Steven M. Farmer

The Pygmalion Process and Employee Creativity

The study examined the Pygmalion process for creativity among 140 R&D employees. Results generally supported the Pygmalion model. Supervisors holding higher expectations for employee creativity were perceived by employees as behaving more supportively of creativity. The effects of these behaviors on employee creative self-efficacy were mediated by employee view of creativity expectations. Creative self-efficacy mediated the effects of supervisor expectations, supervisor behaviors, and employee view, on creative performance. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Employee Creativity in Taiwan: An Application of Role Identity Theory

This study tests a model of creative role identity for a sample of Taiwanese employees. Results showed creative role identity was predicted by perceived coworker creativity expectations, self-views of creative behaviors, and high levels of exposure to U.S. culture. Creativity was highest when a strong creative role identity was paired with perceptions that the employing organization valued creative work. Implications for managers and future creativity research are discussed.

Creative Self-Efficacy Development and Creative Performance Over Time

Building from an established framework of self-efficacy development, this study provides a longitudinal examination of the development of creative self-efficacy in an ongoing work context. Results show that increases in employee creative role identity and perceived creative expectation from supervisors over a 6-month time period were associated with enhanced sense of employee capacity for creative work. Contrary to what was expected, employees who experienced increased requirements for creativity in their jobs actually reported a decreased sense of efficaciousness for creative work. Results show that increases in creative self-efficacy corresponded with increases in creative performance as well.

Changing the focus on volunteering: an investigation of volunteers’ multiple contributions to a charitable organization:

Despite the fact that over half of the people in the US volunteer each year, there is little theoretical or empirical understanding of volunteer performance. In response, this study examined executive-level volunteers’ multiple contributions of personal resources to a national health care advocacy organization. We expected higher contributions when demands from volunteer roles do not exceed desired levels of contribution, interaction with other volunteers is higher, role investments are higher, and motives to join are consistent with organization’s mission. Regression analyses supported the relation of contributions to social interaction, role investments, and volunteer motives. Suggestions for enhancing the level of volunteer contributions to the organization are made.

The Behavioral Impact of Entrepreneur Identity Aspiration and Prior Entrepreneurial Experience

This study examines entrepreneurial motivation in three diverse samples from an identity–possible self–perspective. We propose a model describing antecedents and outcomes of entrepreneur identity aspirations. In two of the three samples, strength of entrepreneur identity aspiration was significantly associated with the extent to which the individuals self–description fit his or her perceptions of the entrepreneurial role. However, identity aspiration strength predicted discovery and exploitation behaviors in all three samples. Additionally, prior start–up experience moderated the relationship between identity aspiration and exploitation behaviors for all three samples. These findings contribute to our understanding of what moves entrepreneurial “dreamers” to action.

Why Are Styles of Upward Influence Neglected? Making the Case for a Configurational Approach to Influences

Kipnis and Schmidt (1988) challenged the traditional between-person focus in upward influence research by the clustering of tactics to identify four broader styles individuals use in influence attempts. Using two diverse samples, findings supported the existence of three of the four styles identified by Kipnis and Schmidt (Tactician, Shotgun, and Bystander). Tests of hypotheses linking theoretical correlates to specific styles suggest that configurational approaches to influence use should not be ignored by researchers.

The idealized self and the situated self as predictors of employee work behaviors

This article presents a model integrating research on idealized and situated selves. Our key premise is that identity-relevant behaviors are most likely to occur in the workplace when identities are psychologically central and activating forces make those identities salient. Analysis of matched data from 278 employees, supervisors, and organizational records generally supported our model. Helping identity and industrious work identity were positively associated with related role behaviors only when time-based occupancy in the role of organization member was high. Industrious work identity was positively associated with role behaviors only when reflected appraisals from coworkers were consistent with that identity. In contrast, reflected appraisal of helping identity had an independent relationship with identity-relevant role behaviors. Results demonstrate the importance of theory linking the idealized self and the situated self to understanding identity relations with work performances.

The contextualized self: how team-member exchange leads to coworker identification and helping OCB.

This article develops the argument that team-member exchange (TMX) relationships operate at both between- and within-group levels of analysis to influence an employees sense of identification with coworkers in the group and their helping organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) directed at coworkers. Specifically, we propose that relatively higher quality TMX relationships of an employee as compared with other members of the group influence an employees sense of positive uniqueness, whereas higher average level of TMX quality in the group creates a greater sense of belonging. Multilevel modeling analysis of field data from 236 bank managers and their subordinates supports the hypotheses and demonstrates 3 key findings. First, team members identify more with their coworkers when they have high relative TMX quality compared with other group members and are also embedded in groups with higher average TMX. Second, identification with coworkers is positively related to helping OCB directed toward team members. Finally, identification with coworkers mediates the interactive effect of relative TMX quality and group average TMX quality on helping. When TMX group relations allow individuals to feel a valued part of the group, but still unique, they engage in higher levels of helping. Overall moderated mediation analysis demonstrates that the mediated relationship linking relative TMX quality with helping OCB via identification with coworkers is stronger when group average TMX is high, but not present when group average TMX is low. We discuss theoretical and practical implications and recommend future research on multilevel conceptualizations of TMX.

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE DATA: CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS IN THE STUDY OF NASCENT ENTREPRENEURS

Entrepreneurship research has been criticized for a lack of methodological rigor, although evidence suggests that from a methodological perspective, it is improving (Davidsson, 2006). In this paper, we systematically review the methods used in the study of nascent entrepreneurs to identify challenges associated with the data used in these studies. We also review the fields achievements — notably, the successful use of representative sampling of populations of nascent entrepreneurs — and we raise concerns about the predominant use of secondary data sets and the use of scales originally developed for large, established firms. Drawing on methodological advancements in other fields, we offer suggestions related to study design, data collection, sampling and measurement. Although some of the challenges we note are inherent to the nature of entrepreneurship, we hope our discussion can help researchers design better studies and better interpret their findings.

Time Enough to Work Employee motivation and entrainment in the workplace

This article frames an individual-level theoretical framework for the application of McGrath and Kelly’s (1986) social entrainment model to employee task work from a motivation theory perspective. We review theoretical constructs and empirical research findings that may elucidate how social entrainment shapes the direction, level, and persistence of efforts of individuals at work. We present propositions to guide research on motivational factors in task entrainment, and present suggestions for future elaborations and extensions of our theoretical framework for the temporal features of task work at the group level of analysis.