Angela T. Hall

Relationships between felt accountability as a stressor and strain reactions: the neutralizing role of autonomy across two studies.

Felt accountability, conceptualized as a workplace stressor, has been gaining increased attention in terms of its importance for explaining variance in work attitudes and behaviors. Building on these investigations, the present research tests in 2 studies a conceptualization that positions job autonomy as a moderator of the relationships between felt accountability and strain reactions. In Study 1, the interactions of Felt Accountability x Job Autonomy on job tension and job satisfaction were investigated. As hypothesized, the results demonstrated that autonomy neutralized the dysfunctional effects of accountability for each outcome. Study 2 extended the findings from Study 1 by replicating the form of the interactive effects, with job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion serving as strain reactions. Implications, strengths and limitations, and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Organizational Citizenship Behavior and Reputation Mediators in the Relationships Between Accountability and Job Performance and Satisfaction

Holding people answerable for their actions captures the essence of accountability, which is one of the most fundamental constructs in the organizational sciences and, unfortunately, one about which little is known. This study formulated and tested a model that sought to explicate the intermediate linkages between accountability and job performance and satisfaction. Specifically, the hypothesized model suggests that accountability affects organizational citizenship behavior, which in turn influences job performance and satisfaction through personal reputation. Three alternative models were also examined, but the hypothesized model demonstrated the best fit to the data. Strengths and limitations of the study, directions for future research, and implications for practice are discussed.

Meso-level theory of accountability in organizations

Accountability is ubiquitous in social systems, and its necessity is magnified in formal organizations, whose purpose has been argued to predict and control behavior. The very notion of organizing necessitates answering to others, and this feature implies an interface of work and social enterprises, the individuals comprising them, and subunits from dyads to divisions. Because the nature of workplace accountability is multi-level as well as interactive, single-level conceptualizations of the phenomenon are incomplete and inherently misleading. In response, this chapter sets forth a meso-level conceptualization of accountability, which develops a more comprehensive understanding of this pervasive and imperative phenomenon. The meso model presented integrates contemporary theory and research, and extends our perspectives beyond individual, group, unit, or organizational perspectives toward a unitary whole. Following this is a description of challenges and opportunities facing scholars conducting accountability research (e.g., data collection and analysis and non-traditional conceptualizations of workplace phenomenon). Theoretical and practical implications are discussed, as are directions for future research.

Time to Try a Little Tenderness? The Detrimental Effects of Accountability When Coupled With Abusive Supervision

The deleterious health and behavioral consequences of reporting to an abusive supervisor have been documented in past research. Furthermore, recent corporate scandals have led to increased pressure to hold employees accountable for their behaviors and decisions at work. This study examines the interactive effects of abusive supervision on experienced relationships between accountability and work outcomes (job tension, job satisfaction, and emotional exhaustion), with a sample of 366 employees across a myriad of contexts and conditions for answerability. Specifically, it was hypothesized that high levels of perceived abuse would interact with accountability such that job satisfaction declines and tension and exhaustion escalate because of the control-depleting properties of abuse. Study results were supportive of these proposed relationships. Key contributions and limitations of the study, as well as directions for future research, are discussed.

Driving Away the Bad Guys The Interactive Effects of Politics Perceptions and Work Drive Across Two Studies

The previously uninvestigated role of work drive as a moderator of perceptions of politics–job outcomes relationships was examined in a series of field studies. Consistent with the underpinnings of sensemaking theory, we hypothesized that those with high levels of work drive would experience fewer adverse consequences when coupled with heightened perceptions of politics relative to those reporting less work drive. Across two independent studies, hypotheses were strongly supported. Specifically, perceptions of politics demonstrated a significant, direct influence on job satisfaction, job tension, and emotional exhaustion for those with less work drive in Sample 1 (municipal employees) and only a minimal impact for those with higher levels of drive. Results were replicated in Sample 2 (members of a management association). Implications of these findings for science and practice, strengths and limitations, and future research directions are discussed.

Accountability and satisfaction: organizational support as a moderator

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how perceived organizational support (POS) moderates accountabilitys relationship with job satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach – Self-report data were collected from one organizational sample from the USA and one organizational sample from Sweden. Findings – The results support the hypothesis that POS moderates the relationship between accountability and job satisfaction in the two samples. Specifically, the findings show that accountability relates positively to satisfaction under high support conditions and, in one sample, negatively to satisfaction under low support condition. Research limitations/implications – The current results suggest that social context is vital to a more informed evaluation of how accountability relates to work outcomes. Organizations should show their employees that they care about them. This can be achieved through starting, maintaining, and nurturing those initiatives that are interpreted positively by the employees...

Barriers to Employment: Individual and Organizational Perspectives

Abstract Barriers to employment are a significant issue in the United States and abroad. As civil rights legislation continues to be enforced and as employers seek to diversify their workplaces, it is incumbent upon the management field to offer insights that address obstacles to work. Although barriers to employment have been addressed in various fields such as psychology and economics, management scholars have addressed this issue in a piecemeal fashion. As such, our review will offer a comprehensive, integrative model of barriers to employment that addresses both individual and organizational perspectives. We will also address societal-level concerns involving these barriers. An integrative perspective is necessary for research to progress in this area because many individuals with barriers to employment face multiple challenges that prevent them from obtaining and maintaining full employment. While the additive, or possibly multiplicative, effect of employment barriers have been acknowledged in related fields like rehabilitation counseling and vocational psychology, the Human Resource Management (HRM) literature has virtually ignored this issue. We discuss suggestions for the reduction or elimination of barriers to employment. We also provide an integrative model of employment barriers that addresses the mutable (amenable to change) nature of some barriers, while acknowledging the less mutable nature of others.

Social influence and the invocation of rights: The effects of accountability, reputation and political skill on legal claiming

Issues relating to litigation and other forms of employee legal claiming are at the forefront of the practice of human resource management. However, organizational scholars have paid scant attention to this important aspect of organizational life. Underrepresented in this collective research have been investigations into how social influence variables impact the legal claiming process. We add to the understanding of legal claiming by evaluating how perceived levels of accountability, reputation and political skill affect individuals’ willingness to engage in contentious and non-contentious legal claiming. We also investigate the impact that social influence has on individuals’ advice to other potential claimants. This study employed a longitudinal design utilizing both scenarios and survey data collection. Results from our study partially support the conclusion that individuals are more risk-averse in their own legal claiming considerations than they are in the advice they offer to similarly-situated others. Furthermore, accountability, reputation and interpersonal influence (one aspect of political skill) were found to significantly influence the likelihood of legal claiming. The pattern of results indicates that social influence variables play a role in determining whether legal claiming will be pursued and what type of claiming will be chosen.