Teri J. Elkins

Leadership in research and development organizations: A literature review and conceptual framework

Abstract We present a conceptual framework and review the empirical literature on leadership in research and development (R&D) organizations. Findings of studies reviewed suggest that transformational project leaders who communicate an inspirational vision and provide intellectual stimulation and leaders who develop a high-quality leader–member exchange (LMX) relationship with project members are associated with project success. Boundary-spanning activity and championing by the leader are also found to be important factors for project success. The review also suggests that a number of moderators and contextual variables such as project group membership and rate of technological change may make leadership in R&D organizations different from that in operating organizations. Propositions for future research are suggested.

Gender-related biases in evaluations of sex discrimination allegations: Is perceived threat the key?

Hypotheses derived from defensive attribution theory and social identity theory were tested in 3 laboratory experiments examining the effects of plaintiff and observer gender on perceived threat, plaintiff identification, and sex discrimination. In Study 1, women differentiated plaintiffs on the basis of gender, whereas men did not. Study 2 showed that this bias occurred because employment discrimination was personally threatening to women but not to men. In Study 3, the bias was reversed in a child custody context. As predicted, men found this context to be significantly more threatening than did women and subsequently exhibited a similarity bias. Mediation analyses suggested that responsibility attributions explained most of the variance in discrimination judgments associated with the plaintiff gender by observer gender interactions.

BEST PRACTICES FOR R&D PROJECT LEADERS: LESSONS FROM THIRTY YEARS OF LEADERSHIP RESEARCH

We have generated six best practice lessons for R&D project leaders from the past 30 years of research. These lessons take into account the situation in the project team, advocate activities by the leader outside the project team, and encourage him/her to provide a vision of the projects importance. Furthermore, the lessons note the significance of developing a climate of innovation and relationships of trust and openness. Leadership differences for scientists and for engineers are discussed. Our lessons recognize the growing importance of the project leaders role for R&D effectiveness.

Attributing Corporate Responsibility for Sexual Harassment The Supervisory Connection

This study examines circumstances under which observers might consider an organization to have responsibility for its employees’ actions, based on their reading of a scenario of sexual harassment. By changing the details of the scenario, we examine the influence of (a) the harasser’s organizational role (i.e., a supervisor or coworker), (b) the existence of corporate sexual harassment policies, and (c) the company’s past responses to sexual harassment complaints. The results suggested that the harasser’s organizational role is the most important factor for predicting whether an individual would consider pressing a sexual harassment claim. Respondents’ assessment that the victim should make a claim is higher when the harasser is an immediate supervisor rather than a nonsupervisory coworker. Perceived organizational responsibility is also a direct predictor of intent to make a claim. The results provide a clearer understanding of when an individual is more likely to favor making a claim in response to perceived sexual harassment. The practical implications include the following: (a) Sexual harassment training for supervisors is important because their sexual harassment is most likely to lead to a legal claim, (b) antisexual harassment policies have the effect of reducing the likelihood that a victim will perceive the organization as responsible for failing to prevent a supervisor’s action, and (c) organizations should make clear their opposition to sexual harassment both to discourage harassers and to divert a victim’s attribution for responsibility away from the organization if an incident takes place.

Reactions to abusive supervision: examining the roles of emotions and gender in the USA

Abusive supervision leads to many detrimental outcomes, yet the role of gender and emotions has received little attention. We applied affective events theory to study emotions in a new context. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, we tested a conditional process model of the effects of abusive supervision on subordinate work and job withdrawal as mediated by negative emotions and moderated by gender. We found support for our proposed model. Specifically, abusive supervision increased work and job withdrawal via victims’ negative emotional reactions. When negative emotions are low, women are more likely to engage in work withdrawal; when negative emotions are high, men are more likely to do so. Additionally, men experiencing high negative emotions are likely to quit their job.

Examining Sex Discrimination Experiences: A Multi-level Signaling Theory Perspective

In this study, we examine the impact of organizational-level and individual-level signals on sex discrimination experiences, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions in a sample of South Korean fe...