Suzanne J. Peterson

Authentic Leadership: Development and Validation of a Theory-Based Measure†:

This study developed and tested a theory-based measure of authentic leadership using five separate samples obtained from China, Kenya, and the United States. Confirmatory factor analyses supported a higher order, multidimensional model of the authentic leadership construct (the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire [ALQ]) comprising leader self-awareness, relational transparency, internalized moral perspective, and balanced processing. Structural equation modeling (SEM) demonstrated the predictive validity for the ALQ measure for important work-related attitudes and behaviors, beyond what ethical and transformational leadership offered. Finally, results revealed a positive relationship between authentic leadership and supervisor-rated performance. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

The positive impact and development of hopeful leaders

Although hope is commonly used in terms of wishful thinking, as a positive psychological concept consisting of the dimensions of both willpower (agency) and waypower (pathways), it has been found to be positively related to academic, athletic and health outcomes. The impact of hopeful leaders, however, has not been empirically analyzed. This exploratory study (N = 59) found that high‐ as compared to low‐hope leaders had more profitable work units and had better satisfaction and retention rates among their subordinates. The implications of these preliminary findings of the positive impact that hopeful leaders may have in the workplace are discussed.

Employee engagement and manager self-efficacy.

Although technology still dominates, human resources and how they are managed is receiving increased attention in the analysis of gaining competitive advantage. Yet, many complex questions remain. This study first examines the theoretical understanding of employee engagement. Then an empirical investigation is made of the role that a wide variety of managers’ (n = 170) psychological state of self‐efficacy plays in the relationship between their employees’ (average of about 16 per manager) measured engagement and a multiple measure (self, subordinates and peers) of the managers’ effectiveness. Results of the statistical analysis indicate that the manager’s self‐efficacy is a partial mediator of the relationship between his or her employees’ engagement and the manager’s rated effectiveness. Overall, these findings suggest that both employee engagement and manager self‐efficacy are important antecedents that together may more positively influence manager effectiveness than either predictor by itself. Implications for effective management development and practice are discussed.

The impact of financial and nonfinancial incentives on business-unit outcomes over time.

Unlike previous behavior management research, this study used a quasi-experimental, control group design to examine the impact of financial and nonfinancial incentives on business-unit (21 stores in a fast-food franchise corporation) outcomes (profit, customer service, and employee turnover) over time. The results showed that both types of incentives had a significant impact on all measured outcomes. The financial incentive initially had a greater effect on all 3 outcomes, but over time, the financial and nonfinancial incentives had an equally significant impact except in terms of employee turnover.

Do Humble CEOs Matter? An Examination of CEO Humility and Firm Outcomes

We propose a mediation model to explain the relationship between CEO humility and firm performance. Building on upper echelons, power, and paradox theories, we hypothesize that when a more humble CEO leads a firm, its top management team (TMT) is more likely to collaborate, share information, jointly make decisions, and possess a shared vision. The firm will also tend to have lower pay disparity between the CEO and the TMT. The humble CEO and TMT, in turn, will be more likely to adopt an ambidextrous strategic orientation, which will be associated with stronger firm performance. We tested the model by using both survey and archival data that were collected at multiple time points from 105 small-to-medium-sized firms in the computer software and hardware industry in the United States. Findings largely support our theoretical assertions, suggesting that CEO humility has important implications for firm processes and outcomes.

Using Physiological Methods to Study Emotions in Organizations

Abstract The application of physiological methods to the study of psychological phenomena has garnered considerable interest in recent years. These methods have proved especially useful to the study of emotions, since evidence suggests that validly measuring a person’s emotional state using traditional, psychometric methods such as surveys or observation is considerably more difficult than once thought. The present chapter reviews the challenges associated with measuring emotions from a purely psychological perspective, and suggests that the study of emotions in organizations can benefit from the use of physiological measurement to complement traditional assessment methods. We review more established approaches to physiological measurement, including those related to hormone secretion, cardiovascular activity, and skin conductance. We then highlight somewhat more recent attempts to use neurological scanning. A theme of this chapter is that both psychological and physiological measures are relevant to understanding and assessing emotions in organizations. Accordingly, we propose a multi-method approach involving both types of assessment. Finally, we discuss the practical and ethical implications of employing various forms of physiological measurement in the study of emotions, specifically in the context of organizations.

Conclusions and a look forward

Abstract While reiterating the benefits of applications of neuroscience to both research and practice, we also acknowledge in this concluding chapter the potential issues that will continually need to be addressed. Specifically, we overview ontological and epistemological concerns, such as the potential for excessive reductionism. We also address ethical issues that could come into play for both researchers and practitioners. Finally, we conclude with a look forward to the future by suggesting that the “approach,” rather than the “avoidance,” of organizational neuroscience is likely to grow over time. One exciting possibility is how an examination of the human brain in work and organizational settings is likely to be a prime example of the “big data” trends that the future will bring.

Neuroscience as a basis for Understanding Emotions and Affect in Organizations

Abstract Emotions and affect continue to garner widespread interest in the organizational sciences, and psychometric instruments tend to be the most often utilized method of assessing emotional phenomena in the workplace. However, psychometric questionnaires/surveys suffer from various shortcomings in that they may not adequately capture the underlying emotional experiences of individuals for various reasons (such as social desirability, lack of awareness, political posturing, and so forth). Neuroscience approaches allow researchers to directly assess the underlying neural activity that is occurring inside individuals’ brains. Accordingly, neuroscience can help researchers to overcome some of the limitations of surveys, thus allowing for both broader conceptualization and measurement. We briefly discuss the various neuroscience methodologies that can be used to help researchers gain insight into how individuals in the workplace experience emotions. Our discussion targets emotional contagion and emotional regulation as two areas that could especially benefit from utilizing a neuroscientific approach. We end the chapter with a consideration of practical implications.

Realizing Challenges and Guarding Against Threats Interactive Effects of Regulatory Focus and Stress on Performance

Self-regulation seems crucial to understanding how employees perform under stress because employees must regulate their thoughts, feelings, and behavior to deal effectively with work stress. Integrating regulatory focus theory and the challenge–hindrance stressor framework, we theorized that the effects of regulatory focus on job performance would vary as a function of the level of stress employees experience. Specifically, we contend that employees are more efficacious and motivated (and thus perform better) when they have established goal and coping strategies that allow them to cope with the stress they face; those lacking in these strategies are likely to find the stress overwhelming and taxing (and perform worse). Using multisource data of 160 salespersons, we investigated this relationship with two measures of job performance. We found that challenge stress moderates the relationship between promotion focus and job performance: When challenge stress is high, promotion focus is positively related to job performance; when low, promotion focus is negatively or not significantly related to job performance. We also found that hindrance stress moderates the relationship between prevention focus and job performance: When hindrance stress is low, prevention focus is negatively related to job performance, but when high, prevention focus is positively related to job performance. Moreover, we find some support for three-way interactions suggesting that using mismatched goal and coping strategies is especially harmful. Our results explain performance differences in high-stress situations and highlight the important role of self-regulation when employees are in stressful conditions.

Adverse Effects of CEO Family-to-Work Conflict on Firm Performance

We examine whether chief executive officers’ (CEOs’) experiences occurring outside the work domain influence the performance of their respective firms. We suggest that the family-to-work conflict (FWC) that CEOs experience depletes their ability to self-regulate, thereby reducing their ability to make appropriately comprehensive decisions for their firms. This reduced decision-making comprehensiveness, in turn, has negative implications for firm performance. We further propose that CEOs’ levels of job engagement, or the extent to which they invest themselves in their work, can expand their capacity to withstand the negative effects of self-regulatory depletion. We test our hypotheses using a sample of 98 CEOs from the United States computer software and hardware industry. Findings confirm that reduced decision-making comprehensiveness represents one mechanism by which the experience of FWC in CEOs harms the performance of their firms. Moreover, CEO job engagement buffers both the negative effect of CEO FW...