Amy L. Kristof-Brown

The Moderating Role of Top Management Team Interdependence: Implications for Real Teams and Working Groups

Prior research evidence shows that within-team interdependence moderates the process-performance relationship in small groups. Data collected from 94 top management teams (TMTs) replicated and exte...

A Policy-Capturing Study of the Simultaneous Effects of Fit With Jobs, Groups, and Organizations

The authors report an experimental policy-capturing study that examines the simultaneous impact of person-job (PJ), person-group (PG), and person-organization (PO) fit on work satisfaction. Using hierarchical linear modeling, the authors determined that all 3 types of fit had important, independent effects on satisfaction. Work experience explained systematic differences in how participants weighted each type of fit. Multiple interactions also showed participants used complex strategies for combining fit cues.

Goal Congruence in Project Teams: Does the Fit Between Members' Personal Mastery and Performance Goals Matter?

Research on team goals rarely considers the impact of congruence in perceptions of personal goals of self versus other members. In this study of 324 members of 64 short-term project teams, polynomial regression analysis was used to explore how congruence in personal and perceived team mastery and performance goals affected individual outcomes. Results indicated that congruence in perceived performance goals elicited greater individual satisfaction and contributions, regardless of goal strength (i.e.. high or low personal performance goals). Conversely, perceived team mastery goals had a greater effect on individual outcomes than did perceived congruence in self-other mastery goals. Congruent self-actual team goals showed weaker but similar relationships to individual outcomes, but contrary to hypotheses, this effect was not mediated by congruence in perceived self-other goals.

Applicant Impression Management: Dispositional Influences and Consequences for Recruiter Perceptions of Fit and Similarity

This study investigates how applicant characteristics influence the use of impression management (IM) tactics in interviews, and how these behaviors affect interviewer perceptions of person-job fit (P-J fit) and applicant-interviewer similarity. Results from 72 applicants demonstrated that extraverted applicants made greater use of self-promotion during their interviews, while agreeableness was associated with non-verbal cues. Self-promotion was the IM tactic most strongly related to interviewers’ perceptions of P-J fit, whereas non-verbal IM influenced perceived similarity. The practical implications of these findings for applicant preparation are discussed, as well as concerns regarding the long-term effects of IM use on selection decision making.

Fitting in: Surface- and Deep-Level Cultural Differences and Expatriates’ Adjustment

This study examined the impact of surface- and deep-level cultural differences on the cross-cultural adjustment of expatriates. Surface-level differences concern easily visible dissimilarities betw...

Person-Group Fit Diversity Antecedents, Proximal Outcomes, and Performance at the Group Level

This article explores antecedents and outcomes of group-level person-group (PG) fit perceptions. Based on the categorization-elaboration model (CEM), the authors explain how social category (gender and age) and informational diversity (education and work experience) in work teams may elicit supplementary and complementary fit perceptions among team members. The authors then examine two mechanisms through which perceived fit might influence leader-rated group performance. Supplementary fit (similarity on values) is hypothesized to work through a relationship-oriented mechanism by influencing social cohesion. Complementary fit (abilities meet job demands) is expected to work through a task-oriented mechanism by influencing the teams’ transactive memory systems. Participants include employees (N = 1,101) and leaders (N = 116) from 116 work teams in two private firms located in Seoul, Korea. Results generally support the hypothesized relationships, with the task-oriented mechanism being more influential of group performance. Post hoc analyses also suggest that a superordinate perception of PG fit may underlie the assessments of the more specific types of fit. The authors conclude that diversity within groups influences an emergent perception of group-level fit, having related supplementary and complementary components, which in turn are associated with group-level outcomes.

Cultural Metaphors as Frames of Reference for Nations: A Six-Country Study

A cultural metaphor is a major phenomenon, institution, or activity in a nation with which most citizens identify cognitively or emotionally and through which it is possible to describe the national culture and its frame of reference in depth, for example, the Japanese garden (Gannon 2004). Cultural metaphors for six nations are analyzed two nations at a time. Three questionnaires based on the cultural metaphors for two nations at a time were developed so that each of the three pairs of two nations could be analyzed and compared separately. These questionnaire items were derived from the descriptions provided by Gannon (2004). Respondents were 664 college students, in accordance with Smith and Schwartz’ 1997 argument that teachers and students represent the best populations for analyzing cultural values. Results strongly support the concept of the cultural metaphor as a frame of reference.