Florian Kunze

Age-Based Faultlines and Perceived Productive Energy: The Moderation of Transformational Leadership

This article addresses the role of age-based faultlines in relation to the perceived productive energy of work teams and transformational leadership as a potential moderator of this relationship. Based on social identity and social categorization theory, teams that have strong age-based faultlines— defined as age subgroup formation that is reinforced by internal alignment with other demographic characteristics (tenure and sex)—should show a lower level of perceived productive energy than do teams that have weak faultlines. In teams with high levels of perceived transformational leadership, this effect should be reversed. Study hypotheses were tested on a sample of 664 individuals in 72 teams from a multinational company. Results showed a marginally significant negative relationship between age-based faultlines and teams’ productive energy, although the moderation effect of transformational leadership was found to be significant. These results point toward transformational leadership as a promising strategy for overcoming the negative effects of age-based faultlines in team settings.

Age, resistance to change, and job performance

Purpose – In light of the increasingly aging workforce, it is interesting from both a theoretical and practical perspective to investigate empirically the commonly held stereotype that older workers are more resistant to change (RTC). Thus, the main purpose of this paper is to investigate the age/RTC relationship, considering tenure and occupational status (blue/white collar employees) as additional boundary conditions. Furthermore, the paper investigates the relationship between RTC and individual performance, thereby introducing RTC as a mediator in the age/job performance relationship. Design/methodology/approach – Study hypotheses are tested among a sample of 2,981 employees from diverse companies. Structural equation modeling with bootstrapping procedures is applied to investigate the moderated-indirect model. Findings – Contrary to common stereotypes, employee age is negatively related to RTC. Tenure and occupational status are further identified as boundary conditions for this relationship. Moreove...

The role of trust climate in virtual teams

Purpose – Research testing a complex process model, incorporating moderating and mediating mechanisms associated with virtual team (VT) performance, remains rare. This paper aims to introduce trust climate as a crucial boundary condition for high performance in VTs. It also aims to propose a moderated‐indirect model such that the relationship between team goals and task performance is mediated by task cohesion and the relationship between team goals and task cohesion is moderated by trust.Design/methodology/approach – Hypotheses are tested using a longitudinal design with a sample of 50 teams.Findings – The proposed moderated‐indirect model is confirmed. The model explains the indirect relationship between team goal setting and performance transmitted through task cohesion, which is dependent on the level of trust climate.Research limitations/implications – Although hypotheses were tested in a longitudinal setting, common source bias might be a potential problem for some of the observed relationships. Fut...

Age diversity, age discrimination, and performance consequences - A cross organizational study

The article presents the results of research on the relationship between age diversity in the workplace and corporate performance. It focuses on perceptions of ageism in the workplace. An overview of related previous studies is provided, along with details of the research protocol, which involved a survey of over 18,000 employees and executives. It was found that increased age diversity correlated with higher levels of perceived age-based discrimination. Perceived age discrimination was also negatively correlated with performance.

Consequences of Collective-Focused Leadership and Differentiated Individual-Focused Leadership Development and Testing of an Organizational-Level Model

Recent advances in leadership research suggest that collective-focused leadership climate and differentiated individual-focused leadership might simultaneously, yet oppositely, affect collective outcomes. The present study extends this literature by addressing open questions regarding theory, methods, statistics, and level of analysis. Therefore, a new and more parsimonious theoretical model is developed on the organizational-level of analysis. Drawing on the commitment literature, we argue for opposite relations of the two leadership constructs on the affective organizational commitment climate. We subsequently theorize that contingent-reward leadership climate moderates these opposing relationships, making our study the first in this field to investigate moderators. Last, we reason that organizational effectiveness is enhanced when affective commitment is “put into action” and raises the organizational citizenship behavior climate. Our three-path moderated-mediation hypotheses are tested, and supported, by structural equation modeling analyses in a multisource data set containing 16,911 respondents from 157 companies. Extensive alternative model testing shows that our theory and findings are robust.

Age Diversity and Age Climate in the Workplace

Raising levels of age diversity are a corporate reality in most organizations today. Unfortunately, the effects of age diversity on various organizational outcomes including its effect on the employment relationship are not yet fully understood. This chapter strives to provide a theoretical and empirical synopsis of relevant literature in this field. First, various theoretical frameworks are discussed to explain both positive and negative effects of age diversity. These include cognitive resource models of variation as well as processes related to similarity-attraction, social identity, career timetables and prototype matching, as well as age-based faultlines. Second, a structured review is conducted which summarizes empirical findings on the effects of age diversity at different organization levels and with regard to various outcomes including performance, innovation, communication, discrimination, conflict, and turnover. Third, potential moderators of the age diversity-outcome relationship are discussed which include demographic and task characteristics, team processes, leadership behavior, age stereotypes, HR and diversity management practices, as well as diversity mindsets and age-diversity climate. The chapter concludes with an outline for future research in this important area of organizational behavior.

Age diversity and its performance implications – Analysing a major future workforce trend

Demographic change, increased retirement age, and efforts to shorten the duration of education will lead to a more age-diverse workforce in future. Age diversity’s successful management will therefore become an important business issue for company practitioners. Unfortunately, knowledge concerning the outcomes of diversity in general and age diversity in particular lacks consistency. On the basis of the similarity-attraction paradigm, social identity and self-categorisation theory, token status, and inequality, some scholars argue that diversity has negative effects. On the basis of the information/decision-making perspective, other scholars predict that diversity has positive outcomes.

Der Demographische Wandel - Ursachen und Folgen

„Wir stehen vor einem beispiellosen demographischen Wandel, der sich massiv auf die gesamte Gesellschaft auswirken wird. … Die Entwicklung wird fast alle Bereiche unseres Lebens betreffen, beispielsweise die Geschaftsablaufe und die Arbeitsorganisation, die Stadtplanung, das Wahlverhalten und die gesamten sozialen Sicherungssysteme. Alle Altersgruppen werden betroffen sein, denn die Menschen leben langer und erfreuen sich einer besseren Gesundheit, die Geburtenrate sinkt und die Zahl der Erwerbstatigen nimmt ab. Es ist hochste Zeit zu handeln“.5 So dramatisch bewertete der EU-Kommisar Vladimir Spidla, zustandig fur Beschaftigung, soziale Angelegenheit und Chancengleichheit die bevorstehende demographische Verschiebung im Jahr 2005. Der demographische Wandel stellt eine der zentralen Herausforderungen fur Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft in nahezu allen westlichen Industrielandern dar.

Organisational consequences of asymmetries in task dependence: the moderating role of HR practices

This study integrates recent advances in interdependence theory with the literature on commitment-based HR practices. New research on interdependence theory suggests that differences, or asymmetries, in task dependence among organisational members can cause interests to diverge. Prior research has shown that this can negatively affect interpersonal relations, individual outcomes and team processes. However, these insights gained on the dyadic, individual and team levels of analysis have not yet been explored at the organisational level and, until now, no research had yet connected these advances in interdependence theory to the field of HRM research. Hence, the current study investigates (a) whether asymmetries in task dependence do (or do not) matter at the organisational level and affect organisational effectiveness, (b) why this relationship may work by assessing a key mediator, namely, trust climate and (c) if and how these relationships can be altered by commitment-based HR practices. Our moderated-mediation model was tested and fully supported by a multi-source data set of 8,390 employees from 67 organisations.

Altersdiversität als Organisationskompetenz: Chancen und Herausforderungen

Der demographische Wandel bedingt fur Organisationen, dass sie sich mit zunehmend altersdiversen Belegschaftsstrukturen konfrontiert sehen. Der folgende Beitrag setzt sich damit auseinander, welche Chancen und Herausforderungen sich aus dieser Entwicklung ergeben. Auf Basis von aktuellen Ergebnissen aus der Organisations-, Management- und psychologischen Forschung werden zunachst potenzielle Auswirkungen von Altersdiversitat auf die teambezogene und organisationale Leistungsfahigkeit beleuchtet. Darauf aufbauend werden konkrete Ansatze fur Entscheidungstrager in Managementpositionen entwickelt, um den Herausforderungen steigender Altersdiversitat in Organisationen erfolgreich zu begegnen.