Alexandra Gerbasi

The Effects of Civility on Advice, Leadership, and Performance

Workplace incivility is rampant and on the rise-with costs to individuals and organizations. Despite the increased need for civility, little is known about potential individual benefits of civility, defined as behavior involving politeness and regard for others in the workplace, within workplace norms for respect (Andersson & Pearson, 1999). Recent research has suggested that being civil may be hazardous to influence, power, and income (see Forni, 2002; Judge et al., 2012).Yet, throughout history, civil behavior has been extolled because it paid dividends to the person who behaved well. The focus of this research is whether that holds true in organizations. Using social exchange theory, we developed hypotheses about how civility benefits people, and investigated this in 2 studies. First, in a 2-wave social network study of a research and development department (n = 31) of a biotechnology firm, we found that people who perceived a colleague as civil would be more likely to seek that person out for work advice and to see that person as a leader. The more the individual was perceived as civil by others in his or her network, the better his or her performance. Being sought out for work advice and being viewed as a leader mediated this effect. In the second experiment (n = 162), we extended our understanding of what drove these benefits. We found that people who are civil were perceived as warm and competent, and these positive perceptions, in turn, helped to explain the benefits garnered. We discuss theoretical and practical implications.

Strategic innovation through outsourcing

There is growing evidence that client firms expect outsourcing suppliers to transform their business. Indeed, most outsourcing suppliers have delivered IT operational and business process innovation to client firms; however, achieving strategic innovation through outsourcing has been perceived to be far more challenging. Building on the growing interest in the IS outsourcing literature, this paper seeks to advance our understanding of the role that relational and contractual governance plays in achieving strategic innovation through outsourcing. We hypothesized and tested empirically the relationship between the quality of client-supplier relationships and the likelihood of achieving strategic innovation, and the interaction effect of different contract types, such as fixed-price, time and materials, partnership and their combinations. Results from a pan-European survey of 248 large firms suggest that high-quality relationships between clients and suppliers may indeed help achieve strategic innovation through outsourcing. However, within the spectrum of various outsourcing contracts, only the partnership contract, when included in the client contract portfolio alongside either fixed-price, time and materials or their combination, presents a significant positive effect on relational governance and is likely to strengthen the positive effect of the quality of client-supplier relationships on strategic innovation.

Destructive de-energizing relationships: How thriving buffers their effect on performance.

In this paper, we establish the relationship between de-energizing relationships and individual performance in organizations. To date, the emphasis in social network research has largely been on positive dimensions of relationships despite literature from social psychology revealing the prevalence and detrimental impact of de-energizing relationships. In 2 field studies, we show that de-energizing relationships in organizations are associated with decreased performance. In Study 1, we investigate how de-energizing relationships are related to lower performance using data from 161 people in the information technology (IT) department of an engineering firm. In Study 2, in a sample of 439 management consultants, we consider whether the effects of de-energizing relationships on performance may be moderated by the extent to which an individual has the psychological resource of thriving at work. We find that individuals who are thriving at work are less susceptible to the effects of de-energizing relationships on job performance. We close by discussing implications of this research.

Trust and technology in a ubiquitous modern environment : theoretical and methodological perspectives

Trust and Technology in a Ubiquitous Modern Environment: Theoretical and Methodological Perspectives provides a variety of theoretical perspectives on the topics of trust and technology, as well as some empirical investigations into the trust-building, trust-maintenance, and trust-destroying practices in the context of technology. It presents research positioned at the intersection of the issues of trust within and between individuals, and organizations, and technology under various guises, for example, high-tech work environments, computer-mediated communication, and the Internet as a business environment.

Trust-building in international business ventures

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate collaboration and coordination practices in the organisation whose members come from two countries that differ dramatically in generalised trust: Poland and the USA. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative field study conducted in Silicon Valley-based American-Polish start-up joint venture. Findings – There are three mechanisms can facilitate collaboration in organisations that differ in generalised trust: frequent interaction that may form a basis for knowledge-based trust, professional cultures that provide common platform for communication, and presence of intermediaries that possess understanding and ability to communicate of both cultures. Practical implications – The findings can be applied in the context of offshoring projects in knowledge intensive industries. Originality/value – Research presented in this paper investigates collaboration of parties from low-trust and high-trust cultures within one business venture.

The Promise and Peril of Workplace Connections: Insights for Leaders about Workplace Networks and Well-Being

This chapter utilizes a network perspective to show how the totality of one’s social connections impacts well-being by providing access to resources (e.g., information, feedback, and support) and placing limits on autonomy. We provide a brief review of basic network concepts and explain the importance of understanding how the networks in which leaders are embedded may enhance or diminish their well-being. Further, with this greater understanding, we describe how leaders can help promote the well-being of their employees. In particular, we focus on four key aspects of workplace networks that are likely to impact well-being: centrality, structural holes, embeddedness, and negative ties. We not only discuss practical implications for leaders’ well-being and the well-being of their employees, but also suggest directions for future research.

Sourcing in or out: Implications for social capital and knowledge sharing

The sharing of knowledge between a firm and its internal or external service suppliers has become an important element of contemporary sourcing arrangements. Moreover, the knowledge based view (KBV) has long suggested that due to stronger cognitive links within firms, internal compared to external service provision creates better conditions for knowledge sharing. Empirical evidence for this claim is however scarce, and the KBV does not explain the mechanisms for more knowledge sharing in internal sourcing in detail. Moreover, there is now some evidence to suggest that firms’ relationships with external sourcing partners are becoming more similar to those with captive centres, which represent a less traditional form of insourcing setting. To scrutinize the possible knowledge sharing advantages of internal sourcing in more depth, we turn to social capital (SC) research. There are some theoretical claims that SC and knowledge sharing are stronger within than between firms, and there is ample evidence that SC facilitates knowledge sharing. Our survey results suggest that the extent of knowledge sharing and SC are indeed stronger in a captive than in an external sourcing mode, and that structural (tie strength), cognitive (shared understanding), and relational (trust) aspects of SC mediate the effect of sourcing mode on the extent of knowledge sharing. By contrast, network stability (a structural aspect) mediated knowledge sharing only indirectly, by reinforcing the other SC aspects. We highlight important contributions to research and practice of IS outsourcing and social capital.

Relational and Contractual Governance for Innovation

While the early years of Information Technology (IT) and business process outsourcing (BPO) were mainly characterized by a quest for cost savings (Loh and Venkatraman 1992; Lacity and Hirschheim 1993) and a focus on core competences (Quinn and Hilmer 1994), evidence from 2000 onwards suggests that client firms have been seeking added value from outsourcing by accessing suppliers’ competences (e.g. Dyer and Nobeoka 2000; Quinn 2000; Whitley and Willcocks 2011). Mol (2005) argued that “firms are increasingly relying on partnering relationships with outside suppliers that can act as an effective substitute to the internal generation of knowledge and innovation”. Similarly, Linder et al. (2003) and Weeks and Feeny (2008) argued that client firms rely on external suppliers in the search for new ideas. Accepting that innovation is outsourced and offshored, Lewin et al. (2009) studied the determinants driving firms to offshore innovations only to conclude that firms have been entering a global race for talent in which solutions will be sought wherever skills are available. Such observations suggest that innovation may be considered as one of the possible outcomes of outsourcing engagements.

Understanding Innovation in Outsourcing Services

Recent years have witnessed an expansion in service industries such as finance, travel and retail. Firms in the services have shifted their traditional occupation with products to consider how value can be created and appropriated in the service industry [1]. In particular, information technology (IT) and IT-enabled business services have become central to a firm’s ability to deliver value to its customers, driving firms to seek ways to improve their services and maintain their competitive position. In this regard, the last ten years have witnessed significant growth in the outsourcing industry which shifted from focus on low cost simple tasks such as coding to end-to-end delivery of services that range from IT services and customer services to more complex business services such as Finance and Accounting, Human Resources, Procurement, and knowledge-intensive services such as customer analysis and research services [2].