Brian J. Collins

Resource Dependence Theory: A Review:

Thirty years have passed since Pfeffer and Salancik’s seminal work on resource dependence theory (RDT). During this time RDT has been applied broadly across the research domain to explain how organizations reduce environmental interdependence and uncertainty. In this review, the authors assess the conceptual development, empirical research, and application of RDT. They structure their review around the five options that Pfeffer and Salancik propose firms can enact to minimize environmental dependences: (a) mergers/vertical integration, (b) joint ventures and other interorganizational relationships, (c) boards of directors, (d) political action, and (e) executive succession.The authors summarize past work, synthesize contemporary thought, and propose future research directions.

Core self-evaluations and job performance: the role of the perceived work environment.

Using trait activation theory as a framework, the authors examined the moderating role of two situational variables-perceptions of organizational politics and perceptions of leader effectiveness-on the relationship between core self-evaluations and job performance. Results from two samples (N = 137 and N = 226) indicate that employee perceptions of their work environment moderated the relationship between their core self-evaluations and supervisor ratings of their performance. In particular, those with higher core self-evaluations received higher performance ratings in environments perceived as favorable than in environments perceived as unfavorable.

The Importance of Being Trustworthy Trust as a Mediator of the Relationship Between Leader Behaviors and Employee Job Satisfaction

In this study, the authors examined the relationship between leader behaviors and subordinate job satisfaction by adopting the theoretical perspective of the integrative model of trust. The authors hypothesized that one’s trust in their supervisor mediates the relationships of procedural and informational justice and transformational leadership behavior with subordinate job satisfaction. Results from a field sample suggest that trust fully mediates the effects of procedural and informational fairness and transformational leadership on employee job satisfaction. The implications for practice and potential areas of future research are also discussed.

Fairness Means More to Some Than Others Interactional Fairness, Job Embeddedness, and Discretionary Work Behaviors

We examined when job embeddedness might serve as a boundary condition between interactional fairness and employee behavior. Specifically, we explored whether elements of affective attachment associated with job embeddedness moderated relations of supervisors’ interactional fairness with citizenship behavior and production deviance. Results from a field and a scenario study supported the idea that interactional fairness exerts a stronger effect on these outcomes for employees embedded in their jobs than for their less attached coworkers. We found this result even after controlling for turnover intent. Practical implications and directions for future research are discussed.

The interactive effects of person-focused citizenship behaviour, task interdependence, and virtuality on team performance

A multifactorial between-groups experiment examined the effects of person-focused organizational citizenship behaviours (OCBP) on the performance of teams characterized by different levels of virtuality and task interdependence. Results reveal in low virtual teams the moderating effects of task interdependence on the OCBP–team performance relationship are positive; however, these effects are reversed in high virtual teams. Using social presence and task–technology fit theories, our results indicate that task context affects how OCBP impacts team performance, particularly across different levels of team virtuality. The implications for research on OCB and the management of virtual teams are discussed.

Situational Strength as a Moderator of the Relationship Between Organizational Identification and Work Outcomes

Organizational identification theory suggests that the extent to which employees perceive a sense of oneness with their employer positively influences their workplace attitudes and behavior. We investigated situational strength as a potential moderator by exploring the extent to which the relationship between organizational identification and employee outcomes is attenuated when employee discretion is restricted. In particular, we examined whether the workplace cues that signal appropriate conduct in strong situations would mitigate the potentially positive effects of organizational identification on job satisfaction and performance. Consistent with this perspective, results from a field study point to the notion that organizational identification has a more pronounced, positive influence on employee job satisfaction and performance when employees experience behavioral discretion (i.e., in weak situations) compared with situations wherein behavior is more externally controlled (i.e., strong situations). We discuss theoretical and practical implications, as well as suggest avenues for future research.

A dynamic model of electric vehicle adoption: The role of social commerce in new transportation

Abstract This research explores the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) as a substitute for internal combustion engine vehicles (ICVs) and examines its emergence as a mobile intelligent terminal of social commerce. We present a system dynamics (SD) model incorporating fuzzy logic to simulate the adoption process. The results suggest that consumers’ vague perceptions and the dispersion of pilot EV projects have caused EV adoption to be delayed; nevertheless, the introduction of social commerce to EVs can help relieve this problem and promote EV adoption. However, the timing of introducing social commerce is critical for enhancing its positive effect on EV adoption.

Not Aggressive or Just Faking It? Examining Faking and Faking Detection on the Conditional Reasoning Test of Aggression:

Substantial research has been dedicated to examining and combating respondent misrepresentation (i.e., “faking”) on personality assessments. Two approaches to combat faking that have garnered particular attention include: (a) designing systems to identify likely fakers and (b) developing difficult-to-fake measures. Consistent with suggestions to combine these strategies, the present article examines a new faking detection system specifically designed for a difficult-to-fake measure (i.e., the Conditional Reasoning Test for Aggression; CRT-A). Four studies (a) help elucidate the conditions under which the CRT-A is fakeable, (b) provide initial construct validity evidence for the faking detection system developed here, (c) examine the effects of faking and faking detection on the CRT-A’s criterion-oriented validity, and (d) show that participants identify CRT-based faking detection items at worse-than-chance levels even when they are fully informed about how these items work. Taken together, these studies reinforce the importance of maintaining the indirect nature of CRTs but also show that the faking detection system developed here represents a promising method of identifying those who may have used inside information to manipulate their scores.

Fair? I Don’t Care: Examining the Moderating Effect of Workplace Cynicism on the Relationship Between Interactional Fairness and Perceptions of Organizational Support From a Social Exchange Perspective

This article examines how workplace cynicism moderates the relationship between interactional fairness and perceptions of organizational support (POS). Using a sample of full-time employees, I found a positive, direct effect between interactional fairness and POS. Furthermore, the moderating effect suggests the relation between interactional fairness and POS was stronger for less cynical employees. Incorporating a social exchange framework, this article discusses how the typically positive effect of interactional fairness is lost on cynical employees. This result was confirmed using a controlled scenario-based protocol, which replicated the results of the field study. Practical implications and directions for future research are discussed.