Anna-Katherine Ward

The Determinants of Alternative Forms of Workplace Voice An Integrative Perspective

Workplace voice has been the subject of much research over the past 30 years. Prior work has examined the precursors of a wide variety of voice types including prosocial voice, grievance filing, whistle-blowing, informal complaints, and participation in suggestion systems. However, research on each type of voice has largely been conducted in isolation from work examining alternate types of workplace voice. The goal of this article is to review and integrate the literature on the determinants of workplace voice. The authors’ review of the literature is organized around the major categories of determinants that have been observed in the separate literatures on workplace voice. Based on the review, the authors identify commonalities and differences across alternative forms of voice in the determinants observed. Following this, they explore how the nature and purpose of voice varies, with emphasis on three dimensions of voice: formality, focus, and identifiability. The authors then explore whether this variation is relevant for understanding the pattern of determinants observed across alternative forms of voice. They close by discussing the implications of an integrative perspective of scholars’ understanding of the processes that determine voice and for organizations as they strive to facilitate the productive use of workplace voice.

Past Experience, Cultural Intelligence, and Satisfaction With International Business Studies

Despite significant increases in international business education, and cultural competence in particular, in U.S. classrooms we still know relatively little about the roles of specific cultural intelligence dimensions relative to how students affectively respond to such education. This article examines the relationship between prior international experience, cultural intelligence, and satisfaction with international business studies in U.S. college students. Using path analysis, our data indicate that prior international experience relates positively to all dimensions of cultural intelligence and that only metacognitive cultural intelligence and motivational cultural intelligence relate to increased satisfaction with the study of international business.

Exchanging Social Information Across Cultural Boundaries

Social information exchange (SIE) in organizations has long been an area of interest for management scholars; however, in recent years, this literature has become fragmented and widely dispersed. As communication and transfer of information increasingly occur between individuals and aggregates of widely varying national and regional cultures, a reconsideration and review of the topic is appropriate, including identification of key issues in this research domain and an integration and synthesis of what we currently know about SIE across cultural boundaries. We examine the last 13 years of cross-cultural SIE research at the country, organization and subunit, team and dyad, and individual levels; provide a basic analytic framework; and provide propositions and direction to guide future research. Our review notes key findings based on three general topics in the literature: (1) antecedents to SIE, (2) process and relational outcomes of SIE, and (3) performance outcomes of SIE. We conclude that this area of research would benefit from increased focus on the nature of the relationship between the exchange partners, the broader social context in which exchanges are embedded, consideration of the capabilities of the actors and their task requirements, and timing of events. Issues regarding SIE quality and fidelity, motivations, cultural distance, and uncertainty are discussed. These research directions can potentially enhance diverse literatures, such as interpersonal interactions, team decision making, knowledge transfer, and corporate governance.

Local Reasons to Give Globally: Identity Extension and Global Cooperation

Recent political events across the world suggest a retrenchment from globalization and a possible increase in parochialism. This inward-looking threat from parochialism occurs just as the global community faces growing challenges that require trans-national cooperation. In this research, we question if strong identification with an in-group necessarily leads to parochialism and ultimately is detrimental to global cooperation. Building on research on global social identification, we explore whether strong local identification can expand in inclusiveness to global identification, and among whom this is likely to happen. The results of our global public goods study – conducted in South Korea and the United States – show that high levels of social identification with a local group can extend to the global collective, particularly for individuals who are also high in concern-for-others. Furthermore, this identification translates into behavior that benefits the global, anonymous group at a cost to oneself. These results shed light on how to avoid the trap of parochialism and instead engender cooperative behavior with the broader global community.