Apologies for any cross-posting.
A new issue of Human Relations is available online: Human Relations April 2017; 70(4) − we hope you enjoy reading these articles.
____________________________________
APRIL ISSUE ARTICLES
____________________________________
OPEN ACCESS (CC-BY licence):
Thinking together: What makes Communities of Practice work?
Igor Pyrko, Viktor Dörfler and Colin Eden
Human Relations, 70(4): 389‒409. First published date: August-25-2016 DOI: 10.1177/0018726716661040
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0018726716661040
Abstract
In this article, we develop the founding elements of the concept of Communities of Practice by elaborating on the learning processes happening at the heart of such communities. In particular, we provide a consistent perspective on the notions of knowledge, knowing and knowledge sharing that is compatible with the essence of this concept – that learning entails an investment of identity and a social formation of a person. We do so by drawing richly from the work of Michael Polanyi and his conception of personal knowledge, and thereby we clarify the scope of Communities of Practice and offer a number of new insights into how to make such social structures perform well in professional settings. The conceptual discussion is substantiated by findings of a qualitative empirical study in the UK National Health Service. As a result, the process of 'thinking together' is conceptualized as a key part of meaningful Communities of Practice where people mutually guide each other through their understandings of the same problems in their area of mutual interest, and this way indirectly share tacit knowledge. The collaborative learning process of 'thinking together', we argue, is what essentially brings Communities of Practice to life and not the other way round.
Keywords: Communities of Practice, knowing, knowledge sharing, personal knowledge
Scaling up to institutional entrepreneurship: A life history of an elite training gymnastics organization
Ryan S Bisel, Michael W Kramer and John A Banas
Human Relations 70(4): 410‒435. First published date: August-25-2016 DOI: 10.1177/0018726716658964
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0018726716658964
Abstract
This organizational life history documents how the founder of an elite gymnastics training organization led her organizational members to resist what she deemed to be unethical institutional influences prior to working toward changing those institutional practices. The study contributes the idea that institutional resistance leadership at the team and organizational levels can precede disruptive institutional entrepreneurship activities at the institutional level. The diachronic analysis describes the micro, local, historical, intra-organizational work that serves as a proving ground for generating resistance before proceeding to institutional level work; in doing so, the article explores how leadership activities can be 'scaled up' to affect institutions through the intermediary of an organization. Identity violations triggered a founder's sensemaking and moved her to lead others to resist institutional forces on her own organization's training practices. The founder used the rhetorical strategy of narrative to create sensebreaking to help members make sense of the dominant institutional influence, articulate an alternative philosophy, translate the alternative into practices, and acquire material resources for undertaking resistance at the local organizational level. Finally, in attempting to scale up to institutional entrepreneurship, the institutional resistance leadership then struggled with defining success for the organization in the view of dominant institutional actors.
Keywords: institutional disruption, resistance leadership, sensebreaking, sociomateriality
Network characteristics: When an individual's job crafting depends on the jobs of others
Lorenzo Bizzi
Human Relations 70(4): 436‒460. First published date: August-25-2016 DOI: 10.1177/0018726716658963
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0018726716658963
Abstract
Because job crafting research proposes that individuals alter jobs on their own, there is an open debate on how others influence an individual's job crafting. Whereas previous research has recognized that incumbents engage in job crafting depending on the characteristics of their own job, this study shows that job crafting depends on the job characteristics of the incumbents' network contacts, meaning all employees in the organization with whom the incumbents frequently communicate about task-related issues. Applying role theory, the article theorizes that network contacts act as role senders who affect job crafting because they communicate role expectations that vary as a function of their own task activities. Key empirical findings show that contacts' autonomy and contacts' feedback from the job positively affect job crafting, whereas contacts' task significance exercises a negative effect. The findings further show that the effect of job crafting on performance depends on the central position occupied by the incumbent in the network of relationships. When designing jobs, managers should therefore not only consider the tasks of each single incumbent but also the tasks of the people connected to him or her.
Keywords: individual performance, job characteristics, job crafting, network centrality, proactive behaviors, social networks
A history of vocational ethics and professional identity:
How organization scholars navigate academic value spheres
Susanne Ekman
Human Relations 70(4): 461‒487. First published date: August-25-2016 DOI 10.1177/0018726716660370
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0018726716660370
Abstract
In recent years, Michael Burawoy has sparked a discussion about the role of social sciences in society. He calls for an increased interaction between different value spheres in social science, because 'the flourishing of each depends on the flourishing of all.' To ensure this interaction, he proposes that we pay better attention to the micro-politics of academic lives, not least their historical, geographical and biographical specificity. The current article contributes to this agenda, contextualized in the field of Organization Studies. It analyzes the vocational micro-politics of organization scholars, especially with a focus on historical and biographical specificity. Based on in-depth interviews with 15 senior scholars, many considered founding figures of Organization Studies, I analyze how they navigate value tensions in different historical periods. To understand historical differences, the article draws on a combination of Burawoy and Boltanski and Chiapello. To understand individual navigation of value spheres, I apply terms such as selective incorporation, decoupling, antagonism and double attribution. In the end, I discuss how some scholars navigate spheres to ensure mutual correction while others navigate them to enable opportunism. The latter is a tempting strategy for young scholars trying to survive extreme performance pressures today.
Keywords: academic careers, Burawoy, ethics, history, identity, memories, navigating tensions, organization theory, value sphere, Weber
Incorporating the creative subject: Branding outside–in through identity incentives
Nada Endrissat, Dan Kärreman and Claus Noppeney
Human Relations 70(4): 488‒515. First published date: August-25-2016 DOI 10.1177/0018726716661617
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0018726716661617
Abstract
This article explores the intersection of branding, identity and control. It develops the notion of identity-incentive branding and links research on the collective-associative construction of occupational identities with work on identity incentives as an engaging form of control. Empirically, we draw on a case study of a North American grocery chain that is known for employing art-school graduates and other creative talents in creative (store artist) and non-creative shop-floor positions. The study shows that the brand is partly built outside–in through association with employees who embody brand-relevant characteristics in their identities and lifestyles. In return, those employees receive identity opportunities to validate their desired sense of self as 'creative subject'. We discuss the dual nature of identity-incentive branding as neo-normative control and outline its implications for the organization and the employees.
Keywords: brand, branding, collective-associative view, creative self, desired identity, identity incentive, identity opportunity, neo-normative control, store artist
__________________________________________________
MARCH FREE ACCESS ARTICLE
__________________________________________________
Free to access until 31 March 2017:
Reflections on the labyrinth: Investigating black and minority ethnic leaders' career experiences
Madeleine Wyatt, Jo Silvester
Human Relations 2015 68(8): 1243–1269. First published January 7, 2015, doi: 10.1177/0018726714550890
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0018726714550890
Abstract
Black and minority ethnic (BME) employees appear to experience more difficulty reaching senior leadership positions than do their white counterparts. Using Eagly and Carli's metaphor of the labyrinth, our aim was to give voice to black and minority ethnic managers who have successfully achieved senior management roles, and compare their leadership journeys with those of matched white managers. This article used semi-structured interviews and attribution theory to examine how 20 black and minority ethnic and 20 white senior managers from a UK government department made sense of significant career incidents in their leadership journeys. Template analysis was used to identify facilitators and barriers of career progression from causal explanations of these incidents. Although BME and white managers identified four common themes (visibility, networks, development and line manager support), they differed in how they made sense of formal and informal organizational processes to achieve career progression. The findings are used to theorize about the individual and organizational factors that contribute to the leadership journeys of minority ethnic employees.
Keywords: career progression, diversity, ethnicity, minority ethnic, race, sense-making
______________________________________________________________________
RECENT ONLINE FIRST PREVIEW ARTICLES
Access all OnlineFirst articles here: http://hum.sagepub.com/content/early/recent
______________________________________________________________________
Trajectories and antecedents of integration in mergers and acquisitions:
A comparison of two longitudinal studies
Martin R Edwards, Jukka Lipponen, Tony Edwards, Marko Hakonen
Human Relations DOI: 10.1177/0018726716686169, first Published March 17, 2017
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0018726716686169
Abstract
Despite existing research examining snapshots of employee reactions to organizational mergers and acquisitions (M&A), there is a complete absence of work theorizing or exploring rates of change in employees' organizational identification with the merged entity. We address this gap using two three-wave longitudinal panel samples from different M&A settings, tracking change in identification through a two-year period. Theorizing trajectories of change in identification across the organizations in both settings, we make predictions linked to expected antecedents of change in identification. Our research context (M&A-1) involves a merger of three Finish universities tracking 938 employees from each organization in three waves (nine months pre-merger to 24 months post-merger). Our second context (M&A-2) involves a multinational acquisition tracking 346 employees from both the acquired and acquiring organization in three waves (from two to 26 months post-acquisition). Using Latent Growth Modelling, we confirm predicted trajectories of change in identification. Across both samples, a linear increase (across Time 1, Time 2 and Time 3) in justice and linear decrease in threat perceptions were found to significantly predict a linear increase in identification across the post-M&A period. We discuss organizational identification development trajectories and how changes in these two antecedents account for changes in identification across M&A contexts.
Keywords: employee integration, identity, longitudinal research, M&A, mergers and acquisitions, organisational identification, organisational psychology
The shaping of sustainable careers post hearing loss:
Toward greater understanding of adult onset disability, disability identity, and career transitions
David C Baldridge, Mukta Kulkarni
Human Relations DOI: 10.1177/0018726716687388 | First Published February 17, 2017
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0018726716687388
Abstract
Through this interview-based study with 40 respondents in the United States we have outlined enablers of career transitions and sustainable careers for professionals who have experienced severe hearing loss as adults. To sustain careers after adult onset disability, respondents engaged in a quest for meaning and big picture answers to 'who am I?' and 'am I still successful?' This included redefining themselves – e.g. I am now both a person with a disability (disability identity) and a successful professional (professional identity) – and career success (e.g. now I care about service to society as much as I care about material artifacts). Respondents also adopted new work roles where disability was a key to success (e.g. becoming an equal employment officer) and utilized social networks to continue being successful. Such redefining of work and networks supported the aforesaid quest for meaning and big picture answers. Findings not only indicate how individuals experience career success after a life-changing event but also help defamiliarize extant notions of ableism in workplace contexts.
Keywords: adult onset, career transitions, disability, disability identity, hearing loss, sustainable careers
Work-related change in residential elderly care: Trust, space and connectedness
Wieke E van der Borg, Petra Verdonk, Linda Dauwerse, Tineke A Abma
Human Relations DOI: 10.1177/0018726716684199 | First Published February 10, 2017
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0018726716684199
Abstract
Increasing care needs and a declining workforce put pressure on the quality and continuity of long-term elderly care. The need to attract and retain a solid workforce is increasingly acknowledged. This study reports about a change initiative that aimed to improve the quality of care and working life in residential elderly care. The research focus is on understanding the process of workforce change and development, by retrospectively exploring the experiences of care professionals. A responsive evaluation was conducted at a nursing home department in the Netherlands one year after participating in the change program. Data were gathered by participant observations, interviews and a focus and dialogue group. A thematic analysis was conducted. Care professionals reported changes in workplace climate and interpersonal interactions. We identified trust, space and connectedness as important concepts to understand perceived change. Findings suggest that the interplay between trust and space fostered interpersonal connectedness. Connectedness improved the quality of relationships, contributing to the well-being of the workforce. We consider the nature and contradictions within the process of change, and discuss how gained insights help to improve quality of working life in residential elderly care and how this may reflect in the quality of care provision.
Keywords: authenticity, autonomy, case study, connectedness, leadership, quality of care, quality of working life, responsive evaluation, trust
Critical Essay: Organizational cognitive neuroscience drives theoretical progress, or: The curious case of the straw man murder
Michael JR Butler, Nick Lee, Carl Senior
Human Relations DOI: 10.1177/0018726716684381 | First Published February 2, 2017
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0018726716684381
Abstract
In this critical essay, we respond to Lindebaum's argument that neuroscientific methodologies and data have been accepted prematurely in proposing novel management theory. We acknowledge that building new management theories requires firm foundations. We also find his distinction between demand and supply-side forces helpful as an analytical framework identifying the momentum for the contemporary production of management theory. Nevertheless, some of the arguments Lindebaum puts forward, on closer inspection, can be contested, especially those related to the supply side of organizational cognitive neuroscience research: functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) data, motherhood statements and ethical concerns. We put forward a more positive case for organizational cognitive neuroscience methodologies and data, as well as clarifying exactly what organizational cognitive neuroscience really means, and its consequences for the development of strong management theory.
Keywords: management, methodology, organizational cognitive neuroscience, practice, theory
Casual employment and long-term wage outcomes
Irma Mooi-Reci, Mark Wooden
Human Relations DOI: 10.1177/0018726716686666 | First Published February 1, 2017
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0018726716686666
Abstract
Temporary and other forms of non-standard employment are an important feature of modern labour markets. Yet, relatively little is known about how much and under what circumstances such employment arrangements impact on long-term wage outcomes. Using longitudinal data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey spanning the period 2001 to 2014, we examine how employment status earlier in a working career is associated with subsequent wage dynamics. Particular attention is paid to how wage trajectories vary with gender and age. Estimates from a series of panel data models of real hourly wages reveal that among men there is an average long-run penalty from casual employment of about 10%, suggestive of scarring effects. Nevertheless, for men in most age groups this wage penalty does eventually begin to shrink. Among prime-age men, however, there is no evidence of catch-up; indeed, for this group the wage gap widens over time. Among women the estimated average long-run wage penalty associated with casual employment is both much smaller and less robust. We argue that expectations and norms about 'ideal careers' may be an important explanatory factor underlying the larger casual employment wage penalty for men.
Keywords: casual employment, contingent workers, gender differences, HILDA Survey, longitudinal data, pay/rewards
Work–family interface in the context of career success: A qualitative inquiry
Mina Beigi, Jia Wang, Michael B Arthur
Human Relations DOI: 10.1177/0018726717691339 | First Published February 1, 2017
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0018726717691339
Abstract
Work–family researchers are increasingly recognizing the need to expand their focus to advance the field. One population largely neglected by work–family researchers is individuals who have been extremely successful in their careers. In addition, organizational career scholars have largely neglected the interplay between employees' work and family lives. This study contributes to the work–family literature by studying work–family interface (WFI) in the context of career success. We sought to explore the lived experiences of 28 distinguished professors who are among the top 2–5% of scholars in their field, to provide an in-depth understanding of their WFI and the prominent factors affecting it over their careers. Our findings have theoretical implications for both work–family and career success literatures.
Keywords: academic careers, career success, distinguished professor, work–family, work–family interface, WFI
When too many are not enough:
Human resource slack and performance at the Dutch East India Company (1700–1795)
Stoyan V Sgourev, Wim van Lent
Human Relations DOI: 10.1177/0018726717691340 | First Published February 1, 2017
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0018726717691340
Abstract
Slack is an elusive concept in organizational research, with studies documenting a variety of relationships between slack and firm performance. We advocate treating slack not as a resource, but as a practice – a sequence of events and responses over time. A longitudinal analysis of the Dutch East India Company (1700–1795) highlights the use of slack as a response to a resource constraint (the shortage of skilled labor). After documenting the negative performance effects of skill shortage, we identify a trade-off in the use of human resource slack (number of sailors above what is operationally required), in which slack enhanced operational reliability, but reduced efficiency. Derived from a historical context, this trade-off has contemporary relevance and is helpful in reconciling contradictory evidence on slack.
Keywords: contingent workers, human resources, management history, organizational slack, personnel selection
__________________________________________________
CALL FOR PAPERS
__________________________________________________
Special issue: Inserting professionals and professional organizations in studies of wrongdoing: The nature, antecedents, and consequences of professional misconduct – submit by 30 April 2017
http://www.tavinstitute.org/humanrelations/special_issues/Professional%20misconduct.html
Human Relations welcomes critical reviews and essays:
- Critical reviews advance a field through new theory, new methods, a novel synthesis of extant evidence, or a combination of two or three of these elements. Reviews that identify new research questions and that make links between management and organizations and the wider social sciences are particularly welcome. Surveys or overviews of a field are unlikely to meet these criteria.
- Critical essays address contemporary scholarly issues and debates within the journal's scope. They are more controversial than conventional papers or reviews, and can be shorter. They argue a point of view, but must meet standards of academic rigour. Anyone with an idea for a critical essay is particularly encouraged to discuss it at an early stage with the Editor-in-Chief.
__________________________________________________
WHY PUBLISH IN HUMAN RELATIONS?
__________________________________________________
Human Relations is an A* journal – the highest category of quality – in the Australian Business Deans Council (ABCD) Journal Quality List 2013. It is also ranked 4 in the Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS) Academic Journal Guide 2015 and included in the FT50 list of journals (effective from January 2017) used by the Financial Times in compiling the FT Research rank, included in the Global MBA, EMBA and Online MBA rankings.
Human Relations is a top 5 interdisciplinary social sciences journal (Source: 2015 Journal Citation Reports® (Thomson Reuters, 2016):
2-year impact factor: 2.619 Ranked: 4/93 in Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary and 37/192 in Management
5-year impact factor: 3.544 Ranked: 2/93 in Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary and 40/192 in Management
Best wishes,
Claire Castle
Managing Editor, Human Relations
Tavistock Institute of Human Relations
Email: c.castle@tavinstitute.org
Twitter: @HR_TIHR
Website: www.humanrelationsjournal.org