C.J. Vinkenburg

Transformational leadership and innovative work behaviour: Exploring the relevance of gender differences

The importance of innovation within organizations has been demonstrated on numerous occasions, which has subsequently led to the identification of effective leadership as a potential catalyst. Accordingly, empirical findings have repeatedly demonstrated a positive relationship between transformational leadership and work unit effectiveness measures. This study explores the relationship between transformational leadership and employee innovative work behaviour, additionally examining the moderating effect of gender of the manager and gender of the employee. Data were gathered within four Australian hospitals, generating a dataset of 335 respondents. The findings revealed a positive and significant relationship between transformational leadership and innovative work behaviour. Furthermore, gender of the manager moderated the latter relationship, indicating that employees report more innovative behaviour when the transformational leadership is displayed by male in comparison with female managers, confirming our gender bias hypothesis. No significant effect was found for the three-way interaction of transformational leadership, gender of the manager, and gender of the employee. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Proactivity, job characteristics, and engagement: a longitudinal study

Purpose – This paper sets out to examine proactive personality in relation to job demands, job resources and engagement.Design/methodology/approach – The current study employed a two‐wave complete panel study among 794 Dutch government employees. Based upon the Job Demands‐Resources (JD‐R) model, previous studies, job crafting theories, and Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, hypotheses on the associations of proactive personality with job demands, resources, and engagement were developed.Findings – Analyses revealed that proactive personality was associated with an increase in engagement 18 months later. Moreover, proactive employees perceiving high social support reported the highest levels of engagement over time.Research limitations/implications – A first shortcoming is that proactive personality was only measured at one point in time, which restricted the testing of causal relationships of proactive personality with engagement. Second, this study only measured engagement as outcome measure and th...

Othering women : Fluid images of the ideal academic

Purpose – In the context of research on the career advancement of women and men in academia, this paper aims to reflect on how deans at six schools of a Dutch arts and a Dutch sciences‐based university construct the image of the ideal academic, and on how these images are gendered.Design/methodology/approach – Using an inductive approach, the study analyzed the transcripts of semi‐structured in‐depth interviews with six deans (all men) from two different Dutch universities on the career advancement of men and women at their school.Findings – It was expected that the images of the ideal academic would be more gendered in the sciences than in the arts university, considering the stronger male domination in the sciences university. The images of the ideal academic, while fundamentally different, regarding the expertise, the applicability of knowledge, and the visibility needed to be considered successful, were equally gendered in assuming that practicing science leaves little room for caring obligations outs...

Causes and Consequences of the Utilization of Work-Life Policies by Professionals: “Unconditional Supervisor Support Required”

The European workplace has changed. Employees increasingly ask for organizational policies that allow them to combine their work and their private lives (Lewis et al., 2009). In the Netherlands it is estimated that no less than 40% of employees face troubles in combining their work and private lives (Geurts et al., 2003), which brings high costs, both for individuals and for organizations (Allen et al., 2000).

Arena: A Critical Conceptual Framework of Top Management Selection

While the selection of top managers is vital to the performance and survival of organizations, the process by which these managers are selected remains uncharted territory. In this conceptual artic...While the selection of top managers is vital to the performance and survival of organizations, the process by which these managers are selected remains uncharted territory. In this conceptual article, we propose that both structural conditions of and the selection process for top management positions are different from those at lower organizational levels. We build on the existing literature on succession, tournament models, and promotion systems to characterize top management selection. The main situational component of this characterization is that of relative versus absolute selection, which leads us to adopt the “arena” as a metaphor and critical framework for top management selection. Finally, we argue that due to certain cognitive features, the arena is an efficient but not necessarily effective selection process, which may contribute to side effects and negative outcomes for organizations. We conclude by setting the agenda for further research on top management selection.

Managerial behavior and decision making: personal and situational factors

Organizations need managers who are able to contribute significantly to the attainment of organizational goals. It is therefore necessary for organizations to select, train, develop and promote people who will be able to make such a contribution. The question “what makes a manager effective” remains largely unanswered, despite numerous studies of managerial behavior, management styles and managerial effectiveness. Such studies have shown us what managers do and how they do things, but the effectiveness of these actions is still elusive. Important conclusions from these studies are firstly that situational factors are generally considered important in determining effectiveness. Secondly, effective managers have a broad repertoire of behaviors at their disposal. Finally, effective managers use situational factors to determine which behavior is appropriate in a particular setting. These conclusions, however, do not give an insight into the covert processes behind effective managerial behavior. In other words, we are interested in the creative decision making process leading to a behavioral choice. In order to learn what makes a manager effective, we would like to know why managers do things the way they do. An analysis of this type of managerial decision making will lead to enhanced insight into the effectiveness of managerial behavior and to recommendations for researchers and practitioners regarding the selection and development of managers.

Promoting new norms and true flexibility: sustainability in combining career and care

This chapter starts from a conceptual integrative framework on sustainability in combining career and care. To facilitate long-term solutions without career penalties to all who are faced with the challenge of combining career and care under pressing demographic changes and blurring boundaries between work and family, we argue that it is of vital importance to expose, challenge and change underlying normative and gendered beliefs about ideal workers and ideal parents or care providers. Such beliefs pertain not only to gender roles, but also to the notions of permanent accessibility and visibility. We discuss the interplay between normative beliefs, behaviour or ‘choice’, and career outcomes of managing the work–family interface through the societal, organizational and individual layers of our integrative framework. We focus on a critical case study of part-time and flexible working in the Netherlands, which shows that gender specialized arrangements are less sustainable than true flexibility and customization. Promoting sustainability and true flexibility in combining career and care means bending normative beliefs, which can be done by talking differently and openly negotiating norms, by showcasing trailblazers, and by promoting customization and unconventional choices without career penalties.

Engaging Gatekeepers, Optimizing Decision Making, and Mitigating Bias: Design Specifications for Systemic Diversity Interventions:

In this contribution to the Journal of Applied Behavioral Science Special Issue on Understanding Diversity Dynamics in Systems: Social Equality as an Organization Change Issue, I develop and describe design specifications for systemic diversity interventions in upward mobility career systems, aimed at optimizing decision making through mitigating bias by engaging gatekeepers. These interventions address the paradox of meritocracy that underlies the surprising lack of diversity at the top of the career pyramid in these systems. I ground the design specifications in the limited empirical evidence on “what works” in systemic interventions. Specifically, I describe examples from interventions in academic settings, including a bias literacy program, participatory modeling, and participant observation. The design specifications, paired with inspirational examples of successful interventions, should assist diversity officers and consultants in designing and implementing interventions to promote the advancement to and representation of nondominant group members at the top of the organizational hierarchy.

Ethnic diversity and social capital in upward mobility systems: Problematizing the permeability of intra-organizational career boundaries

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of the complex relationship between ethnic diversity, social capital, and objective career success in upward mobility systems over time. The authors conceptualize the underlying process of why intra-organizational career boundaries are more permeable for dominant ethnics compared to minority ethnics. Design/methodology/approach – The authors conceptually explore and model this relationship by elaborating on three mechanisms of social capital return deficit proposed by Lin (2000), building the argument based on four underlying principles (stereotype fit, status construction, homophily, and reciprocity). Findings – Based on a proposed reciprocal relationship between social capital and objective career success, the authors suggest the development of an upward career spiral over time, which is continuously affected by ethnic group membership. Consequently, the authors argue that dominant ethnics do not only advance to a higher leve...

Beyond the Rhetoric of Choice: Promoting Women's Economic Empowerment in Developed Countries

In preparing for the 20-year review of the Beijing Platform for Action on womens economic empowerment, both formal policy documents and media coverage in developed countries such as the Netherlands resonate with the rhetoric of choice between work and care. In this article, my central argument is that framing the combination of work and care as a matter of personal choice stands in the way of economically empowering women. To promote sustainability in combining career and care, we need to expose, challenge and bend underlying norms about gender roles. For policymakers to take responsibility in the economic empowerment of women, both policy documents and media coverage should promote win–win instead of zero sum solutions in combining work and care, for both men and women.