Pamela L. Perrewé

The Role of Social Support in the Stressor-Strain Relationship: An Examination of Work-Family Conflict

This study examines the role of social support in work-family conflict. Although previous research has examined social support as a promising coping mechanism, questions as to how social support affects work-family conflict remain unanswered. Social support is examined as an antecedent, an intervening, a moderating, and an independent variable in the stressors to work-family conflict relationship. Results suggest that social support may be best viewed as an antecedent to perceived stressors. From this, a more full model of work-family conflict is developed and tested. Discussion centers around how social support reduces the likelihood that situations will be perceived as stressful, thus, indirectly affecting work-family conflict through perceived stressors.

Political Skill in Organizations

Political skill is a construct that was introduced more than two decades ago as a necessary competency to possess to be effective in organizations. Unfortunately, despite appeals by organizational scientists to further develop this construct, it lay dormant until very recently. The present article defines and characterizes the construct domain of political skill and embeds it in a cognition—affect—behavior, multilevel, meta-theoretical framework that proposes how political skill operates to exercise effects on both self and others in organizations. Implications of this conceptualization are discussed, as are directions for future research and practical implications.

An empirical examination of individual traits as antecedents to computer anxiety and computer self-efficacy

To better understand how individual differences influence the use of information technology (IT), this study models and tests relationships among dynamic, IT-specific individual differences (i.e., computer self-efficacy and computer anxiety), stable, situation-specific traits (i.e., personal innovativeness in IT) and stable, broad traits (i.e., trait anxiety and negative affectivity). When compared to broad traits, the model suggests that situation-specific traits exert a more pervasive influence on IT situation-specific individual differences. Further, the model suggests that computer anxiety mediates the influence of situation-specific traits (i.e., personal innovativeness) on computer self-efficacy. Results provide support for many of the hypothesized relationships. From a theoretical perspective, the findings help to further our understanding of the nomological network among individual differences that lead to computer self-efficacy. From a practical perspective, the findings may help IT managers design training programs that more effectively increase the computer self-efficacy of users with different dispositional characteristics.

Affective personality and the content of emotional social support: coping in organizations.

This field study extended previous research by simultaneously examining the influence of affective personality on 4 dimensions of emotional social support and job burnout. Furthermore, the dimensions of emotional social support were examined as to their differential effects on the components of burnout. Results suggest that affective personality characteristics are associated with emotional social support as well as burnout dimensions. Results also indicate that some types of emotional social support appear to guard against burnout, whereas other types appear to contribute to the burnout experience. These findings suggest that types of emotional social support may have different personality antecedents and that distinct dimensions of social support have differential consequences in regard to burnout. Suggestions for future research are offered.

The effect of item content overlap on organizational commitment questionnaire--turnover cognitions relationships.

This study examined the effect of overlapping scale content when certain items in the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ) are used to predict turnover cognition measures. Analyses of judgmental data collected from 25 subject matter experts suggested that 6 OCQ items reflected a desire or an intent to retain membership in ones organization. Confirmatory factor analyses of survey data from 172 master of business administration alumni showed that the 6 OCQ retention items shared overlapping content with turnover cognitions items. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses of survey data from 330 hotel managers showed that (a) removing the 6 OCQ retention items caused a significant decrease in the variance explained in a measure of turnover cognitions and (b) the size of this effect is larger than that suggested by previous work.

What Did You Expect? An Examination of Career-Related Support and Social Support Among Mentors and Protégés

Perceptions of mentors and protégés were examined to understand how the mentoring exchange is perceived and how perceptions of the exchange influence feelings about the relationship. In particular, we suggest that there are specific behaviors related to career and social support exhibited throughout the mentoring process. It was hypothesized that when relevant career and social support behaviors are exhibited sufficiently to meet the expectations of a partner, higher levels of relationship effectiveness, and trust for a partner are realized. Findings indicate that when protégés are open to advisement and coaching, and put forth effort in accomplishing required work or projects, a mentor’s perceptions of relationship effectiveness and trust felt for the protégé are positively influenced. When mentors engage in sufficient levels of social support behaviors to meet a protégé’s expectations, a protégé will form higher perceptions of relationship effectiveness and trust for the mentor. The findings of this study, implications for managers, and suggestions for future research are discussed in detail.

Do Politics Perceptions Relate to Political Behaviors? Tests of an Implicit Assumption and Expanded Model:

This study examined perceived political behaviors as a critical, yet largely overlooked, component in the traditional organizational politics perceptions model. Further, this study developed an expanded version of the traditional antecedents to politics perceptions and examined the mediating effect of perceptions of politics in the model. Results from 260 full-time employees suggested that the use of reactive/defensive political behaviors exacerbated the already negative effects of perceived organizational politics on outcomes. Further, the set of variables that come from the job/work environment were found to explain more variance in perceptions of organizational politics than the set of organizational or individual variables. Finally, perceptions of politics demonstrated mediation effects between the antecedent variables and job satisfaction, job anxiety, and intent to turnover Discussion centers around the expanded model and the need to conceptually and empirically link politics perceptions with political behaviors.

Perceived organizational support as a mediator of the relationship between politics perceptions and work outcomes

Abstract The present study investigates the mediating potential of perceived organizational support (POS) on politics perceptions–work outcomes relationships. Consistent with previous research, individuals were able to discriminate political activity at more than one level (i.e., at the highest level in the organization, one level up from one’s current level, and at one’s current level). Further, politics perceived at one level up from one’s current level and politics at the highest levels in the organization were negatively related to perceived organizational support. In addition, POS was related to job satisfaction, performance, affective commitment and job-induced tension providing support for mediation. Implications of these findings, strengths and limitations, and potential avenues for future research are provided.

Social Effectiveness in Organizations: Construct Validity and Research Directions

Social dynamics of interpersonal and group processes has been an active area of investigation in the organizational sciences for many years, as have the social effectiveness competencies that facilitate such process dynamics. In recent years, we have witnessed a proliferation of social effectiveness constructs in the field, which appear to reflect some convergence, but unique character as well. In this article, we examine the nature of these various social effectiveness constructs, their construct validity, and their relationships with important work outcomes. We conclude with a discussion of directions for future research and implications of the growth of interest in social effectiveness in organizations.

Institutionalization of organizational ethics through transformational leadership

Concerns regarding corporate ethics have grown steadily throughout the past decade. In order to remain competitive, many organizational leaders are faced with the challenge of creating an ethical environment within their organization. A model is presented showing the process and elements necessary for the institutionalization of organizational ethics. The transformational leadership style lends itself well to the creation of an ethical environment and is suggested as a means to facilitate the institutionalization of corporate ethics. Finally, the benefits of using transformational leadership are demonstrated through the components of a psychological contract, organizational commitment, and ethical culture to institutionalize organizational ethics.