as recommending against correcting for range restriction in general in concurrent validation studies; yet, we emphasize that we endorse correction when one has access to the information needed to do so. Our focus was on making range restriction corrections when conducting meta-analyses, where it is common for primary studies to be silent as to the prior basis for selection of the employees later participating in the concurrent validation study. As such, the applicant pool information needed …

3 Groundless Myths That Get In The Way Of Workforce Inclusivity, Kenneth T. Goh

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

In a commentary, SMU Associate Professor of Strategy & Entrepreneurship (Education) Kenneth Goh discussed and debunked three groundless myths that get in the way of workforce inclusivity. He also called for companies to seek expert advice from relevant agencies and explore partnerships with institutions of higher learning, such as SMU, to pursue inclusivity in a sustainable manner. He added that SMU provides its students opportunities to work with companies and examine the feasibility of their inclusivity initiatives as part of their coursework.

Purpose In The For-Profit Firm: A Review And Framework For Management Research, Gerard George, Martine R. Haas, Anita M. Mcgahan, Simon J.D. Schillebeeckx, Paul Tracey

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Purpose is a concept often used in managerial communities to signal and define a firm’s benevolent and pluralistic approach to its stakeholders beyond its focus on shareholders. While some evidence has linked purpose to positive organizational outcomes such as growth, employee satisfaction, innovation, and superior stock market performance, the definition and application of purpose in management research has been varied and frequently ambiguous. We review literature streams that invoke purpose in the for-profit firm and propose a unifying definition. Next, we develop a framework to study purpose that decouples its framing and formalization within firms from its realization, thus helping …

Expressed Humility In Inter-Organization Interactions: Why And When Boundary-Spanning Leaders’ Expressed Humility Can Promote Partner Cooperation Commitment, Wenhao Yang

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

In an organization, expressing humility can promote more meaningful and satisfying relationships with others. Given its potentially positive effects, researchers have been interested in studying the promotion and management of expressed humility for decades. Although there is some literature on the mechanism of expressing humility within an organization, none of them has pointed out the positive effects of expressed humility between organizations represented by their boundary-spanning leaders. Specially, no research efforts have been devoted to understanding how expressed humility between partners affects the economic behavior and outcomes of organizations and when it is effective for positive effects.

In this paper, …

Why Employees Accept Lower Pay At Mission-Oriented Companies, Insiya Hussain, Marko Pitesa, Stefan Thau, Michael Schaerer

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Today’s companies are likely to tout how their work benefits human welfare or “makes the world a better place.” Recent research suggests that this may come with a potential financial drawback for workers, as it can inhibit them from negotiating for higher pay. Over five studies, job candidates consistently reported that they worried asking for higher pay from these companies would be seen as greedy or inappropriate. This suggests they are aware of a common bias, known as motivation purity bias, where managers believe employees interested in material rewards of work (such as pay) are less motivated than those motivated …

Effect Of Leader-Member Exchange Social Comparison On Co-Worker’S Envy And Work Behavior Moderated By Perceived Deservingness Of Star Workers, Ronnie Ng

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

The extant leader-member exchange (LMX) literature suggests that leaders establish and develop different quality dyadic relationships with members in the same workgroup. High-quality LMX is argued as beneficial to employees. However, studies have overlooked the emotions and behaviors of low-quality LMX employees to determine how they differ from high-quality LMX employees. This study integrates LMX differentiation literature, social comparison theory and attributional theory to examine the role of LMX social comparison (LMXSC) perceptions in triggering help-seeking and knowledge hiding from star co-workers in the workplace. This study also explores the mediating role of dual envy, that is, benign and malicious …

The Effects Of Language-Related Misunderstanding At Work, John Fiset, Devasheesh P. Bhave, Nilotpal Jha

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Demographic, technological, and global trends have brought the language used at the workplace to the forefront. A growing body of research reveals that language could result in misunderstanding at work, and influence employees' performance and attitudinal outcomes. Language at work encompasses standard language (e.g., English) as well as several hybrid forms of language (non-native accents, code-switching, and jargon). We delineate how these forms of language could result in misunderstanding. We then identify relational, affective, and informational mechanisms that underlie the relationship between language-related misunderstanding and employees' performance and attitudinal outcomes, and highlight key boundary conditions. In doing so, we uncover …

Workplace Culture Must Emphasise Mutual Respect [In Chinese], Siow-Heng Ong

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

In a commentary, SMU Professor of Communication Management (Education) Ong Siow Heng discussed the importance of having a respectful culture in the workplace. He opined that one way to appreciate employees is to provide equitable pay and career advancement opportunities for staff, so that workers will know that their employer respects their contribution. Even though more forms of disrespect for workers are being addressed by law, Prof Ong opined that improving respect for the workers’ dignity is best managed by those in workplace leadership even before relevant laws are passed, especially in areas that cannot be covered by law. He …

Scaling Digital Solutions For Wicked Problems: Ecosystem Versatility, Katherine Tatarinov, Tina Ambos, Feichin Ted Tschang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Digital solutions are increasingly used to address ‘‘wicked problems’’ that are locally embedded but require global approaches. Scaling these solutions internationally is imperative for their success, but to date we know little about this process. Using a qualitative case study methodology, our paper analyzes how four digital solutions driven by the United Nations are built and how they scale internationally. These solutions address wicked problems through artificial intelligence, blockchain, and geospatial mapping, and are embedded in networks of partners which evolve during scaling to create unique ecosystem roles and configurations. We identify different ecosystem roles and find that the specific …

How Transformational Leadership Transforms Followers’ Affect And Work Engagement, Benjamin Bader, Michael Gielnik, Ronald Bledow

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

How do episodes of transformational leadership transform followers? To address this question, we build on theories of affective events and affect regulation and develop a research model that explicates a mechanism of the transformation process implicit in transformational leadership theory. Specifically, the model explains how experiencing episodes of transformational leadership transforms (i.e., changes) followers’ positive affect and eventually their work engagement by fulfilling followers’ basic psychological needs. We tested our model in two independent longitudinal samples using daily and weekly measurement designs with 214 (N = 75) and 147 (N = 54) lagged observations, respectively. In support of our model, …

Behavioral Factors Associated With Patients' Non-Attendance: A Retrospective Study In An Outpatient Specialty Clinic At A Women's And Children's Hospital In Singapore, Yue Tang, Houyuan Jiang, Zhichao Zheng, Zhichao Zheng, Chui Yee Loke, Bee Keow Goh

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Background: This study aimed to identify behavioral factors that affect patient attendance in outpatient clinics, especially those related to rescheduling.Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 20,386 appointment records for 6,252 patients in an outpatient specialty clinic at a women’s and children’s hospital in Singapore over 34 months (January 2012–October 2014). Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the influence of independent variables on appointment no-shows.Results: The average no-show rate of the study population was 28.87%. Patient historical behaviors were significantly associated with appointment attendance. In particular, a larger number of previous visits, more historical no-shows, more historical rescheduling events …

Mindfully Outraged: Mindfulness Increases Deontic Retribution For Third-Party Injustice, Adam A. Kay, Theodore Charles Masters-Waage, Jochen Reb, Pavlos A. Vlachos

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Mindfulness is known to temper negative reactions by both victims and perpetrators of injustice. Accordingly, critics claim that mindfulness numbs people to injustice, raising concerns about its moral implications. Exam-ining how mindful observers respond to third-party injustice, we integrate mindfulness with deontic justice theory to propose that mindfulness does not numb but rather enlivens people to injustice committed by others against others. Results from three studies show that mindfulness heightens moral outrage in witnesses of injustice, particularly when the injustice is only moderate. Although these findings did not replicate with a mindfulness induction, post-hoc analysis in a fourth study reveals …

The Mutual Constitution Of Culture And Psyche: The Bidirectional Relationship Between Individuals’ Perceived Control And Cultural Tightness-Looseness, Anyi Ma, Krishna Savani, Fangzhou Liu, Kenneth Tai, Aaron C. Kay

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

According to the theory of mutual constitution of culture and psyche, just as culture shapes people, individuals’ psychological states can influence culture. We build on compensatory control theory, which suggests that low personal control can lead people to prefer societal systems that impose order, to examine the mutual constitution of personal control and cultural tightness. Specifically, we tested whether individuals’ lack of personal control increases their preference for tighter cultures as a means of restoring order and predictability, and whether tighter cultures in turn reduce people’s feelings of personal control. Seven studies (five preregistered) with participants from the United States, …

Pay Suppression In Social Impact Contexts: How Framing Work Around The Greater Good Inhibits Job Candidate Compensation Demands, Insiya Hussain, Marko Pitesa, Stefan Thau, Michael Schaerer

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Past research suggests that when organizations communicate the benefits of their work for human welfare—that is, use a social impact framing for work—job candidates are willing to accept lower wages because they expect the work to be personally meaningful. We argue that this explanation overlooks a less socially desirable mechanism by which social impact framing leads to lower compensation demands: the perception among job candidates that requesting higher pay will breach organizational expectations to value work for its intrinsic (rather than extrinsic) rewards, or constitute a motivational norm violation. We find evidence for our theory across five studies: a qualitative …

The More The Merrier: How Psychological Standing And Work Group Size Explain Managers' Willingness To Communicate About Unethical Conduct In Their Work Group, Burak Oc, Maryam Kouchaki

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Business ethics research has long examined the dichotomy between remaining silent or reporting ethical misconduct to a third party. Little is known, however, about ethical conversations within a work group after observing misconduct. Specifically, we do not know how many members of their work group individuals choose to communicate with. These conversations could have important implications for creating an ethical workplace. We propose that psychological standing is an important driver of individuals' decisions not to remain silent and to instead raise moral concerns with a greater number of others in their work group. In addition, integrating existing work on structural …

Arousing Motives Or Eliciting Stories? On The Role Of Pictures In A Picture–Story Exercise, Philipp Schäpers, Stefan Krumm, Filip Lievens, Nikola Stenzel

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Picture–story exercises (PSE) form a popular measurement approach that has been widely used for the assessment of implicit motives. However, current theorizing offers two diverging perspectives on the role of pictures in PSEs: either to elicit stories or to arouse motives. In the current study, we tested these perspectives in an experimental design. We administered a PSE either with or without pictures. Results from N = 281 participants revealed that the experimental manipulation had a medium to large effect for the affiliation and power motive domains, but no effect for the achievement motive domain. We conclude that the herein chosen …

Maximising Effectiveness Of Talent Pools Through Mindfulness: An Empirical Investigation In A Multinational Corporation, Tarmo Raudsepp

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Traditional human resource management is looking to identify and develop talent for maximising human capital in a competitive environment with limited resources and negative demographic trends. Attracting, deploying, motivating, developing and retaining talented employees is a corporate norm for meeting organisational goals. Proper human resource processes through rigorous mapping of employees according to the performance-potential matrix allow the grading of employees against peer groups to establish talent pools for development and internal succession planning.

Mindfulness originates from 2,500-year-old Buddhist spiritual practices and has a rare combination of spirituality and science. Eastern perspective originates from Asian traditions focusing on the self-regulation …

Engaging Students Through Conversational Chatbots And Digital Content: A Climate Action Perspective, Thomas Menkhoff, Benjamin Gan

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

In this case study, we report experiences developing a conversational chatbot as a pre-class and post-class engagement tool for undergraduate students enrolled in sustainability-related courses aimed at educating them about the severity of climate change and the importance of climate action by offsetting one’s carbon footprint (e.g, by planting trees or mangroves in SEA). The intitiative supports the university’s sustainability efforts in general and our new sustainability major in particular aimed at helping students to achieve sustainability-related learning outcomes with reference to climate change and climate action (SDG 13), one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United …

Multiple, Speeded Assessments Under Scrutiny: Underlying Theory, Design Considerations, Reliability, And Validity, Christoph N. Herde, Filip Lievens

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Recently, multiple, speeded assessments (e.g., “speeded” or “flash” role-plays) have made rapid inroads into the selection domain. So far, however, the conceptual underpinning and empirical evidence related to these short, fast-paced assessment approaches has been lacking. This raises questions whether these speeded assessments can serve as reliable and valid indicators of future performance. This paper uses the notions of stimulus and response domain sampling to conceptualize multiple, speeded behavioral job simulations as a hybrid of established simulation-based selection methods. Next, we draw upon the thin slices of behavior paradigm to theorize about the quality of ratings made in multiple, speeded …