Eric Kearney

Fostering Team Innovation: Why Is It Important to Combine Opposing Action Strategies?

We develop a framework that provides a general theoretical rationale for the claim made by several authors that combining opposing action strategies fosters team innovation. We distinguish between open and closed strategies and posit that these are opposing but complementary in that each fosters one of two processes necessary for team innovation: open action strategies (e.g., delegative leadership) promote knowledge generation, and closed action strategies (e.g., directive leadership) enhance knowledge integration. We argue that each pole of a pair of opposing action strategies both energizes and detracts from elements of innovation. Thus, it could be expected that combining opposing action strategies leads to an impasse, as the negative effects of each strategy might offset the positive effects of the opposite strategy. There is currently no viable explanation in the literature for why this mutual neutralization may not occur. We aim to fill this gap by explicating why and how opposing action strategies, when implemented simultaneously, do not countervail each others positive effects, but rather yield positive synergies that fuel team innovation.

Cross-functionality and innovation in new product development teams: A dilemmatic structure and its consequences for the management of diversity

The ubiquitous hope among managers of new product development (NPD) teams that a cross-functional team composition may be a royal road to enhancing team innovations appears to be an illusion. Empirical analyses show positive as well as negative or nonsignificant relationships between cross-functionality and team innovations. In this article, we integrate the extant literature and develop a process model that explains the contradictory empirical findings. We propose that introducing specific mediators and moderators enables improved predictions of the effects of cross-functionality on team innovations. In developing our model, which is primarily based on a conflict-theoretical perspective, we address theories of social categorization, identity and self verification, information/decision making, group problem solving, and innovativeness, respectively. Our process model explicates how (i.e., via what mediators) and when (i.e., in the presence of what moderators) cross-functionality enhances or impedes synergistic communication among team members, which in turn fosters team innovations. On the basis of this new model we discuss strategies for managing cross-functionality in NPD teams.

Size Does Matter: How Varying Group Sizes in a Sample Affect the Most Common Measures of Group Diversity

Work group diversity can be conceptualized in different ways (i.e., variety, separation, and disparity), and the appropriate operationalization of a diversity dimension depends on which of these diversity types researchers have in mind. Based on prior work on the measurement of the different types of diversity, we show that the most common diversity indexes (i.e., Blau’s index, Teachman’s index, standard deviation, mean Euclidean distance [MED], Gini coefficient, and coefficient of variation) are systematically biased whenever they are used in field studies in which the overall sample comprises groups of varying sizes. Using simulated data, we illustrate this bias inherent in all of the common diversity measures. This bias can lead to erroneous conclusions concerning the impact of group size and the relationship between group diversity and group outcomes. We offer bias-corrected formulas and suggest that diversity researchers henceforth use these adjusted versions when investigating the effects of group diversity in organizational settings.

Implementing Process Innovations The Benefits of Combining Delegative-Participative With Consultative-Advisory Leadership

Previous research leaves open which facets of leadership foster the implementation of process innovations. In this study, the authors analyze the effects of delegative-participative and consultative-advisory leadership, respectively, on the implementation success of process innovations. They argue that each of these leadership behaviors entails specific advantages and risks and that therefore the two patterns complement each other. The sample consisted of managers from different organizations. Although the posited main effects of both delegative-participative and consultative-advisory leadership are confirmed, the significant interaction between these two leadership styles has a different direction than the authors hypothesized.

Expressing religious identities in the workplace : Analyzing a neglected diversity dimension

Responding to Jackson and Joshi’s (2011) call for specific models of the effects of particular diversity types and against the backdrop of the rising desire for the public expression of religious identities in the workplace (Hicks, 2003), we develop a framework that systematically explores when and how the expression of diverse religious identities induces relational conflicts in organizational units. In developing this framework, we integrate the respective literatures on religion studies (e.g. Hicks, 2003), identity-disclosure (e.g. Ragins, 2008) and diversity within organizational groups (Jackson and Joshi, 2011). Our framework specifies three paths whereby the public expression of diverse religious identities can engender relational conflicts. As mediators, we discuss perceivers’ attribution of proselytism and religious discrimination, as well as identity threats. Moreover, we examine the moderating roles of actors’ and perceivers’ religious fundamentalism, perceivers’ religious identity salience and minority members’ attribution of majority members’ religious hegemonial claims. At the theoretical level, we delineate particularities of religious identity diversity that distinguish this diversity type from other deep-level diversity attributes. Concerning practical implications, we argue that it is important to not only foster self-expression, but also to be cognizant of the risks that the public expression of religious identities entails.

Leadership and cooperation as success factors in innovative R&D projects on electronic platforms

Purpose – This study examines 56 R&D projects, in each of which several organizations cooperate via an electronic system platform. The aim was to examine the relationships among leadership, cooperation, and project success (product improvements).Design/methodology/approach – The paper investigates to what degree the relative importance of different aspects of leadership and cooperation in R&D projects on electronic platforms differs depending upon situational conditions.Findings – Given a low level of electronic system and process integration, the frequency of personal contacts makes a significant contribution to explaining success variance. The quality of communication (team trust) is particularly important in the case of a high degree of electronic linkage. Enhancement of team spirit is more conductive to success in larger groups. Ensuring frequent personal contacts and clarifying goals, tasks, and responsibilities, respectively, contributes significantly to explaining success variance in large projects...

Empowerment in the Context of Transformational Change: A Study of Acquisitions and Privatizations in Eastern Europe

This paper examines conditions under which empowerment (decision autonomy, dialogic leadership) is connected with positive and negative effects, respectively, in regard to managing transformational change in Eastern Europe. Acquisitions by foreign investors in Poland and Russia (N = 45 companies) and privatizations through employee buy-out in Romania (N = 5 companies) are contrasted in this study. It is shown that empowerment within these two variants of transformational change is connected in different ways with success indicators of crisis management. From these findings, we deduce practical consequences for empowerment and transformational change, along with suggestions for future research.

Swim or Sink Together The Potential of Collective Team Identification and Team Member Alignment for Separating Task and Relationship Conflicts

This article investigates collective team identification and team member alignment (i.e., the existence of short- and long-term team goals and team-based reward structures) as moderators of the association between task and relationship conflicts. Being indicators of cooperative goal interdependence in teams, both moderators are hypothesized to mitigate the positive association between the two conflict types. Findings from 88 development teams confirm the moderating effect for collective team identification, but not for team member alignment. Moreover, the moderating role of collective team identification is found to be dependent on the level of task conflict: It is more effective in decoupling task and relationship conflicts at medium as compared with high or low levels of task conflict.

HR Management for an Aging Workforce: A Life-Span Psychology Perspective

Forschung zum strategischen Personalmanagement konnte zahlreiche Belege fur den Zusammenhang zwischen Personalpraktiken und Unternehmenserfolg liefern. Es fehlt aber in bestehenden theoretischen Ansatzen die Berucksichtigung altersbezogener Entwicklungen der Mitarbeiter und deren Einfluss auf die Verbindung zwischen Personalpraktiken und Unternehmenserfolg. Wir schlagen vor, in bestehende Ansatze zum strategischen Personalmanagement Erkenntnisse aus der Psychologie der Lebensspanne einzubeziehen, die altersbedingte Veranderungen von geistigen Fahigkeiten, Personlichkeit und Emotionen thematisieren. Daruberhinaus integrieren wir Arbeitszufriedenheit, organisationales Commitment und Arbeitsmotivation in bestehende Modelle zum strategischen Personalmanagement, um so die altersabhangige Wirksamkeit von Personalpraktiken auf die Leistung zu erklaren. Die theoretischen Ausfuhrungen werden in Propositionen verdichtet und Vorschlage fur weitere Forschungsbemuhungen entwickelt.

SIZE DOES MATTER: HOW VARYING GROUP SIZES IN A SAMPLE AFFECT THE MOST COMMON MEASURES OF GROUP DIVERSITY.

The article presents research on diversity among teams in the workplace, diversity being defined as the presence within the group of varying skills, information and experience which contribute to g...