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A new issue of Human Relations is available online: Human Relations September 2016; 69(9) − we hope you enjoy reading these articles.
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SEPTEMBER ISSUE ARTICLES
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Identity transition during pregnancy: The importance of role models
Sophie Hennekam
Human Relations September 2016 69(9): 1765–1790, first published May 4, 2016 as doi: 10.1177/0018726716631402
http://hum.sagepub.com/content/69/9/1765?etoc
Abstract
This qualitative study reports on how pregnant women integrate their future maternal identity with their existing work-related identity. Twenty-four women were interviewed at three times during their pregnancy: during the first, second and third trimesters. A grounded theory approach was used to analyse the data and social learning theory was adopted as a theoretical framework to assist in interpreting the findings. The findings suggest that the availability or lack of realistic and attainable role models influences the degree to which the transition to motherhood during pregnancy was successful. When role models were readily available, the transition went well, but, when role models were absent, two less successful strategies were identified, leading to negative psychological outcomes. The study also stresses the importance of other contextual factors, such as the gender composition of organizations and the educational attainment of the individual pregnant women, in the way women perceive their transition to motherhood while working.
Keywords: identity, identity transition, pregnancy, role models
In pursuit of ambidexterity:
Managerial reactions to innovation–efficiency tensions
Angeliki Papachroni, Loizos Heracleous, and Sotirios Paroutis
Human Relations September 2016 69(9): 1791–1822, first published June 7, 2016 as doi: 10.1177/0018726715625343
http://hum.sagepub.com/content/69/9/1791?etoc
Abstract
Whereas tensions arising from the pursuit of ambidexterity have been documented, how these are interpreted and managed by actors themselves remains largely unexplored. Based on in-depth case research in a large Scandinavian-based telecommunications organization pursuing ambidexterity, we identify a path-dependent process of tension interpretation and tension management at different levels of the organization. Our findings suggest that, in the context of an ambidextrous strategy, actors are actively involved in managing arising tensions based on their differing interpretations of these tensions (where ambidextrous demands are seen as complementary, conflicting or interrelated). We find that these interpretations are influenced by actors' strategic orientation and organizational level. Our study extends understanding of the pursuit of ambidexterity in practice, offering a pluralist, path-dependent perspective of how actors perceive and deal with ambidexterity tensions.
Keywords: case study, exploitation, exploration, organizational tensions, tension management
The paradoxical effect of self-categorization on work stress in a high-status occupation: Insights from management consulting
Julia Mühlhaus and Onno Bouwmeester
Human Relations September 2016 69(9): 1823–1852, first published May 4, 2016 as doi: 10.1177/0018726715626255
http://hum.sagepub.com/content/69/9/1823?etoc
Abstract
Following social identity theory, the way in which individuals appraise stressful encounters and cope with them is influenced by their membership of social groups, which presumes self-categorization as a group member. To date, the impact of self-categorization on stress has mainly been studied for low-status groups. This article uses an interview study among management consultants to explore how self-categorization in terms of occupational identity impacts work stress in a high-status occupation. Adding to previous research, we find that not only low-status but also high-status groups benefit from self-categorization when coping with stressful situations. In line with prevailing theoretical assumptions, we even empirically find an 'upward spiral'. We illustrate how consultants' social identity as high-performing professionals helps them cope with stress, which in turn creates a feeling of social inclusion. However, we also find a 'downward spiral', where social identity provokes work stress among management consultants who cannot meet the high occupational standards. They cope less effectively and fear social exclusion from the group. These new findings relate to the specifics of our research context, including high status and increased stress. We thus argue for a research agenda that includes such context characteristics when further developing self-categorization models of stress.
Keywords: high-status group, management consulting, self-categorization, social identity, work stress
How leader and follower attachment styles are mediated by trust
P.D. Harms, Yuntao Bai, and Guohong Helen Han
Human Relations September 2016 69(9): 1853–1876, first published May 20, 2016 as doi: 10.1177/0018726716628968
http://hum.sagepub.com/content/69/9/1853?etoc
Abstract
The current study utilizes attachment theory to understand how leader–follower relationships impact emotional and behavioral outcomes in the workplace. Specifically, we examine the roles of two dysfunctional attachment styles – anxious and avoidant attachment – as determinants of trust in leaders, stress and citizenship behaviors. Results showed that followers with anxious attachment orientations reported experiencing more stress, whereas followers with avoidant attachment orientations were less likely to engage in organizational citizenship behaviors. Moreover, we found that the relationship between attachment orientations and workplace outcomes are mediated by affective and cognitive trust. However, these negative outcomes only occur when the follower has a leader with an avoidant attachment orientation. Implications for training, selection, job design and understanding leader–follower dynamics are discussed.
Keywords: attachment theory, OCB, organizational citizenship behavior, stress, trust
The subversive craft worker:
Challenging 'disutility' theories of management control
Dale Tweedie and Sasha Holley
Human Relations September 2016 69(9): 1877–1900, first published May 4, 2016 as doi: 10.1177/0018726716628971
http://hum.sagepub.com/content/69/9/1877?etoc
Abstract
Although sociologists and psychologists have documented various motivations for working, the concept of work as essentially disutility or undesirable retains broad resonance among influential economists and social theorists. These concepts imply that workers will tend to avoid or 'shirk' their work task unless subjected to management controls. Yet emerging counter-narratives have sought to retrieve and develop alternative concepts of work as craft, where workers are motivated to work well or be recognized for doing so. On these approaches, management controls can decrease the quality of the final outputs. This article uses a case study of cleaners in Australia to challenge influential representations of workers as prone to 'shirking' and the interpretation of management control to which these perspectives lead. The article argues that craft concepts of work derived from Richard Sennett and contemporary recognition theory provide alternative narratives of how workers can derive satisfaction from working well even in 'menial' tasks, and how craft motivations can drive workers to subvert management controls to uphold rather than diminish service quality. In this way, craft theories reveal limitations of overly instrumental concepts of work, and also help conceptualize how workers' attachment to their tasks can drive resistance to management control.
Keywords: craft, control, Dejours, Honneth, labour economics, management, recognition, resistance, Sennett, work
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RECENT ONLINE FIRST PREVIEW ARTICLES
Access all OnlineFirst articles here: http://hum.sagepub.com/content/early/recent
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CALLS FOR PAPERS
Special issue: Politicization and political contests in contemporary multinational corporations – submit by 30 September 2016
http://www.tavinstitute.org/humanrelations/special_issues/Politics%20and%20MNCs.html
Special issue: Organizing feminism: Bodies, practices and ethics – submit by 30 November 2016
http://www.tavinstitute.org/humanrelations/special_issues/Organizing%20feminism.html
Special issue: The changing nature of managerial work – submit by 31 January 2017
http://www.tavinstitute.org/humanrelations/special_issues/Managerial%20work.html
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.
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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. Human Relations is a top 5 interdisciplinary social sciences journal:
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
Source: 2015 Journal Citation Reports® (Thomson Reuters, 2016)
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