Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management: Volume 21

Personality research has played a prominent role in the organizational sciences for a number of years. During the past two decades, however, research examining the impact of individual personality traits on emotions, attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors in organizations has increased, and our knowledge of the role of personality within organizational research is stronger. We examine a number of well-known personality dimensions that include the Five-Factor model of personality, locus of control, Type A Behavior Pattern, self-efficacy, and negative affectivity. We also examine a number of promising personality dimensions that have received less attention in the organizational sciences; these include trait anger, positive affectivity, action-state orientation, emotional intelligence, individualism- collectivism, and personal innovativeness. We review the personality research in these areas and offer suggestions for practice and future research.

Social influence processes in organizations involve the demonstration of particular behavioral tactics and strategies by individuals to influence behavioral outcomes controlled by others in ways that maximize influencer positive outcomes and minimize negative outcomes. Such processes necessarily draw from research in topic areas labeled impression management, self-presentation, interpersonal influence, and organizational politics. However, few efforts have been made to integrate this work for purposes of assessing our current knowledge base, and identifying gaps and thus areas in need of further investigation. The present paper provides a critical analysis and review of theory and research on social influence processes in the workplace, with particular emphasis on human resources systems, organized according to the What, the Where, the Who, and the How of influence. In the process, we identify neglected areas, including theory-building challenges, as well as key issues in need of empirical investigation.

Mentoring has been recognized as a key developmental resource in organizational settings. As a result, we have seen a concomitant increase in research on mentoring covering a wide variety of issues. Overall, researchers are in agreement that mentoring is beneficial both to individuals' careers and to their social-emotional well-being. However, studies also suggest that these effects are not necessarily always present, and that the nature of mentoring relationships is indeed complex. Despite the burgeoning literature in this area, there have been few attempts to integrate the work on mentoring. In this paper, we provide an overview and discussion of the current mentoring literature, and potentially beneficial new research directions. Specifically, the evolution of the concept of mentoring relationships, the theories and perspectives that have been employed in the literature, individual differences included in mentoring research, the benefits of mentoring relationships, formal mentoring programs, and methodology issues are reviewed and discussed. The paper concludes by presenting a new direction for future mentoring research based on the psychological theory of attachment.

In this paper, we review the literature on hierarchical team decision making — teams in which a formal leader makes decisions based upon the input from a staff or subordinates or other informed parties. We structure our review around the Multilevel Theory of team decision making (Hollenbeck et al., 1995), integrating the disparate works within this literature. We then provide recommendations to practitioners interested in building, maintaining, and maximizing the effectiveness of hierarchical teams. Finally, we conclude by addressing weaknesses of the literature to date and avenues for future research.

Information technology is altering the context within which HRM operates, providing both challenges and opportunities. At the core of the change is network centricity or netcentricity, which is the power of digital networks to distribute information instantly and on a global scale. The new electronic networks provide three main types of connectivity (i.e. inter-organizational, intra-organizational, and extra-organizational) that blur organizational boundaries and yet offer potential for competitive advantage. At the same time, netcentricity poses challenges to HRM in the form of issues with organizational relationships with employees via organizational identity and culture, managerial relationships with employees in virtual work arrangements, and employee adjustment and retention. To reach its potential, netcentricity requires HRM to be a catalyst and leader in such areas as developing dynamic capabilities, conveying organizational culture, and knowledge management. Netcentricity also offers HRM the possibility of developing its own networked relationship with employees as a value-added means of enhancing employment relationships, and ultimately positively influencing both employee attitudes and behaviors.

The concept of organizational knowledge, as a major determinant for global competitiveness, has received significant attention in recent years. In this paper, we discuss the importance of managing human resource knowledge to enhance the effectiveness of global corporations. A theoretical framework is proposed for understanding the effectiveness of knowledge management processes as a function of strategic considerations, administrative heritage, and technical systems, as embedded in the cultural context of the society. Later, we propose that individualistic vs. collectivistic cultures process the various types of knowledge differently, and prefer different modes of knowledge conversion based on their cultural values. Implications for international human resource management are discussed.

Appropriate (functional) responses to negative feedback are vital to both the short- and long-run performance of individuals in organizations, and, therefore, for their work groups and organizations. Regrettably, research shows that individuals may not respond appropriately to such feedback when they are motivated by self-enhancement. Moreover, it shows that self-enhancement tendencies are far more common among people in individualistic cultures than among people in collectivistic cultures. In view of this, we present a cross-cultural model of responses to feedback along with theory-based explanations for cultural differences in responses to feedback. In addition, we detail a number of strategies that egocentric people use for the purpose of either maintaining or enhancing their self-esteem when dealing with negative feedback. Finally, we offer suggestions for motivating people in individualistic cultures to respond to negative feedback in functional ways.

Moderator variables (moderators) are of considerable interest to researchers in various academic disciplines (e.g. human resources management, industrial and organizational psychology, management, organizational behavior, and organizational theory) who study phenomena involving the interactive effects of two or more independent variables. Several comprehensive reviews of the literature on moderators have appeared in the past three decades (e.g. Stone, 1988; Zedeck, 1971). Since the latest of these reviews, a large number of papers have been published on moderator-related issues. Unfortunately, however, there is no relatively comprehensive, up-to-date review of this literature. Thus, the purpose of this article is to provide such a review. Among the topics considered in it are conceptual definitions of moderators, prior reviews of the literature on moderators, major strategies for detecting moderators, and strategies for increasing statistical power in studies of moderators.