N. Sharon Hill

Understanding the Human Side of Merger and Acquisition: An Integrative Framework

In this article, the authors identify six theories (anxiety theory, social identity theory, acculturation theory, role conflict theory, job characteristics theory, and organizational justice theory) to explain problems in managing the merger and acquisition (M&A) organizational change process. These theories have implicitly or explicitly formed the basis for the past M&A literature. The authors integrate these theories into one conceptual framework that clearly delineates unique sources of problems that can emerge in different stages of M&A integration, their psychological and behavioral effects on employees, and prescriptions to address the problems. The framework can be used as a guide for M&A integration leaders to systematically plan interventions to smooth the human integration process. It also provides a foundation for future theoretical and empirical M&A integration research.

Preference for Anonymous Classroom Participation: Linking Student Characteristics and Reactions to Electronic Response Systems

Electronic response systems (ERS) are a means to foster class participation by students who are reluctant to participate in class. In this study, we identify individual characteristics that relate to students’ preference for anonymous classroom participation, and we also examine the extent to which preference for anonymity is related to their reactions to ERS. We find that extraversion is negatively related and both performance-avoid orientation and power distance orientation are positively related to preference for anonymity. Preference for anonymity is in turn positively related to both the attitude toward ERS and the perceived usefulness of ERS. These results are of importance to instructors interested in identifying instructional approaches that promote the participation of diverse students by providing opportunities for anonymous participation in the classroom.

Leading Together, Working Together: The Role of Team Shared Leadership in Building Collaborative Capital in Virtual Teams

Due to geographic dispersion and reliance on technology-mediated communication, developing collaborative capital can be a challenge in a virtual team. Knowledge sharing is one form of collaborative capital that has been identified as critical to virtual team success. This chapter develops a theoretical model that proposes that shared leadership in virtual teams is positively related to knowledge sharing between team members, and that this relationship will be partially mediated by trust. The model also shows that a teams degree of reliance on technology-mediated communication will moderate the relationships in the model.

THE ROLE OF AFFECT AND LEADERSHIP DURING RADICAL ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE.

In this paper, we integrate emotion, leadership and organizational change research. Based on longitudinal, multi-level data collected from an organization implementing large-scale radical organizat...

Comparing apples and oranges: toward a typology for assessing e-learning effectiveness

E-learning programs exist in a wide variety of formats. Without a framework for distinguishing between different e-learning programs, it is a challenge for researchers to compare their effectiveness or identify characteristics of e-learning that contribute to learning effectiveness. Based on general theories of learning, we develop a typology that compares e-learning programs in terms of the nature of the learning interactions they provide for learners in three dimensions: degree of interaction, learner control of interactions, and informational value of interactions. The typology dimensions apply to learner–instructor, learner–learner, and learner–instructional material interactions. We also discuss important theoretical implications of the typology. First, we show the utility of the typology for comparing the effectiveness of different e-learning programs. Second, we apply the typology dimensions to develop a theoretical framework for e-learning research that provides a foundation for examining factors that influence learning effectiveness in an e-learning program. The framework identifies e-learning program characteristics, learner characteristics, and contextual factors that impact learning effectiveness in different e-learning environments. It also shows how the typology dimensions align with learning goals to influence learning effectiveness.

Mitigating the Detrimental Impact of Maximum Negative Affect on Team Cohesion and Performance Through Face-to-Face Communication

Research on team affective composition has been limited by primarily focusing on the influence of the mean level of team affect despite suggestions that even one affectively negative member may have a disproportionate influence on team functioning and outcomes. Drawing on key tenets of social interdependence theory and integrating team affect and communication research, we investigate the influence of the team member with the highest score on trait negative affect (maximum negative affect). We also highlight an important factor, face-to-face communication, that may mitigate the detrimental effect of maximum negative affect. Results show that the negative impact of team maximum negative affect on team cohesion, and the indirect effect on team performance behaviors through cohesion, is attenuated in teams that meet face-to-face more frequently. In addition, team performance behaviors mediate the indirect effect of cohesion on the team’s task performance outcome. Our findings make significant contributions to team affect research and also have important practical implications for managing negative affectivity in teams.