Organizational Behavior - An Evidence-Based Guide For MBA Students

Ning Hou
James A. Tan
Gustavo Valdez Paez
Editors
Organizational
Behavior
An Evidence-based Guide
for MBA students
Organizational Behavior
Ning Hou • James A. Tan • Gustavo Valdez Paez
Editors
Organizational Behavior
An evidence-based guide for MBA students
Editors
Ning Hou James A. Tan
Department of Management & Department of Management &
Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship
St. Cloud State University St. Cloud State University
St. Cloud, MN, USA St. Cloud, MN, USA
Gustavo Valdez Paez

Department of Art
St. Cloud State University
St. Cloud, MN, USA
ISBN 978-3-031-31355-4 ISBN 978-3-031-31356-1 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-31356-1
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature
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Preface
The book is written to provide a targeted textbook for MBA students on organiza-
tional behavior topics. It is designed to help students understand the importance of
organizational behavior and its role in management as well as to provide them with
applied knowledge in real-world situations.
The authors have selected a series of cases that are relevant to the modern-day
business world, emphasizing identifying and solving organizational problems. The
cases are also designed to provide real-world situations that students can relate to
and learn from.
The book is organized by micro, meso, and macro organizational behavior top-
ics. Under micro topics, we discuss individual differences and motivation; under
meso organizational behavior topics, we discuss team, decision-making, communi-
cation, and leadership; and under macro, we discuss organizational processes.
The book started from a project from my MBA Organizational Behavior Class in
2020. To practice the motivation theories, I decided to make the MBA students the
subject matter experts in OB topics. Rather than taking quizzes on other reading
material, students own the material by writing it themselves (intrinsic motivation).
Students have clear expectancy from the effort to performance to outcomes (expec-
tancy theory) and understand the significance of the task (job characteristics theory).
I cannot express how exciting and rewarding the process of creating this book
has been. All of the contributors come from different countries and backgrounds and
provide a unique perspective on each and every one of the topics discussed. The
final book is well-balanced between theories and practices because of the various
background of the contributing authors. The balance makes it easy to fit into any
educational and teaching system.
It has been three years since the first draft of the book, and the process is a real
joy of coaching, mentoring, and collaborating. I would like to thank the whole
cohorts of spring 2020 and spring 2022 MBA students for their early work on the
book. Students from Spring 2020 SCSU MBA cohort include (in alphabetical order
of last names): James Barnett, Jacob Bjorn, Daniel Britz, Michael Hamer, Bryan
King, John Matejka, Jeffrey Merriman, Thad Olson (author of Chap. 6), ByungChul
Park, Kalie Schuster, Steven Sitek, Peter Sorensen, Travis Stewart, Lisa Vendela.
v
vi Preface
Students from Spring 2022 SCSU MBA cohort include (in alphabetic order of last
names): Raunak Kuikel, Josiah Kwia (Chap. 1 author), Nicholas Lengyel (Chap. 2
author), Haseena Mili, Ofem Ofem (Chap. 5 author), Linsey Rachel, Bishnu
Sharma, Mama Toure (Chap. 2 author).
I would also like to extend my sincere appreciation to my parents, Jing Sui and
Shuli Hou, who provided unlimited support throughout the project and my life. I
can’t express enough gratitude for their caring, patience, and guidance!
This is a true collaboration and a wonderful experience!
St. Cloud, MN, USA Ning Hou

Contents
1
Introduction to Organizational Behavior�� 1
Josiah Kwia
Part I Micro Organizational Behavior Topics

2 Individual Difference �� 23
Nicholas R. Lengyel and Mama N. Toure Ep Camara
3 Motivation�� 65
Julie Weber-Kramer
Part II Meso Organizational Behavior Topics

4 Teams in the Workplace�� 89
Ye Li
5 Decision Making�� 131
Ofem E. Ofem and Yuxi Wang
6
Communication, Conflict, and Negotiation �� 157
Thad C. Olson
7 Leadership�� 183
Lu Zuo
Part III Macro Organizational Behavior Topics

8 Organizational Processes�� 217
Xiaotian Dai
Index�� 243
vii
About the Editors
Ning Hou is an Associate Professor at the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship, St.
Cloud State University. Her research interests include personalized targeting on social media, per-
sonal data value worth, and decision-making biases. Ning’s favorite class to teach is Organizational
Behavior, where she collaborated with all the students to turn ideas into books, cases, and research
projects.
James A. Tan is a Professor of Management at St. Cloud State University. He has published
research in journals such as the Journal of Management and the Journal of Applied Psychology.
His research interests focus on the impact of individual difference variables on various organiza-
tional outcomes.
Gustavo Valdez Paez is a Research Assistant, DJ, Audio/Video Producer, and an Art Major at St.
Cloud State University. He participated in research related to organizational behavior and pub-
lished in journals such as the International Journal of Intercultural Relations and the Journal of
International Students. His interest in organizational behavior began in 2014 when occupying a
hotel in southeast Mexico and started working with groups of international volunteers.
ix
Chapter 1
Introduction to Organizational Behavior
Josiah Kwia
Abbreviations
Capt. Cheng Captain Chengquan

HR Human Resources
HRT Human Relations Theory
Liu Liu Guiduo
NFL National Football Association
NHL National Hockey League
OB Organizational Behavior
Massacre in the Pacific: A Personal Account

According to Massacre in the Pacific: A Personal Account, “Most people live fairly
rule-bound lives and maintain the belief that their fellow human beings, on the
whole, do likewise. They are firmly convinced that being ordinary is a basic human
condition, that on the whole, both good deeds and evil doings are of the banal kind.”
Massacre in the Pacific: A Personal Account (Qiang, 2019) illustrates that there are
exceptions to the rule.
Liu led a group of crewmen to hijack the ship during the Lurongyu voyage in the
Chile Sea on 16 June 2011. Eleven crewmembers ended up murdering all the other
twenty-two fellow crewmembers, and it all started with a conversation between Liu
and Captain Cheng about a request to return home. After 4 months of fishing, Liu
realized the promised 45,000 yuan plus bonus compensation was a loophole in the
contract. They were not going to get as nearly as the promised 90,000 yuan for
2 years of fishing. Instead, they were only getting 25 cents per pound of squid they
fished, which means the hard work won’t even cover the money he spent on the
cigarette he was sharing with his fellows. On top of that, the condition of the boat
was terrible. Everyone had to work over 18 h a day on average, under the strong
J. Kwia (*)
Herberger Business School, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, MN, USA
e-mail: Kwro1201@go.stcloudstate.edu
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 1

N. Hou et al. (eds.), Organizational Behavior,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-31356-1_1
2 J. Kwia
light, during the night. The only belief that kept them working was the money they
planned to bring back for their families. At that moment, their belief was crushed by
reality.
Liu believed the greedy company was exploiting their labor with extremely
unfair compensation, and they used an unclear contract to lure them on board. He
was determined to return home and file a lawsuit, but Capt. Cheng refused to do so
and won’t allow Liu to return home himself either because he was undocumented
(Liu’s status as an undocumented individual prohibited him from being transported
on any other vessel because it would be considered people smuggling).
Liu was an ordinary farmer before boarding, without any criminal background.
His fellow crewmen said he always treated people warmly, and he seemed generous
and righteous, with imperceptible shrewdness. He learned to fish squid quickly; he
was very productive, and he taught fellow crews his tricks to fish faster. His cha-
risma helped him emerge as a leader among his crewmembers, who later became
the leader of the massacre.
He persuaded a group of fellows to seize the captain’s cabin to force the captain
to return home after he realized he otherwise wouldn’t be returning home. With a
series of misunderstandings, existed conflict among the crewmembers, and devi-
ance among small groups due to relative relations and hometowns, the ship’s cook
was killed unexpectedly. Crewmembers, believing there would not be another kill-
ing, decided to pretend the cook fell into the sea rather than take responsibility. To
prevent further interference or revenge, Liu and the fellows disabled the ship’s com-
munications and locked away knives, lifeboats, and life jackets. Later, Liu learned
that the ship consumed fuel abnormally fast and malfunctioned. An uprising was
rumored to be planned by Capt. Cheng’s chief engineer and others. Following the
death of the first crew member, the relationships among members were tense, and
division among the remaining crew members was created. There was no trust or
transparency, and there were no rules that would work except violence. To avoid
becoming victims, other members of the crew plotted against or became willing
participants in Liu’s plan.
As a result of Liu’s persuasive leadership and manipulation, the mutineers killed
all crew members they believed revolted. Even one of Liu’s crewmen was among
the victims, since Liu was unsure of his loyalty. New groups were divided based on
whether individuals had killed other people, and in the end, Liu made sure all that
was alive participated in the killings. To avoid being arrested, Liu suggested blam-
ing the deceased crew members. But, again, there was not enough trust among them.
After investigation, all survivors of the Lurongyu voyage were found guilty, and
among them, six were sentenced to death.
This case raises some questions about organizational behavior. Why did they
choose to get on board in the first place? Would they take different actions if the
company provided explanations after they realized the injustice and unfair treatment
from the company? Would a strike or negotiation be helpful under the circumstance?
Should the organization be held responsible for failing to follow protocol? How did
the work condition impact their decisions? Was the massacre preventable with better
leadership? Was the massacre preventable with better communication? Did peer
1 Introduction to Organizational Behavior 3
pressure influence the participation of all crew members? In what ways did group
norms and statuses influence individual behavior? What role did cultural differences
play in the incident? Are unethical decisions more a function of the decision maker’s
personal characteristics or of the environment in which the decision maker operates?
Note. Certain names have been changed to make them easier to read.
1.1 Organizational Behavior
1.1.1 What Is Organizational Behavior?
Organizational behavior (OB) is a systematic approach that studies the behavior of

individuals, groups, as well as the relationship between people and organizations.
According to Robbins et al. (2014, p. 8), it involves “[a] field of study that investi-
gates the impact that individual groups and structure have on behavior within orga-
nizations, for the purposes of applying such knowledge towards improving an
organization’s effectiveness.” It can be divided into three levels: micro (individual),
meso (group), and macro (organization-wide), according to Ashkanasy and Dorris
(2017). This book focuses on specific aspects of OB: individual differences, motiva-
tion, teams, decision making, communication, leadership, and organizational
processes.
1.1.1.1 OB Versus HR: What’s the Difference?
In organizational behavior studies, the focus is on how employees interact and

behave within the organization, while in human resource management, the focus is
on procedures related to human capital, such as recruiting, selection, compensation,
and training. Employees can benefit from the proper design of HR procedures,
which enhance organizational behavior practices. For instance, designing a strategic
compensation system that motivates employees can enhance employee satisfaction,
reduce turnover rate, and improve productivity; designing a recruitment practice
with diversity awareness can reduce discrimination; applying effective communica-
tion tools can improve the positive perceptions and attitudes of employees.
1.1.1.2 OB Under the COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 global pandemic put most organizations through a quick adaptation
process. Those that evolved survived, but many more went out of business. This
proves that organizations that are successful are capable of changing and developing
new ways of operating (Hannum, 2021). Learning from a change or crisis can be
difficult, but understanding the interactions within an organization will give us the
ability to perform the necessary changes.
4 J. Kwia
1.1.2 Why Do We Study OB?
1.1.2.1 Scientific Management
In 1911, Frederick W. Taylor developed the concept of scientific management,

which is commonly referred to as Taylorism. Based on the scientific method, the
study described several management principles that could be applied to industrial
facilities to increase their productivity and efficiency. An assertion at the start of the
book, The Principles of Scientific Management, declares that the principal objective
of management should be to contribute to “the maximum prosperity for the
employer, coupled with the maximum prosperity for the employee” (Taylor, 1911,
p. 10). Rather than forcing employees to work hard, Taylor argued that optimizing
how they carry out their work would be more effective (Ward, 2022a, b). Taylor
emphasized the importance of simplifying and improving work tasks to increase
productivity. The supermarket industry utilizes Taylor’s concept of specialization
and division of labor to achieve its objectives. For instance, some people specialize
in inventory management, grocery clerks, and production clerks. Through this
method, tasks are broken down into small steps, with each individual focusing on
how to accomplish their particular set of steps in the most effective manner. While
Taylorism promotes a high degree of specialization, it differs from modern concep-
tions of the ideal workplace. Additionally, Taylor pointed out the importance of
workers and managers working together to maximize their potential. Using the les-
sons learned from his workplace experiments, Taylor (1911) developed several sci-
entific management principles, including (1) Choosing methods based on science
rather than “rules of thumb,” (2) Assignment of jobs based on the abilities of the
workers, (3) Monitoring employee performance, and (4) Distributing the workload
among managers and employees.
1.1.2.2 Human Relations Theory
Human Relations Theory (HRT; Mayo, 1924) takes a more holistic approach to the
work environment by treating it naturally, communicating the big picture, empower-
ing employees with increased responsibility, training them appropriately, and
rewarding their achievements. Rather than focusing on efficiency and treating work-
ers as machines, it considers their participation and well-being as an important part
of the organization. Mayo’s human relations theory and Taylor’s scientific manage-
ment theory differ in several aspects. Scientific management theories perceive
employees as robots, as opposed to Mayo, which believes that employees are indi-
viduals and should be viewed as such. In addition, Taylor argues that incentives
motivate employees, whereas Mayo argues that human relations have a greater
influence on the output of an organization than economic conditions. Further, scien-
tific management policies impose rules on employees, whereas human relations
policies actively foster employee involvement and relationships that are conducive
to success. Lastly, Mayo’s human relations theory emphasizes the importance of
group effort, while Taylor’s scientific management theory emphasizes individual
efforts.1
Hawthorne Effect
In the 1920s, Elton Mayo and Fritz Roethlisberger conducted the
Hawthorne studies, which contributed substantially to the development
of human relations (Mayo, 1933; Roethlisberger & Dickson, 1939). In
their initial study, researchers examined the effect of physical condi-
tions with respect to workers’ productivity, such as lighting, but found
that one of the most influential factors was whether they were observed
by others. The Hawthorne effect describes individuals who perform bet-
ter when they are noticed, watched, and supervised by researchers or
supervisors. The research conducted by Mayo and Roethlisberger has
changed the way organizations manage and view their workers.
1.1.3 Chapter Synopsis
This section gives you a preview of the topics for the rest of the book. One aspect of
each of the following topics impacted by the pandemic are shared here: how indi-
viduals are different; what motivates people in the workplace; how people and
group make decisions; how people communicate in the organization; how people
work in teams and how to lead; and how organizational processes impact the
individuals.
1
Henri Fayol developed an approach to managing businesses that have come to be known as
Fayolism during his career as a mining engineer, executive, author, and director. The development
of modern management is generally attributed to Henri Fayol (Fayol, 1949). Over the course of the
twentieth century, his management theories influenced industrial management practices in a sig-
nificant way. The ideas of Fayol were developed independently of other theories that were preva-
lent at the time, such as those of Elton Mayo and Human Relations. Fayol outlined the skills
needed for effective management in his 14 Principles of Management. Fayol’s management theo-
ries are still used today. Besides the Principles, Fayol identified five basic management functions.
Among the management functions are planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating, and con-
trolling. Fayol emphasized that managerial skills are different from technical skills. Moreover,
Fayol recognized that management is a field requiring research, teaching, and development. Fayol
proposed 14 principles and five functions that form the basis of Administrative Theory. A variety
of nonacademics shared their experiences and contributed to its progress. Fayol’s Five Functions
of Management originated the planning-organizing-leading-controlling framework that remains an
influential management framework throughout the world today.
6 J. Kwia
1.1.3.1 Individual Difference: Individual Differences in Experiencing

Pandemic-Induced Distress
The COVID-19 pandemic became a psychosocial shock globally and led to a chain
of stressors that impacted mental health in the general population (Ammar et al.,
2020; Tan et al., 2020). Specifically, people with higher levels of neuroticism per-
sonality traits are less stable in their emotions and more likely to experience
pandemic-induced distress (Starcevic & Janca, 2022). In addition, they are also less
capable of coping with the lockdown (Morales-Vives et al., 2020).
1.1.3.2 Motivation: Flexible Working Hours
Flexible working hours and remote working options had been a factor that moti-
vated people to choose the job, while during the pandemic, with all the other factors
involved (e.g., children were remote learning from home), the motivation turned
into desperation (Dunn et al., 2020). Work-life balance became challenging and a
work stressor (Irawanto et al., 2021). The advantage of flexibility diminished during
the pandemic, and the effect is experienced more by women (Dunn et al., 2020).
1.1.3.3 Decision Making: Decision-Making Biases During the Pandemic
Success in the past can often be projected onto future endeavors, often without tak-
ing into account inherent risks or random factors. An individual may suffer from
status quo bias if he or she is unable to make rational decisions in light of new
information or if they are overly cautious. The same applies to individuals who are
strongly committed to conspiracy theories regarding COVID-19. When an explana-
tion was presented by scientists or by the authorities during the pandemic, people
found a counterargument to support their belief. Conspiracy theories are frequently
influenced by a cognitive bias called confirmation bias. Using this heuristic, indi-
viduals are inclined to seek out and evaluate only the information that is compatible
with their current belief system.
1.1.3.4 Communication: Online Communication
The Covid-19 crisis has highlighted the need for appropriate communication
between employers and employees. Online communication has become an impor-
tant medium, and some practices should be emphasized. For instance, a communi-
cation tree can be used to identify who is responsible for communicating important
information and what position is involved, consistently maintaining a concise tone
throughout communications and developing a schedule for reviewing content as
well as a schedule for follow-ups.
1.1.3.5 Team: Role of Team Members
In response to the COVID-19 surge, medical teams need to be revised, and roles
have to be readjusted. For instance, to spread expertise across different patients,
nontraditional teams were formed, and critical care attendings were shifted into
supervisory roles across all different departments to help upskill nurses quickly
(Anderson et al., 2020).
1.1.3.6 Leadership: Female Leaders During the Crisis
In times of crisis, organizations tend to name female leaders. According to data,

countries led by female leaders fared better during the COVID-19 pandemic, with
fewer deaths per capita and lower peaks in daily deaths (Coscieme et al., 2020).
Some possible reasons include the likelihood of using more restrictive measures,
prioritizing public health over economics, and the focus on social equality.
1.1.3.7 Organizational Process: Organization Changes During

the Pandemic
Facing the COVID-19 pandemic-induced organizational change, organizations have

to take their employees’ experience into consideration. Research demonstrated the
importance of transparent internal communication on coping, uncertainty reduction,
and improving employee-organization relationships (Li et al., 2021), and the impor-
tance of systematic communication on employee experience and organizational
identification during organizational changes induced by the pandemic (Sun
et al., 2021).
1.2 Organizational Behavior Research
To better study the phenomena of organizational behavior, we need to conduct sci-

entific research. This section discussed why it is important to conduct research, how
to conduct research, what are the study designs, and the measurement issues in OB.
1.2.1 Why Conduct Research?
Research is conducted to understand phenomena, situations, or behaviors, test exist-

ing theories and develop new theories by utilizing existing theories, as well as to
answer the following questions: “Why,” “How,” “What,” “Which,” or “When.”
Scientific research can help us explain and predict organizational behaviors. For
8 J. Kwia
instance, maybe you are wondering how money can impact our stress. Researchers
experimented and statistically proved that counting money, even not your own
money, could reduce your perceived stress and pain (Zhou et al., 2009).
Friendly Cashier and Store Sales: Sutton and Rafaeli (1988)

Think about a time when you were at a retail store. Did you observe cashiers
being friendly (e.g., making small talk) to customers? Do you think having
friendly cashiers positively impacts store sales? This was the question Sutton
and Rafaeli (1988) had as well. To examine this link, they decided to conduct
research to test the thinking that friendlier cashiers lead to higher sales.
They hypothesized that store sales would be higher when store clerks were
friendlier to customers. That makes sense, right? Who among us wants to deal
with a grumpy sales clerk? Initially, Sutton, Rafaeli, and the research team
randomly selected 576 convenience stores in the national chain located
throughout the United States for observation. What might surprise you was
that Sutton and Rafaeli actually found a weak, negative effect. Friendlier
cashiers had lower sales. Researchers conducted a follow-up qualitative study
after being surprised by the findings and discovered that sales were associated
with store pace (e.g., time pressure on clerks and customers). Therefore, pac-
ing led to the appearance of emotions (i.e., friendliness), with busy settings
supporting neutral and slow settings supporting positive emotions.
So, when you find yourself in a busy checkout line next time, which would
you prefer: an efficient cashier who swiftly rings you up with minimal conver-
sation (neutral display), or a friendly cashier who engages in chit-chat with
you? Do you think the study results vary for different chains and different
types of stores? How would you examine your theory using the scien-
tific method?
1.2.2 How to Conduct OB Research? An Example Using

Greenberg (1990)
An OB study starts with the development of questions/hypotheses, followed by the

design of a study, the use of the study to test the hypothesis, and finally, the conclu-
sion of the study.
1.2.2.1 Purpose the Questions/Hypothesis
Scientists use observations, the information they read on the subject, and input from
individuals within the organization to form hypotheses about the relationship
between variables. A Hypothesis is a testable statement of your questions, and it can
be based on observation (inductive) or theory (deductive). A Theory is a coherent

explanation of a phenomenon or several phenomena. Maslow’s hierarchy of need
theory explains the inner motives of human beings (check out Chap. 3, Motivation
for the Theory). A hypothesis is different from a theory in that a hypothesis is
directly testable. In the Sutton and Rafaeli (1988) example above, the theory is that
emotions affect behavior. The hypothesis is that happy clerks lead to increased
sales. We cannot directly test “emotions affect behavior” but can test “positive emo-
tions lead to increased sales.”
Formulating Hypotheses
Based on the equity theory, when employees perceive they are underpaid, they are
likely to perceive the organizational injustice as well as unfairness and redress the
inequity by raising the input, for instance, by stealing from the employer (Adams,
1965). To test the theory, Greenberg (1990) conducted a study with the hypotheses:
H1: Pay reduction is related to employee theft rate.
H2: Having adequate explanations reduces the rate of employee theft.
1.2.2.2 Design the Study
There are various Research methods to study organizational behaviors (check out
the study design section below for details). As a manager, have you observed your
subordinates being unhappy? This would be an example of naturalistic observation.
As a manager, you might want to figure out why employees might be unhappy. One
way to collect this information is to survey employees. A survey study is one of the
most common ways management researchers gain insight into OB. How many sur-
veys have you completed at work? What kinds of questions were included in the
survey? Typically, organizations conduct “engagement surveys” to gauge employee
satisfaction.
Picking a Design: Quasi-experiment

Greenberg was fortunate enough to be able to conduct a “quasi-experimental
study.” After losing two large contracts, the host company was forced to tem-
porarily reduce wages by 15% across the board for two of its three plants
(Plant A and Plant B). Plant C was unaffected by the contract and was able to
keep the same wage. In this case, researchers can examine the effects of dif-
ferent conditions (15% pay cut vs. no pay cut) on employee theft behavior
(H1). The decision to wage cut was made by the host company, not the
researchers, therefore not a random assignment of the conditions to test
hypothesis 1 (quasi-experiment). Plant A and Plant B were the experimental
groups with a pay cut, while Plant C was the control group without a pay cut,
determined by the company.
(continued)
10 J. Kwia
To test the benefits of adequate explanations on feelings (H2), Greenberg

was able to randomly assign the conditions between Plant A and Plant B. In
Plant A, a sufficient explanation requirement was assigned at random, while
in Plant B, an inadequate explanation requirement was assigned. Employees
of company A were consulted about the decision to temporarily reduce their
salaries by the company president. The meeting provided detailed explana-
tions of the decision, including the necessary, the impacts, and the policy that
everyone shares the pay cut without favoritism. The meeting was evidence-
based, thorough, sensitive, and respectful. The researcher anticipated a more
moderate response to the pay cut as a result of these explanations.
For the study participants, the demographics were provided (e.g., educa-
tion, tenure) and compared across three plants. Employees from Plant B
received an inadequate explanation, where employees were simply told about
the pay cut decision by the vice president.
For the measure, Greenberg collected actuarial data on employee theft
(with the standard formula of the accounting department) before, during, and
after the pay cut, as well as self-report data (survey on how adequate the
explanations of the pay cut were and on perceived payment equity) to explain
the underlying mechanism. One example question for explanation adequacy
is “How adequate was your employer’s explanation regarding the basis of
your current pay?” and one example question for perceived payment equity is
“How fair is your current pay level at work?”
1.2.2.3 Testing the Hypothesis
After collecting the data, researchers need to statistically test the hypothesis based
on the data. In statistics, there are many types of analysis, with descriptive analysis,
diagnostic analysis, predictive analysis, and prescriptive analysis being some of the
most common types.
The descriptive analysis provides descriptions of the data and can give you a bet-
ter understanding of the situation. For instance, the Global Workplace Report
(Harter, 2022) provided descriptive data in over 100 thousand business units that
indicate only 32% of employees are thriving in their overall well-being.
The diagnostic analysis provides an understanding of the causes. For instance,
researchers investigated one of the factors that impact employee well-being during
the pandemic, which is the format of work transitioning into digital (e.g., Juchnowicz
& Kinowska, 2021). Other researchers further studied how telework impacts well-
being through the work-life imbalance (e.g., González Ramos & García-de-Diego,
2022). Mediation analysis is typically used to explore mechanisms.
The predictive analysis intends to help us predict future events through the
understanding of trends and patterns of current data. Regression analysis could be
helpful in predictive analysis. By understanding how risks like 911, the financial
crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic as critical job stressors that impact employee
well-being (e.g., Ginger, 2020), we can predict well-being challenges with major
environmental threats coming.
The prescriptive analysis intends to give us evidence-based suggestions for
actions. How can we improve employee well-being after we identify the problem,
diagnose some of the causes, and predict the issues with a threat? Job demands-
resource model (JD-R) provides us the evidence-based solutions such as reducing
cognitive, emotional, and physical demands as well as increasing social support,
autonomy, and feedback as resources (Bilotta et al., 2021).
To conduct these analyses, OB researchers use various statistical models and
analyses, such as correlation, t-test, regression analysis, mediation, and moderation
analysis. It is to be noted that we have to determine the type of specific statistical
analysis based on our design.
Hypothesis Testing
In this study, Greenberg examined the differences between the three plants as
well as the changes within each plant prior to, during, and following the pay
reduction. Results demonstrated that employee theft behaviors were signifi-
cantly higher in the pay-cut plants (Plant A with a 5.7% theft rate and Plant B
with an 8.9% theft rate) than in the non-pay-cut plant (Plant C with a 3.7%
theft rate). However, the differences were only evident during the periods
when pay cuts were implemented, not before or after the cuts. This supported
hypothesis 1. To further examine whether the adequate explanations were use-
ful, Greenberg conducted another statistical test, and the results demonstrated
that employees in the inadequate explanation group had significantly less
understanding of the basis for pay determination and greatest perceptions of
pay inequity.
1.2.2.4 Conclude
After the data analysis, researchers conclude the study by providing interpretations
of the results and discussing the contributions, limitations, and future directions
(Table 1.1).
Conclusion
Greenberg concluded that employees attempt to redress the pay cut by steal-
ing from their employer, and adequate explanations of the pay cut can miti-
gate the perception of inequity, therefore reducing employee theft incidents.
12 J. Kwia
Table 1.1 Organizational behavior research elements and examples

Concept What is it? OB example
Why Research helps us test our Do you think having friendly cashiers positively
conduct intuition or existing theory with impacts store sales? Sutton and Rafaeli (1988)
research evidence proposed this question and empirically tested it,
but positive emotions were found to have an
opposite relationship with store sales
Purpose the Research hypotheses are Greenberg (1990) wanted to know whether
hypothesis developed before the research employees would steal when they perceive they
begins, and they serve as guides are underpaid and what organizations can do to
help. So he proposed the following hypotheses:
H1: Pay reduction is related to employee theft
rate
H2: Having adequate explanations reduces the
rate of employee theft
Design the Researchers use various study Greenberg (1990) conducted a quasi-
study designs to test the hypotheses experiment to test his hypotheses, comparing
the theft rate among the plant without the
employee pay cut, the plant with the employee
pay cut and inadequate explanation, and the
plant with the employee pay cut and adequate
explanation
Test the A hypotheses test provides a Greenberg (1990) compared the employee theft
hypothesis framework for determining the rate among the three plants before, during, and
population and evaluating after the pay cut
evidence from the sample
Conclude Researchers conclude the study Greenberg (1990) concluded that employees
by providing an interpretation of attempt to redress the pay cut by stealing from
the results and discussing the their employer and adequate explanations of the
contributions and limitations as pay cut can mitigate the perception of inequity,
well as future research directions therefore reduce the employee theft incidents
1.2.3 Design
Study designs are a critical step to help test your hypothesis. How would you design
a study to investigate employee well-being? This section will introduce you to an
observational study, survey study, experimental (and quasi-experiment) study, and
meta-analysis. Researchers typically adopt more rigorous design procedures when
moving from observational to experimental research. Studies with a higher level of
rigor typically employ more precise measurements and interventions and seek to
minimize the impact of external factors that may affect the study’s results. However,
it is very difficult (and hard to get IRB approval for human subjects) to conduct true
experiments in real organizational settings.
1.2.3.1 Observational Research
As a method of conducting research, observation is the most primitive (least rigor-

ous). It is nonexperimental and is based on observation (observe as it unfolds) and
record (use archive data) of human behavior (individual or group). Some examples
include naturalistic observation, structured observation, authoritative opinion, case
study, and archival study. In naturalistic observation, people are observed in their
natural setting (e.g., classroom or work setting). In structured observation, a small
number of behaviors are coded in a quantitative manner. An Authoritative opinion is
one that has been formed by an expert in the field. In his early works on manage-
ment, Henri Fayol, for example, offered his experience and advice as a former
industrial manager. Based on their experiences in real-world work environments,
Fayol and others suggest that their learning can be adapted to a variety of work
environments. A Case Study is intended to provide an in-depth analysis of one situ-
ation within one organization from the perspective of the interpersonal dynamics
among the members of that organization. Archival studies normally use the data that
has been collected already (mostly for other purposes).
Archival Study: Frank and Gilovich (1988)

Do you think color affects human behavior? Frank and Gilovich (1988) were
interested in studying whether there was some truth to the anecdote that the
color black has negative connotations (e.g., “blacklisted,” “blackballed,”
“blackmail”). To test whether wearing black uniforms can increase aggressive
behaviors, they analyzed NFL and NHL penalty records from 1970 to 1986.
In order to measure aggressiveness, researchers used the number of yards and
minutes penalized in the NFL and the NHL. Researchers standardized the
number before analyzing it. The study found that black uniforms rank the top
in penalties overwhelmingly, therefore indicating more aggressiveness. In the
case of teams that switched from nonblack uniforms to black uniforms, the
penalty level increased immediately.
1.2.3.2 Survey Study
OB researchers are generally interested in determining how predicting factors (such

as job satisfaction) are related to criterion factors (such as turnover). In survey
research, variables are typically measured by questionnaires. An examination of
employee satisfaction levels (from a questionnaire) with employee turnover levels
(from company records) can be used to determine whether the variables are corre-
lated. This method differs from experimental methods in that there is no alteration
or manipulation of the variables and no random assignment of the various condi-
tions. Specifically, as a manager, you would not induce job dissatisfaction in one set
14 J. Kwia
of employees and then see if they quit; you would also need to induce job satisfac-
tion in another set of employees to see if they quit. Instead, you would gather infor-
mation about current satisfaction levels and see if these impact future quit rates.
Survey Study: Frank and Gilovich (1988)

Before Frank and Gilovich (1988) tested the relationship between the color of
the uniform with the actual penalty data, an experiment was conducted to
examine whether the general preferences people have for specific colors are
also applicable to uniform colors. Researchers used the “naïve” subjects who
were not familiar with NFL or NHL to avoid the impact on team reputation
and only focus on the color factor. Participants had to rate all team uniforms
from NFL and NHL on various scales: “good/bad, timid/aggressive, nice/
mean, active/passive, and weak/strong.” All the identifiable information (e.g.,
name of the team, home city, player) on the uniforms was removed. Several
dimensions (e.g., good/bad, nice/mean, and timid/aggressive) were combined
to form the “malevolence” index, and results indicated there was a greater
rating of malevolence for black uniforms than for nonblack uniforms in the
results.
1.2.3.3 Experimental Study
While survey studies can help us find out the relationships between the variables,
experimental studies can help us to examine the causal relationship of variables.
Experiments usually involve the manipulation of certain variables to test the impact
of this variable (i.e., independent variable) on other variables (i.e., dependent vari-
able). The variance of an independent variable is not determined by other variables
in the study, while a dependent variable represents the effect and the variance of the
independent variable is determined by the changes in its value. By analyzing the
effect of the independent variable (i.e., the treatment), researchers have to divide the
participants’ sample into an experimental group (received treatment) and a control
group (without treatment). For example, a drug manufacturer wants to examine the
efficacy of a new vaccine. The control group will receive a placebo (e.g., saline
solution), while the experimental group will receive the experimental vaccine. The
manufacturer will then compare the two groups on various outcomes (e.g., sickness
rates, the severity of illness, time to recover, etc.). If the experimental group showed
better outcomes compared to the control group, the manufacturer might use these
results to bolster their claim of “vaccine effectiveness.” Experimental studies on OB
concepts can be tested in a lab (e.g., through simulation) or in the field (i.e., in the
actual organization). For instance, the organization would like to know whether a
newly designed manager training in human relations (independent variable) can
improve the leader-follower relationships, managers can be randomly assigned into
new training group (experimental group) and traditional training group (control
group), then measure the leader-follower relationships (dependent variable) after

the training to determine. Most of the time, it is hard to fulfill the true experiment
standard using random assignment. Even if you can, in the training effectiveness
example, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to prevent people from different con-
ditions from talking to each other, thereby contaminating the control group.
Exchanging information between experimental and control groups is known as the
diffusion of treatments. Therefore, quasi-experiment is an effective alternative way
to study OB concepts where groups were divided based on other factors (e.g., work
schedule).
Experiment: Frank and Gilovich (1988)

After determining that black uniform teams did show more aggressiveness,
Frank and Gilovich (1988) were interested in whether the biased judgments of
referees caused the reported penalty data. That is, is the view that players wear
aggressive uniforms due to the referees’ perceptions that the players are more
aggressive? They designed an experiment, asking participants to watch a vid-
eotaped “staged” football game with manipulation of the uniform color (black
vs. white). Researchers taped two “identical” (in their best effort) football
games with only one difference, which is the color of the defensive team uni-
forms (offensive teams wore red in both tapes). During the study, participants
were asked to assess the football plays as referees and were surveyed regard-
ing their perceptions of the defensive team’s aggressiveness as well as their
likelihood of penalizing the defensive team. The results indicated a significant
tendency for players wearing black uniforms to be penalized more than those
of their rivals. There was also a perception that the black-uniformed team was
more aggressive. Therefore, the results supported the “social perception”
interpretation.
1.2.3.4 Meta-analysis
There is a lot of research being published (or not published), and results sometimes
contradict each other. How do you make sense of all these contradictory results? For
example, should you floss every day (Silva et al., 2022)? Your dentist probably asks
every time you visit if you floss. There have been numerous research published
looking at the effect of flossing on dental health. Some may say flossing reduces
gingivitis, while others say it has no impact at all. Which research should you
believe?
To answer this question, we turn to meta-analysis. Meta-analysis is a statistical
technique that tries to summarize all the information available. One reason there are
contradictory results is that errors (e.g., the sample included predominantly men,
small sample sizes, etc.) cannot be 100% eliminated from our research. Meta-
analysis tries to reduce the impact of these errors and thus shows us “true” relations
among the variables.
16 J. Kwia
Job Satisfaction on Job Performance Meta-analysis: Judge et al. (2001)

Since the human relations movement, researchers have been interested in learning
whether satisfied employees perform better. There have been numerous empirical
studies across different cultures, industries, and different samples. To conduct the
comprehensive quantitative review, Judge et al. (2001), based on the electronic
database, conducted a search from 1967 to 1999 for published articles, doctoral
dissertations, cited but unpublished manuscripts, as well as reports from govern-
ment agencies. They set rules for inclusion. The research requires using employed
adults as samples, as well as measuring individual satisfaction and performance
(as opposed to group levels). They ended up having 312 samples with a combined
study sample size of 54,417. After coding variables, the correlations observed
were corrected for sampling errors and unreliability. A moderate correlation coef-
ficient demonstrated that job satisfaction and performance are related to the most
focal attitude about the job. The study also found the link between job satisfaction
and job performance was related to job complexity and discussed how with less
situational constraints, attitude might affect behavior more stronger.
1.2.4 Measurement
Most of the designs in the previous section involved the measurement of the vari-
ables. For instance, if you want to study leadership effectiveness, how would you
measure the concept? How do you know that the data you are collecting is good
(i.e., quality data)? What standards do you use to determine if something has “qual-
ity?” When you are at the grocery store, how do you know the organic butter you are
buying is organic? There are certain standards the manufacturer is required to fol-
low to ensure that the product is actually organic. In the same way, we have to fol-
low certain standards to show that the data we are collecting meets standards. The
two concepts that we use to show that the collected data has quality are reliability
and validity. This section gives you an overview of measurement-related concepts.
Reliability is normally describing consistency, while validity normally describes
accuracy. For example, using a weight scale, if the scale shows that Ann is around
100 pounds every time, it is consistent, and it shows high reliability. Still, it doesn’t
necessarily reflect Ann’s “real” weight, which is around 130 pounds. The ability of
the weight scale to reflect Ann’s real weight is validity, which is whether this scale
can accurately reflect Ann’s weight.
There are many types of reliability as well as validity. For instance, we can test
the consistency over time (test-retest reliability). In the example above, Ann weighs
herself daily for a week and her weight, while it fluctuates, is pretty consistent,
around 95–105 pounds (i.e., test on day one and retest daily); or we can test the
agreement across different people, and (interrater reliability). Have you ever
watched one of the many talent reality shows (e.g., American Idol, America’s Got
Talent) and seen the “judges” give their opinions? How often do they agree with
each other? How often do they disagree? The extent to which they agree with each
other is interrater reliability.
As for validity, it can measure whether a test is measuring the concept it is

intended to measure, which is called construct validity, or it can measure whether
the results really reflect the outcomes of the variable, which is criterion validity.
Sometimes looking at the data might lead us to think there is causation between
two variables. For instance, data showed when more people are getting vaccinated,
there are more COVID-19 cases (e.g., Australian Institute of Health and Welfare,
2021). This is a correlation, but does that mean that vaccines cause COVID cases?
NO! Then what are some possible explanations? This data could reflect that when
there are more COVID-19 cases, people are more likely to get the vaccine. Or, there
might be some factors that impact both vaccine rate and COVID-19 cases. For
instance, if the government lifts the mask requirements, people are probably going
to get vaccinated, but this decision could also lead to more infections. If there are
more incentives for vaccinated individuals, such as fewer traveling restrictions or
the ability to gather in public, people are more likely to get the vaccine, while there’s
also a possibility that more people can get infected by the COVID-19 virus. So,
please keep in mind: “correlation is not causation.” (Table 1.2).
To conclude, a good understanding of organizational behaviors is essential to organi-
zational success. Systematic theories and studies help organizations optimize efficiency
while taking care of their employees, the most important capital. This can be seen in
stark contrast to the outcome of “The massacre in the Pacific” (Qiang, 2016), where a
lack of appreciation combined with ineffective leadership led to disastrous conse-
quences. Lack of appreciation led to a breakdown in morale and resulted in a cata-
strophic event that has served as a warning for workplace culture ever since. As a future
leader, you must keep the scientific spirit in mind and always put people first.
Table 1.2 Organizational behavior research design examples

Concept What is it? OB example
Observational Studies that are based on Frank and Gilovich (1988) examined black
research observation (observe as it uniforms’ influence on aggressive behavior
unfolds) and record (use using official penalty records from NFL and
archive data) of human NHL.
behavior (individual or group).
Survey study Studies that are based on Frank and Gilovich (1988) investigated
surveys results. There is no whether general color associations apply to
manipulation of variables or uniform colors by asking participants filling
random assignment of out surveys.
conditions.
Experiment Studies that usually involve Gilovich and Frank (1988) wanted to
study manipulations of variables and investigate whether referee bias resulted in
randomization of conditions. black uniform penalties. They manipulated
uniform color (white vs. black) in the
“staged” football games and recorded
participants’ tendency to give penalties.
Meta-analysis Meta-analysis is a statistical Judge et al. (2001) utilized a meta-analysis to
technique that tries to examine the relationship between job
summarize all the information satisfaction and job performance.
available from previous
studies.
18 J. Kwia
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Josiah Kwia is a first-generation student from Liberia. He has a Bachelor of Science in manage-
ment and a Master of Business Administration from the Herber Business School at SCSU. His
experiences in health services, retail, and fast-food restaurants give him a unique perspective on
organizational behavior. At present, Josiah is employed by Sevita Health as Director of Program
Management. In his spare time, Josiah enjoys writing short stories and poetry. Throughout his
educational and professional career, Josiah hopes to serve as a source of inspiration for his siblings,
nephews, and nieces.
Part I
Micro Organizational Behavior Topics
Chapter 2
Individual Difference
Nicholas R. Lengyel and Mama N. Toure Ep Camara
Abbreviation
AC Affective Commitment
ASA Attraction-Selection-Attrition
ASVAB Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery
CC Continuance Commitment
CPI California Psychological Inventory
CSE Core Self-Evaluations
CWB Counterproductive Work Behavior
CWT Competence and Worthiness Training
EI Emotional Intelligence
ICT Information and Communication Technology
JDI Job Descriptive Index
LMX Leader-Member Exchange
LOC Locus of Control
MBTI Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
MMPI Minnesota Multiple Personality Inventory
MOS Military Occupational Specialty
NC Normative Commitment
OB Organizational Behavior
OCB Organizational Citizenship Behavior
OCEAN Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness,
Neuroticism
PE Person-Environment
PG Person-Group
PJ Person-Job
PO Person-Organization
POS Perceived Organizational Support
N. R. Lengyel (*) · M. N. Toure Ep Camara

Herberger Business School, St. Cloud State University, Saint Cloud, MN, USA
e-mail: Nicholas.lengyel@go.stcloudstate.edu; mntoureepcamara@go.stcloudstate.edu

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-31356-1_2
24 N. R. Lengyel and M. N. Toure Ep Camara
PS Person-Supervisor
PTSD Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
RFT Regulatory Fit Theory
RJP Realistic Job Previews
TCM Three Component Model
TMT Terror Management Theory
Peter Rice: Not the Right Fit

On June 6, 2022, Peter Rice, a Disney Executive, was fired from his position report-
edly due to him not fitting within the Disney corporate culture (Barnes & Koblin,
2022). The Walt Disney Corporation CEO Bob Chapek demands that the culture at
Disney is extremely “buttoned up” and straight-forward in all Disney’s actions
(Stiegrad, 2022). Disney believes there is a way to behave and treat others around
them without exception. It is expected that all employees exemplify this culture. For
many reasons, Peter Rice did not fit this corporate culture. The cultural differences
were even addressed in a 2018 YouTube interview with Peter when the purchase of
the twenty-first Century was completed by Disney. The interview creates more
questions as to why Disney fired Peter. Peter appeared as a very educated, well-
spoken, passionate executive who seemed to approach the interviewer’s questions in
a very conscientious manner. Skills anyone would think would be important
at Disney.
The firing of Peter was initially met with shock from those in the film industry.
Peter was known to be masterful at utilizing corporate politics to advance his career
while at the fox, growing quite close to fox owner Rupert Murdoch. This type of
slyness in his personality made others within the executive suite uncomfortable.
Additionally, he kept many of his movie ideas to himself, and he appeared to value
his position over that of his team. Peter was a rising star during his time at twenty-
first Century Fox, where he eventually was elevated to Chairman of General Content.
While at Fox, Peter was credited with spearheading several major blockbuster films,
such as Independence Day with Will Smith (Barnes & Koblin, 2022). Uniquely,
Peter Rice grew up in the culture at Fox, which was considerably more laissez-faire
than at Disney. It was said that Peter Rice brought far too much of Fox’s laissez-
faire corporate culture to Disney, where many considered it a losing corporate cul-
ture style, especially Bob Chapek.
How could Peter be the same person in the same position at two different com-
panies and have such wildly different results? Although Peter Rice possessed
enough Person-Job (PJ) fit, he lacked an appropriate level of Person-Organization
(PO) Fit, which resulted in this outcome. Could it be then an issue of Mr. Rice’s
personality versus capability? Additionally, how was Peter even able to survive in
an environment for 3 years that did not align with his values? How was he able to
maintain his attitude, which many said was exemplary, and performance ability that
exceeded many others if he was this misaligned within the company? In this
chapter, we will discuss concepts that answer all these questions. After reading this
2 Individual Difference 25
chapter, you will have a better idea of how to use fit when searching for employment
or when considering candidates.
2.1 Personality Traits
Personality is the foundation for how individuals experience the world, and it affects
our perception, emotions, motivations, attitude, values, and behaviors. From the
evolutionary perspective, the diversity of different personalities is essential for sur-
vival and evolution as a whole species (Buss, 1997).
Nature Versus Nurture

There is a classic debate about personality: nature versus nurture. To address our
curiosity about whether personality is inherited or influenced by the environment,
researchers used twin studies to investigate. Identical twins (share all the genes)
share more similarities in traits than fraternal twins (share half of the genes on aver-
age), which supports genetic information’s influence on the trait. There is also the
argument from the other extreme, emphasizing the importance of environments (i.e.,
nurture). For instance, behaviorism representative, Watson, claimed he could train
infants into anything (1924). Researchers nowadays accept the impacts of both bio-
logical and environmental factors and have started to shift emphasis to investigating
the factors at a deeper level and exploring the interactions of impacting factors.
Assessment
Researchers use various approaches to learn and understand your personality traits,
such as behavioral observation, interviews, projective tests (e.g., Rorschach Inkblot
Test), and personality inventory. Measuring through personality inventory is the
easiest way, and you can measure through self-report or others’ reports.
Initially, the self-report inventory was primarily used during World War I to
assess soldiers. Some examples of the inventories include the Minnesota Multiple
Personality Inventory (MMPI), the California Psychological Inventory (CPI;
Gough, 1957; Gough & Bradley, 1996), Gordon Allport’s Trait Theory of Personality,
and Raymond Cattell’s 16 Personality Factor Model. Inspired by Carl Jung’s per-
sonality theories, Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) was developed and became
highly popular. You probably heard it, did it, and reflected on yourself based on your
MBTI results. Even though widely known, MBTI is facing many challenges in the
science world, with validity, reliability, and comprehensiveness issues. In the fol-
lowing sections, we will introduce you to some academically validated personality
concepts, including the Big Five Personality, Locus of Control (LOC), and
Self-esteem.
Understanding the personality is essential for the workplace, including the
understanding of individuals, the understanding of different types of interactions
among individuals, and the understanding of how individuals fit into larger contexts.
2.1.1 Big Five Personality
The most prominent, widely validated, and broadly applicable model to describe
personality is the five-factor model. The five-factor model was developed empiri-
cally, from language analysis (i.e., descriptive-adjective approach; e.g., Allport &
Odbert, 1936; Cattell, 1943; Tupes & Christal, 1961; Norman, 1963; Goldberg,
1990) to statistical analyzing of large sample’s questionnaire response (Goldberg,
1980; McCrae & Costa, 1985; McCrae & Costa, 1987; Costa & McCrae, 1992;
McCrae et al., 1993) to genetic approach (e.g., DeYoung, et al., 2010). Other bodies
of theories were also able to converge to the same model, such as child developmen-
tal literature and organizational behavior evidence. The naming of the specific
dimensions evolved over time, and the modern five-factor model dimensions are
Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism
(OCEAN as acronyms).
Openness refers to the tendency to be interested and try new activities. It is also
interpreted as the personality aspect of intelligence as well as culture (McCrae &
Greenberg, 2014; Costa & McCrae, 1992). Conscientiousness refers to the tendency
to self-control, responsibilities, orderliness, and rule-abiding (Jackson & Roberts,
2017). It has great predicting power on varieties of life outcomes, especially work-
place outcomes. Extraversion refers to the tendency to be assertive, dominant,
sociable, and energetic (Costa & McCrae, 1992). People who score lower are con-
sidered quiet and reserved (McCrae & Costa, 1989). Agreeableness refers to the
tendency to be interpersonal. People who score lower in agreeableness can be con-
sidered self-centered and ruthless (Costa & McCrae, 1992). Neuroticism refers to
how likely an individual is to experience distress. It is the opposite of emotional
stability. Higher neuroticism scores tend to correlate with negative outcomes (e.g.,
psychiatric disorders; Zonderman et al., Stone, & Costa, 1989). Check out the very
brief measure of the Big Five Personality traits by Gosling et al. (2003) (Table 2.1).
Validity
Even though the dimensions were developed in the English language, the model has
been tested and verified on construct validity across cultures (McCrae, 2002a, b),
across age (e.g., Asendorpf & Van Aken, 2003), and across situations (e.g., academic,
workplace, clinical settings, and romance relationships). Research also demonstrated
the validity across different forms of rating. For instance, observer rating was also
validated (Mount et al., 1994) across sources. Coworker, supervisor, and customer
ratings were valid predictors of workplace outcomes and accounted for significant
variance beyond the self-ratings (Mount et al., 1994). The model is also a strong pre-
dictor for various behaviors and outcomes (details see specific dimensions below).
The model contains a comprehensive set of traits which allowed researchers to
compare the model with other personality trait models and interpret other trait mod-
els using the five-factor model. Research demonstrated meaningful links between
the five factors and various measures such as CPI (McCrae et al., 1993), Sixteen
Personality Factor Questionnaire (16 PF; Digman, 1990; McCrae & John, 1992),
MMPI (Costa et al., 1986), and MBTI (McCrae & Costa, 1989).
Table 2.1 A very brief measure of the Big Five Personality: Gosling et al. (2003)
Disagree Disagree Disagree Neither Agree A Agree Agree

Strongly Moderately A Little Agree Nor Little Moderately Strongly
Disagree
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
I see myself as:
1 _______ Extroverted, Enthusiastic
2 _______ Critical, Quarrelsome
3 _______ Dependable, Self-disciplined
4 _______ Anxious, Easily Upset
5 _______ Open To New Experiences, Complex
6 _______ Reserved, Quiet
7 _______ Sympathetic, Warm
8 _______ Disorganized, Careless
9 _______ Calm, Emtionally Stable
10 _______ Conventional, Uncreative
TIPI scale scoring ("R" denotes reverse-scored items): Extroversion: 1, 6R; Agreeableness: 2R, 7;
Conscientiousness; 3, 8R; Emotional Stability: 4R, 9; Openness to Experiences: 5, 10R.
Reliability
The internal consistency reliabilities (e.g., coefficient alpha) were tested to demon-
strate the extent of items in the same dimensions measuring the same construct. The
coefficients of stability had also been tested to measure whether the results were
consistent when you test and retest the personality model. A meta-analysis demon-
strated strong coefficients of stability (range from 0.69 to 0.76) and strong internal
consistency reliability (range from 0.73 to 0.78; Viswesvaran & Ones, 2000).
Genetic Influences
Twin studies have been used to investigate the heritability of the Big Five Personality
traits. Results from various samples supported the trait heritability (e.g., Jang et al.,
1996; Riemann et al., 1997; Yamagata et al., 2006). Meta-analysis of over 100,000
participants of both genders and all ages also indicated that genetics accounts for
about 40% of individual differences in personality (Vukasović & Bratko, 2015), and
all five traits are equally heritable. There is no significant difference in the heritabil-
ity of personality traits between males and females (Loehlin et al., 1998).
Social Media
With the advancement of big data analysis, our digital footprint from social media
has become a powerful way to predict personality. Rather than exaggerating and
self-idealizing the traits, the evidence demonstrated the robust accuracy of how
social media profiles reflect the actual personalities (Back et al., 2010; Liu et al.,
2016). Your Facebook algorithm knows you better than your spouse if they collect
300 likes information (Youyou et al., 2015). For instance, people with higher levels
of Openness to Experience have larger networks (Quercia et al., 2012). People with
higher Conscientiousness tend to post fewer pictures (Amichai-Hamburger &
Vinitzky, 2010). Individuals with higher Extraversion tend to have more activities
on social media (e.g., Blackwell et al., 2017). People with higher agreeableness are
more likely to display positive emotions in their profile (e.g., Liu et al., 2016). And
people with higher neuroticism are more likely to express negativity in their posts
(Schwartz et al., 2013).
Sex Difference
Men tend to score higher in openness and lower in neuroticism, extraversion, con-
scientiousness, and agreeableness (Schmitt et al., 2008). The most pronounced dif-
ferences between sex were found in agreeableness and neuroticism. In general, the
sex difference in personality traits is robust across different cultures, measures, and
data sources (McCrae et al., 2005). The differences were more pronounced in cul-
tures with less sex role differences (i.e., European and American cultures; Costa
et al., 2001) and when the measure is explicit compared to implicit (Vianello et al.,
2013). Sex difference in Big Five Personality is also more robust than sex differ-
ences in cognitive ability (Hyde, 2005). Some important factors related to sex dif-
ferences in personality include occupational choice. For instance, conscientiousness
and agreeableness could be very important traits to be a nurse. Females are more
likely to fit this profile and choose nurse as an occupation that fits their personality.
Some explanations of the sex difference include the differences in social roles and
adaption through evolution, where cultures define certain thinking and behavior
between sex (Maccoby, 2000) and sexual selection pressure, physical size differ-
ences, and reproduction cost shaped the psychological sex differences (Buss, 1997).
Neuroscience is also used in modern days to study personality, and results demon-
strated robust biological foundations of sex differences in personality (e.g., Dubois
et al., 2018; DeYoung et al., 2010).
Stability
In general, individuals’ personality traits in the five dimensions stay relatively stable
since early adulthood with slight changes. Several longitudinal studies tracked par-
ticipants’ personalities over the years. For instance, a 45-year longitudinal study
demonstrated trait profiles were stable over the interval (Soldz & Vaillant, 1999).
Another 40-year longitudinal study found that overall Agreeableness and
Conscientiousness increased with age (Soto & John, 2012). Extraversion didn’t
show significant change overall, but different facets showed different trends. Over
the years, gregariousness decreased, and assertiveness increased. Other studies
showed a similar pattern of stability with slight changes. For instance, neuroticism
decreases over adulthood (Cobb-Clark & Schurer, 2012; Rantanen et al., 2007).
There are a few interesting perspectives regarding stability. First, different indi-
viduals’ personalities change differently. Second, the changes across different
dimensions of personality within the same person are independent (Soto & John,
2012). Third, in general, adverse life events are not related to intra-individual
personality change. Fourth, longitudinally, personality traits have a strong predict-

ing power for future life events and economic decisions. Last, it is more meaningful
to understand the trends in specific facets (i.e., assertiveness) rather than the overall
personality traits.
Culture
Large-scale cross-cultural studies demonstrated the five-factor model is highly rep-
licable across cultures (Schmitt et al., 2007) with a few exceptions. For instance,
Chinese culture doesn’t consistently extract the openness dimension based on indig-
enous studies (Cheung et al., 2001). Asian and African cultures have less within-
culture variances (i.e., less heterogeneity of personality traits) than European and
American cultures (McCrae, 2002a, b). Geographically, neighboring countries
share more similar personality means (Allik & McCrae, 2004). At the country level,
Big Five Personality traits are also related to economic prosperity (Lynn & Martin,
1995; McCrae, 2001, 2002a, b).
Religion
Agreeableness and Conscientiousness (in the Big Five model and Eysenck’s three-
factor taxonomy) have shown a consistently positive relationship with religion (e.g.,
Taylor & MacDonald, 1999; see meta-analysis by Saroglou, 2002).
Workplace
The Big Five Personality traits have been widely studied in organizational settings
on perceptions, attitude, behavior, and distal outcomes (check out more details of
the organizational outcomes in the last section of this chapter). The following sec-
tion provides insights into how Big Five Personality traits relate to different organi-
zational outcomes.
Neuroticism was found to be associated with the perception of unfairness in the
workplace. For instance, job candidates with higher levels of Neuroticism are more
likely to perceive unfairness with the personnel selection tests (Truxillo et al., 2006).
Employees with higher levels of Neuroticism are more likely to perceive injustice
(Shi et al., 2009; O’Neill et al., 2011).
Neuroticism is associated with negative emotions, while Extraversion is associ-
ated with positive emotions; hence, employees with different levels of Neuroticism
and Extraversion are likely to experience different levels of job satisfaction (check
out meta-analysis Judge et al., 2002). Openness showed the least correlation with
job satisfaction (Judge et al., 2002). There were also studies on how supervisors’
personality traits related to subordinates’ job attitudes. Similarly, supervisors’
Openness to experience was unrelated to subordinates’ job attitudes, while
Extraversion and low Neuroticism were related to job satisfaction. Interestingly,
supervisors’ higher Conscientiousness was related to lower subordinates’ job satis-
faction and affective commitment (Smith & Canger, 2004).
Different dimensions of personality traits also show different levels of correla-
tion with a variety of actual behaviors in the organization. For instance, with the
motivation to “get along” and be cooperative, Agreeableness demonstrated the
strongest association with safety behavior (meta-analysis by Beus et al., 2015).

Being sociable and expressive, employees who exhibit a higher level of Extraversion
are more likely to provide interpersonal help at the workplace. Research studies
supported the positive relationship between Extraversion and Organizational
Citizenship Behavior (e.g., Elanain, 2007; Kumar et al., 2009). Being more intel-
lectually curious, employees with higher Openness to experience traits are more
likely to conduct innovation behavior (Yesil & Sozbilir, 2013). Researchers demon-
strated the dimension of Openness to Experience is the most salient dimension asso-
ciated with the propensity for innovation (Patterson et al., 2009).
As the outcome, different dimensions are associated with different distal organi-
zational outcomes. For instance, individuals with higher Openness to Experience
are more likely to be in the entrepreneurial status, where they can keep exploring
novel ideas and using creativity (Zhao & Seibert, 2006). Interestingly, Openness to
Experience is negatively associated with long-term venture survival; instead,
Conscientiousness is the key to long-term venture survival for entrepreneurs
(Ciavarella et al., 2004). Conscientiousness is the most salient dimension associated
with performance, and the performance is not only limited to academic performance
and organizational performance. The meta-analysis studies demonstrated robust
correlation across various occupations, performance criteria, and cultures (Barrick
& Mount, 1991; Salgado, 1997; Dudley et al., 2006). Over-decades longitudinal
studies also provided evidence of how early adulthood Conscientiousness predicts
important work and life outcomes, both for men (Soldz & Vaillant, 1999) and
women (George et al., 2011).
2.1.2 Other Traits
2.1.2.1 Locus of Control
Locus of control (LOC) can be described as how an individual attributes the out-
come of an event, be it within the individual or external factors. This sense of con-
trol plays a considerable part in forming an individual’s confidence to deal with
adverse events. A person with a high LOC can ascribe the cause of protection from
the negative circumstance to the internal self (Miller, 1979).
Social learning theory advanced by Rotter in 1954 gave birth to the concept of
Locus of Control. Individuals that possess a high internal LOC believe that they
have the ultimate control over the events in their life. These individuals are predis-
posed to perceive outcomes as the result of their own creation. In comparison, indi-
viduals who possess a high external LOC believe that destiny, luck, or powerful
others are the main origin that controls the outcomes of events in their life
(Rotter, 1966).
Sub-dimensions of LOC
Rotter (1966) considered LOC as a unidimensional continuum where an individu-
al’s increase in internal alignment is simultaneously followed by a decrease in the
individual’s external alignment. However, other researchers advocated LOC as a
multidimensional construct (e.g., Ashkanasy, 1985; Montag & Comrey, 1987). The
internal and external orientations are not on one continuum. Instead, they are on
different dimensions. This means individuals will have a level of internal LOC and
a level of external LOC separately. They can have both relatively high internal and
external tendencies, which are independent of each other. Researchers later extend
the external dimension regarding chance and powerful others (Levenson, 1973).
More recent studies discussed relational attributions beyond internal and external
attributions, arguing the importance of interpersonal interactions in organizations
from relational perspectives (Eberly et al., 2011).
LOC Impact
Research studies have proven the beneficial effects an internal control provides and
the detrimental effects of an external control on various outcomes, attitude, behav-
ior, performance, and even health outcomes such as depression (Gray-Stanley et al.,
2010), job strains (Spector, 1986), and psychological disorders (Cohen & Edwards,
1989). For example, it has been found that a person with a high internal LOC would
use this to make more ethical decisions at work versus someone who has a high
external LOC.
2.1.2.2 Self-Esteem
Self-esteem is an individual’s overall positive evaluation of the self (Gecas 1982;

Rosenberg, 1965; Rosenberg et al., 1995). Self-esteem is made up of two distinct
components: competence and worth. The competence component, self-esteem
based on efficacy, refers to the extent that an individual views themselves as capable
and efficacious. The worth dimension, self-esteem based on worth, refers to the
amount that an individual believes that they are a person who is valuable (Gecas
1982; Gecas & Schwalbe 1983).
Stability of Self-Esteem
Longitudinal studies have shown that self-esteem is a stable trait, but by no means
is it a sacrosanct trait. Individuals with relatively high (or low) self-esteem at one
stage of life are likely to have relatively high (or low) self-esteem decades later.
Self-esteem increases during adolescence and wanes in an individual’s old age
(Orth & Robbins, 2014).
Impact of Self-Esteem
High levels of self-esteem will reduce anxiety, anxiety-related defensive behavior,
reminders of one’s mortality, and the effect of reminders of mortality on both self-
esteem striving and death-related thoughts as described by terror management
theory (TMT), which theorizes that self-esteem is used to control the terror of death
(Pyszczynski et al., 2004).
Self-esteem is also a predictor of an individual’s ability to find success in life.
Studies demonstrate the relationship between self-esteem and multiple outcomes
related to success, including marriage, social-networking, physical health, mental
help, job satisfaction, and job performance (Orth & Robbins, 2014).
Positive Therapy
Competence and worthiness training (CWT) is a psychoeducational program that
has been shown to enhance self-esteem and is considered a form of positive therapy.
CWT focuses on expanding experiences and increasing behaviors that promote a
healthy an authentic sense of self-esteem over what is referred to as the “dark side”
of self-esteem. The dark side of self-esteem is where an individual has a high sense
of worth without any evidence to support that heightened sense, such as a narcissist,
or when an individual must rely on external factors to validate their self-esteem
instead of validating themselves internally. CWT can eliminate many of the factors
associated with the dark side by focusing on the well-being and strengths of the
individual versus concentrating solely on the individual’s weaknesses or problems
(Zeigler-Hill, 2013).
2.2 Intelligence
Intelligence has the greatest effect on the work life of an individual. It will deter-
mine the individual ability to perform their job functions and task. It has a greater
impact on job satisfaction than any of the other individual difference traits (Farr &
Tippins, 2013). In most cases, organizational success depends on the EI amount the
leadership and employees possess. Organizations that hire individuals who are high
on the EI spectrum will experience significantly higher loyalty, far better sales, less
stressed employees, and lower turnover. EI is highly associated with the Big Five
Personality measures. EI should not be the only measure that is used for employee
selection, but combining EI measurements with personality measurements could be
great tool in helping select employees (Ljungholm, 2014).
2.2.1 Cognitive Abilities
In an employment setting, cognitive ability is defined as an individual’s ability to

learn and perform in educational and organizational settings (Farr & Tippins, 2013).
Individuals with a greater cognitive ability are more adapt at learning and perform-
ing complex job functions, whereas those with low cognitive ability are more likely
to be better at less complex job functions (Higgins et al., 2007). Cognitive ability is
closely associated with emotional intelligence, which will be discussed later on in

this section (Treglow & Furnham, 2020).
Strong Predicting Power

The cognitive ability test offers the strongest predicting power for an individual’s
overall performance and job knowledge within an organization. Cognitive ability
tests were first utilized during World War I for job placement for different groups
within the US and European militaries (Farr & Tippins, 2013). Today the US Armed
Services uses the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test as a
measurement of cognitive abilities when placing new troops into their Military
Occupational Specialty (MOS). These measures are relevant no matter the occupa-
tion that an individual holds (Farr & Tippins, 2013).
Adverse Impact
Although cognitive ability tests are a remarkable predictor of knowledge and ability,
they do pose adverse effects on certain groups. In the United States, particularly,
marginalized groups have been the most impacted. Primarily Black, Hispanic, and
elderly Americans experience the most adverse impact in relation to cognitive abil-
ity studies for employment. Many of the cognitive ability measures run the risk of
having a heterogeneous bias within them, allowing one group to score significantly
higher in relation to another group simply due to the content being examined. This
is especially true if an organization uses only one cognitive ability test on possible
candidates. Using tests such as these can ultimately run afoul of federal and state
laws protecting classes of citizens from discrimination, even if the intention is not
to discriminate (Farr & Tippins, 2013).
2.2.2 Emotional Intelligence
Goleman’s (1995) book on how emotional intelligence matters more than intelli-
gence quotient (IQ) brought attention to this concept of “emotional intelligence” in
popular media and academia. So, what is this concept? vand EI can be used to deter-
mine the probability of an individual’s success, but IQ only gauges one’s ability to
learn through standardized tests and cannot be trained like EI. EI is not just the
ability to learn new information but more the person’s ability to perceive, such as
understanding what others are indicating with their body language. Additionally, EI
can be trained and enhanced within an individual.
Definition
Emotional intelligence (EI) is best defined as “the ability to monitor one’s own and
others’ emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use the information to guide
one’s thinking and actions” (Salovey & Mayer, 1990, p.189). On top of the “ability
model” of EI, which focuses on an individual’s capacity to process emotional infor-
mation and apply it to social situations, there has been the approach to study EI as a
“trait,” which incorporates an individual’s behavioral tendencies and self-perceived

talents. There is the “mixed model” as well, which is the combination of both indi-
vidual abilities and traits. EI is essential when hiring, training, leading, and team
building within any organization (Petrides & Kokkinaki, 2007; Petrides et al., 2016).
EI and Organizational Studies

EI has been studied in organizational settings to test the correlations with various
work-related outcomes, such as attitude and leadership. The higher EI an individual
has, the better they will perform, remain committed, and be satisfied in their current
employment. For instance, as customer service representatives, their EI is related
with the demand for customer interaction. A meta-analysis demonstrated that EI has
stronger predicting power on job attitude on top of cognitive ability and personality
(Miao et al., 2017).
EI is also a central concept within organizational leadership. Leadership roles
require the ability to compel others to do what they need to do. Leaders who lack EI
are generally unsuccessful and bring acrimony, hostility, and apathy into the organi-
zation (Goleman, 2020). Most leaders who are rated as extremely effective by their
subordinates are also found to have a significant number of aspects related to high
EI when researched (Weinberger, 2009).
Can EI Be Trained?
Emphasizing the “ability” perspective of EI, trainings and interventions were devel-
oped to improve EI. The meta-analysis demonstrated the importance and effective-
ness of EQ intervention on multiple work-related outcomes such as management
skills and work satisfaction performance. Another area the EI training has an impact
on is social relationships; the better trained a leader is in EI, the higher their ability
to form and maintain professional social relationships will become, adding to the
well-being of those employed by that leader’s organization. EI training research has
shown that training is an effect method to improve the durability of EI within the
organization (Hodzic et al., 2018; Mattingly & Kraiger, 2019).
2.3 Values
As a student, you will hear much throughout your time in academia about values
from professors and fellow students alike. But what exactly are values? And how are
they used by individuals to make sound choices? Values are the beliefs about what
is important to an individual and serve as a motivational base for our attitudes and
behavior (Schwartz, 1992, 2012). They are another psychological tool given to us to
help us navigate the various situations we will encounter during our lifetime.
Fig. 2.1 Schwartz’s basic

human value and
higher-order continuum.
(Source. Adapted with
permission from Schwartz,
1992)
2.3.1 The Basic Human Values
According to Schwartz (1992), there are ten universal basic human values that can
be found throughout every society in the world (check out the table for the ten val-
ues and their examples). They are the cornerstones for why people make the deci-
sions that they do. Schwartz’s measuring system is the most widely used method to
validate the theory of values (Cieciuch and Schwartz, 2012).
Subsequently, it has been discovered that these ten values can be rearranged and
grouped together in relation to each other to create the four higher-order values that
represent motivational conflicts and compatibilities: Conservation versus openness
to change and self-transcendence versus self-enhancement. These arrangements are
the ideal fit between the data and theories that have been developed over the past
several decades (Schwartz, 1992). Conservation values are the values that motivate
to maintain order and safety, which is the opposite to change, while self-
transcendence values are the values that promote concern for others’ welfare, which
is the opposite of motivate to promote self-interest (Schwartz, 2012) (Fig. 2.1;
Table 2.2).
Table 2.2 Schwartz’s model of values and examples (Schwartz, 1992)

Value Definition OB example
Conformity The restraint of actions, inclinations, In eastern cultures, such as Japan,
and impulses that are likely to upset orwhere the employees will not upset the
harm others while violating social balance in favor of harmony within the
expectations and norms organization
Tradition An individual’s respect, commitment, Making decisions based on your
and acceptance of their own culture religion and what your religion would
and/or religion approve of versus what the organization
would want you to decide
Security The safety, harmony, and stability of an Choosing to stay with an organization
individual’s relationship with society, versus leaving for another because of
others, and oneself the stability it provides
Universalism Caring not just for those close to an When making decisions for an
individual but for the welfare of all organization that take into account the
people and nature impact on the environment
Benevolence Caring for the welfare of those close to Caring for a terminally ill loved one
an individual versus accepting a promotion that
would limit the ability to take care of
them in their final moments
Stimulation Engaging in what we call life Choosing a profession that aligns with
your values that allows you to live the
life you want to live
Self- Independent thoughts and actions The ability to act within an organization
direction without having to be told that the action
is needed
Hedonism Pleasure or gratifying the senses Doing something you find enjoyable
Achievement Personal success within the society or Working hard to obtain the next desired
culture promotion within an organization
Power An individual’s social status, control, Acting as the leader within an
and ability to dominate over others and organization that has ultimate control
resources over the entire direction of the
organization, i.e., a CEO
2.3.2 Cultural Differences
When an individual is developing their value priorities, what role does culture play
in influencing the development of these priorities? Different cultures place more
importance on certain values over others (Schwartz, 1992). The Western world
greatly values hedonism, which is the value of self-gratification and pleasure. In the
West, individualism and “making it big” as a person are constant themes that are
culturally reinforced within the prevalent societies, such as the USA, the UK,
France, and Germany. In Eastern cultures, a stark contrast to the West, more weight
and importance is given to the value of conformity. Conformity is the restraint of
actions, inclinations, and impulses that are likely to upset or harm others while vio-
lating social expectations and norms. This is very visible in countries such as China,
South Korea, and Japan. There is a need and desire to conform to the harmony of the
group. Although the East and the West have the same values, everything changes
when the person selects their value priorities (Mayton et al. 1994).
2.3.3 Value Stability
Typically, values are stable (Schuster et al., 2019). Researchers have found that
traditionally expected life events, such as attending a university or changing one’s
career, do not have a significant impact on an individual’s values. What does have a
major impact on an individual’s value system is notably migration from one’s home
and major threats to an individual and/or community (Bardi et al., 2014). For
instance, the financial crisis of 2008 (Sortheix et al., 2019), 9/11 (Verkasalo et al.,
2006), and the global COVID-19 pandemic (Daniel et al., 2022). During these
events, the increased possibility of mortality leads to an increase in defending one’s
own culture and a decrease in the universalities that are normally seen across the
global spectrum of values (Daniel et al., 2022).
In the Value project by Daniel and colleagues, they used a natural experiment and
tracked the change of value over the duration of over three and a half years using
over 2000 Australian adult volunteers. The immediate results indicated that follow-
ing the global pandemic, an individual’s value on conservation increased, while
their value priority on openness to change decreased. Previous studies into other
infectious diseases have provided similar results (Helzer and Pizarro, 2011).
A key discovery in the research into values shows that values do not die, go
extinct, or decay. They ascend and descend in their importance to an individual
throughout their lifetime depending on the situation and what the individual values
as the most important at that time. For example, people do not prefer hedonism to
conformity, they merely elevate different behaviors, such as loyalty or ambition,
when they are making their behavior choice selection that draws out the different
values they are exhibiting (Mayton et al., 1994).
2.3.4 Value’s Impact
An individual’s value priority system affects their attitudes, decisions, and behav-
iors in various settings.
Attitudes
Values are utilized to maintain a person’s attitude and, whenever necessary, to boost
an individual’s attitude. For instance, personal values impact an individual’s attitude
toward civil rights, religion, political affairs, and the choices they will make sur-
rounding these activities (Mayton et al., 1994). Values allow individual to rational-
ize their independent behaviors and attitudes. For instance, a voter would rely on a
traditional value when the select a candidate to vote for, thus allowing for their
values to guide their independent political behavior.
Decision Making
Values also impact an individual’s decision-making choices, with one of the most
important aspects being ethical decision making. Taking universalism as an exam-
ple, it is a core value for people to adopt utilitarian philosophies on ethical deci-
sions, to emphasize more on the common good (Payne et al., 2016). Wanting to be
ethical is not the sole basis for an individual choosing to make an ethical decision.
This is because the same behavior can be attributed to a myriad of different choices.
Moreover, it should be seen that most use the basis of being ethical as the justifica-
tion for their decision (Payne et al., 2016). This distinction is an important one; it
helps guide the individual through all of the alternative decisions they may face and
allows them to analyze the “right and wrong” decisions they could make, ultimately
ensuring that they will determine the right way to behave (Payne et al., 2016).
Behavior
Personal values also have an influence on individual behaviors, such as whether you
would cheat in the classroom, your choice of college major, attend church, partici-
pate in political activities (Mayton et al., 1994), and lead a team in the organization
(Lord & Brown, 2001). An example of this would be a student selecting a college
that has a religious affiliation if they were to have a high level of a traditional value.
2.4 Person-Environment Fit
Understanding how an individual’s values affect their behavior and the nature of
today’s highly competitive employment market, organizations are constantly
searching for that edge to secure the right candidate, with the hope that the candi-
date remains with the organization in the long term. High turnover rates have cost
many organizations an excessive amount of money in training and hiring employees
that ultimately terminate their employment within a brief period. To stave off high
turnover rates, many organizations have begun to utilize the theories of Person-
Environment fit in their hiring practices and maintain desired employees. Person-
Environment Fit (PE) is defined as “the compatibility between an individual and a
work environment that occurs when their characteristics are well matched” (Kristof-
Brown et al., 2005). The field of PE fit has been extensively studied and imple-
mented by management for the past 100 years, making it one of the most respected
and recognized fields of psychological research (Dawis, 1992; Kristof-Brown
et al., 2005).
All person-environment fit theories are built upon three basic principles. First, fit
theories contend fit is a better predictor of outcomes than the two components by
themselves, the person and the environment. Second, fit theories propose that out-
comes are at their best when the personal and environmental attributes are compat-
ible, regardless of the level of compatibility. Third, fit theories state that any
discrepancy between personal and environmental attributes reduces the ability of a
positive outcome, regardless of what side the discrepancy happens, the person or the
environment (Van Vianen, 2018).
Along with being broadly researched, several subtypes of PE fit can be researched
to provide an in-depth analysis that provides more specific data on individual-level
relationships. These subtypes are used to predict outcomes of both prehire and
posthire behaviors. This data can also be used to predict the attraction, intent to hire,
performance, and longevity (Kristof-Brown et al., 2005). Four of the most crucial
subtypes are Person-Job Fit (PJ), Person-Organization Fit (PO), Person-Group Fit
(PG), and Person-Supervisor Fit (PS) (Kristof-Brown et al., 2005).
Although all of the PE subtypes are undoubtedly important, this section focuses
primarily on PO and PJ Fit.
2.4.1 Person-Organization Fit
Definition
Person-Organization Fit can mean different things to different people. There is not
a single steadfast definition that conveniently explains away the complexity that is
found in researching PO fit (Barrick & Parks-Leduc, 2019). One succinct attempt
establishes a definition that informs us PO fit addresses the “compatibility between
people and entire organizations” (Kristof-Brown et al., 2005). It theorizes that “indi-
viduals will be most successful in organizations that share their personalities”
(Kristof-Brown et al., 2005).
Measurement
Measuring something as complex as PO fit poses quite a methodological challenge
for researchers. The use of surveys combined with powerful data analytics has
proven to be the most reliable method of measuring PO fit and its effects (Barrick &
Parks-Leduc, 2019). But these still have shortcomings. Much of the measuring hap-
pens at a location of the employer’s choosing, such as an onsite training facility,
online at the beginning of the application process, and even face-to-face with the
potential employer. Adding to the already compounded issue is that the candidate
could cheat the assessment to amplify their chances of being interviewed or hired.
Application in Hiring
Current research has proven that PO fit has an incredibly strong relationship with
job satisfaction and organizational commitment. The majority of the other work
measures have only a moderate fit with PO fit (Kristof- Brown et al., 2005).
According to the attraction-selection-attrition (ASA) model, people are likely to
remain in organizations comprised of people who are similar to them in values,
culture, personality, and interests. People are found to be more motivated to work
when the reward fulfills jointly held desires and preferences (Barrick & Parks-
Leduc, 2019). This model matches almost all selection-oriented PE fit theories and
is firmly planted in the idea that people are selected by, attracted to, and most likely
to remain in an environment comprised of similar people. It is believed that this

occurs because individuals are generally more motivated working in an environ-
ment where preferences and desires are jointly held by all parties (Barrick & Parks-
Leduc, 2019).
Many organizations have incorporated PO fit into their hiring strategy. PO fit has
been a consistent forecaster of contextual performance, contributing to the social
and psychological well-being of the company. The intended goal of an employer
using the PO fit theory is to provide the ability to find employees who will fit within
the organization. Proper PO fit placements provide the potential to also give the
company a competitive advantage, with loyal employees going above and beyond
their normal job functions to benefit their employer (Kristof-Brown et al., 2005).
Employees with a high PO fit are less likely to leave the organization. Employees
with a low PO fit may be hired, but they will eventually leave the organization
(Kristof-Brown et al., 2005).
Application of PO fit is equally as challenging as it is to measure. Most inter-
views happen between strangers who are attempting to make valid assessments of
PO fit. The recruiter is attempting to recruit, so they will sell the company, and the
individual is attempting to be recruited, so they will sell themselves (Barrick &
Parks-Leduc, 2019). A drawback to this style of application is a “similar to me” bias
seen in talent recruiters. Recruiters can be heavily influenced by perceptions of PO
fit during the selection cycle. In general, these perceptions by the recruiters are not
well connected to reality. This is caused by the limited information the recruiter has
about the candidate. Most recruiters use information obtained from a short inter-
view with the candidate or organization-controlled recruiting materials (Kristof-
Brown et al., 2005). Therefore, it causes hires to be more like the recruiter than the
organization itself. A method to resolve “similar to me” selections is to perform
assessments on the candidates.
Application in Training
Realistic job previews (RJPs) are a common method utilized by organizations to
attract the right candidate. This offers the individual the ability to experience what
they would expect working for an organization. For an RJP to be successful in illus-
trating to a potential candidate, it should use an employee perspective, employee
testimonials, and allow the candidate to see the positive and negative aspects of the
organization using experience-based information. The organization should not hide
the truth about burnout, turnover, and longevity. They must be honest with the can-
didate about all the data presented (Tran et al., 2020). RJPs help lower overbloated
expectations regarding the work and culture of the organization, increase job perfor-
mance, and have been found to have some degree of increased job survivability
(Premack & Wanous, 1985).
There are several new questions regarding the application of PO fit in job selec-
tion post the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to advances in modern technology,
many people are able to work from home instead of heading to the office. The
“Great Resignation” period has seen many individuals choose to leave their place of
employment for greener pastures elsewhere if the organizations do not change their
corporate climate (Gittleman, 2022). There is a dramatic increase in the demand for
more flexible schedules, better benefits, and more respect toward the balance
between ones work and family life. The argument here is that potential candidates
have seen the ability to improve their work-life balance and now expect employers
to respect that or they will find it elsewhere, thus starving the employer from quality
individuals. Considering all the rapid changes that have been seen in society, is PO
fit more or less crucial in job selection as it was prior to the COVID-19 pandemic?
2.4.2 Person-Job Fit
Definition
“The people make the place” (Kristof-Brown et al., 2005). Person-Job fit (PJ fit) can
be best described as the “relationship of a person’s characteristics and those of the
job or task that are performed at work” (Kristof-Brown et al., 2005). PJ fit can be
interpreted in two ways. The first is the demands-abilities fit. This is the employee’s
knowledge, skills, and abilities. The second describes when the employee’s needs,
desires, and preferences for the job are met (Kristof-Brown et al., 2005). This is
known as the needs-supplies, or supplies-values fit, influencing theories on well-
being and satisfaction in the workplace (Kristof-Brown et al., 2005). PJ fit has
strong correlations with job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and intent to
quit (Kristof-Brown et al., 2005).
Measurement
Measuring for PJ fits, such as overqualification, has most commonly been done via
self-reporting. The data captured explores how the employee themselves feel about
their abilities. A second way to measure is the use of survey assessments of the
employee qualifications and the qualifications of the job, with the mismatches being
the over−/underqualifications of the potential employee. Most mismatches are gen-
erally an issue of the candidate being either over- or undereducated for the require-
ments of the job description. One well-known study for finding overqualification is
the O*NET assessment that compares 35 different skills to establish the candidates
level of PJ fit within the organization (Erdogan & Bauer, 2021). These assessments
are commonly performed during the application process. If you have ever applied
for a position via LinkedIn or Indeed, you have most likely completed one of these
assessments. A downside to these is the ability of a candidate to cheat in order to
make themselves appear to be a better fit for the job than they truly are. Similar to
what is seen in Person-Organization fit assessments.
Regulatory Fit Theory

Regulatory fit theory (RFT) is another way of understanding PJ fit. Regulatory fit is
when there is a match between the goal being pursued and the individual’s personal
style of goal pursuit. Regulatory fit expands upon the idea that people want to mini-
mize pain and maximize pleasure. It is not saying that setup is wrong, more that
people are all different and find pleasure and pain in a myriad of different ways.
What is a painful task to one is a pleasurable task to another. Take, for example, a
study conducted by Higgins et al. (2007) where participants wither a fun activity (a
game) or an important activity (financial task) in whether an enjoyable or serious
circumstance. When the subjects were given the opportunity to redo the experiment,
they overwhelmingly wanted to reperform it in the circumstances that gave it regu-
latory fit, game/enjoyable, financial activity/serious, and showed no desire to per-
form it in the nonfit circumstances, game/serious, financial task/enjoyable (Higgins
& Pinelli, 2020). When the regulatory fit is strong, the experience intensifies, and
the employee feels that they are doing the right thing. When there is a weak regula-
tory fit, the experience diminishes, and the employee will feel “wrong” about what
they are doing within the organization (Higgins & Pinelli 2020).
Organizations can rely on RFT when selecting candidates. RFT has made a clear
distinction between individual’s self-regulation and those that are promotion-
focused and prevention-focused. Originally it was believed that individuals simply
want to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. Further research showed that this
idea overlooked many key ways that an individual’s tolerance to reward and risk
varied from other individuals, and not everyone is the same. Promotion-focused
individuals have a heightened sensitivity to the presence or lack of positive out-
comes, gains, and nongains. Promotion-focused individuals are concerned with
growth and aspirations and intend on moving the status quo to obtain a better state.
Whereas prevention focused are more concerned with responsibilities and security
and has a heightened sense for negative outcomes, losses, and nonlosses (Higgins &
Pinelli, 2020).
Overqualification
One unique phenomenon in PJ fit is that of being overqualified for the job and how
that can impact the person-job fit as a candidate. Many people can recall times in
their life when they have heard similar phrases that resemble “they passed on me
because I was overqualified. How could I be rejected for being too qualified?” The
answer to that question is simple. The potential employer fears that if they hire a
candidate that exceeds the qualifications that are required for the job description,
they will leave as soon as a better position becomes available. The logic being who
would want to work in a position that is considered less than compared to their abili-
ties. The employer would believe that it is most like a poor Person-Job fit.
Lastly, the overqualification of a candidate is generally seen as an undesirable
situation and will most likely serve as a barrier to employment. Overqualification is
where a candidate’s qualifications, such as education and experience, exceed the
needs of the organization. Much of the problem with an organization hiring an over-
qualified individual lies in turnover and the intent to leave. Research has shown that
many overqualified employees exhibit behaviors that indicate the intent to leave an
organization once a better opportunity is perceived by the employee. This can cause
an organization to spend an excessive amount of money and resources on an
employee that does to have an expected useful longevity, therefore potential employ-
ers tend to turn down overqualified candidates (Erdogan & Bauer, 2021).
PO Fit Versus PJ Fit

Another example of PJ fit is when a potential employee may have the perfect fit
within the organization but not quite the fit for the job. In this scenario, most employ-
ees will learn the required skills to remain in the position due to their loyalty to the
organization as a whole. Such as a Project Manager in the construction industry
leaving the entire industry that individuals worked in for the semiconductor world,
even though all of their experience in the job was in construction only. The PJ fit
level was quite low, and the PO fit was very high. Because of this, the individual
knew that the learning curve would be severely steep but was more than willing to
learn what it would take for them to improve their PJ fit because of how the organi-
zation treated them as an employee. But, because organizations must hire based on
job-relevant abilities, PJ is the most used theory within PE when hiring potential
candidates. With this, it can be surmised that employees with a high PJ fit can have
a low PO fit and will still be hired anyhow. This implies that individuals within the
organization should all have a high PJ fit. Employees that exhibit low PJ fit may try
to increase their PJ through training, internal job change, or even demotion. If the
employee has low PJ fit and low PO fit, they will most likely not remain with the
organization in the long term (Kristof-Brown et al., 2005).
Research has shown that it is more important to assess the individual’s ability to
fit within the work environment instead of the organization’s ability to fit with the
candidate when going through the selection process. This is a better predictor of PO
fit success (Kristof-Brown et al., 2005). Additionally, there is no one size fits all
assessment. Assessments can vary wildly between institutions and even internally
within the same institution (Kristof-Brown et al., 2005). The most accepted way to
measure PO fit is to use a values-based instrument (Kristof-Brown et al., 2005).
Ensuring that employees have a proper PJ fit within the company is especially
important. An organization that relies heavily on sales employees would not benefit
from a very shy but detail-oriented employee. Vis a vis, a company that requires a
quiet and individualized work would not be beneficial to an employee that needs to
work in a team and thrives in a position the requires extroversion. Neither employee
would be successful in those situations, and this would cause more turnover within
the organization. PJ fit ensures that the right employee is being hired for the right
position within the organization, leading to higher job satisfaction and lower turn-
over rates.
2.4.3 Other Fit Types
Person-Team (PT)
Person-Group fit establishes how a person will fit into a team or group within an
organization regarding demographics, values, goals, personality, and skills. Many
studies have been conducted to evaluate both the effects on both the individual and
the team. Deep-level analysis depends more on the individual, whereas surface-
level analysis focuses more on the fit within the team (Van Vianen, 2018).
Person-team fit is found to be moderately related to satisfaction, job attitudes, and

organizational citizenship behaviors; it creates slightly weaker relation in task com-
pletion (Kristof-Brown et al., 2005).
Person-Supervisor (PS)
This best refers to the fit between the employee characteristics with that of the
supervisor. Supervisors play an important part of the organization. The supervisor
communicates the company values to the employee and creates the daily tasks they
will engage in (Van Vianen, 2018). The similarity attraction hypothesis would
advise that similarity with the supervisor leads to feelings of inclusivity, trust, and
creates a high leader-member exchange (LMX) (Van Vianen et al., 2011). You will
learn more about the leader-member exchange and how it is utilized in Chap. 7. PS
fit is distinct from PO fit as it looks to understand the fit on an individual level
between the employee and supervisor and not an organizational level (Van Vianen,
2018). PS fit is less attached to overall organizational commitment, but strongly
related to job satisfaction (Kristof-Brown et al., 2005).
Person-Vocation (PV)
The broadest level of research conducted on PE is Person-Vocational fit. It is defined
as “matching individuals to various levels of their work environments” (Judge &
Ferris, 1992: Kristof, 1996: Kristof-Brown et al., 2005). For example, institutions
such Department of Labor and the Veterans Administration use individual-level
assessments to ascertain an individual’s interest in certain occupations in an effort
to aid them while they pursue an appropriate career post their military service. They
are commonly called vocational assessments.
Measuring for PV fit has proven to be plagued with errors. It is difficult to mea-
sure and quantify something such as PV fit. Eventually, after a 15-year longitudinal
study, it was discovered that person-vocation fit, and job satisfaction are unrelated
(Van Vianen, 2018). While this may be true, it does not reduce the value that PV fit
presents. People do take this into consideration while looking for employment. For
example, a person interested in outdoor activities would most likely express an
interest in working in fields that give them similar exposure.
Overall, there is a great deal of need for an organization to select the appropriate
candidate for the positions they are seeking, and for the prospective employee to
select the appropriate organization. There is also a need to maintain the organiza-
tion’s current talent pool and not lose these employees. By utilizing the various
measurement styles, such as the ASA and RFT methods of candidate selection and
understanding how the many different styles of PE fit interact, an organization can
successfully attract the right candidate and maintain their employment for the
long term.
2.5 Individual Outcomes in Organizational Context
Every person is unique, and how they approach their work will be just as unique as
they are. Whether it is the perception, attitude they have while at work, or their
behavior that affects their performance within the organization. In this section, per-
ception, attitudes, well-being and stress, and performance in the workplace will be
discussed.
2.5.1 Perception
It has been found 50% of people have the perception that they and their coworkers
are being overworked (Harris Interactive, 2022). Perception is how an individual
interprets a situation that has occurred to them, whether that be at work or in their
personal life. In this section, we will introduce two important perceptions: perceived
justice and perceived organizational support.
2.5.1.1 Perceived Justice
Perceived justice has long been recognized as an ideal that is a basic requirement for
the internal effectiveness of any organization by social sciences (Greenberg, 1990).
Perceived justice refers to the subjective perceptions of the fairness of allocations,
such as promotions, pay raises, and training opportunities (Gelens et al., 2013).
There are different ways that perceived justice is evaluated within an organization:
distributive justice, procedural justice, interpersonal justice, and informational
justice.
In earlier years of the study of justice in the workplace, distributive justice, the
fairness of outcomes, was the focus of research. Distributive justice deals with the
process in which allocations of resources are decided (Gelens et al., 2013). It was
shown that individuals react to outcomes by comparing their own ratio of outcomes
and inputs against others. If the ratios matched, the outcomes were then seen as fair.
If they did not match, then the outcomes were perceived as not fair or just (Colquitt,
2012). Studies conducted in the 1960s found that when individuals felt they were
underpaid compared to others in the same job, they would decrease their perfor-
mance, and when they believed they were being overpaid for the same job, they
would then increase their performance to balance the output/input scale and attempt
to become fair and balanced, thus obtaining distributive justice within the organiza-
tion (Colquitt, 2012).
Procedural justice is centered around the information that is provided about the
process (Colquitt, 2012). There are six rules that an organization must follow for a
decision to be perceived as procedurally just. They must be consistent over time and
people, never be influenced by self-interest, grounded in correct information, change

when found to be unfair, represent the interests of all parties, and take moral and
ethical values into consideration (Leventhal, 1980). If these six rules are not fol-
lowed, the outcomes will be perceived as unjust. Additionally, when organizations
allow for the employee to have a voice in the process, giving them the sense that
they themselves can influence what is happening, even if the decision is one that has
a negative outcome, the employees will have a higher sense of perceived procedural
justice (Colquitt, 2012).
Interpersonal justice regards the relational treatment an individual receives
through the decision process. This is a perception that is created when the employee
feels that they have been treated with dignity, politeness, and respect by those above
them within the organization. This belief can be garnered even when the outcome is
not always positive one for the employee (Gelens et al., 2013).
Informational justice refers to how the information about the process was pro-
vided to the individual. To obtain the perception of informational justice, the indi-
vidual would need to receive the information in an open and honest manner. This
type of justice can be hard for an individual to perceive in an organization that does
not inform its employees of certain affairs, such as talent management (Gelens
et al., 2013).
Overall, these perceptions of justice will impact attitudes and behaviors.
Understanding this, how can we design the system to improve, including how they
perceive the support from their organization? One of the first steps would be to build
a process that allows employees to understand the process of talent management.
This would result in a higher perception of justice as the employees would perceive
the practice as fair because they know and understand it. Another step would be to
have straightforward human resource practices. This would involve clear proce-
dures for resource allocation, treating the employees with respect, and being clear
about expectations for the roles the employees have within the organization (Gelens
et al., 2013).
2.5.1.2 Perceived Organizational Support
Perceived organizational support (POS) is a valuable asset for any organization.

This is the individual’s belief that the organization cares about them and their well-
being (Eisenberger et al., 1986). There has been a multitude of studies that have
shown the higher an individual’s POS is within an organization, the more effective
they will be in their job and willing to deal with stressful situations. The less POS
the individual has, the less they will be able or willing to handle stressful situations
at the organization (Rhoades & Eisenberger, 2002).
There are three main antecedents that affect POS. Those are fairness, supervisor
support, and organizational Rewards/job conditions. As described by Rhoades and
Eisenberger, fairness involves the distribution of resources among employees, ade-
quate notices before decisions are made, and a voice for the individual employees in
the process. The fairer the process is seen to be, the higher the POS should go.
Supervisor support regards how the supervisor shows the value they have in the
employee, whether they allow the employee to participate in evaluations, explain
why certain events took place, and overall establish a sense of concern for the
employees’ well-being. The last antecedent suggests that showing recognition and
rewarding the employee for their contributions to the organization in ways, such as
promotions, job security, autonomy, and training, will result in a higher POS for the
individual (Rhoades & Eisenberger, 2002).
There are several consequences of POS that can greatly affect an organization.
Individuals with high POS will exhibit a greater commitment to the organization.
This is a reciprocity effect; if the organization proves to the individual that they are
committed to them, then the individual will, in return, become committed to the
organization and its well-being. Additionally, an individual with a high POS will
increase their performance for the organization and potentially go above and beyond
what is expected of them. Another succinct consequence of POS in an organization
is the effect on strains. An organization where employees have a high POS can
expect to see a reduction of adverse psychological and physical effects on their
employees. This can all lead to a high desire to remain within the organization.
Lastly, organizations that have low POS can expect the inverse, low commitment,
low performance, higher psychological effects, and a desire to leave the organiza-
tion instead of remaining (Rhoades & Eisenberger, 2002).
2.5.2 Job Attitude
Individuals will spend approximately 81,396 hours of their life working (Gallup,
2022), but many individuals simply do not enjoy working.
Job Attitude Definition

Attitude is defined as “a psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a
particular entity with some degree of favor or disfavor” (Eagly & Chaiken, 1998).
Job attitude evaluations of one’s job express one’s feelings toward (affect), beliefs
about (cognition), and attachment to one’s job (Judge & Kammeyer-Mueller, 2012).
Important factors that aid in the definition of job attitude are cognitive and affective
components. It must be recognized that cognitive and affective aspects are not
always in exact correspondence with one another. Additionally, job attitudes are
hierarchically organized in a multifaceted nature allowing multilevel modeling of
job attitudes, which allows for both within-individual (state) and between-individual
(trait) effects. Some common job attitudes include job satisfaction, commitment,
and engagement.
Job Satisfaction
Job satisfaction is an evaluative state that expresses contentment, the cognitive com-
ponent, with positive feelings, the affective component, about an individual’s job.
These components utilize a classic measuring system known as the Job Descriptive
Index (JDI). JDI is comprised of five facets of job satisfaction with those being:
work, supervision, coworkers, pay, and promotions (Smith, 1969). Several different
research studies have concluded that these five facets are related to each other, and
evidence suggests that the facet of job satisfaction is very closely related to the work
itself. Meaning the type of work the individual is doing drives the level of satisfac-
tion. For example, an individual who prefers to work in an office would have little
satisfaction working outside in the elements, and the same would be true for an
individual who hates working inside (Judge & Kammeyer-Mueller, 2012).
Borrowing from the concepts set forth from consumer behavior research, it was well
established that purchasing experiences can garner an individual even more happi-
ness than the actual material object. Further research (Bastos & Barsade, 2020) has
found that employees who see their jobs as primarily providing experiences (vs.
material objects) gain more happiness from those jobs, because they are more likely
to believe they bring positive impact and perceive meaningfulness in their jobs
(Bastos & Barsade, 2020).
Organizational Commitment
Three distinguishable forms of commitment can be found within any organization.
These are affective (AC), normative (NC), and continuance (CC) commitment.
These forms of commitment are measured using the Three Component Model
(TCM). An individual’s psychological bond with the organization is represented by
an affective commitment attachment to the organization, which produces a feeling
of loyalty toward it, and an intention to remain as part of it. Normative commitment
reflects an individual’s sense of obligation to stay, and continuance commitment is
an individual’s perceived costs of leaving the organization (Meyer et al., 2002, 2012).
Studies have shown that an individual intention to quit their position within an
organization has decreased in Eastern cultures during the COVID-19 pandemic
(Song et al., 2020). In the west, though, a different phenomenon occurred. Many
people participated in what was called the “Great Resignation.” There was a great
upheaval in the workforce, and many people quit their jobs in search of better
opportunities. As the job market collapsed under the lockdowns and then reopened,
it offered many people the opportunity to find a position that better fits their needs
(Gittleman, 2022).
Engagement
“Job engagement refers to employees’ harnessing of their physical, cognitive, and
emotional energy toward executing their work roles” (Kahn, 1990). With vaccine
and medicine development, as well as the variants of COVID becoming less deadly,
employees started to transition back to the workplace physically. How to reconnect
and reengage mentally became important (Yuan et al., 2021). Employers need to
make sure the employee “mobilizes one’s energy, directs one’s attention back
toward work and allocates resources” (Sonnentag & Kühnel, 2016). Another key
factor is the perceived psychological safety, for instance, believing that resources
are available, employers will treat them fairly if they get sick (Kahn, 1990). Further
research has shown that work engagement ultimately decreased during COVID-19
pandemic (Song et al., 2020).
Antecedents
Antecedents regarding work satisfaction have been studied extensively over the past
several years. These are the attitudes that an individual had before and will bring
with them into the workplace. This research has developed a model that has gar-
nered a great deal of support in relation to job satisfaction. Dispositional and situa-
tional influences (Cognitive and affective bases of job attitudes) were recognized
very early on in the first writings regarding job attitudes as the leading cause of high
or low job satisfaction, but research throughout the 1970s and 1980s showed this
was not the only factor related to job satisfaction. Although there is a strong correla-
tion between an individual’s disposition and job satisfaction, nondispositional fac-
tors were proven to also play a major role in job satisfaction (Judge &
Kammeyer-Mueller, 2012).
Another important antecedent in an individual’s disposition is core self-evaluation
(CSE). CSE focuses on the core beliefs that an individual has about themselves and
the world. These are hierarchical and specific traits that comprise broad general
traits. CSE is based on four criteria: self-esteem, generalized self-efficacy, neuroti-
cism, and locus of control. Further studies have shown that these four CSE traits are
directly linked to an individual’s level of job satisfaction (Judge & Kammeyer-
Mueller, 2012). Uniquely CSE was found to be negatively related to perceptions of
obstacles and goal fulfillment within an organization (Best et al. 2005). Due to the
constraints many studies have, it has proven difficult to know whether individuals
who have a high CSE within an organization simply paint a rosier picture of the
organization or if they truly select positions with better attributes for them (Judge &
Kammeyer-Mueller, 2012).
Outcomes of Employee Attitude

From a general social science perspective, attitude impacts behaviors. For instance,
an individual’s attitude toward’s something such as a labor union, whether an indi-
vidual takes part in union meetings; the environmental attitude of employees, leads
them to their environmental behavior; there’s also correlation between entrepre-
neurial attitude and behavioral intention to do business in the future (Fitzsimmons
& Douglas, 2005). People tend to avoid cognitive dissonance, which is the discom-
fort a person feels when their behavior does not align with their values. Therefore,
they will desire to match their behavior with attitude normally. Some interesting
findings have discovered that people will present their attitudes based on their
behaviors to avoid cognitive dissonance. What employees know, think, and feel
about the work and how they would react behaviorally toward the work (Abun et al.,
2021) will be based on these behaviors.
An individual’s attitude has a direct influence on behavior and performance in
the workplace. When an individual exhibits a perceived positive attitude, this greatly
enhances the output at work and when they have a negative attitude, they will per-
form at a less desirable rate. An employee’s attitude about their employment will
affect the three individual work performance measures. Those measures are task
performance, contextual performance, and counterproductive work behavior. Task
performance is the employee’s ability to do their job, contextual performance is the
behavior that supports the organization’s social and psychological environment, and
lastly, counterproductive behavior is behavior that is detrimental to the organization.
This research proves the need for organizational management to consider an
employee’s attitude toward work and foster a positive attitude over a negative one.
Employees who do not understand or know their job function because of a lack of
training and management support will not flourish or create a positive atmosphere
within the organization because they will not have a positive attitude toward work.
On the contrary, employees who are supported and offered continued education and
who know their job generally have a positive attitude toward work and can help cre-
ate a positive atmosphere within the organization (Abun et al., 2021).
2.5.3 Workplace Stress and Well-Being
In the recent Harris Interactive “Attitudes in the Workplace” poll, 80% of employees
state that they need help managing stress within the workplace (Harris Interactive,
2022). As jobs continually return to the market in the postpandemic employment
landscape, will this continue to be the trend, or will workplace stress begin to ease
back down to pre-covid levels? These are just a few of the many questions that
employees face in the post-covid landscape.
After the discussion on attitude, whether you are happy and engaged at your
work, it is important to examine workplace stress and well-being. The main ques-
tion to be addressed here is: are you stressed at work or well at work?
Job Stress and Well-Being

Using the Global Workplace report (Gallup, 2022), employee stress is at all-time
high and workers from the United States are some of the most stressed employees
in the world, half of which reported feelings of stress consistently. In the past
3 years, the global pandemic has been a significant factor that cannot be ignored.
This has become a challenge to the state of an employee’s overall well-being (The
State of Employee Well-being 2022 report).
Job stress refers to “the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur
when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs
of the worker” (Sauter et al., 1999). There are different types of stress. Some are
task-related, for instance, your work is overloaded; some are role related, for
instance, you don’t have a clear role and the ambiguity could lead to stress; some are
related to social factors, for instance, interpersonal conflict (Kahn & Byosiere,
1992; Sonnentag & Frese, 2012). Some of the stressors are acute and based on sin-
gle incidents, while many others are chronic due to events over an extended period
of time.
Job stress typically leads to adverse reactions regarding an employee’s well-

being (Spector et al., 2000). Workplace well-being refers to the health and happiness
of employees, physical and psychological, rather than performance; job perfor-
mance will be discussed in the next section of this chapter. Some vital signs in the
workplace that are being impacted by job stress include burnout, depression, psy-
chological distress, somatic complaints, illness, and physiological distress. These
factors, in turn, will impact productivity at work (Bui et al., 2021).
Source of Stress
There are many sources for workplace stresses: the characteristics of the job (e.g.,
occupation, email usage), the characteristics of the people (e.g., gender), and the
characteristics of the environment (e.g., violent and toxic environment, global pan-
demic). People in every profession experience work stress. Among all the studies
examining workplace stress, medical-related occupations are some of the most
widely researched. This includes nurses, physicians, and other medical field careers
(e.g., Nurse, Nayomi, 2016; physician, O’Dowd et al., 2018; emergency department
staff, Anderson et al., 2021; psychiatric workers, Hilton et al., 2021) as these are
considered some of the most stressful jobs in the market. They encounter strange
hours, heavy workloads, and even the deaths of their “customers.” Many character-
istics of the job and environment, such as risk, time pressures, and long-standing
hours, contribute to job stress. The characteristics of many other occupations also
lead to high workplace stress, such as federal law enforcement officers (El Sayed
et al., 2019), service sector employees (Lukić and Lazarević, 2018), teachers
(Griffith et al., 1999), and university staff (Ahsan Abdullah et al., 2009).
The military also presents a unique stress environment that is not seen in other
fields, with long deployments, extreme training and conditioning of their physical
bodies, and the untimely, often instant, death of their colleagues. Many former
members of the US military experience several physical symptoms of stress, such as
insomnia, gut health issues, heart conditions, and muscular skeleton pain. A large
majority of these symptoms developed as secondary symptoms to posttraumatic
stress disorder (PTSD). Similar to what police officers will experience as presented
in resent studies (Hou et al., 2017).
Information and communication technology (ICT) plays important roles in
determining how our work is done (Day et al., 2021). One specific aspect, email
usage, has become a major stressor at work. The demand and the mismatch of our
expectations on email use affect our perceptions of work relations, job control, and
job conditions (Stich et al., 2019). A measurement tool was also developed to opera-
tionalize this new term: digital stressors (Fischer et al., 2021). Additionally, the
pandemic gave rise to the virtual meeting room and created a new level of stress.
Although it afforded individuals to remain working from home, it became intrusive
for many and led to virtual meeting burnout and stress.
The role of gender in workplace stress has also been studied over the past several
decades. Working women tend to experience more stress due to multiple roles
affecting their work-life balance. This has implications regarding their career prog-
ress, promotions, and many experience workplace discrimination (Gyllensten &
Palmer, 2005). Research further investigated the “double jeopardy” effect of gender
and age on workplace well-being for old women (Wilks & Neto, 2013). The effects
of stress on women in the workplace is extremely lopsided compared to males,
whether the male is young or old, they do not experience anywhere near the same
level of stress due to their gender.
An individual’s work environment greatly impacts their stress level as well.
Workplace aggression like violence and toxicity is an evident stress that contributes
to lower employee well-being (e.g., Hilton et al., 2021; Al Khoury, 2022). Broader
environmental disasters like terrorist attacks and pandemics also significantly
impact mental health (Brooks et al., 2016). The COVID-19 pandemic became a
major stressor and has increased the call for awareness of workplace mental health.
The safety issues, the missing social component of work, the work-life imbalance,
the risks of losing one’s job, and the role changes all contribute greatly and longitu-
dinally to employees’ mental wellness (Ivey et al., 2021). Burnout, depression, and
even posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) surfaced the organizational problems and
urged call for action from the organizations (Van Der Feltz-Cornelis et al., 2020;
Kelly et al., 2022; Toshniwal & Narendran, 2020; Restauri & Sheridan, 2020; Ho
et al., 2020).
Intervention
There are significant effects of stress and well-being on an individual’s workplace
productivity. For instance, mental illnesses have cost over $300 billion annually for
the U.S. economy, among which absenteeism and low productivity attributed to this
economic toll (The American Institute of Stress, 2022). It is time to enhance orga-
nizational practices that support employees’ mental well-being. Organizations use
various stress management methods to reduce employees’ stress (Johnson &
O’Connor, 2021). For example, organizations could reduce the stress associated
with job characteristics by redesigning the job itself; organizations could also pro-
vide training and mentoring sessions to help employees with coping strategies
(Holman & Axtell, 2016). In many organizations, mindfulness training has been
introduced to help cope with stress in organizations in recent years (Roche et al.,
2021). It is also important to understand the intervention has to be customized to fit
the context to be more effective (Nielsen et al., 2021). In an effort to combat the
physical side of stress, several large employers, such as Capital One, have built
gyms within their facilities that are free to use for employees. The free memberships
encourage employees to use them, and most provide free time during the day so that
using the gym does not interfere with the employees’ break schedule, which would
cause additional stress between the choice of eating and exercising.
2.5.4 Performance
How does an individual know if they are bringing value to their company? As a
salesperson, are their sales helping the company’s brand to grow? As an accountant,
have they helped the business make sound financial decisions? As a 5-star Uber
driver, is their hospitality bringing the company value? As a teacher, is building the
virtue of their students contributing to the school’s interest? As a programmer, do
their codes help the organization to achieve its goals?
What is job performance? What are some important dimensions? There are many
individual differences that are of interest to the OB researchers, such as personality
traits, values, and person-environment fits. In order to understand performance from
the OB perspective, it is important to understand its nature and its three dimensions:
task performance, contextual performance, and adaptive performance.
Behavior Versus Results

Researchers prefer to consider performance as the behavior of the individual rather
than results. This is because situational factors can determine the results that are out
of the control of individual. Farmers had worked exceptionally hard the entire year,
and then the COVID-19 pandemic happened. Because of the pandemic, fresh pro-
duce became a disaster. An Idaho farmer was required to dig large ditches to bury
one million pounds of onions. Dairy farmers from Wisconsin found themselves
dumping thousands of gallons of fresh milk into lagoons. Would these results be a
good way to demonstrate the performance? Or the work they put in? Most would
say no, it is not the fault of the farmer that the pandemic started and that it created a
destructive result of the hard-working behavior exhibited by the farmers.
The pandemic impacted a lot of industries, and researchers (Ferraresi &
Gucciardi, 2021) discovered very interesting effects on soccer players’ perfor-
mance, specifically how much does the player miss a penalty kick. They found out
that for home teams, the probability of missing a penalty increases when matches
are forced to be played behind closed doors, while visiting teams are less likely to
experience a failure on a penalty kick, with these effects being more pronounced
when the level of attendance, measured before the pandemic, was high. The effect
could be extended to other skill tasks as well.
Maximum Performance Versus Typical Performance

Maximum performance and typical performance are not necessarily related. For
instance, researchers used supermarket cashiers as samples and measured typical
cashier accuracy and speed as well as maximum accuracy and speed over a few
weeks period (Sackett et al., 1988). The typical performance is by observation,
while maximum performance is under sample simulations where cashiers were
asked to do their best and put equal emphasis on speed and accuracy. The results
demonstrated that maximum performance is not highly related to typical perfor-
mance. Therefore, it is inappropriate to use one to predict the other.
How Different Stakeholders View the Impact of the Behavior Differently?

In many cases, the same positive behavior can be perceived positively by everyone,
but in certain situations and jobs, behavior can be perceived differently by different
stakeholders. For instance, researchers found that in prison, correctional officers
have different opinions with their supervisors (Motowidlo & Peterson, 2008).
Correction officers believe that they should use more agreeable behavior toward
inmates to be more effective, while their supervisors believe conscientious behavior
toward inmates should be more effective. Which type of behavior then contributes
more to the organizational goals? Possibly the agreeable behavior presented by the
guards would be more effective. They are the “boots on the ground” so to speak, and
have the closest contact with the prisoners. This is where the appraisals may not
reflect their performance appropriately.
Performance is a multidimensional and dynamic concept. There are different
models of behavioral dimensions of job performance, such as Campbell’s (1990)
multifactor model that includes task-related and non-task-related factors; Borman
and Motowidlo’s (1997) model that tries to distinguish task and contextual perfor-
mance; the term Organizational Citizenship Behavior, Counterproductive Work
Behavior, and adaptive performance. This text mainly intends to introduce and
focus on task performance, contextual performance, and adaptive performance.
Task Performance
Task performance is defined as “the proficiency by which individuals perform the
core technical task central to his/her job” (Campbell, 1990). It includes production
tasks as well as service tasks, such as installing headlights on auto assembling lines,
brewing a cup of coffee at a coffee shop, operating a surgery as a surgeon, driving a
taxi, and hosting a group of tourists for a local tour.
Contextual Performance
Contextual performance is “the behavior that supports the organizational, social,
and psychological environment in which the technical core must function” (Borman
& Motowidlo, 1997). It includes personal support, such as helping new team mem-
bers by offering tips based on experience, providing emotional support for a col-
league’s personal problems; organizational support, such as displaying loyalty by
staying with the organization during a crisis like the pandemic, and conscientious
initiative such as going above and beyond to learn the skills and knowledge than is
necessary.
Researchers (e.g., Bateman & Organ, 1983; Smith et al., 1983; Organ, 1988)
investigated a new construct that assembles behaviors defined by contextual perfor-
mance, and Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) has been defined as “indi-
vidual behavior that is discretionary, not directly or explicitly recognized by the
formal reward system, and that in the aggregate promotes the effective functioning
of the organization” (Organ, 1988, p. 4). Organizational citizenship behaviors are
also represented in Campbell’s (1990) multifactor model.
There is another construct being studied called Counterproductive Work Behavior
(CWB) and is defined as “the behavior that harms the well–being of the organiza-
tion” (Rotundo & Sackett, 2002, cited by Koopmans et al., 2014). Could CWB by
an individual be unintentional? Because if it is unintentional, it can then be consid-

ered as low task performance and low OCB. Is CWB the opposite of OCB? Meta-
analysis only found a moderate negative relationship between the two variables,
which doesn’t quite support the argument of the opposite side of one dimension. So
commonly, we still believe CWBs are intentional behaviors by employees that con-
tribute to the contrary of the organizational interest (Rotundo and Sackett, 2002).
Adaptive Performance
Adaptive performance was not initially included in Campbell et al.’s (1993) taxon-
omy, but the need for adaptive employees has become increasingly important. The
workplace is rapidly changing with the advances in technology. In the past, work
could be planned in advance and was stable, but today, it is constantly changing. It
is necessary for employees to be adaptive in the workplace with the increased load
of responsibilities that they now have. An adaptive performer must have the skills,
knowledge, and ability to respond to the ever- changing landscape at work
(Stokes, 2008).
2.6 Conclusion
After reading the chapter, you should be able to answer the questions first posed in
the Peter Rice reading. Do you understand why Mr. Rice could hold the same posi-
tion in two different companies but only fit within one organization? Can you
answer why Mr. Rice’s PO fit was not strong enough to remain at Disney? What
about Mr. Rice’s personality? Additionally, how was Peter even able to survive in an
environment for 3 years that did not align with his values? Do you understand how
Mr. Rice was able to maintain his attitude while at Disney even though he was mis-
aligned? The concepts covered in this chapter should give you the knowledge
required to confidently answer all of these questions. After reading this chapter, you
should have a solid understanding of how to use fit when searching for employment
or when considering candidates.
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Nicholas R. Lengyel lives in St. Cloud, MN, with his wife and four children. He is a retired
Noncommissioned Officer of the United States Army, where he served in the Quartermaster and
Military Police Corps. He was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in support of the Global War on
Terror performing in positions related to human intelligence, personal security, global logisti-
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from St. Cloud State University. His undergrad background is in Political Science and International
Relations. Nicholas enjoys snowmobiling, flying, football, and boating.
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Guinea) and a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from Saint Cloud State University (Minnesota) and
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and an analyst.
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rienced much personality change and learned to accept the difference between eastern and western
culture.
Mama Toure loves cooking and spending time with her kids.
Chapter 3
Motivation
Julie Weber-Kramer
Abbreviations
ALS Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

JCT Job Characteristics Theory
NCAA National Collegiate Athletic Association
NIL Name, Image, and Likeness
SDT Self-Determination Theory
Wells Fargo
In January 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a ruling pro-
hibiting John Stumpf, the former CEO of Wells Fargo, and Carrie Tolstedt, the for-
mer head of Wells Fargo’s community banking division, from ever participating in
the banking industry again. This banishment was in addition to the 2016 forfeiture
and clawbacks of a combined $136 million of compensation. In February 2020,
Wells Fargo was ordered to pay $3 billion to the Department of Justice and the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to resolve transgressions of its past sales
practices (Cooper & Gnanarajah, 2020). In December 2022, the Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau issued Wells Fargo its largest fine in history for its decade of
harmful practices and mismanagement. The firm was ordered to pay over $3.7 bil-
lion in consumer redress and civil penalties. Future government actions against the
company are also possible (Flitter, 2022). What could have led to this tragic and
public shame of one of the most respected banks in the nation and of two of the most
revered banking leaders in recent history?
Wells Fargo was founded in 1852 by Henry Wells and William Fargo as a stage-
coach delivery service with a reputation for safeguarding customers’ money. By
2017, Wells Fargo grew to be one of the most successful financial institutions in the
United States, with a market capitalization of $275 billion and profits of
J. Weber-Kramer (*)
Herberger Business School, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, MN, USA
e-mail: julie.weber-kramer@stcloudstate.edu

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-31356-1_3
66 J. Weber-Kramer
$21.9 billion. The community banking division represented over half of Well’s total
revenue (Srinivasan & Goldberg, 2020).
Key to Wells Fargo’s community banking division’s success was its insistent
focus on cross-selling. Cross-selling is a sales and marketing tactic of swaying
existing customers to broaden their purchases into additional products and services
offered by the company. In 2013, Wells Fargo’s customers had an average of 6.15 of
the company’s products and services, which was four times higher than the industry
average. Incessantly, Wells’ senior leaders increased the cross-selling goal to eight
and established the selling mantra, “Eight is Great” (Srinivasan & Goldberg, 2020).
Wells Fargo leaders exerted intense pressure on staff to achieve this cross-selling
goal. This created an aggressive, at times abusive, sales culture that encouraged
employees to use whatever means necessary to achieve their cross-selling goals.
Community bank employees opened 3.5 million deposit and credit card accounts
without customer knowledge between 2009 and 2016 (Srinivasan & Goldberg,
2020) Although the company terminated over five thousand employees for their
participation in setting up these fake accounts, culpability extended far beyond the
front-line sales staff. A Wells Fargo Sales Practices Investigation Report issued in
April 2017 found that the company board of directors and other executives were
aware of many of the issues that contributed to the fake accounts scandal as early as
2002 (Cooper & Gnanarajah, 2020).
How did things go so awry at Wells Fargo? Why is achieving organizational
goals such a powerful motivator for employees? How do organizations ensure goals
are pursued in a manner consistent with the organization’s values? What responsi-
bility do leaders have to ensure the ethical pursuit of the organizational goals they
set? After reading this chapter on motivation, you will be prepared to answer these
questions.
3.1 Introduction
3.1.1 Why Study Motivation?
What defines a motivated person? Why are some employees driven to achieve their
goals and objectives, while others seem content with doing just enough to get by?
Motivation is the force that leads people’s behaviors in certain ways. Understanding
motivation is critical to managerial success. Simply ensuring an employee complies
with a manager’s order is not as effective in the long run as actually getting that
employee to want to engage in the specified behavior. Understanding motivational
theories help prepare managers to tap into employees’ desire to achieve and deliver
organizational objectives. This chapter reviews motivational theories to help us
define motivation and understand its contributions to performance.
Motivation is a key element of job performance but is not the only necessary ele-
ment (Vroom, 1964; Porter & Lawler, 1968; Campbell & Pritchard, 1976).
3 Motivation 67
Motivation combines with expectations, ability, and environment to deliver job per-
formance. The formula below depicts that relationship:
Performance expectations ability motivation environment
Mitchell (1982) asked the following questions relative to this formula when con-
templating whether an employee is equipped to achieve the desired job perfor-
mance: Does the employee know what is required? Does the employee have the
ability, or is training necessary? Is the employee motivated to do what is required?
Is the environment such that the process can result in predicted behavior? If the
answer to these four questions is yes, job performance can be achieved.
Motivation is often considered the most complex performance element to con-
trol, as it’s impacted significantly by individual perspectives. To that end, we devote
an entire chapter to motivation.
3.1.2 Historical Perspectives on Motivation
As documented in “Scientific Management” (Taylor, 1911), the Traditional

Approach to motivation assumes that employees are motivated solely by monetary
consideration. If fact, Taylor felt employees would be willing to work in undesirable
conditions if the pay was adequate to compensate for the conditions. While no one
would argue that monetary consideration has an impact on motivation, the idea that
it is the only influence is no longer widely accepted. For the sake of the theory,
however, let’s consider its applicability within entry-level labor positions where job
conditions have little differentiation. A relevant example is a college student who
works a summer job to save enough money to cover the tuition costs of the upcom-
ing school year. The student’s primary goal is to earn adequate money with little
consideration for the work environment.
The Human Relations Approach to motivation (Mayo, 1923, 1924) assumes
employees’ internal needs, such as feeling valued or being involved, outweigh the
need for money. Fostering favorable employee attitudes results in motivation, even
if the basis of the attitude is grounded in an illusion of involvement rather than real-
ity. This approach focuses on giving employees what they perceive as meaningful
projects, autonomy, variety, and feedback. An example is a manager who delegates
a decision to a subordinate, telling the employee that her exceptional expertise and
intellect make her the only employee equipped to find a solution to this crucial
issue. In contrast, the manager truly feels this is a trivial issue, and the decision will
have no meaningful impact on the company.
The Human Resource approach takes the relationship between needs and moti-
vation further and assumes people want to make and are capable of making genuine
contributions; managers should encourage their participation by providing the
proper environmental conditions. This approach takes the human relations approach
to the next level of motivation by finding the right fit for the right people and
68 J. Weber-Kramer
involving these employees in the decision-making process rather than simply creat-
ing the illusion of involvement. McClelland and Burnham (2008) described
Institution managers as those who are interested in personal power and who create
the best teams by creating an environment that seems to be aligned with the Human
Resources approach. These thoughts converge in influencing people to do things not
because they were told to but because they want to (McClelland & Burnham, 2008).
3.1.3 Nature of Motivation
Before going into the details of different motivational theories, let’s review the
underlying properties of motivation. First, motivation is under employees’ control,
meaning we consider it intentional. Second, we must also understand the different
facets of motivation, including activation, direction, and persistence. Third, each
individual is unique, and all motivational theories recognize the uniqueness and
consider motivation as an individual phenomenon (Mitchell, 1982). For instance,
different individuals demonstrate different needs, expectations, reinforcement
responses, and goals. This chapter analyzes motivation from need, process, learn-
ing, and applied perspectives.
A need can be anything a person requires or wants, such as food, health, recogni-
tion, knowledge, status, or money. A need deficiency is a realization that the need is
not being met. This realization triggers an attempt to satisfy the need. Let’s consider
a person’s need for money. In this example, Joe wants enough money to purchase a
new Tesla automobile. A reassessment of need deficiency occurs after one assesses
how much did the outcome address the original need deficiency. When the attempt
to satisfy the need falls short of the desired outcome, one may reassess the status of
that need and how it has changed in gravity or desire. This again impacts the behav-
ior or actions chosen. In our example, if Joe meets but does not exceed his sales
quota, his money need is not fully satisfied because he can’t afford the Tesla. Now
Joe reassesses his need before choosing his future actions. Joe could decide his need
is valid and determine he will work harder next year to earn enough money to buy
that Tesla. Alternatively, Joe may reassess his need and determine it isn’t as impor-
tant to him as he originally thought. He determines his bonus is adequate, and he
does not change his behavior moving forward. He purchases a Toyota Camry to
replace his minivan with the bonus earned. Joe’s need is satisfied with this outcome.
When employees perceive inequity in the exchange relationships with the
employers, or when the expectancy of actions on outcomes is not fulfilled, employ-
ees are motivated to adjust the input or output through their actions. Compared to
counterparts, if the employee receives fewer outcomes for the same input, the ineq-
uity perception and the unfulfilled expectancy will drive the employees to act. In
Joe’s case, if he receives less pay for the same responsibilities as his colleagues, the
perception of being underpaid could drive him to work less.
Rewards and punishments are, respectively, the positive or negative conse-
quences of goal-directed behavior. If Joe exceeds his sales goal, he will be rewarded
3 Motivation 69
with a monetary bonus (positive reward) sufficient to purchase the Tesla. If Joe
misses his sales goal by a substantial amount, Joe will experience the negative con-
sequence of having an empty bank account and continuing to drive his old, rusty
minivan.
Behaviors are the actions an individual chooses, and goal-directed behaviors are
actions that are taken to fulfill the need deficiency. In our example, Joe considers the
actions he must take to earn enough money to purchase that Tesla. He concludes he
must exceed his annual sales quota by 10%.
3.2 Needs-Based Perspectives
Needs-based motivational theories, also known as Content theories, assert that

when employees’ needs are satisfied, they will be happier and perform better at
work. This section introduces three needs-based theories: Maslow’s Hierarchy of
Needs, the Two-Factor Theory of Motivation, and the Self-Determination Theory.
3.2.1 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
A theory of Human Motivation (Maslow, 1943) describes how human needs, or the
deficiency of those needs, affect a person’s motivation and behavior. It assumes that
human needs are arranged in a hierarchy of importance. Once one level of needs is
satisfied, a new need emerges, motivation changes, and growth can occur. The the-
ory describes five needs. To illustrate the theory, we will review a progressive work-
place example at the end of each need discussion.
Physiological Needs This basic and foundational need can be referred to as homeo-
stasis: the body’s automatic efforts to sustain life. This includes things such as
breathing, heartbeat, and metabolism – the basic functioning of your body.
Physiological needs are foundational. If a person is missing all things in life, physi-
ological needs will be the motivating factor. For example, if a person is starving, he
is motivated by food and only food. In our progressive workplace example, a new
food service company employee, Sue, finds that her physiological needs for food
and shelter are satisfied by the competitive compensation received from her role as
a cashier. Her compensation allows her to buy ample groceries and pay her apart-
ment rent and utilities. Sue’s physiological needs are met with her new job.
Safety Needs This second-tier need refers to protection from things that may harm
a being. It can take multiple forms, such as protection from physical harm, emo-
tional harm, and employment security. Safety needs are very strong, and the theory
suggests that they are closely aligned with physiological needs. In life-threatening
situations, safety will most certainly be the motivating factor. With Sue’s physiolog-
70 J. Weber-Kramer
ical needs satisfied, she will now be motivated to fulfill her safety needs. She’s
become aware of the company’s rapid growth and its current shortage of qualified
employees to accommodate this growth. This puts Sue’s mind at ease and satisfies
her need for job security (safety).
Love Needs The next level of need is the need for love, affection, acceptance, and
social connection. Once a person is fed and satisfied with the safety, the need to
belong, feel loved, and be part of society emerges as a motivation. In our example,
with both her physiological and safety needs satiated, Sue is motivated to fill her
need for belonging. She joins a company-sponsored book club and develops friend-
ships with co-workers in this club. She feels a sense of inclusion and acceptance,
satisfying her belonging need.
Esteem Needs This need is based on status, reputation, and prestige. It is the feel-
ing of self-confidence, self-worth, strength, capability, usefulness, and feeling
respected by and necessary to the world. It describes the motivation of people want-
ing beyond sustaining life, safety, and belonging. Without this need fulfilled, one
feels inferior, weak, and helpless. With Sue’s basic needs met, she is motivated to
fill her esteem needs. She’s been performing well in her role and recently received
the prestigious annual Service of Excellence award. She also applied for and
received a promotion to Front-of-the-House Team Leader. The award and promo-
tion boosted her self-confidence and gave her a renewed sense of value within the
company.
Need for Self-Actualization This is the pursuit of being who you want to be. As
Maslow wrote, “What a man can be, he must be.” This need describes the relentless
drive to grow and be who you were meant to be. It explains the inner drive or moti-
vation to continue to improve and be the authentic person you are. Sue continued to
advance in her career. Her insatiable need for self-discovery and self-improvement
motivated her to earn an MBA degree, become the author of a best-selling customer
service book, and ultimately led her to leave her new executive role at the food-
service company to become the CEO of a small nonprofit organization with the
mission of ending food insecurity in the local marginalized community. Although
she received less compensation at the nonprofit, she is resolute in knowing this mis-
sion is her life’s calling. She has satisfied her need for self-actualization.
The diagram below highlights the satisfaction of Sue’s needs within the context
of Maslow’s hierarchy (Fig. 3.1).
Maslow’s theory suggests the order of needs is fixed; however, it describes
exceptions, and the hierarchy may not be as rigid as detailed above. For example,
one may be motivated more by esteem needs (title, power, prestige) than belonging-
ness or the need to love. Another example is people who may have experienced
chronic unemployment may be satisfied by adequate amounts of food or safety and
never aspire to satisfy higher-level needs.
3 Motivation 71
Fig. 3.1 Maslow’s Hierarchy for Sue. (Adapted from the theories of Maslow, 1954)
In summary, human needs follow a general hierarchy and can describe how moti-
vating factors will have different effects on individuals, depending upon their life
situation. How a person’s needs are met, or how deficient, will attribute to behaviors
and performance in personal and professional settings.
A closely related theory, ERG (Existence, Relatedness, and Growth), was devel-
oped by Clayton Alderfer (1969). His theory slightly modifies Maslow’s Hierarchy
of Needs by grouping Maslow’s five needs into three categories: Existence com-
bines physiological and security needs; Relatedness is synonymous with Maslow’s
social needs, and Growth corresponds with esteem and self-actualization needs. The
primary difference between these theories is that ERG allows for more than one
need to be worked on at a given time, as opposed to Maslow’s theory requiring a
need to be fulfilled before moving up the pyramid to the next need. An example of
ERG in practice is an employee who simultaneously works to expand his social
circle at work while also building a strong reputation for delivering company results.
3.2.2 Two-Factor Theory of Motivation
In Frederick Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory of Motivation, motivation factors are

looked at in two separate dimensions: Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction (Herzberg
et al., 1959; Herzberg, 1965). These are not defined in the traditional sense, in which
one may be satisfied or dissatisfied with a job, but rather job satisfaction and job
dissatisfaction are viewed as two separate influences on motivation.
The factors are categorized into two types: Motivation factors affect satisfaction
and are associated with the actual work and the rewards resulting from performing
it. Motivation Factors are used by individuals for Growth and represent the degree
to which one achieves satisfaction or no satisfaction (see Fig. 3.2). These describe
how an individual can have a feeling of contentment and satisfaction with a job. For
72 J. Weber-Kramer
Fig. 3.2 Hygiene factors are a prerequisite to motivating factors
example, the theory describes recognition as a Motivation Factor and concludes that
an employee may be satisfied with the recognition received or feel no satisfaction if
he does not receive recognition. The basis of the theory is that one is not necessarily
dissatisfied if a motivation factor does not exist (no recognition in this example);
rather, there will be no satisfaction.
Hygiene factors affect dissatisfaction and are focused on the employee’s rela-
tionship with the work environment. Hygiene factors are used to prevent dissatisfac-
tion from occurring. They can be referred to as “Maintenance” factors as they must
be addressed first for motivation and job enrichment to be achieved. Hygiene factors
must be addressed first, and when no dissatisfaction exists, Motivation factors can
be used to achieve Growth. For example, if employees disagree with the company’s
policy to eliminate remote work and force employees to return to the office, dissat-
isfaction occurs with this hygiene factor. The company will be unable to motivate
employees with added responsibilities or recognition. Following the Covid-19 pan-
demic, this is a common challenge faced by organizations.
It’s important to note that some criticism exists with this theory, as it does not
recognize the impact of cultural differences and the method used during implemen-
tation. For example, western cultures tend to view the relationship with one’s super-
visor and the impact on the ability to function at a job as a Motivation Factor versus
a Hygiene Factor. Some western employees may find satisfaction in having an open,
healthy working relationship with their supervisors. Others (some eastern cultures)
may not have this need.
3.2.3 Self-Determination Theory
In their Self-Determination Theory of motivation, Deci and Ryan (2000) caused a

stir in the psychology world when they introduced the notion of intrinsic motivators.
Prior to their research, the predominant thinking among motivation scholars was
that behaviors were best driven through reinforcement mechanisms. Deci and Ryan,
however, offered that people have an innate curiosity and interest and seek out and
are motivated by challenges. They posited that tapping into these intrinsic motiva-
tors results in superior results (improved learning, creativity, performance, psycho-
logical wellness) over reinforcement techniques with rewards and extrinsic
motivators. In essence, when someone is intrinsically motivated, one engages in
3 Motivation 73
work because the work is enjoyable and stimulating. Examples of intrinsic motiva-
tors in the workplace include engaging in challenging assignments, learning new
things, accomplishing a goal, and relating well to co-workers. Extrinsically moti-
vated individuals engage at work in the hopes of receiving a reward for their behav-
ior. Examples of extrinsic motivators include bonuses, pay raises, praise, and
avoidance of punishment.
Scholars have debated the relationship between extrinsic and intrinsic motiva-
tors. Deci (1972, p. 224) concluded that extrinsic motivators lessen the intrinsic
impact: “…the effects of intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation are not addi-
tive. While extrinsic rewards such as money can certainly motivate behavior, they
appear to be doing so at the expense of intrinsic motivators”. While Hennessy and
Amabile (2010) suggest rewards can augment intrinsic impact: “…rewards can
actually enhance intrinsic motivation. These boosting effects are most likely when
initial levels of intrinsic motivation are already strong.” A recent meta-analysis
study demonstrated overall, using incentives leads to higher performance on both
interesting and noninteresting tasks (Kim et al., 2022). However, when the perfor-
mance is measured as quality, the positive relationship between incentives and per-
formance gets weakened.
Take some time to form your own opinion. Recall your greatest accomplishment,
professional or personal. What was it? Was your pursuit of this accomplishment
intrinsically motivated, extrinsically motivated, or a combination of both?
3.3 Process-Based Perspectives
Process-based motivational theories focus on the psychological and behavioral pro-

cesses employees take to satisfy their needs: the how. This section introduces two
process-based theories: the Equity Theory of Motivation and the Expectancy Theory.
3.3.1 Equity Theory of Motivation
The perception of fairness has a substantial impact on one’s motivation. When we

compare our situation with peers and feel that we are not being treated fairly, we
feel dissatisfied, which will negatively affect our motivation. If we perceive we are
being treated fairly compared to our peers, we feel satisfied, which positively affects
our motivation. This perceived unfair distributive justice (check out Chap. 2,
Individual Difference) is the basis of the Equity Theory of Motivation (Adams,
1965). Comparing one’s ratio of inputs made to outcomes achieved with that of
peers describes the basic Equity Theory comparison (Fig. 3.3).
Equity is the belief that one is being treated fairly compared to others. Inequity
is the belief that one is being treated unfairly compared to others. A prime example
of this is pay satisfaction and the comparison with others. If Gunjan, a member of
74 J. Weber-Kramer
Equity Comparison
Outcomes (self) compared with Outcomes (others)
Inputs (self) Inputs (others)
Fig. 3.3 Equity Comparison
Fig. 3.4 Perceived

Inequity
the software development team, feels her coding contributions (inputs) are equal to
that of others in the department, yet her pay is less than her peers, dissatisfaction and
a loss of motivation will occur with Gunjan. Like the need-based perspective dis-
cussed earlier in the chapter, one will find it difficult to achieve Growth until inequi-
ties (need deficiencies) are addressed.
As the diagram below depicts, when faced with the perception of inequity, an
employee has several actions available to get to perceived equity and, thus, improved
satisfaction. If Gunjan feels she is paid less than her peer with the same contribution
level, she may choose to work fewer hours (change input) than her peer to achieve
perceived equity. She may request and receive a pay raise (change outcome). After
reflection, Gunjan may decide the peer is a stronger performer than she and deserves
the higher pay (alter the perception of others). As the Fig. 3.4 shows, there are other
options available to get back to perceived equity.
Empirical studies showed that if one felt their pay was less than their peers, they
felt less satisfied (e.g., Jawahar & Stone, 2011). Additionally, if one felt one was
overpaid compared to peers, these participants also felt less satisfied, however more
satisfied than when paid less. The highest level of satisfaction occurred when one felt
one was paid the same as peers for equal effort (Sweeney, 1990). What’s interesting
is that when equity is achieved, not more or less but equity, satisfaction is the highest.
An interesting legislative example involving pay equity is taking place in New York
City. With the goal of advancing pay equity, in 2021, New York City council mem-
bers passed the NYC Human Rights Salary Transparency law requiring employers to
include a bona fide pay range in all job announcements. This includes jobs,
3 Motivation 75
promotions, or transfer opportunities. The regulation will likely augment equity and
equity perceptions for candidates; however, in the short term, it could exacerbate
equity perceptions among existing employees. Candidates likely have a better chance
of securing equitable salaries, despite their level of negotiating prowess and their
perceptions of equity are validated by the posted pay range. Existing employees,
however, may question why their current salary for the same or similar job is outside
the range posted. This measure went into effect on November 1, 2022, so the impacts
are not yet understood (Salary Transparency in Job Advertisement, 2022).
As we consider motivation’s effect on performance, it’s important to look at sat-
isfaction as a means for one’s personal growth and ability to excel. The perception
of equity has a significant influence on motivation levels and thus performance.
Effective managers understand this and actively work to impact equity perception
through management processes such as: employee communications, fair compensa-
tion policies, and performance management systems.
3.3.2 Expectancy Theory
Victor Vroom’s Expectancy theory (1964) is considered one of the most complex
models of motivation theories; however, pragmatically, it can be effective in diag-
nosing the motivational levels of people. Vroom discussed motivation as a “force”
that moves people into action with the expectation that it will lead to rewards. This
theory suggests that three components are necessary for motivation to exist: effort-
to-performance expectancy (expectancy), performance-to-outcome instrumentality
(instrumentality) and outcome valence (valence). A simplified representation of the
theory is expressed in the formula:
Motivation expectancy instrumentality valence
Expectancy is the extent to which one believes that if one puts forth adequate
effort there is the likelihood that the desired outcome can be achieved. Instrumentality
refers to one’s belief that if the desired performance is achieved, the outcome
expected will be received. Valence is the value or importance one places on
the reward.
Let’s use an example to see this theory in action. Vang is the manager at the
Coffee-being, a coffee shop hangout frequented by millennials before work. The
Coffee-being is short-staffed and it’s creating a stressful work environment for
employees and poor service levels for customers. Vang attempts to address this situ-
ation by motivating Leah, the informal barista leader, to devise a plan to achieve a
25% improvement in team productivity. If Leah’s plan works and the goal is
achieved, each team member will each receive a $250 bonus. Despite Vang’s best
attempts to rally Leah, she appears unmotivated to work on this assignment.
As the Expectancy theory suggests, if any of the three variables doesn’t exist,
motivation doesn’t occur. If Leah feels that the 25% goal is unattainable expectancy
76 J. Weber-Kramer
is absent and she’ll not be motivated to put forth effort. If Leah doesn’t trust Vang’s
ability to obtain the owner’s approval to pay the spot bonus, instrumentality lacks
because she feels even if the team accomplishes the goal, the outcome won’t be
received. Finally, if Leah feels the $250 isn’t of value to her or the stressed-out team,
without valence, motivation won’t exist. Vang is an effective and supportive man-
ager, so following a discussion with Leah to get her input he uses the Expectancy
Theory framework to adjust the task. Vang lowers the goal to 15% (strong expec-
tancy), obtains owner preapproval of a monetary request (strong instrumentality)
and changes the reward to a fun-filled team outing at an escape room (strong
valence). With these changes, Vang was able to motivate Leah to devise a plan that
guided the team to deliver a 20% improvement in productivity which also improved
customer service levels.
3.4 Learning-Based Perspectives
Learning-based theories look at the causes of an action, the consequences and use this
to understand behavior or, more importantly, how a behavior is changed. In this section,
we will discuss Traditional versus Contemporary views of Learning, Reinforcement
Theory including Gamification and Social Incentives, and Social Learning.
3.4.1 Traditional Versus Contemporary Views of Learning
Traditional Learning focused on conditioning to create a learned response. “Pavlov’s

Dog,” for example, was conditioned that when hearing the bell, it would salivate,
whether food was present or not (Pavlov, 1927). In business, a similar conditioning
may be created by marketeers when we buy something without much thought sim-
ply because it is labeled with “clearance” or “sale.” Traditional Learning suggested
we are conditioned to respond to a stimulus in a particular way.
Social Learning theory is a contemporary view of learning authored by Latham
and Saari (1979). This theory acknowledges that human thought, affect, and behav-
ior are influenced by observation and experience. People do not just react to external
influences; rather, they select, organize, and transform those stimuli that are pre-
sented to them.
3.4.2 Reinforcement Theory
Operant conditioning, proposed by Skinner (1938), extended Pavlov’s classic con-

ditioning theory and is based on Thorndike’s law of effect (1927), which suggests
behavior is influenced by its consequences. Presenting or removing different types
3 Motivation 77
of stimuli will result in changes in behaviors. This perspective differs from the
needs-based perspective as Skinner argued that inner needs are not important. One’s
behavior is simply driven by the consequences associated with it.
Consider an employee who arrives on time for his shift and receives a genuine
thank you from the supervisor. This happens each time the employee arrives on
time. Over time, the employee becomes conditioned to consistently arrive on time
because of the pleasant consequence that results, receiving gratitude.
Stimulus used to influence behavior is categorized along two dimensions: rein-
forcement (increasing behavior) versus punishment (decreasing behavior) and stim-
ulus application (presenting versus removing). Consider our employee arrival time
example along these dimensions in the grid below (Table 3.1).
Applying this learning-based perspective is commonplace in organizations to
align employees’ behavior with organizational goals. For instance, performance
management systems withhold annual merit increases for employees performing
below expectations; punishment by removing positive reinforcement. Auto dealers
drive revenue with finance and insurance manager bonuses for extended warranty
add-on sales: reinforcement by presenting positive stimulus. Retailers improve
cashier efficiency by removing the red warning display button from monitors when
the efficiency target is achieved: reinforcement by removing negative stimulus.
Another consideration with this learning perspective is the reinforcement sched-
ule of the stimulus. Stimulus may be continuous or intermittent. When there is a
positive stimulus (which is the consequences) every time the behavior occurs, that
is considered a continuous schedule. For instance, an Uber driver receives positive
reinforcement, compensation, for each client ride completed. During an axe throw-
ing competition, a player is punished each time her score exceeds 21 (bust) and she
must start over at a score of zero.
Intermittent schedules introduce the stimulus occasionally and often unpredict-
ably. It is most effective in situations requiring the reinforcement of continued
efforts. The video game Doom is a great example. A player must pass several chal-
lenges to be rewarded a weapon, health pack, or access to new maps. The pace of
receiving these rewards varies depending upon the player’s game proficiency. In the
work environment, it may be difficult to provide reinforcement or punishment at a
continuous rate, so it is more common to use the intermittent schedule.
Table 3.1 Stimulus application

Behavior Stimulus application
Modifier Present Remove
Reinforcement Positive reinforcement Negative reinforcement
Increase Supervisor praises employee for Supervisor stops frowning and looking
behavior being prompt. Employee continues at watch when employee arrives on
this behavior. time. Employee starts arriving on time.
Punishment Punish: Present negative stimulus Extinction: Remove positive stimulus
Decrease Supervisor frowns and looks at Supervisor withholds praise when
behavior watch when employee arrives late to employee arrives late. Employee starts
work. Employee stops arriving late. arriving on time.
78 J. Weber-Kramer
The following are types of stimulus schedules with applicable workplace

examples.
Fixed-Interval Schedule
A fixed interval schedule provides stimulus via a fixed set of time. For instance,
many organizations issue bi-weekly paychecks to employees. The timing of this is
a fixed fourteen-day interval.
Fixed-Ratio Schedule
A fixed-ratio schedule provides stimulus when the action is achieved a certain num-
ber of times. A company disciplinary policy that requires termination after three
unresolved documented infractions is an example of a fixed-ratio punishment
schedule. A positive reinforcement fixed-ratio example is a residential leasing
agent’s financial incentive received each time after securing five signed leases.
Fixed ratio schedules tend to be effective in shaping new behaviors, but they can
contribute to employee burnout.
Variable Interval Schedule

A Variable interval schedule provides stimulus over varied periods of time. For
instance, promotions at most organizations follow a variable interval schedule.
Promotions are awarded when employees accomplish agreed upon results. The time
it takes to achieve those results, such as acquiring new skills, taking on expanded
responsibilities, or completing special tasks, varies from employee to employee; so
the time interval to earn a promotion varies TOO.
Variable Ratio Schedule

A variable ratio schedule is the most flexible schedules and tends to be situational
based. Spot bonuses are unexpected financial awards given to an employee for
achieving a particular performance, and they do not come with the expectation of
being repeated. Verbal compliments from a supervisor also often follow this sched-
ule. These rewards are often a welcomed and enjoyable surprise for employees. This
type of schedule is effective in motivating employees.
3.4.3 Extensions of Reinforcement Theories
3.4.3.1 Gamification
The use of gamification is growing in popularity due to its effective use of reinforce-
ment techniques to influence employee behavior and improve productivity.
“Gamification is the use of game elements – point-scoring, levels, competition with
others, measurable evidence of accomplishment, ratings, and rules of play – in non-
game contexts” (Mason, 2018, p. 1).
3 Motivation 79
Amazon has used gamification to improve productivity in their fulfillment ware-

houses by diminishing the boredom associated with its physically demanding jobs.
The games, which were developed by Amazon, tracks task completions by partici-
pating employees and can put individuals, teams, and entire floors in opposition of
each other in their efforts to store product. Employees receive rewards such as vir-
tual badges, points, and other items throughout their shift (Bensinger, 2019).
The rideshare and online food ordering industries use gamification within their
applications to motivate drivers to achieve organizational performance goals. Lyft,
for example, influences driver behavior by issuing weekly challenges, such as a
targeted number of rides completed within a certain timeframe to receive a financial
bonus. The drivers must voluntarily opt into these challenges. This can work to
increase the enthusiasm of the driver to work toward achieving the goal (Mason,
2018). I became interested in the use of these gamification applications after listen-
ing to my twenty-something children compare their dashboard stats from Door
Dash’s driver application, Dasher. What a great way for me to research gamification
first-hand. Upon signing up to be a driver, I was quickly drawn into the need to
achieve impeccable dashboard results. I managed to nail the first weekend goal set
for me of 25 deliveries, which earned me a $200 bonus. The dashboard proudly
displayed my 100% orders accepted, 100% orders completed and 100% on-time
deliveries. While the money didn’t amount to much nor was it of significant value to
me, achieving perfection with my dashboard statistics did. Seeing those perfect
scores gave me a great sense of satisfaction. According to Dasher, I was a rock star
and boy, did it feel good! I was fascinated by my emotional change when my on-
time deliveries metric was blemished due to a temporary police closure of a crucial
on-ramp needed for two deliveries. The Dasher app failed to recognize this closure
and I was unjustly penalized with two late deliveries on my dashboard. I felt dejec-
tion. I continued Dashing for a couple more weekends, but soon my interest in these
gamification challenges waned. Door Dash nudges me now and again to get back in
the game with special production promotions, but I’m on to more rewarding chal-
lenges like writing this chapter.
3.4.3.2 Social Incentives
Another area of study within the reinforcement realm is social incentives. The APA
Psychology Dictionary defines social incentives as “an inducement to behave in
approved ways, involving the offer of such interpersonal rewards as acceptance,
approval, inclusion, or status.” Simply put, people are motivated to “fit in” socially
(Cialdini & Goldstein, 2004). For instance, many have heard examples of employ-
ees who reduce their productivity to align with others, gaining acceptance by suc-
cumbing to peer pressure. Employees learn to play golf to be included in and enjoy
the status that comes with participating in the informal meetings on the course.
Social incentives can be potent rewards to induce behavior change, and nowhere is
that more evident today than on social media.
80 J. Weber-Kramer
Influencer marketing on social media is increasingly used by companies to lever-

age the power of social incentives to grow their business. An increasing presence of
influencer marketing exists within college sports. With the NCAA’s recent passing
of the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rule, college athletes are allowed to earn
compensation from brands in exchange for authorization to market the athlete’s
name, image, and likeness. Paige Bueckers, a player on the University of
Connecticut’s women’s basketball team, has become a key influencer within the
niche of basketball. With Paige’s 1 million Instagram followers, brands such as
Gatorade, Bose, Crocs, and others have signed NIL deals with Paige, making her a
millionaire at the tender age of twenty-one. Paige’s followers, basketball-enthusiasts,
look to Paige to identify “drip” brands (those with a cool sense of style). These fol-
lowers are lured by the reward of earning social status thru buying products endorsed
by Paige.
3.4.4 Social Learning
Much of what we have learned and has shaped our world views can be attributed to
the social environment we have experienced. Culture, heritage, society, and where
we live influence us and our perspectives. Social Learning in an organization occurs
when people observe the behaviors of others, recognize the consequences of those
behaviors, and then alter their own behavior as a result. Social Learning theory
acknowledges that human thought, affect, and behavior are influenced by observa-
tion and experience with others.
The Social Learning theory described by Lathan and Saari (1979) puts into per-
spective how interaction with peers, along with clear direction, influences a change
in behavior. Their study focused on supervisor training and the effects of providing
some supervisor trainees with clear instructions on and expectations for the training
program prior to participating. These supervisors were intermingled with the
remaining trainees and the results of the training were measured compared to a
control group. The study showed positive results from the training months after
completion. It confirmed that giving a portion of the trainees clear direction had a
positive effect on the remaining training group through social Learning.
The 2014 ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is a great example of the power of combin-
ing social media and social Learning. Patrick Quinn and Pete Frates, both suffering
from ALS, witnessed the Ice Bucket Challenge on the social media feed of family
and friends of Anthony Senerchia, who had recently died of ALS. Patrick and Pete
turbocharged this campaign to raise awareness of ALS. The campaign quickly went
viral as viewers of the videos witnessed the joy experienced by friends, neighbors,
and celebrities of pouring a bucket of ice water on their heads and challenging oth-
ers to do the same. At its conclusion, the campaign raised $155 million for the ALS
Association and over $220 million around the world (The ALS Association, 2019).
3 Motivation 81
Topcoder Use of Gamification, Social Incentives, and Social Learning

Topcoder is an information technology software development staffing firm that uses
crowdsourcing to fulfill client needs. It utilizes a complex system of gamification,
social incentives, and social Learning to deliver high-quality custom software solu-
tions to its clients in a low-cost manner (Lakhani et al., 2010).
Topcoder’s business model utilizes a series of competitions between community
members to deliver software codes that solve complex development challenges or
software components and applications to meet client needs. Competition winners
are rated using company-developed algorithms or expert peer reviews. An elaborate
use of public profiles is used to allow members to compare their performance to
others. Profiles include the member’s username, contest history, basic personal
information, and the member’s rating for each type of contest participated in. The
rating scale is color-coded. Elite performers receive the coveted “red” status, which
garners status and prestige from fellow programmers. Member profiles also included
their country rank, total community rank, competition success rate, and reliability
of percentage of passing solutions in contests participated in. Members could also
choose if their earnings were displayed. This elaborate profile system allows mem-
bers to compare themselves with others. Members compete both within a particular
competition and with their performance overtime. This contributes to the motivation
levels of the community, often logging all-nighters in their quest to win.
Topcoder members agree that competing provides opportunities to learn and
improve. Post contest evaluations and peer reviews of submissions are effective
methods of feedback that allowed members to grow and develop. Members credit
continual learning opportunities from peers as a key reason to compete. Topcoder
also has collaboration forums that allowed less-experienced members to ask ques-
tions of and receive immediate feedback from more-experienced experts. A sense of
community exists among members.
3.5 Applying Motivational Theories at Work
Creating an environment that systematically enhances motivation is key to organi-

zational success. Two components of that environment are designing jobs that are
inherently enriching and putting a rigorous employee goal-setting system in place.
This section will discuss how the Job Characteristics Theory (JCT) and the Goal
Setting Theory can be applied to serve these purposes.
3.5.1 Job Characteristics Theory
Job characteristics theory (JCT) is an important contemporary model focused on

designing jobs to make the work inherently enriching for employees. In the early
work of Hackman, Lawler, and Turner (Hackman & Lawler, 1971; Turner &
82 J. Weber-Kramer
Lawrence, 1965), they built the foundations of objective job characteristics on job
design, drawing from Maslow’s needs and the expectancy theories. For instance,
employees are more engaged if they believe in the outcomes from demonstrating a
behavior; physiological and psychological needs drive employees’ behavior to pur-
sue outcomes; feedback can enhance meaningfulness and effectiveness.
The full model determined that employee perception of five task characteristics
was essential to meeting higher-order employee needs (Hackman & Oldham, 1975).
These task characteristics are as follows: skill variety – different and challenging
skills are called upon to complete the task, task identity – visibility into a task’s
beginning, end, and transformation process, task significance – task has significant
impact on the lives or work of others, autonomy – feeling responsible for the out-
come, and feedback – view of the level of accomplishment, either inherent within
the task or from an outside source such as a supervisor. With these five essential task
characteristics included within a job’s design, managers can enhance three critical
psychological states of employees: meaningfulness of the work, responsibility for
the outcome, and knowledge.
Research generally supports this theory; however, some shortcomings have been
documented including a lack of correlation between performance and job character-
istics and the measures used to test this theory are not always valid and reliable. It
also can be complex and time-consuming to implement.
3.5.1.1 Task Significance and Beneficiary Contact
Subsequent research by Grant et al. (2007) further explored the relationship of task
significance and employee motivation. The researchers sought to quantify the
impact on job performance of employees having respectful contact with beneficia-
ries of their efforts. Their study of a college scholarship fundraising organization
found that employees who briefly engaged directly with a student beneficiary of
their efforts increased their logged phone time by 142% and their funds raised by
171% 1 month after the contact. The control group had no change in either perfor-
mance metric. This study demonstrated the positive correlation between enhancing
task significance through beneficial respectful contact and an employee’s ability to
maintain motivation to perform and had been replicated in different fields (e.g.,
Siciliano & Thompson, 2022; Bellé, 2013, 2014).
The importance of leaders establishing a clear line of sight for employees regard-
ing how the job they perform impacts those who use or experience their work is
extremely important in giving meaning to and motivation for their efforts. Medtronic,
a medical device company, has long appreciated the value in making the connection.
Medtronic’s short-version mission is “toward full life,” meaning the company’s pur-
pose is to enable patients (those with cardiovascular and neurological diseases and
diabetes) to get up and live active and full lives due to the therapies provided by
their products. The vision becomes personal to employees each year when Medtronic
invites several patients and their families to share their stories of how Medtronic’s
devices have changed their lives. The stories from parents of their small child finally
3 Motivation 83
being able to run and play with siblings or from the elderly of being able to enjoy
their favorite hobbies again are heart-warming and emotionally moving. Often there
is not a dry eye in the room. It’s an effective and lasting motivator for Medtronic
employees and an annual event that employees are eager to be a part of.
3.5.1.2 IKEA Effect
The name IKEA effect was inspired by the Swedish furniture retailer, IKEA, whose
products usually require some assembly. Researchers determined that consumers
placed more value on products that they participated in the creation and successful
completion of (Norton et al., 2012).
This concept can be applied to employee motivation through work design.
Employees who are asked to get involved in problem-solving and decision-making
can feel that same sense of value by participating in the creation of a process, a
product, or a policy. The proliferation of the agile methodology across industries, in
which self-directed work teams are immersed in the creation of their work solu-
tions, leveraging the IKEA effect to motivate and retain staff is a relevant example
of the IKEA effect in the workplace.
3.5.2 Goal Setting and Motivation
Successful organizations understand the value of setting clear goals and aligning
employees’ behaviors with these desired outcomes to perform efficiently and effec-
tively. Setting organizational goals provides an effective framework for planning
and controlling the attainment of these desired outcomes as well as creating
employee motivation to perform.
Locke and Latham (2002) authored the Goal-Setting Theory. The theory dis-
cusses the effects of specific goals on performance and the importance of having
clear direction or understanding of the expectations. The theory concludes that high,
difficult goals produced the highest level of effort and performance. Locke and
Latham assume that behavior is the result of conscious goals and intentions, there-
fore goals influence behavior (performance). The setting of goals results in engage-
ment of personal commitment to the outcome and provides motivation for a desired
behavior. Exceeding the goal provides increasing employee satisfaction. Locke and
Latham concluded that the effects of goal setting are very reliable.
When leaders set organizational goals that cascade to the broad employee base,
it’s important to ensure that these goals are achieved in a manner that aligns with the
company’s values. Deluxe Corporation is best known for their origins as “the check
company.” In the 1990s, as check usage continued to decline, Deluxe worked dili-
gently to transform itself by exploring adjacent market opportunities in growth seg-
ments. Transformation was key to the long-term viability of the company and
leaders felt a sense of urgency to achieve this goal. These leaders, however, were
84 J. Weber-Kramer
steadfast in ensuring the company values were maintained through this transition.
To that end, each Deluxe employee participated in a rigorous performance manage-
ment system. This included an annual performance appraisal that assigned equal
importance weighting to achieving organizational objectives (the what) and behav-
ing in a manner consistent with the company’s core values (the how). Values such as
treating others with respect and dignity, acting with integrity, and being open and
honest in communications were evaluated for each employee via a 360-degree
review process. This performance management system was effective in motivating
employees to achieve objectives in a manner that was consistent with com-
pany values.
Now consider the opening Wells Fargo case. The “Eight is Great” cross-selling
goal was the end goal for Wells’ leaders and the employees were encouraged to use
whatever means necessary to achieve that goal. Ultimately, that myopic leadership
view led to the demise of top leaders, billions of dollars in company fines, and a
tarnished company reputation.
Consider again the questions posted following the opening case. How did things
go so awry at Wells Fargo? Why is achieving organizational goals such a powerful
motivator for employees? How do organizations ensure goals are pursued in a man-
ner consistent with the organization’s values? What responsibility do leaders have
to ensure ethical pursuit of the organizational goals they set?
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Julie Weber-Kramer has spent most of her 30-year career as a practitioner in various manage-
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to hospitality to healthcare technology to financial payments, she enjoys a broad view of organiza-
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tant causes serving the areas of food insecurity, underserved youth, and animal rescue. Her favorite
advice is Trust Your Journey (TYJ).
Part II
Meso Organizational Behavior Topics
Chapter 4
Teams in the Workplace
Ye Li
Abbreviations
CF Completer-Finisher
CO Co-ordinator
FIBA International Basketball Federation
IMP Implementer
ME Monitor Evaluator
NBA National Basketball Association
PL Plant
RI Resource Investigator
SH Shaper
SP Specialist
TW Team Worker
Why Superior Team Achieves Inferior Performance?

When the horn for competition delivered the sound of excitement and expectations
of the basketball fans in the 2006 International Basketball Federation (FIBA) World
Championship, the fierce basketball battle between the United States and Greece
grasped the heartbeats of all the audience on and off the court. The Dream Team of
the United States was newly head-coached by Mike Krzyzewski and collected
almost all the National Basketball Association (NBA) star basketball players nation-
wide, including Antawn Jamison, Brad Miller, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Chris
Paul, Dwight Howard, Dwyane Wade, Elton Brand, Joe Johnson, Kirk Hinrich,
LeBron James, Shane Battier. Supporting such a fantastic team with a legendary
coach and all strong players, fans of the Dream Team have been more ambitious
than ever to hope for the Gold Medal. In particular, the historical ups and downs of
the American basketball team in international competitions, as well as the
Y. Li (*)
School of Business, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
e-mail: liye@nju.edu.cn

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-31356-1_4
90 Y. Li
tremendous support from the national resources, have prepared the Dream Team to
fight for renewed glory to reinvent the prosperity of the basketball games.
However, to the largest surprise of the whole world, the Dream Team of the
United States lost to team Greece with a score of 95–101 in the semifinal competi-
tion, which left the Dream Team to end with a possible bronze medal. Specifically,
the Dream Team of the United States achieved a 12-point lead at first. Still, it failed
to conquer the repeated one-two punches accomplished by Papaloukas and
Schortsanitis from the team Greece. Although the breathtaking basketball battle was
full of exciting moments exhibiting certain NBA stars’ individual skills and qualifi-
cations, the Dream Team as a whole also exposed some inefficiencies and flaws in
cooperation, coordination, strategies, and necessary leadership. While it might not
be fair to call the bronze medal achievement a “failure” for the Dream Team of the
United States, considering the team members’ hard work and sports spirit, it is still
a bitter-sweet memory for all the fans with shock, disappointment, and confusion.
Individuals, who have such direct and indirect experiences, cannot help asking:
How could the Dream Team full of all NBA stars miss the best performance? What
constitutes effective team leadership to lead the Dream Team to harvest peak perfor-
mance? Are there any necessary measures to nurture the upcoming success of the
work teams made up of team leaders and members? With such questions in mind,
this chapter provides essential information to understand the basic components and
dynamics of teams (more than dream teams) in the workplace.
Teams and groups are the basic, functional, and prevalent units in organizations,
which generally consists of two or more individuals interacting with each other,
sharing one common goal, and possessing dependence on each other for work tasks
at the workplace (Kozlowski & Ilgen, 2006). Some scholars differentiate the term
“teams” and “groups” by emphasizing the assigned positions in teams compared to
groups (Mathieu et al., 2017). In the following sections of this chapter, teams and
groups are used interchangeably (Cohen & Bailey, 1997). Teams in organizations
are just like cells in the human body in that organizational functions need to be
manifested through different kinds of teams. This chapter will introduce elemental
and prevalent team composition, features, and concepts, followed by an introduc-
tion to several representative theories depicting the inside dynamics of teams, which
will lead us to highlight emerging topics about upcoming challenges during the
post-Covid-19 era for effective team management.
4.1 Team Characteristics
There are all kinds of teams in organizations that could fall into different categories
of different functions, compositions, and structures. This chapter does not aim to list
all the types of work teams exclusively. But it would help to know some prevalent
team forms in contemporary organizations. Therefore, with the aim of exemplary
illustration, this chapter introduces four types of prevalent workplace teams: manage-
ment teams, work teams, project teams, and parallel teams (Cohen & Bailey, 1997).
4 Teams in the Workplace 91
• Management teams generally comprise managers and supervisors from different

units or departments responsible for the organizational operation (Cohen &
Bailey, 1997). For example, the top management team consists of department
heads. It has authority in the social hierarchy of the company, which usually
makes strategic decisions to influence performance, innovation, and corporate
social responsibility (Liu et al., 2018).
• Work teams are the basic units that deliver service or/and create products in the
workplace (Cohen & Bailey, 1997). Such work teams usually have full-time and
fixed members shouldering assigned work responsibilities and acting as specific
work nodes in the team workflow. For instance, the after-sale service team in the
electronic products retailing store is a typical work team that addresses consum-
ers’ various requirements through a wide range of available services, from the
primary return and exchange service to the advanced maintenance service.
• Project teams are built to accomplish time-intensive projects with limited work
resources, which might bring innovation and net profits to the organizations
(Cohen & Bailey, 1997). So naturally, project teams draw their members from
different functions, which could integrate and utilize the diverse expertise of the
team members at certain project stages. After the completion of a project, the
project teams disband or engage in the following projects. For example, to design
a new mobile application for foreign language learning, the project team would
come into being by recruiting team members from information technology, lan-
guage study, customer service, and other backgrounds. Team members work
together to ensure the project team accomplishes the mobile application develop-
ment with acquired resources in a specific time frame.
• Parallel teams exist outside the established structures of the organizations, which
recruits people from different functions to offer advice and solutions for emerg-
ing problems (Cohen & Bailey, 1997). Specifically, the problem-solving and
quality improvement teams are typical parallel teams that help the management
authority develop new ideas and integrate resources to guarantee organizational
operation. For example, the quality improvement teams focus on process control
and outcome control in manufactories to help deliver production orders timely
and smoothly.
4.1.1 Norm
4.1.1.1 Definition of Team Norm
Team norms are the explicit or implicit rules that discipline and govern the attitudes
and behaviors of team members (Feldman, 1984). For example, in some work
teams, members don’t like to talk about their salary but would rather talk about each
other’s rewards and bonuses (note that salary disclosure is protected in certain states
such as Minnesota). Specifically, team norms offer guidance, standards, and require-
ments to team members to judge the appropriateness of their responses and
92 Y. Li
reactions in teams. For example, some football teams lift the key scorers high to
express recognition and kiss their jerseys to show their excitement for victory. These
ceremonial behaviors directly embody the norms for specific football teams.
Furthermore, we can further distinguish the team norms into descriptive and injunc-
tive norms (Cialdini et al., 1991). In particular, descriptive norms depict the most
prevalent behavioral pattern in reality for team members, emphasizing what most
people do in teams (Cialdini et al., 1991). For example, in a medical team, most
nurses keep short haircuts without mocktails. Then, this specific hairstyle possessed
by most nurses is a typical descriptive norm. In contrast, injunctive norms illustrate
the most approval behavior pattern ideal for team members, emphasizing what most
people endorse in teams (Cialdini et al., 1991). For example, in a service team, the
team members agree that they should not prey on the clients’ privacy. Then, this
specific agreement about protecting customers’ privacy becomes a typical injunc-
tive norm.
4.1.1.2 Functions of Team Norm
One famous example of team norms is the two-pizza rule in Amazon. Jeff Bezos
proposed that the number of team members in each internal team should be no more
than two-pizza shares, which could further facilitate efficiency, agility, scalability,
participation, and innovation (Bernet, 2021; Denning, 2019). Team norms generally
have four functions, including contributing to the team’s success, predicting the
responses from members, protecting team members from embarrassing, and solidi-
fying central values (Feldman, 1984).
First, team norms contribute to the survival and success of the teams (Feldman,
1984). The team members generate various behaviors during the social interactions
and task accomplishment processes. Some behaviors benefit the team’s goal
achievement, while others hinder the advancement toward goal attainment. After
the repeated verification and selection of different behaviors, the good behaviors
would be kept in the team norms. For example, sharing gossip and complaints might
be common in team social interactions. The team would confirm the norm of forbid-
ding such undesirable behaviors when the whole squad discovers the harmful con-
sequences of gossip and complaints. In this sense, such team norms would help the
team members communicate more smoothly and get along with each other more
harmoniously, which ultimately accelerates the team’s survival and success.
Team norms also help simplify and predict the responses and behaviors of team
members (Feldman, 1984). Team norms are shared and internalized by all the team
members, so they would follow the guidance of team norms to adjust their attitudes
and behaviors. For example, suppose a service team maintains the norm of smiling
during customer interaction. In that case, the team members are more likely to pres-
ent smiles even when confronting customer criticisms. Such predictivity and simpli-
fication of team members’ behaviors due to the team norm effectively assist the
team process management.
In addition, team norms protect team members from embarrassing and awkward
interpersonal situations (Feldman, 1984). Team members may encounter unfamiliar
and challenging problems when they interact with each other. For example, when a
team member just got married last week, team members are confused about whether
to send gifts to the newly married team member. For some teams with the straight
work-life segmentation norm, team members tend to separate the work and private
life domains. The freshly married team member following this rule will not share
their marriage news with other teammates. Even when this newly married team
member is willing to share the marriage news, other team members following the
work-life segmentation norm will not feel obligated to send marriage gifts. In this
way, the team norm helps all members reduce confusing behavioral choices and
avoid potential awkwardness in social relationships.
Last, team norms solidify the central values and confirm the distinguished identi-
ties of the teams (Feldman, 1984). The team members’ behaviors following the
team norms reflect what is right versus wrong and what is essential versus trivial for
the whole team. This further enforces the team’s core values and symbolizes the
unique team identity to other audiences. For example, the uniform rule of the flight
attendance crew delivers the core values of being neat and graceful for flight pas-
sengers and displaying a professional service identity toward the flight passengers.
4.1.1.3 Origins of Team Norm
Furthermore, team norms originate from different sources.

• Team norms could come from the clear advocacy by leaders or coworkers
(Feldman, 1984). Leaders generally have control over teams, which makes team
members willing to obey the guidance and preference of the leaders. For exam-
ple, if a team leader dislikes communicating with emails, he or she will ask the
subordinates to report face-to-face, resulting in a confirmed team norm. Team
norms also come from influential coworkers. For example, if some team mem-
bers dislike jokes and pranks, the whole team might forbid any jokes or pranks at
work, resulting in a no-kidding team norm. A recent interview from Mike
Krzyzewski, the well-known legendary basketball coach and the former head
coach of the Olympic Gold Medal team of the United States, has clarified social
standards in the Olympic teams consisting of individual stars, such as Kobe
Bryant, LeBron James, Jason Kidd, and Dwayne Wade. Mike Krzyzewski
required all the team players to look into each other’s eyes during the talking and
always tell the truth, which is a typical move to set team norms by the team lead-
ers (Sitkin & Hackman, 2011).
• Team norms could come from the key events of the team’s developmental history
(Feldman, 1984). For example, if a team leader celebrates a team member’s
birthday with a salary raise, all the other team members are willing to keep this
team norm of raising salaries on their birthdays. Such critical events have marked
the team with a unique tradition and a distinguished identity.
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• Team norms could also come from primary behavioral patterns (Feldman, 1984).
For example, if the team members hug each other to caress emotions after
encountering the first team failure, they might expect to give and receive hugs
facing future losses. Such a primary behavioral pattern provides an appropriate
response template for all the team members to deal with team failures, which
becomes a routine to predict and simplify the team members’ reactions.
• Team norms could come from carry-over behaviors in other circumstances. For
example, if the current team leader has led a team with a norm of writing the
daily summary for work in the previous team, the leader will tend to carry this
norm to the new team to enhance management effectiveness. Such carry-over
behaviors help accelerate task accomplishment and smooth the interactional pro-
cess between team members.
4.1.2 Climate
4.1.2.1 Definition of Team Climate
Team climates are the shared perceptions of team members about the team social
interaction process, task-performing states, and salient team events, which could
link team composition characteristics with team outcomes (Kozlowski & Ilgen,
2006; González-Romá et al., 2009). Team climates are essential for team effective-
ness because team members’ perception of the situation could determine their work
attitudes and behaviors (Mathieu et al., 2008). However, different teams tend to
have different kinds and levels of team climates due to the differentiated internal
team dynamics. For example, when a team is made up of skeptical team members,
the team tends to form a climate of questioning the team’s decision-making.
Although different team climates emphasize various components, this chapter
focuses on the typical team climates with abundant empirical evidence. Scholars
have demonstrated that team empowerment, psychological safety, and service cli-
mate determine the critical consequences for teams (Edmondson & Bransby, 2022;
Edmondson & Lei, 2014; Hong et al., 2013; Maynard et al., 2013; Walumbwa
et al., 2010).
4.1.2.2 Team Psychological Empowerment Climate
Team psychological empowerment climate refers to team members’ aggregated

belief that they share the accountability for team outcomes and have the necessary
power to influence the teams’ surrounding environments (Mathieu et al., 2006).
Specifically, the team psychological empowerment climate has four dimensions:
team potency, meaningfulness, autonomy, and impact (Maynard et al., 2013). First,
team potency denotes team members’ confidence in the team’s effectiveness
(Maynard et al., 2013). Second, team meaningfulness illustrates that team tasks are
worthwhile in generating benefits for others (Maynard et al., 2013). Third, team
autonomy means the teams have control and discretion over the team working pro-
cess and decision-makings (Maynard et al., 2013). Finally, team impact shows that
the tasks accomplished by the teams are essential in achieving organizational goals
(Maynard et al., 2013). Such four dimensions work together as a unitary state to
bring in high team performance, more team organizational citizenship behaviors,
less absenteeism, more team commitment, and accumulated team satisfaction
(Maynard et al., 2013). Moreover, structural empowerment characteristics (e.g.,
mechanic organizational structure), organizational support (e.g., supportive organi-
zational rules), and facilitating leadership behaviors (e.g., transformational leader-
ship) could enhance, but team competencies (e.g., team expertise) could hinder the
team’s psychological empowerment climate (Maynard et al., 2013).
4.1.2.3 Team Psychological Safety Climate
Team psychological safety climate denotes team members’ collective belief about
the teams’ safe environment for interpersonal risk-taking, which reflects the associ-
ated punishments and rewards for team members’ expression of true thoughts and
challenge to the status quo (Koopmann et al., 2016). For example, when employees
sense a high level of psychologically safe climate in teams, they are assured about
other team members’ tolerance and forgiveness of potential interpersonal disagree-
ments, confrontations, and conflicts. In addition, scholars have verified that specific
team leadership attributes such as listening, competence, and transparency, and
team characteristics such as supportive team structures, team autonomy, and role-
based status could enhance team psychological safety climate (Edmondson &
Bransby, 2022; Edmondson & Lei, 2014). Generally, a team psychological safety
climate could result in positive team outcomes, including team information sharing,
team learning, team decision-making quality, team task performance, team creativ-
ity, team innovation, and team voice (Deng et al., 2019; Edmondson & Lei, 2014;
Koopmann et al., 2016; Newman et al., 2017). However, many scholars also caution
against the potential negative influences of team psychological safety climate, such
as reduced team average work motivation and dysfunctional team behaviors (Deng
et al., 2019; Zhang & Wan, 2021).
4.1.2.4 Team Service Climate
Team service climate reflects team members’ shared perceptions about the support,
rewards, and punishments of the service policies and rules in the customer service
settings (Hong et al., 2013; Walumbwa et al., 2010). Although team service and
team service climate are both intangible and invisible, they are essential for the
ultimate team success. For example, the teams with a high level of service climate
are willing to put customers’ benefits first and receive positive feedback from the
customers, which wins rewards and bonuses from the administrative authorities.
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Specifically, servant leadership behaviors and service-oriented human resource

management practices could nurture a team service climate (Hong et al., 2013;
Walumbwa et al., 2010). As a result, a team service climate could induce enhanced
service behaviors, service performance, and service quality from employees, as well
as lift job satisfaction, commitment, and other positive attitudes for employees
(Hong et al., 2013). Furthermore, the high-quality service delivered by teams with a
high team service climate brings in more customer satisfaction and customer loy-
alty, which leads to increased sales growth, revenue growth, and profit growth
(Hong et al., 2013).
4.1.3 Roles
4.1.3.1 Definition of Roles
Everybody plays a set of roles in social life. For example, the team members in the
legendary hard rock band Guns N’ Roses need to coordinate the differentiated key-
board, bass, guitar (two guitarists), drummer, and singer roles in producing popular
songs and featured world tours. In the workplace, roles refer to the expectations of
behaviors from the significant others, which offer appropriate guidance and imita-
tive templates for group members’ behaviors (Anglin et al., 2022; Biddle, 1986).
Since team members come from different backgrounds with different skill sets, they
tend to shoulder various responsibilities and conduct distinguished behaviors in the
team process. Such expected behavioral patterns associated with labor division and
human capital differentiation determine the concrete roles of team members (Anglin
et al., 2022; Biddle, 1986). The assigned roles of the 2022 Argentina Soccer Team
are displayed in Table 4.1. To illustrate, the leadership role in teams means the
expectations of identifying work directions and providing work resources to the
subordinates. In contrast, the subordinate role in teams means following the speci-
fied work directions and utilizing the provided resources to deliver work results.
Although there may be core roles and noncore roles pertaining to specific tasks in
teams, a recent study analyzing the 7070 surgeries in hospitals found that the shared
experience between core and noncore roles could enhance the surgical team perfor-
mance, especially for the less complex team tasks (Vaulont et al., 2021).
4.1.3.2 The Team Role Model
Belbin (1981, 1993) has proposed the team role model to denote the differentiated
roles for coordinating team members to achieve team effectiveness, which has
inspired a lot of academic discussions, practical training, and business consultation
(Aritzeta et al., 2007). According to the team role model, nine roles function together
to accelerate the team operation (see Table 4.1). These specific roles tend to have
various mental abilities, motivations, values, personalities, and constraints (Aritzeta
Table 4.1 2022 Argentina soccer team roles

Team role Soccer field role Player
Completer-finisher (CF) Striker Paulo Dybala
Implementer (IMIP) Defense Nicolas Otamendi
Team worker (TW) Midfield Rodrigo De Paul
Specialist (SP) Goalkeeper Emiliano Martines
Monitor evaluator (ME) Coach Lionel Scaloni (head coach)
CO-ordinator (CO Captain Lionel Messi
Plant (PL) Creative midfielder Angel Correa
Shaper (SH) Box-to-box midfielder Angel Di Maria
Resource investigator (RI) Winger Guido Rodriguez
et al., 2007). The general team role balance tenet assumes that teams will function
effectively and efficiently only when all the team roles are displayed and arranged
according to the teams’ developmental stages (Aritzeta et al., 2007). The concrete
team roles are described as follows:
• Completer-Finisher (CF). They are primarily concerned about the assigned tasks
and agreed work pace, which requires a lot of self-control and self-discipline to
deliver the expected results on time. They are also anxious, submissive, and wor-
risome during the teamwork process because they concentrate on the team goals
and monitor the errors and deviations in the teamwork. Eventually, their toler-
ance and persistence in hard work ensure the expected success for the whole
team (Aritzeta et al., 2007).
• Implementer (IMP). They perform concrete tasks and implement all the team
plans, reflecting their stable, systematic, efficient work styles. On the other hand,
they are also conservative and inflexible in response to coming changes and pos-
sible challenges because they have identified with the original action plans. They
devote all their time and energy to turning their work plans into reality (Aritzeta
et al., 2007).
• Team Worker (TW). They are cooperative, mild, loyal team players willing to
listen to others and build harmonious relationships. They are also unassertive and
uncompetitive in crises because they emphasize social interactions and avoid
necessary interpersonal confrontations. In sum, they are the glues that stick the
whole team together (Aritzeta et al., 2007).
• Specialist (SP). They are experts with professional backgrounds who are inter-
ested in and dedicated to solving technical problems. They are also single-
minded and less interested in social interactions because their sense of
achievement comes from conquering professional difficulties. They provide
essential knowledge and practical skills to help the whole team undergo the tech-
nology transformation (Aritzeta et al., 2007).
• Monitor Evaluator (ME). They are dependable and fair-minded in checking the
teamwork process and are serious and stable in monitoring the team outputs.
They are also discerning about all the alternative options because they are open
to errors and changes. Although they lack the motivation and ability to influence
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others, they check the whole team accurately to maintain the right track (Aritzeta
et al., 2007).
• Co-ordinator (CO). They are optimistic and mature in dealing with interpersonal
conflicts and are confident and dominant in emphasizing team goals. They are
also self-controlled and trusting in delegating authority to others because they
tend to make the best of different team members’ advantages. In the end, they act
as the bridge to integrate the strengths of all the team members (Aritzeta
et al., 2007).
• Plant (PL). They are original and imaginative in creating new ideas and are
radical-minded and uninhibited in seeking solutions to complex issues. They are
also dominant and unorthodox in breaking established rules because they tend to
think out of the box to find new approaches. In summary, they are the energetic
engines for team creativity and innovation (Aritzeta et al., 2007).
• Shaper (SH). They are arrogant and competitive in social interactions and are
impatient and impulsive in front of interpersonal challenges. On the other hand,
they also function well under intense pressure and dare to solve complex prob-
lems. However, their reckless behavioral style could hurt other team members’
feelings. Eventually, they fuel the interpersonal and task dynamics in the teams
(Aritzeta et al., 2007).
• Resource Investigator (RI). They are flexible and persuasive in interpersonal
interactions, diplomatic, and enthusiastic about accumulating new resources.
They are also social and communicative in developing new social contacts
because they are willing to extend the team boundaries. In the end, they bring
social capital and related resources to the teams (Aritzeta et al., 2007).
4.1.4 Social Loafing
4.1.4.1 Definition of Social Loafing
Social loafing illustrates that team members tend to devote less time and energy
when working with others than when they work alone (Karau & Williams, 1993).
For example, Carlos Henrique Raposo, the so-called greatest yet controversial “pro-
fessional football player,” has an exaggerated career of more than 20 years fooling
around the top football teams by claiming various “injuries” without actually play-
ing in real competitions as a perfect free rider. In the team working process, some-
times, it is hard to trace and monitor every team member’s effort. Then some team
members might choose to slack off to become free riders. For example, in a tug-of-
war activity, when all the team members are pulling the rope with strength, appar-
ently with exaggerated facial expressions, it is still hard to know who is faking the
efforts with specific emotional acting. Social loafing is a prevalent phenomenon in
organizations, which could cause a lot of losses in human capital utilization and
ultimate productivity.
4.1.4.2 Theoretical Foundations of Social Loafing
There are several theoretical views to explain the formation of social loafing. First,
according to social impact theory, individuals in certain situations could be either
influential sources or targets. When the team leader, as a socially significant source,
gives orders to all the team members, as social impact targets, to accomplish a col-
lective task, the overall social impact exerted by the team leaders is divided by all
the team member targets. Thus, each team member receives a reduced social impact
from the team leader and decides to spare decreased effort in the collective team
task. The social impact theory explains why social loafing tends to emerge with the
increase of team size (Karau & Williams, 1993; Latané, 1981). Second, some schol-
ars have proposed evaluation potential is the critical factor influencing social loaf-
ing. In a collective task, the inputs of all the team members are integrated and
blended into the final team outcomes, which makes it challenging to identify and
evaluate each team member’s contribution. This ambiguity of accountability and
action in the collective output reduces the motivation of team members. However,
when the evaluation standard and identification of individual input are clear to the
team members, they are more likely to contribute to the team tasks (Karau &
Williams, 1993; Williams et al., 1981). Third, whether team members regard their
efforts as indispensable influences their engagement in the team tasks, which deter-
mines social loafing. If a team member recognizes the indispensability of his or her
impact on the team outcomes, he or she might go all out to participate in the team
tasks (Karau & Williams, 1993; Kerr & Bruun, 1983). Moreover, team members
tend to match their efforts with their coworkers. Put simply, to maintain justice and
fairness, the focal employee would exert more (less) effort with high (low) expecta-
tions of other teammates’ efforts (Jackson & Harkins, 1985; Karau & Williams, 1993).
4.1.4.3 Social Facilitation Effects
However, other scholars have also advocated the social facilitation effects, which
means that individual performance could be enhanced in the social presence of oth-
ers (Bond & Titus, 1983). Specifically, Bond and Titus (1983) conducted a meta-
analysis of 241 studies to provide support for the social facilitation effects. They
reported that the social facilitation due to others’ presence accounts for 0.3–3% of
the performance variance in the summarized studies. In particular, other individu-
als’ presence could accelerate the performance speed for simple tasks but hinder the
performance for complex tasks (Bond & Titus, 1983). Furthermore, although other
individuals’ presence elicits the focal individual’s physiological arousal for com-
plex tasks, it damages the performance accuracy for such complex tasks (Bond &
Titus, 1983). Moreover, other individuals’ presence improves performance accu-
racy for simple tasks (Bond & Titus, 1983).
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4.1.4.4 Triggers for Social Loafing
Recently, some scholars have integrated studies concerning social loafing and social
facilitation effects to explain whether team members exert more or less effort in
team versus individual work (Torka et al., 2021). Specifically, according to their
analyses, individuals would spend less effort in teamwork compared with individual
work when (a) the value of their efforts is not essential to the ultimate team goal; (b)
social comparison between team members is not available; (c) evaluation potential
is lacking in the team process; (d) they work in ad hoc teams full of strangers; and
(e) the team tasks at hand lack meaningfulness (Torka et al., 2021). In this sense,
social loafing in teamwork is a complicated process influenced by many factors,
which does not necessarily reflect the laziness of team members.
4.1.5 Cooperation and Cohesion
4.1.5.1 Definition and Components of Team Cohesion
Team cohesion is the emergent state caused by the combination of different forces
that help the team members stick together, which could facilitate team viability
and effectiveness (Beal et al., 2003). Team cohesion indicates the current situa-
tion of interpersonal dynamic and task process of the team members, which con-
sists of three components (Mullen & Copper, 1994). Among them, the
interpersonal attraction component of team cohesion refers to the liking and
attachment between team members, which nurtures them with belongingness and
trust (Beal et al., 2003; Mullen & Copper, 1994). For example, in a college bas-
ketball team, all the team players tend to have a high level of interpersonal attrac-
tion because they recognize each other’s strength and charisma. The task
commitment component of team cohesion denotes whether the team tasks help
team members achieve important team goals and the team members’ commitment
level to the team tasks (Beal et al., 2003; Mullen & Copper, 1994). For example,
in a charity group, all the team members will have a high level of task commit-
ment in the donation event because such collected money could change the life
quality of the people in need.
Moreover, the group pride component of team cohesion illustrates the team
members’ endorsement of the values, ideologies, and missions of the teams and the
proud memberships in the teams (Beal et al., 2003; Mullen & Copper, 1994). For
example, team members tend to have a high level of group pride in a medical sur-
gery team because they can work together to save patients’ lives. All three compo-
nents of team cohesion work together to ensure the teams’ unity, harmony, and
solidity. For example, even outside of the workplace, the perceived cohesion of the
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) team could result in more AA attendance, the imple-
mentation of AA activities, and increased abstinence (Rice & Tonigan, 2012).
4.1.5.2 Team Cohesion and Team Performance
A hot debate about whether team cohesion is linked to effective team performance
has been the research focus of many scholars. In particular, team behaviors have a
more robust correlation with team cohesion than team performance outcomes (Beal
et al., 2003). Moreover, abundant empirical evidence supports that team cohesion
could enhance team performance when (a) the team members have adequate social
interaction opportunities and task interdependence; (b) the team size is relatively
small; and (c) the focused teams are real teams in the workplace with unique histo-
ries but not artificial teams in the laboratories (Mullen & Copper, 1994). In addition,
some scholars have summarized the strength of team cohesion-performance rela-
tionships in different team settings (Chiocchio & Essiembre, 2009). Specifically, the
positive relationship between task cohesion and performance and the positive rela-
tionship between team cohesion and team outcomes are both stronger in project
teams than those in service or production teams (Chiocchio & Essiembre, 2009).
4.1.5.3 Definition of Team Cooperation
Although team cohesion and team cooperation are interrelated, they are different
concepts. Team cooperation depicts team members’ willingness to contribute per-
sonal efforts to collectively interdependent team tasks, which emphasizes behav-
ioral devotion and actual efforts in the team processes (Wagner III, 1995). Scholars
have recognized and demonstrated the neurobiological foundations of synchronized
cooperation. For example, alpha oscillatory activity is vital in coordinating indi-
viduals’ internal time clock and joint attention in interpersonal cooperation (Mu
et al., 2018). Team cooperation represents interactive assistance and reciprocal help
transforming individual inputs into collective outcomes (Liang et al., 2015).
Generally speaking, team cooperation is the recognized guarantee for team perfor-
mance (Kozlowski & Bell, 2013; Lin et al., 2017).
4.1.5.4 Determinants for Team Cooperation
Moreover, a set of factors could account for the formation of team cooperation.
First, the team composition of team members from different backgrounds poses
challenges to team cooperation. Specifically, the diversity of team members’ gen-
der, age, and personalities is negatively related to team cooperation because such
diverse team members might have different values, behavioral styles, and prefer-
ences in accomplishing the teamwork (Liang et al., 2015). Second, effective team
communication consisting of taskwork communication and teamwork communica-
tion could enhance team cooperation. Specifically, taskwork communication
involves sending and receiving task-related information and generating problem
solutions, which could accelerate the easiness and efficiency of team task coopera-
tion (Kozlowski & Bell, 2013). Teamwork communication involves the delivery of
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appropriate social interactive modes and the establishment of interpersonal rituals,

which could increase interpersonal harmony and subsequent team cooperation
(Kozlowski & Bell, 2013). Third, the team affective tone, representing the similar
and unitary affective reactions in teams, could also enhance team cooperation (Lin
et al., 2017). The team affective tone depicts the team members’ shared positive and
negative emotional states, which could determine the liking and trust toward each
other and, eventually, the willingness for team cooperation (Lin et al., 2017).
However, whether social hierarchy increases or decreases team cooperation is still
under debate. A recent study analyzing the archival data of the National Basketball
Association (NBA) indicates that pay and participation differentiation representing
the social hierarchy could enhance intrateam cooperation and subsequent team per-
formance. In particular, scholars have cautioned that such facilitating effect of social
hierarchy on team cooperation exists only in basketball as the procedurally interde-
pendent tasks but not in baseball as the procedurally independent tasks (Halevy
et al., 2012).
4.1.6 Competition and Conflict
4.1.6.1 Definition and Types of Team Conflicts
Team conflicts exist when different team members have psychological or actual ten-
sion with each other (De Dreu & Weingart, 2003). Team conflicts are prevalent and
inevitable because different team members tend to have various agendas, values,
and benefits. It is common that the requirements and standpoints of team members
contradict and collide. For example, when the team members decide the reward
structure for each member, some members favor the egalitarian style to divide the
reward equally for everyone. Still, others might prefer the equity style to allocate the
reward according to each team member’s contribution. Due to the different beliefs
held by various team members, conflicts naturally emerge.
There are three types of team conflicts: task, relationship, and process conflict
(De Dreu & Weingart, 2003; Jehn, 1997; O’Neill et al., 2013). Team task conflict
refers to the incompatibility between different perspectives and ideas about the task
contents, which centers around the work itself (Jehn & Mannix, 2001). For exam-
ple, when the marketing team is designing a new advertisement for a new shampoo,
some team members suggest focusing on the catchy slogan as the primary campaign
strategy. Still, other team members disagree and propose focusing on the visual
picture as the campaign’s primary strategy. In this case, the team members have task
conflict concerning the concrete task content. Team relationship conflict refers to\
interpersonal frictions and affective tensions between team members, which
involves disliking, distrust, and frustration among team members (Jehn & Mannix,
2001). For example, in a service team, some members cannot put up with other team
members’ personalities and cannot get along. In this case, the team members have a
high level of relationship conflict. Team process conflict refers to the disagreement
about the work procedure, work style, and work means, which centers around how
to accomplish the team tasks (Jehn & Mannix, 2001). For example, in a delivery
team, some team members propose delivering the goods by car, while others sug-
gest delivering the goods by plane. In this case, the team members tend to have
process conflicts.
4.1.6.2 Team Conflicts and Team Effectiveness
Scholars and practitioners have long been interested in whether team conflicts
enhance or hinder team effectiveness. A meta-analysis has summarized that team
task and relationship conflict are detrimental to team performance and satisfaction
(De Dreu & Weingart, 2003). Moreover, complex team settings, such as decision-
making, project, and mixed team tasks, would strengthen the negative influences of
team conflicts on team performance (De Dreu & Weingart, 2003). Surprisingly,
another meta-analysis found that team task conflict, team relationship conflict, and
team process conflict exert null impacts on team innovation, representing the devel-
opment and application of creative and practical ideas (O’Neill et al., 2013).
Furthermore, team relationship conflict and task conflict are negatively correlated
with team potency, which indicates team members’ beliefs about their potential to
accomplish the team tasks (O’Neill et al., 2013).
4.1.6.3 Conflict Management Strategies
Furthermore, De Dreu et al. (2001) proposed five conflict management strategies

based on the dual concern theory, which emphasizes the different weights of con-
cern for self and others. First, the forcing conflict management strategy comes from
high concern for self and low concern for others, which means utilizing positional
commitments, threats, and persuasion to selfishly force the other party to follow the
focal party’s will (De Dreu et al., 2001). Second, the yielding conflict management
strategy comes from low concern for self and high concern for others, which means
adopting unilateral accommodation, unconditional sacrifice, and proactive helping
to selflessly accept and follow the other party’s will (De Dreu et al., 2001). Third,
the avoiding conflict management strategy comes from low concern for self and low
concern for others, which means ignoring and denying the debated issue and taking
no actions to tackle the focused problems (De Dreu et al., 2001). Fourth, the
problem-solving conflict management strategy comes from high concern for self
and high concern for others, which means confirming both parties’ priorities and
making trade-offs to achieve a beneficial balance between the two interactive parties
(De Dreu et al., 2001). Finally, the compromising conflict management strategy
comes from intermediate concern for self and intermediate concern for others,
which means applying matching concessions and necessary threats to establish the
middle ground between the two parties to accelerate problem solutions (De Dreu
et al., 2001).
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4.1.6.4 Definition of Team Competition
Although team conflict and team competition are interrelated, they are different
concepts. In particular, team competition refers to the striving for zero-sum out-
comes or the achieving relative superiority to team members (Swab & Johnson,
2019; To et al., 2020). Competition between different social entities has neurosci-
ence foundations. For example, scholars have utilized the functional magnetic reso-
nance imaging (FMRI) method to scan the brain activities of 11 Red Sox and 7
Yankees fans. They found that witnessing the supported team’s success or the rival
team’s failure could activate the ventral striatum, which reflects the associated plea-
sure of subjective aggression tendency toward the rival team’s fans (Cikara et al.,
2011). Due to resource limitations in teams, team members have to fight for infinite
financial, career, and work resources, which results in zero-sum situations involving
different gains and losses for team members (Swab & Johnson, 2019). Moreover,
team members also tend to engage in social comparison to confirm their work status
and acquire self-enhancement, which makes relative superiority in certain areas the
main goal for team members’ behaviors (To et al., 2020).
Furthermore, team conflict emphasizes the disagreement and incompatibilities of
different team members, which does not necessarily involve competition for limited
resources or relative superiority (To et al., 2020). In contrast, team competition
emphasizes the struggle to acquire more personal resources or relative self-
enhancement following the agreed rules or structures in teams, which does not nec-
essarily indicate the incompatibilities of values, standpoints, or work styles (To
et al., 2020). Moreover, team conflict and competition could be bidirectionally
related, especially in certain situations. For example, team conflict could escalate
into team competition for limited decision-making authorities to impose one party’s
will on another party. Team competition could also bring in more team conflict
because of the potential paradox between the two parties’ goals and benefits (Swab
& Johnson, 2019; To et al., 2020).
4.1.6.5 Categories of Team Competition
Team competition mainly manifests in four categories in the work workplace. The
first team competition category concerns the competitive reward structure in teams,
also called structural competition (To et al., 2020). The reward interdependence
structure is designed to benefit only a few team members. For example, in a sales
team, only the top salesperson could get the largest share of annual bonuses.
Moreover, scholars have demonstrated that when the team’s external status is not
facing a threat, team members tend to strive for status through intrateam competi-
tion. In contrast, when the team’s external status is encountering a threat, team
members tend to strive for status through intrateam cooperation (Chang et al., 2017).
The second team competition category concerns the teams’ climates and atmo-
spheres of competition, which focuses on team members’ perceptions and evalua-
tions of the competition level in their teams (To et al., 2020). For example, a top
management team consists of leaders from different functional backgrounds.

Although the company policy may not explicitly express the reward structure for the
whole top management team, the team members might still recognize a high level
of team competition climate confronting selfish and self-centered team members.
The third team competition category concerns the potential dyads of rivalries
within the same team, which means the competition between different people or
specific sub-groups (To et al., 2020). For example, in a large research team, some
team members forming a small alliance acquire limited resources for developing
revolutionary products. In contrast, other team members from a coalition ask for
resources to enhance incremental services. The fourth team competition category
concerns the competitiveness of team members, which emphasizes team members’
dispositional preference for competition (To et al., 2020). For example, in an athlete
team, the team members are highly competitive in skills along with a high level of
competitiveness traits, which could also result in a high level of team competition.
4.1.6.6 Team Competition and Individual Performance
However, whether team competition facilitates or hinders individual performance is

up to different factors (To et al., 2020). First, female competitors tend to have lower
intrinsic motivation and performance than male competitors in apparently mascu-
line tasks because the female competitors tend to feel stereotype threats. Such dif-
ferences between the male and female competitors are not salient when they both
engage in gender-neutral tasks and face inter-team competitions (To et al., 2020).
Second, previous successful performance would bring in more intrinsic motivation
and performance in competition due to increased self-confidence. In contrast, the
high level of the opponent’s capability will hinder the focal individual’s perfor-
mance due to the upward social comparison and resultant perception of hardship
(To et al., 2020). It is easy to understand because the two individuals in the competi-
tion strive for a better place than the other. Third, the harm expectations from other
opponents and the loss salience could induce proactive social undermining toward
others because such situations elicit threat appraisals for the focal individuals (To
et al., 2020).
4.2 Dynamic of Teams
4.2.1 Stages of Team Development
Teams are like humans who have their life circles with different developmental
stages. According to Tuckman’s (1965) research about therapy teams, training
teams, and laboratory teams, he has summarized the four developmental stages of
teams, including the forming, storming, norming, and performing stages. Tuckman’s
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(1965) classic team developmental stage model has inspired a lot of practical poli-
cies and academic explorations (Kozlowski & Bell, 2013; Kozlowski & Ilgen, 2006).
4.2.1.1 The Forming Stage
The Forming Stage In this stage, the team members just come together to attempt
to get along and work together. Since the first meeting and interaction, team mem-
bers are collecting information about their peers, the team tasks, the team environ-
ment, and the team atmosphere. On the one hand, team members are testing each
others’ interactive styles, bottom lines, and acceptable interpersonal activities by
reaching out to each other. On the other hand, team members orient themselves to
accumulate knowledge about goal setting, work pace, work procedure, and labor
division in the team tasks. For example, in a chorus team, team members are at first
strangers to each other. They have to socialize to get information about each mem-
ber’s vocal characteristics and selected songs. In sum, team members get to know
each other and the assigned team tasks in the initial forming stage (Tuckman, 1965).
4.2.1.2 The Storming Stage
The Storming Stage In this stage, team members tend to have different opinions,
standpoints, and perspectives about identifying and accomplishing the team goals,
which could arouse various intragroup conflicts. The different approaches from dif-
ferent team members may be contradictory, confusing, and controversial, and team
members tend to argue with each other and strive for dominant influences. Besides,
the emotional reactions toward task demands are very salient because team mem-
bers tend to have resistance and disagreements in the task assignment processes.
The key features in this stage are the lack of shared understanding about the team
tasks and the lack of forgiveness among team members. For example, the team
members in the chorus team are fighting for the assigned vocal parts and arguing for
the self-righteous coordination plans in the storming stage. In sum, team members
strive for relatively advantageous status in social interactions and negotiable task
demands in the storming stage (Tuckman, 1965).
4.2.1.3 The Norming Stage
The Norming Stage In this stage, team members are gradually settling down with
acceptance of each other’s merits and limitations. Specifically, team members have
achieved a high level of harmony because they have found constructive solutions to
their conflicts after repeated explorations. In this sense, the whole team is character-
ized by social cohesion based on shared emotional feelings about the team members
and the team tasks. Moreover, team members are willing to openly exchange their
ideas, thoughts, and perspectives about the team tasks, work procedures, and goals.
For example, team members have agreed upon their vocal parts and found socially
acceptable rules to get along with each other in the chorus team. In sum, team mem-
bers have established social norms for appropriate social behaviors and confirmed
effective work procedures with specific means to accomplish work tasks
(Tuckman, 1965).
4.2.1.4 The Performing Stage
The Performing Stage In this stage, team members are clear about their respective
roles and the agreed role structure of the teams, which makes it easy for them to
cooperate to solve the emerging problems inside and outside the teams. Team mem-
bers have fallen into different functional categories. They have prepared their skills,
knowledge, and experiences to work together as an effective entity in the workplace,
which all together guarantees the teams with elicited team performance. In addition,
team members are seasoned at working together to come up with constructive solu-
tions and novel proposals to tackle various team problems. Such intellectual integra-
tion and emotional unity are critical resources for achieving desirable team
outcomes. For example, the team members suitable for different vocal parts in a
chorus team could finally go on the stage and deliver beautiful music to the audi-
ence. In sum, team members are satisfied with their functionality and willing to
devote energy to accomplishing the team tasks efficiently and effectively in a col-
lective way.
4.2.1.5 The Input-Process-Output Model
Although the four developmental stages of the teams are summarized intuitively to
facilitate an easy understanding of the teams’ life circles, Tuckman’s (1965) devel-
opmental stage model does not address the internal underlying functional process of
teams. In contrast, the input-process-output model provides more detailed informa-
tion about team effectiveness’s operational and functional mechanisms (Hackman,
1987; Salas et al., 2004; Tannenbaum et al., 1992). Specifically, individual team
members’ characteristics (e.g., knowledge, abilities, and personalities) and team
characteristics (e.g., power structure, team resources, and team composition) are the
typical inputs of team effectiveness. In addition, the intermediate team processes
consist of interpersonal processes (e.g., communication and coordination) and task
processes (e.g., decision-making and problem-solving). Finally, the team outputs
mainly denote the quality and quantity of team performance, innovation, satisfac-
tion, and other consequences (Salas et al., 2004; Tannenbaum et al., 1992).
Moreover, external environments could also influence the repeated team input-
process-output circle (e.g., organizational reward system, organizational culture,
and environment dynamism). On the other hand, it is easy to understand such a team
process compared to a complex production machine. Specifically, we add the raw
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materials (i.e., the team inputs in this case) into the machine, and the machine would
run through multiple, invisible and systematic processes. Finally, we can get the
products as the outputs from the machine. To summarize, the input-process-output
team model enables us to build a symbolic, coherent, and dynamic picture of the
team effectiveness.
4.2.2 Punctuated Equilibrium Paradigm
Changes are inevitable for teams to survive and prosper in the ever-changing,
dynamic, and uncertain business environment worldwide. Therefore, when we dig
into the evolution and adaptation of teams, the punctuated equilibrium paradigm
helps delineate the potential change processes in teams. Furthermore, the punctu-
ated equilibrium paradigm of teams assumes repeated alternations between incre-
mental adjustments and abrupt revolutions, which indicates a “punctuated
equilibrium” in the team progress and development (Gersick, 1991). Specifically,
the developmental change process of teams involves a relatively longer duration of
stability and somewhat shorter periods of upheavals.
4.2.2.1 The Deep Structure
In the punctuated equilibrium paradigm, the deep structure maintains the basic sta-
bility of the teams, which resists, offsets, and absorbs the shocks from abrupt
changes. Eventually, the deep structure of the teams might be altered by the accu-
mulation of different sudden changes (Gersick, 1991). For example, the deep root of
a tree could protect the tree from windy weather. However, if the wind amounts to a
tornado, the tree could be pulled off from the ground, and the giant tornado could
destroy its deep root system. Specifically, the deep structure comprises differenti-
ated parts that find a way to work together. The deep structure, constantly exchang-
ing resources with the external environments, could maintain its core feature by
controlling the differentiated parts in various choices and activities (Gersick, 1991).
The deep structure of teams seems like a jellyfish. Although the shape of external
body parts changes with the flow of the ocean, acquiring essential nutrition from the
water, the deep inner structure of the jellyfish stays the same. In the case of teams,
the deep structure consists of basic performance strategies, interactional patterns,
work approaches, and the corresponding environment.
Moreover, in the equilibrium periods, the activity patterns and the choices of the
teams stay the same as before. In this sense, the deep structure of teams maintained
the same despite some superficial interruptions. However, teams only make minor
adjustments to the external environment without threatening the core functional
structure of teams. Generally speaking, the cognitive, motivational, obligation, and
benefit reasons could account for the stability in the equilibrium periods. First, peo-
ple may not realize an alternative approach to operating teams since their cognition
narrowly focuses on the conventional approach. Second, team members might fear
the potential loss, uncertainty, and failure generated by new explorations, constrain-
ing the motivational force to break the extant equilibrium with innovative methods.
Third, team members already have commitment and obligation to the old system,
which makes them reluctant to abandon the current equilibrium states. Forth, the
equilibrium periods could benefit the teams with accelerated efficiency and guaran-
teed effectiveness in task accomplishment and resource acquisition, making the
equilibrium a much better choice for the current teams (Gersick, 1991).
4.2.2.2 The Revolutionary Periods
The revolutionary periods are characterized by radical changes that could totally
rewrite the deep structure but not incremental changes in the equilibrium periods
maintaining the game. The original deep structure would melt down first in the revo-
lutionary periods, leaving the old parts fragmented. Then the old parts and the new
components could be integrated, which gives space to the emergence of new rules.
Once the deep structure is broken down, all the corresponding parts depending on it
would also fall apart. For example, if a research team has to deliver customer ser-
vice, the research team’s basic function of innovation has to expand to include inter-
personal service. In this sense, the original assigned roles and performance standards
are subject to enormous changes to meet the refreshed task requirements.
Moreover, internal and external changes could account for the occurrence of
revolutions. First, as with the developmental process of teams, the differentiated
components of the deep structure might become misaligned with each other, which
causes internal strain for revolutionary changes. Second, the external environment
is usually dynamic and uncertain, which could pose various threats to the resource
exchange abilities of the teams. Thus, teams facing internal changes or/and external
changes always experience enough failure to break up their inertia to embrace the
upcoming revolutions (Gersick, 1991).
Applying a similar logic, Gersick (1988) proposed that teams went through the
developmental process by taking turns to experience inertia and revolution during
the task accomplishments in specific periods. Specifically, the evolving processes of
teams are not linear or follow fixed modes in particular sequences, such that teams
have the potential to transform abruptly with the sudden changes of the external
environment. For example, if an emergency team aims to solve a new crisis, the
emergency team might not have enough time or resources to go over the regular
team stages step by step. Instead, the emergency team could become mature right
after handling internal challenges and external crises.
Generally speaking, each team’s history could be unique, and there is not one
best developmental way to fit all teams. For example, the project teams go through
the beginning, transition, and end stages. At first, the project teams are seasoned at
carrying out the conventional rules and behavioral patterns. Until some time points,
the project teams have accumulated enough information and knowledge about the
boundaries, limitations, and even hindrance of the conventional approaches
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embedded in the original deep structure. In such a phrase, the project teams have
suffered enough failure to realize the need for change. Then the project teams start
to go through the time-limited transition periods by soliciting outside opinions,
expanding old social networks, and acquiring new resources to form new rules for
the team operations. Finally, the project teams fall back into the loop of new begin-
ning, transition, and temporary ending phrases (Gersick, 1988).
4.2.3 Team Learning and Knowledge Management
4.2.3.1 Definition of Team Learning
Team learning refers to a continuous process in which team members explore, share
and accumulate knowledge with repeated reflection and actions to achieve knowl-
edge exchange, behavioral changes, and team adaptation (Mathieu et al., 2008).
Specifically, team learning is a multilevel interaction process involving both indi-
vidual and collective learning, which is dynamic, iterative, and progressive (Bell
et al., 2012). There are three main theoretical approaches to understanding the team
learning process: the regulation approach, the information processing approach, and
the macrocognition approach. The regulation approach emphasizes individual and
team level goal setting, action regulation, and team emergent states in team mem-
bers’ knowledge and skill acquisition (Bell et al., 2012). The information process-
ing approach explains the interactive social process in which team members acquire,
share and manage information (Bell et al., 2012). Finally, the macrocognition
approach illustrates individual knowledge acquisition, the transformation from per-
sonal knowledge to collective knowledge, and the interdependent knowledge adap-
tation in the collaborative decision-making and team knowledge-building process to
solve complex problems (Bell et al., 2012).
4.2.3.2 Knowledge Sharing
The team learning process could generate new collective knowledge, shared mental
models, and effective team performance (Bell et al., 2012; Kozlowski & Bell, 2013;
Mathieu et al., 2008). Since the team learning process mainly involves the sharing,
co-creation, and retention of knowledge by team members, the effectiveness of team
learning heavily depends on team members’ knowledge-sharing and knowledge-
hiding behaviors. Knowledge sharing denotes that team members provide task-
related information to each other to facilitate problem-solving, decision-making,
and innovation (Wang & Noe, 2010). Knowledge sharing can happen in several
ways, including face-to-face communication, hand-written documents, and even
other indirect channels in social networks (Wang & Noe, 2010). As a result, knowl-
edge sharing could enhance the utility and efficiency of knowledge, save costs, and
bring benefits to teams (Wang & Noe, 2010). In addition, scholars have
demonstrated that team cohesion, empowering team leadership behaviors, and posi-
tive team communication styles could enhance team members’ knowledge sharing
(Wang & Noe, 2010).
4.2.3.3 Knowledge Hiding
Knowledge hiding indicates that team members’ intentional withholding and con-
cealment of knowledge requested by other team members (Arain et al., 2022).
Notably, knowledge hiding is not the exact opposite of knowledge sharing since
knowledge hiding has its own dimensions and characteristics (Arain et al., 2022).
Although knowledge hiding negatively correlates with knowledge sharing, knowl-
edge hiding could explain incremental variance beyond knowledge sharing in the
team and organizational outcomes (Arain et al., 2022). In detail, knowledge hiding
has three agreed dimensions including evasive hiding, playing dumb, and rational-
ized hiding. Evasive hiding emphasizes the intentional deception of hiding knowl-
edge by lying or twisting the requested information and expertise (Arain et al.,
2022). Playing dumb points to the pretended ignorance of knowledge hiders, which
utilizes explicit dumbness to obscure the knowledge exchange (Arain et al., 2022).
Rationalized hiding explains the justification after the calculation between benefits
and costs for knowledge hiding (Arain et al., 2022). Knowledge hiding falls into
the workplace deviance category, which could result in enormous social and eco-
nomic damage to teams and organizations (Arain et al., 2022). Specifically, knowl-
edge hiding could induce decreased task performance, creativity, and job
satisfaction, as well as increased turnover intention, reciprocal knowledge hiding,
and distrust (Arain et al., 2022). Moreover, scholars have demonstrated that job
insecurity, perceived competition, and workplace mistreatment in teams could
induce more knowledge hiding. In contrast, interactional justice, task interdepen-
dence, and a knowledge-sharing climate could mitigate knowledge hiding (Arain
et al., 2022).
4.2.4 Team Leadership
4.2.4.1 Team Leaders’ Four Main Functions
Teams are composed of members who generally shoulder leader and subordinate
roles. Intuitively, leaders are vital in nurturing team effectiveness based on scholars’
and practitioners’ direct and indirect experiences. But why? The core of team lead-
ership lies in the social problem-solving process, which requires team leaders to
utilize necessary information to solve management problems in a team social con-
text (Burke et al., 2006; Zaccaro et al., 2001). Such a functional perspective of team
leadership emphasizes the four concrete functions of team leaders (Fleishman
et al., 1991).
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First, information search and structuring denote that leaders should collect, ana-
lyze, and share information about the task goals and mission contents with team
members (Zaccaro et al., 2001). Specifically, team leaders help interpret the organi-
zational vision and translate the macro organizational strategies into micro collec-
tive team activities. In this process, team leaders gather information inside and
outside the teams to exert control over work procedures and goals (Burke et al.,
2006; Zaccaro et al., 2001). Team leaders also need to select and evaluate vital
information to give feedback and guidance to team members (Burke et al., 2006;
Zaccaro et al., 2001).
Second, information use in problem-solving means that leaders make the best
available information to form problem solutions and plan task arrangements for
team members. Specifically, leaders should utilize the acquired information to iden-
tify the core task requirements and the corresponding work needs of team members.
Then, leaders are responsible for making effective plans with differentiated role
expectations for team members. In this process, team leaders deliver the team plan
information to team members intending to integrate the knowledge, skills, and intel-
ligence of team members for team goal attainment. When team leaders share this
information with team members, team members are clear about the expected team
coordination within teams for task accomplishment (Burke et al., 2006; Zaccaro
et al., 2001).
Third, managing personnel resources refers to team leaders employing social
skills and management tactics to obtain, allocate, and motivate the personnel
resources in teams. Specifically, team leaders need to get appropriate personnel
resources by recruiting new team members and matching team members with suit-
able task assignments. In the working process, team leaders should also help, guide,
and instruct the team members to develop and cultivate their capabilities, skills, and
qualifications. Moreover, to guarantee the quantity and quality of teamwork, team
leaders might devise different measures to enhance the work motivation of team
members, which could result in a high level of team morale and subsequent team
productivity. Finally, when working closely with team members, team leaders
should monitor the work pace, work procedure, and work attitudes of team mem-
bers, aiming to strike a balance between process control and outcome control in
leading the teams (Burke et al., 2006; Zaccaro et al., 2001).
Fourth, teams do not function in a vacuum, so team leaders must manage mate-
rial resources. Specifically, managing material resources illustrates that team lead-
ers need to acquire, maintain, and utilize material resources to achieve the team
goals with team members. In fact, material resources are the foundation for the
successful implementation of team plans since material resources enable product
production and service delivery in teams. Generally speaking, team leaders should
negotiate with external stakeholders to obtain the necessary material resources for
the teams. They should also carefully allocate, protect, and invest the material
resources to create a good work environment for team members, which could finally
transform into desirable team outcomes. In addition, the efficiency of monitoring
and utilizing the material resources could also promote the effective management of
personnel resources.
4.2.4.2 Person-Focused Team Leadership Behaviors
To achieve the four functions mentioned above, scholars have summarized various
kinds of team leadership behaviors into two main categories: task-focused team
leadership behaviors and person-focused team leadership behaviors (Burke et al.,
2006; Fleishman et al., 1991; Ceri-Booms et al., 2017). Specifically, person-focused
team leadership behaviors aim to build positive relational team climates and care
for the social needs of team members (Ceri-Booms et al., 2017). In addition, person-
focused team leadership behaviors facilitate smooth interpersonal interactions and
develop necessary attitudes for team operations (Burke et al., 2006). In this sense,
person-focused team leadership behaviors concentrate on the teamwork process and
the person factors in teams (Burke et al., 2006; Ceri-Booms et al., 2017). For exam-
ple, how to make team members work together happily is one of the most salient
missions for person-focused team leadership behaviors. In addition, person-focused
team leadership behaviors could generally promote subjective and objective team
performance (Burke et al., 2006; Ceri-Booms et al., 2017).
As summarized by scholars with empirical evidence, this chapter introduces six
representative person-focused team leadership behaviors (Burke et al., 2006; Ceri-
Booms et al., 2017).
• Transformational team leadership behaviors denote elevating team members’
motivation to go beyond the regular performance standards to enhance team
effectiveness with clear visions, intellectual challenges, and customized support
(Ceri-Booms et al., 2017; Wang et al., 2011).
• Charismatic team leadership behaviors illustrate that team leaders make the best
of their personalities, capabilities, and characters to impress the team members
with vision delivery, need satisfaction, and socialized identification (Banks et al.,
2017; Ceri-Booms et al., 2017).
• Empowering team leadership behaviors mean that team leaders remove the con-
straints on team members’ job autonomy and delegate the authority to team
members through participative decision-making, information sharing, and seek-
ing engaged inputs (Ceri-Booms et al., 2017; Lee et al., 2018).
• Coaching-focused team leadership behaviors describe that team leaders give
instructions, guidance, and directions to facilitate team members’ growth and
improvement in abilities, skills, and qualifications through critical feedback, task
challenges, and supportive explorations (Ceri-Booms et al., 2017; Ely et al., 2010).
• Emotionally intelligent team leadership behaviors emphasize the function of
team leaders’ emotional intelligence in understanding, regulating, and utilizing
their own and team members’ emotions in solving social problems in teams
through empathetic consideration, emotional appeal, and constructive conflict
management (Ceri-Booms et al., 2017; Schlaerth et al., 2013).
• Consideration team leadership behaviors explicate that team leaders adopt a
humane approach to care for team members’ personal needs and relevant situa-
tions to unite the team members as well as articulate positive attitudes through
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two-way communication, mutual respect, and reciprocal trust (Ceri-Booms

et al., 2017; Judge et al., 2004).
4.2.4.3 Task-Focused Team Leadership Behaviors
In contrast, task-focused team leadership behaviors emphasize boosting team

members’ task commitment, involvement, and engagement as well as assigning
concrete role responsibilities with allocated resources to team members (Ceri-
Booms et al., 2017). Furthermore, task-focused team leadership behaviors clarify
task requirements with analyzed information and confirm work procedures to
achieve task performance (Burke et al., 2006). In this sense, task-focused team
leadership behaviors focus on the taskwork process and the task factors in teams
(Burke et al., 2006; Ceri-Booms et al., 2017). For example, one of the most salient
missions for task-focused team leadership behaviors is how to achieve the quality
and quantity of team tasks effectively. Task-focused team leadership behaviors
could result in subjective and objective team performance (Burke et al., 2006; Ceri-
As summarized by scholars with empirical evidence, this chapter introduces
three typical task-focused team leadership behaviors (Burke et al., 2006; Ceri-
• Initiating structure team leadership behaviors show that team leaders analyze
the task requirements, make work plans, and create role assignments to generate
a clear road map for team members to accomplish team tasks with concrete team
goals and work methods (Ceri-Booms et al., 2017; Judge et al., 2004).
• Transactional team leadership behaviors explain that team leaders adopt an
exchange approach to motivating team members with contractual rewards and
punishments as well as active and passive exception management (Ceri-Booms
et al., 2017; Judge & Piccolo, 2004).
• Boundary-spanning team leadership behaviors focus on team leaders’ endeavors
outside the teams to negotiate resources, extend the social networks, and win
over stakeholders to create advantageous conditions for teams’ survival and
development (Ceri-Booms et al., 2017; Marrone, 2010).
4.2.4.4 Vertical Leadership and Shared Leadership
Besides the distinction between person-focused team leadership behaviors and task-
focused team leadership behaviors from the functional content perspective, we
could also differentiate team leadership from the social hierarchy perspective.
Vertical leadership means the formally appointed leaders with hierarchical posi-
tions displaying top-down influences on team members (Ensley et al., 2006).
Vertical leadership generally depends on a single appointed leader, internally or
externally, to share information, make decisions, and give instructions (Ensley et al.,
2006). For example, one organization recruits a marketing department head to dis-
play vertical leadership behaviors to help the whole marketing department reach the
sales goal for this year.
In contrast, shared leadership is a team-level phenomenon in which leadership
functions and responsibilities are distributed and shouldered by all the team mem-
bers, displaying collective horizontal influences on team members (Wu et al., 2020).
For example, Mike Krzyzewski, the former head coach of the Olympic Gold Medal
team of the United States, has emphasized the harmony and associated benefits
between star basketball players to provide leadership in turns for the ultimate suc-
cess of the Olympic Dream Team including Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Larry
Bird, Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson (Sitkin & Hackman, 2011). Shared lead-
ership generally comes from each team member sharing their knowledge, skills, and
qualifications to solve team problems by turns (Wu et al., 2020). For example, an
entrepreneurial team facing an ever-changing and complex business environment
requires each team member to make dominant decisions in their respective profes-
sional areas (Ensley et al., 2006). Nowadays, scholars advocate mechanically inte-
grating vertical and shared leadership to boost potential team effectiveness
(Pearce, 2004).
4.2.4.5 Antecedents and Outcomes of Shared Leadership
In addition, research has shown that team vertical leadership, internal team
environment, and team characteristics could lead to shared leadership (Wu
et al., 2020; Zhu et al., 2018). Specifically, the vertical leadership behaviors
displayed by the formally appointed team leaders, including empowering lead-
ership behaviors, transformational leadership behaviors, and coaching leader-
ship behaviors, could facilitate the occurrence of shared leadership (Zhu et al.,
2018). Moreover, team environment components, including shared purpose
among team members, social support, and the voice of team members, could
enhance the emergence of shared leadership (Wu et al., 2020; Zhu et al., 2018).
Furthermore, team characteristics, including team heterogeneity, team maturity,
and team collectivism, could result in shared leadership in teams (Wu et al.,
2020; Zhu et al., 2018).
Furthermore, scholars have demonstrated that shared leadership could bring in
more subjective and objective team performance, creativity, innovation, task satis-
faction, and workplace satisfaction (Wu et al., 2020; Zhu et al., 2018). Specifically,
when task interdependence or intrateam trust is high, shared leadership could posi-
tively influence team outcomes (Wu et al., 2020; Zhu et al., 2018). In summary,
shared leadership benefits the cognitive, affective, motivational, and behavioral
team processes and, finally, the desirable team outcomes (Zhu et al., 2018).
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4.3 Current Issues and Challenges
4.3.1 Virtual Teams in the Covid-19 Pandemic Context
4.3.1.1 Definition and Antecedents of Virtual Teams
As with the advancement of information technology and the challenge of environ-

mental shocks, virtual teams have become prevalent worldwide to coordinate dis-
tributed human capital and boost collaborative productivity. Virtual teams depend
on digital communication channels to unite geographically dispersed team mem-
bers to accomplish team goals (Dulebohn & Hoch, 2017). These recent years, espe-
cially during the Covid-19 pandemic crisis, have witnessed the sharp growth of
virtual teams in all walks of organizations. In summary, many antecedents account
for the adoption and prevalence of virtual teams. First, the globalization trend makes
it necessary to collaborate between different time zones across various countries or
areas, creating opportunities for virtual teams to form (Dulebohn & Hoch, 2017).
Second, the distributed expertise and qualifications in different locations with geo-
graphical barriers make it hard to work face-to-face, creating functional space for
virtual teams (Dulebohn & Hoch, 2017). Third, the fast working pace, including the
rapid changes in product development and the urgent requirements of service deliv-
ery, calls for timely responsiveness among different employees, which highlights
the need for simultaneous connections in virtual teams (Dulebohn & Hoch, 2017).
Last but not least, the continuous progress of information technologies has enriched
objective possibilities to build up communication channels for virtual
teams’formation (Dulebohn & Hoch, 2017).
4.3.1.2 Advantages and Limitations of Virtual Teams
Virtual teams have several advantages that could enhance collective work effective-
ness. First, virtual teams could integrate knowledge, expertise, skills, and experi-
ences to form a diverse yet efficient workforce by assembling talents from different
locations. This could enrich creativity and innovation by collecting excellent ideas
from geographically distributed employees (Dulebohn & Hoch, 2017). Second, vir-
tual teams could function continuously 24/7 by assigning differentiated yet interde-
pendent work tasks to team members in different time zones. This could create
flexible and coordinated work shifts to satisfy the various temporal needs of certain
products and services (Dulebohn & Hoch, 2017). Third, virtual teams could save
management costs by minimizing business travel, digitizing work documents, and
hosting easy networking activities. This could generate new working styles with
less objective material requirements for collaboration between distributed team
members (Dulebohn & Hoch, 2017).
Inevitably, virtual teams also possess some limitations posing challenges to the
viability and effectiveness of teams. First, virtual team members might have low
work engagement due to the easy distractions on the internet, unified work environ-
ments between team members, and lack of vivid interactions between team mem-
bers, which could threaten the task efficiency of virtual teams (De Guinea et al.,
2012; Dulebohn & Hoch, 2017). Second, virtual teams tend to have more conflicts
and low mutual trust due to the lack of actual social interactions in person, the isola-
tion and social distance between team members, and the low media richness and
associated misunderstandings in the communication contents, which could signifi-
cantly hinder the collaboration and coordination between virtual team members (De
Guinea et al., 2012; Dulebohn & Hoch, 2017). Third, virtual teams are hard to
monitor and manage due to the inconsistent work time zones and workplaces of
team members, the lack of simultaneous verbal and nonverbal communication in
person, and the newly generated work demands for team leaders and members,
which could threaten the life circle and productivity of virtual teams (De Guinea
et al., 2012; Dulebohn & Hoch, 2017).
4.3.1.3 Necessary Qualifications for Effective Virtual Teams
Scholars have also indicated the necessary qualifications to work effectively in vir-
tual teams, including knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics of team
members. They are listed below (Schulze & Krumm, 2017).
• Media-related qualification denotes the grasp of knowledge about the function,
operation, potential, and constraints of digital communication channels, plat-
forms, and mobile applications.
• Communication-related qualification denotes the effective skills for sending and
receiving information in a kind, responsive, and appropriate manner.
• Trust-related qualification denotes trustworthiness, the tendency to trust, and the
skills to build trust among virtual team members.
• Intercultural qualification denotes the knowledge and skills about how to get
along and work with different virtual team members from different cultural
backgrounds.
• Self-management qualification denotes the basic and advanced skills to manage
time, emotions, and work progress for oneself.
• Conflict management qualification denotes the strategies, skills, and means to
constructively recognize, confront, and solve all kinds of conflicts.
4.3.1.4 Boosting Virtual Team Effectiveness in the Covid-19

Pandemic Context
In particular, the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic crisis has kept employees in
quarantine with health concerns, which makes more employees form virtual teams
remotely. As a result, scholars believe virtual teams could adapt more effectively as
time passes, represented by more team coordination and fewer team conflicts
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(Klonek et al., 2022). Specifically, some scholars have proposed vital points to
boost the virtual team effectiveness in the Covid-19 pandemic context. These effec-
tive strategies include the following:
• Monitoring the intrateam trust between virtual team members denotes that the
virtual teams should keep track of the ups and downs of mutual trust among the
virtual team members and between specific employee dyads. For example, vir-
tual teams could take measures such as establishing a time frame for responsive-
ness, sharing detailed project progress, and adopting flexible check-ins.
• Enriching the added values in the virtual work process denotes that the virtual
teams should articulate a sense of gain along with the task accomplishments. For
example, virtual teams could create opportunities for virtual team members to
know each other more with facilitated online networking activities,
e-introductions, and communication e-training sections.
• Establishing an inclusion climate denotes that the virtual teams treat different
virtual team members with consistently open, safe, and respectful actions, such
as inviting all the team members in collective decision-making, ensuring equal
speak-up opportunities, and clarifying all virtual team members’ strengths and
limitations.
• Evaluating teamwork constantly denotes that virtual teams should keep a smooth
communication flow in task coordination and collaboration by exchanging feed-
back regularly, hosting debriefing sessions, and focusing on effective results
instead of spent hours.
4.3.1.5 Enhance Leadership Effectiveness of Virtual Teams

in the Covid-19 Pandemic Context
Moreover, scholars have advocated effective actions to enhance the leadership

effectiveness of virtual teams during the Covid-19 pandemic crisis. These actions
are explicated below (Newman & Ford, 2021).
• Helping virtual team members recognize and accept the new reality denotes that
virtual team leaders should explain the characteristics, demands, and constraints
of the Covid-19 pandemic context for virtual teams. Specifically, virtual team
leaders should be sensitive to the fear, anxiety, and depression of virtual team
members facing the Covid-19 pandemic crisis. In addition, virtual team leaders
should establish new work routines, schedule regular private and public meet-
ings, and clarify communication policies.
• Sustaining a trusting corporate culture and displaying leaders’ trustworthiness
denote that virtual team leaders should enforce the core values in the corporate
cultures with symbolic rituals and activities for employees working from home.
Specifically, virtual team leaders should also enhance the technical support for the
virtual coordination processes and include all the virtual team members in the
general communication. Virtual team leaders could also work with the human
resource department to adjust the performance evaluation standards, compensation,
rewards, training, and development opportunities in the Covid-19 pandemic con-

text to enhance virtual team members’ commitment and engagement.
• Improving communication practices to maintain effective communication in vir-
tual teams denotes that virtual team leaders should adopt various communication
tactics to deliver timely, transparent, and responsible communication to their vir-
tual team members. Virtual team leaders should also act in predictable patterns
and keep constrained interactions with virtual team members, which could help
reduce the feelings of uncertainty in virtual team members. Virtual team leaders
should explore and confirm the appropriate communication mode in virtual
teams according to the characteristics of the Covid-19 pandemic context.
• Articulating shared leadership in virtual teams denotes that vertical virtual team
leaders should assign differentiated leadership roles to the virtual team members
according to their respective leadership potentials. In this process, virtual team
leaders should also help virtual team members recognize each other’s strengths,
contributions, and advantages in the team task accomplishment processes.
Virtual team leaders should closely monitor the collaboration process of the
virtual team members and carefully remove the barriers to constructive conflict
resolutions.
• Auditing the virtual team progress and maintaining alignment between team-
work and organizational values denote that virtual team leaders arrange regular
team meetings to track the individual and collective work progress in virtual
teams to implement the organizational strategies and designated missions.
Virtual team leaders should also help virtual team members realize their contri-
butions and impacts on the organizational goals. Moreover, virtual team leaders
should also adjust their behaviors flexibly to advance the work progress of vir-
tual teams.
4.3.2 Composition and Diversity in Teams
4.3.2.1 Definition of Team Diversity
Team diversity refers to the differences among team members’ specific personal
attributes at the aggregate team level (Joshi & Roh, 2009). Although personal attri-
butes might manifest in different categories, scholars tend to distinguish different
personal attributes by the standard of visibility and observability, which results in
surface-level and deep-level diversity (Jansen & Searle, 2021).
4.3.2.2 Surface-Level Diversity
Specifically, surface-level diversity denotes the difference of obviously observable

personal attributes in teams, generally including age diversity, gender diversity, and
ethnicity diversity (Jansen & Searle, 2021). In the exploration and discussion about
120 Y. Li
team diversity, surface-level diversity also shares common ground and takes the
names as demographic, non-task-related, social-category, and relational diversity
(Jansen & Searle, 2021). Specifically, relational diversity indicates the personal
attribute difference that dominates the social categorization process, which could
influence intergroup bias and negative social attitudes (Joshi & Roh, 2009). In par-
ticular, various surface-level diversities tend to have differentiated influences on
team outcomes (Jansen & Searle, 2021).
• Age diversity denotes the biological age difference among team members. When
teams have low age discrimination, a positive climate, and complex tasks, age
diversity tends to exert positive influences on team performance (Jansen &
Searle, 2021). However, some scholars suggest that age diversity hinders team
performance in general (Bell et al., 2011).
• Gender diversity denotes the different gender compositions in teams. When
teams have complex tasks, gender diversity tends to influence team performance
positively (Jansen & Searle, 2021). However, gender diversity might also harm
team performance in general (Bell et al., 2011).
• Ethnicity diversity denotes the ethnic difference among team members. Some
scholars have claimed the null influences of ethnic diversity on team perfor-
mance and effectiveness (Jansen & Searle, 2021). Other scholars proposed that
less ethnicity diversity is related to high self-rated team productivity (Jansen &
Searle, 2021). However, some scholars suggest that ethnicity diversity hinders
team performance in general (Bell et al., 2011). The relationship between ethnic-
ity diversity and team performance is still under hot debate (Jansen &
Searle, 2021).
4.3.2.3 Deep-Level Diversity
Deep-level diversity denotes the difference of invisible psychological personal attri-

butes in teams, generally including values, personalities, attitudes, and cognitive
features (Jansen & Searle, 2021). In the research and debate about team diversity,
deep-level diversity also reflects the core contents and shares the names with psy-
chological, cognitive, task-related, information, and functional diversity (Jansen &
Searle, 2021). Specifically, task-related diversity indicates the personal attribute dif-
ference that determines task information processing, which could influence infor-
mation exchange and mutual learning (Joshi & Roh, 2009). Scholars have
demonstrated the different impacts of specific deep-level diversity on team out-
comes (Jansen & Searle, 2021).
• Personality diversity denotes the different personality compositions in teams.
Specifically, the big-five personalities are the most prevalent personality frame-
work to understand personality diversity in teams. The high average level and the
low diversity level of openness to experience tend to enhance team performance
and creativity (Jansen & Searle, 2021). On the other hand, the high level of con-
scientiousness diversity tends to result in more interpersonal deviance and lower
team performance (Jansen & Searle, 2021). Moreover, the high level of agree-
ableness diversity tends to boost organizational deviance and harm social cohe-
sion and team performance (Jansen & Searle, 2021). In addition, the influences
of extraversion diversity and neuroticism diversity on team outcomes might be
positive, negative, or null, depending on the substantial proportion and specific
contexts (Jansen & Searle, 2021).
• Values diversity denotes the difference in internalized beliefs among team mem-
bers. Research has consistently shown that high value diversity is detrimental to
team outcomes, which results in low team satisfaction, commitment, and team
performance, as well as more conflicts and turnover intention (Jansen &
Searle, 2021).
• Cognitive style diversity denotes the difference of means, ways, and tendencies
in processing information among team members. Generally, cognitive style
diversity enhances positive processes and outcomes in teams (Jansen &
Searle, 2021).
• Education diversity denotes the difference in levels or categories of education
among team members. When team members endorse diverse cognitive perspec-
tives and are led by transformational leaders, education diversity could articulate
information elaboration, team identification, team creativity, and team perfor-
mance (Jansen & Searle, 2021). In general, educational background diversity
benefits team efficiency, creativity, innovation, and performance (Bell et al., 2011).
• Cultural diversity denotes the difference in held beliefs about the “shoulds” and
the “oughts” in lives among team members from different cultures (Stahl et al.,
2010). Scholars have summarized that a high level of cultural diversity causes
less effective communication, satisfaction, and social integration, as well as
more conflicts and creativity (Stahl et al., 2010). Moreover, task complexity and
team size might enlarge the effects of cultural diversity on team outcomes (Stahl
et al., 2010).
4.3.2.4 Team Diversity and Team Effectiveness
To summarize, this chapter witnesses two competitive perspectives on the utility

and functionality of team diversity in teams (Horwitz & Horwitz, 2007; Jansen &
Searle, 2021; Stahl et al., 2010). One perspective supports the positive effects of
team diversity on team outcomes based on the information processing and cognitive
diversity literature (Horwitz & Horwitz, 2007; Jansen & Searle, 2021; Stahl et al.,
2010). Specifically, team diversity could bring in different viewpoints, multiple per-
spectives, and diverse ideas, providing much information in the decision-making
and problem-solving dynamic. Such information resource and cognitive integration
would result in positive team outcomes, including increased team learning, innova-
tion, and performance (Horwitz & Horwitz, 2007; Jansen & Searle, 2021; Stahl
et al., 2010). The other perspective argues the negative influences of team diversity
on team outcomes according to the literature on similarity-attraction, social catego-
rization, and social identity (Horwitz & Horwitz, 2007; Jansen & Searle, 2021;
122 Y. Li
Stahl et al., 2010). Specifically, team diversity arouses interpersonal conflicts, social
misunderstandings, and stereotype threats, which generates hindrance and difficulty
in mutual trust, social collaboration, and team cohesion. Such social distance and
interpersonal frictions would lead to adverse team outcomes, including decreased
team viability, team innovation, and team performance, as well as increased team
deviance (Horwitz & Horwitz, 2007; Jansen & Searle, 2021; Stahl et al., 2010).
4.3.2.5 Team Inclusion
Recently, scholars have proposed the inclusion perspective to harvest the multiple
viewpoints, integrative cognition, and social unity of different team members to
enhance the team effectiveness in team diversity management (Shore et al., 2011).
For example, some scholars have proposed collective intelligence to account for
team performance and effectiveness. An interesting finding about collective intelli-
gence is that the average or the maximum of team members’ intelligence does not
necessarily guarantee collective intelligence. However, team members’ average
social sensitivity, as well as including more female team members, could enhance
collective intelligence in teams (Woolley et al., 2010).
Specifically, inclusion denotes team members’ perceptions of belongingness and
uniqueness, psychological need satisfaction, and respect obtained in work teams
(Shore et al., 2011). Research has demonstrated that team inclusion could boost
close social relations, job satisfaction, performance, creativity, organizational com-
mitment, and well-being (Shore et al., 2011). Moreover, organizational fair systems,
inclusive leadership, and inclusive human resource management practices could
enhance team members’ perceptions of team inclusion, which ultimately benefits
team effectiveness (Shore et al., 2011). For example, scholars have investigated 78
symphony orchestras from the United States, the United Kingdom, and the former
East and West Germany. They found that women as the minority identity group
entering the majority group would harm the team outcomes first and enhance the
team outcomes afterward until the women population occupies more than
50% (Allmendinger & Hackman, 1995).
4.3.3 Justice and Ethics
4.3.3.1 Justice Climate in Teams
While the whole society has developed a widely accepted moral system, the teams
in organizations also have to be concerned about ethical rules to regulate team
members’ attitudes and behaviors. One of the most salient factors in team ethics
is called team justice climate, which means the shared fairness perception among
the whole team (Li & Cropanzano, 2009). Moreover, intrateam justice climate
refers to the fairness level in social interaction between team members (Li &
Cropanzano, 2009). Recall the perceived justice topic from Chap. 2. In teams, we
focus on three kinds of justice, namely distributive, procedural, and interactional
justice, separately depicting the outcomes, processes, and interactions in teams
(Li & Cropanzano, 2009).
4.3.3.2 Distributive Justice in Teams
In particular, distributive justice denotes whether the allocation of outcomes, such

as salaries and rewards, adheres to specific appropriate standards (Li &
Cropanzano, 2009). The first distributive justice standard is the equity principle,
which means the acceptable ratio between one’s input and one’ gain (Li &
Cropanzano, 2009). The second distributive justice standard is the equality prin-
ciple, which means everyone gets exactly the same share of resources despite the
potential difference in contributions (Li & Cropanzano, 2009). The third distribu-
tive justice standard is the need principle, which means the resources are allocated
according to customized personal needs (Li & Cropanzano, 2009). No matter
which distributive justice principle applies in a specific team context, the consis-
tent implementation of such principles would result in team members’ distributive
justice perception (Li & Cropanzano, 2009). Scholars have demonstrated that a
distributive climate could improve team performance, productivity, and customer
satisfaction (Whitman et al., 2012).
4.3.3.3 Procedural Justice in Teams
Procedural justice denotes the fairness level in resource allocation, which focuses
on the design and implementation stages of resource flow between team members
(Li & Cropanzano, 2009). Specifically, scholars have summarized six factors that
could generate procedural justice. First, consistency means that the standards in
the procedure are applied across different situations with different people. Second,
freedom from bias implies that the implementation and enactment of justice are
restricted from any subjective bias and prejudice. Third, accuracy means that the
actions, information, and decision-making in justice are accurate. Fourth, repre-
sentativeness implies that all the stakeholders in the justice enactment process
have the right to voice their opinions and appeals. Fourth, correctability means
that the key participants could easily correct the deviance in the justice formation
process. Finally, maintaining ethical standards means that the emergence, imple-
mentation, and enactment of justice should always stick to the shared ethical stan-
dards (Leventhal et al., 1980; Li & Cropanzano, 2009). Finally, empirical research
has suggested that procedural justice climate could promote job satisfaction and
commitment as well as reduce absenteeism and team turnover (Whitman
et al., 2012).
124 Y. Li
4.3.3.4 Interactional Justice in Teams
Interactional justice denotes the fairness level embedded in the workplace’s social
interactions, including interpersonal justice and informational justice (Colquitt,
2001; Li & Cropanzano, 2009). Specifically, interpersonal justice emphasizes
whether individuals are treated with sensitivity by the authority, which includes
respectful attitudes and acceptance without prejudice. Interpersonal justice reflects
the sensitivity of authoritative figures regarding the justice enactment (Colquitt,
2001; Li & Cropanzano, 2009). Informational justice denotes the informational
abundance and truthful explanations of decision-makings in the justice enactment,
which provides necessary justification and reasoning in social interactions (Colquitt,
2001; Li & Cropanzano, 2009). Informational justice reflects an authoritative fig-
ure’s explanations related to the justice enactment (Colquitt, 2001; Li & Cropanzano,
2009). In particular, when the justice-rated information was delivered in a reason-
able, focused, and responsive way, the recipients would perceive a high level of
informational justice (Colquitt, 2001; Li & Cropanzano, 2009). A recent meta-
analytic review has summarized that an interactional justice climate could enhance
organizational citizenship behaviors and team cohesion (Whitman et al., 2012).
4.3.3.5 Team Deviance
While a justice climate reflects the positive component of team ethics, team devi-
ance represents the typical negative component of team ethics. Team deviance
denotes that team members conduct norm-violating behaviors threatening the well-
being of others inside or/and outside the teams (Spoelma & Chauhan, 2023).
Specifically, team deviance includes all kinds of deviant behaviors, such as unethi-
cal behavior, bullying, gossip, theft, ostracism, cheating, lying, aggression, incivil-
ity, and discrimination (Spoelma & Chauhan, 2023). In particular, team deviance
has two features: coordination and target focus. The coordination level embedded in
the team deviance explicates whether the concrete deviant behavior is an isolated
act accomplished by a single team member or a collective outcome accomplished
by many interdependent team members (Spoelma & Chauhan, 2023). For example,
a single team member could initiate cheating in the annual work performance report.
At the same time, gossip involves two or more team members spreading rumors in
a communication chain. Moreover, the target focus of team deviance could be enti-
ties (e.g., individuals, teams, and organizations) inside or outside the teams. For
example, bullying and aggression as deviant behaviors could happen at the intrateam
or interteam domain separately directed at individuals inside or outside teams.
4.3.3.6 Pro-group Unethical Behavior
Recently, scholars have proposed pro-group unethical behavior as a paradoxical and

ambivalent deviant behavior in teams (Thau et al., 2015). Pro-group unethical
behavior denotes that team members conduct unethical behaviors with the aim of
benefiting other team members, which challenges the selfishness assumption of

unethical behaviors (Thau et al., 2015). Specifically, pro-group unethical behavior
manifests at the interteam level, which could be individual or coordinated behaviors
targeting the whole outgroup or outgroup members (Spoelma & Chauhan, 2023).
For example, some team members might badmouth, discredit, and exclude outgroup
members to secure their own teams in advantageous positions. One interesting
research reveals that team members facing the social exclusion risk would engage
in more pro-group unethical behaviors. Moreover, the focal team member’s need for
social inclusion would aggravate this effect (Thau et al., 2015).
4.4 Summary
After the learning journey in this chapter, some solutions about how to ensure the
best performance of all-star teams might naturally emerge. First, the Dream Team
needs to establish an appropriate norm and climate with clear roles, which could
create a shared mindset about the work procedure and goal, laying the foundation
for the task accomplishments in the competition. Second, the Dream Team needs to
enforce their cohesion and cooperation and lessen the potential conflicts and
intrateam competition, which could mechanically coordinate the big egos and cope
with the emotional hardships along the basketball battle. Third, the Dream Team
needs to continuously enhance team learning about tactics and strategies as well as
share related knowledge about their competitors among team members, which
could guarantee the flexibility, adaptation, and renovation of the whole team’s tool-
kits and competitive spirit. Last but not the least, the Dream Team needs to coordi-
nate with the new leadership, and the new leader should strategically employ
person-focused and task-focused team leadership behaviors to offer solutions to
social and task difficulties, which could ensure the right track for the survival and
prosperity of the Dream Team with a balance of vertical and shared leadership.
Finally, although it is more eye-catching, the Dream Team shares a lot of common
points with regular teams in the workplace. What would you do to enhance the
effectiveness of work teams if you were a team member or/and a team leader in the
upcoming future?
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Chapter 5
Decision Making
Ofem E. Ofem and Yuxi Wang
Abbreviations
AI Artificial Intelligence
CSR Corporate Social Responsibility
EI Emotional Intelligence
GDSS Group Decision Support System
KPMG Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler
PHB Platinum Habib Bank
PwC PricewaterhouseCoopers
The Bank PHB Story

Platinum Habib Bank Group, also known as Platinum Habib Bank Group, was a
West African and East African provider of financial services. The group had subsid-
iaries in Nigeria, the Gambia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Uganda. Its headquarters
were located on Victoria Island in Lagos, Nigeria.
As of 2009, Bank PHB Group had more than $3.6 billion in assets and was one
of Africa’s largest financial services companies. On August 5, 2011, the Central
Bank of Nigeria took away Bank PHB’s operating license because the bank had too
much debt and couldn’t or wouldn’t recapitalize. How did a bank with ten subsidiar-
ies and over $3.6 billion in assets fail?
The answer lies in the bank’s decision-making process. In 2005, the Central
Bank of Nigeria mandated that all banks operating in the Nigerian banking system
maintain a minimum capital base of $250 million. As banks rushed to meet the
December 31, 2005, deadline, this action led to mergers and acquisitions.
Two legacy banks, Platinum Bank Plc and Habib Bank Plc, merged to create Bank
PHB. The newly founded bank made extremely costly decisions, such as the decision
O. E. Ofem (*)
Herberger Business School, St. Cloud State University, Coon Rapids, MN, USA
e-mail: ofem@skillancer.com; ofem.ofem@go.stcloudstate.edu
Y. Wang
Beijing DuoMi Development School, Beijing, China
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-31356-1_5
132 O. E. Ofem and Y. Wang
to compete with banks that had existed for over a century. Before the bank made
Nigeria its primary market, it opened branches all over West Africa. In 2008, just
2 years after consolidation, the bank’s CEO acquired a troubled bank without board
approval (Spring Bank). The Central Bank ultimately revoked Bank PHB’s license
because the acquisition needed more oversight and due diligence, which led to the
bank’s missing the fact that the newly acquired bank carried unsustainable debt.
A culture of bad ethical behavior, self-dealing, and insider trading was at the root
of all the poor decision making. A court later found the bank CEO and CFO guilty
of fraud and stealing and sentenced them to 6 years in jail. I had the opportunity to
interview a former compliance executive at Bank PHB. I chose several interview
questions to present here to enrich the case.
Question: What kind of ethical environment did the bank have?
Answer: The ethical environment was toxic. It was an environment of “anything
goes,” so even though we had one of the best-crafted ethical codes, we had a poor
ethical climate. The common slogan was: “It is better to ask for forgiveness than
permission.”
Question: With hindsight, how critical is decision making to the success of any
organization?
Answer: Leadership is driven by decision making, and successful leaders are very
good at making decisions that drive the organizations they lead forward. That
said, with hindsight, decision making is very critical to the success of any orga-
nization, and in the case of a bank, poor decision making brings the bank to
its knees.
Question: If you had the power to go back, what are some of the things you
would change?
Answer: Even if I went back in time, I wouldn’t still have the power because I am
not one of the owners, but if the question is if I were the MD/CEO, what would
I do differently with hindsight? Then it will be a straight answer: I will strengthen
the company’s ethical code implementation.
Why do you think a bank with so much potential failed to succeed? What were
the decision-making processes? How did ethics and politics impact the decision?
How were other forces playing a role in the series of decisions? What mistakes and
biases were involved in the decisions? What was missing in the decision-making
structure of the bank? Were the consequences preventable with better decisions?
Considering you are the CEO of the bank, what will you do differently?
Source: Ezeamalu (2021).
5.1 Decision-Making Elements
Decision Making is the process of selecting a course of action from various alterna-
tives (Simon, 1957). There are different types of decisions. Some decisions are
hard-coded in our brains so that they are effortless to make and do not require any
5 Decision Making 133
data aggregation, while some have a set procedure or process for making them.
Other decisions are more difficult because they require instant decision making
without all the information. This section covers the decision-making types, pro-
cesses, and behavioral forces.
5.1.1 Types of Decision Making
The study of decision making uses different terms for types of decision making.
Some scholars of the subject matter refer to decision types as System 1 thinking and
System 2 thinking; others refer to them as programmed and nonprogrammed deci-
sion making. To properly understand these decision types, we will first attempt to
define each term and then make a contrast by using applications and examples.
System1 thinking refers to trained decisions that are hard-wired in our system,
which we make without effort, typically quick and automatic. These decisions are
instinctive, unconscious, and emotional reactions to circumstances and stimuli
(Kahneman, 2011). For example, you know how to get to work and what route takes
you to work faster. System 2 thinking, on the other hand, refers to decisions we are
forced to make by unforeseen or unplanned circumstances. System 2 thinking refers
to the decisions that require effort and attention, typically slower. These decisions
require consciousness and logic. This doesn’t mean the System 1 thinking processes
only simple ideas. Surprisingly, System 1 thinking can generate complex patterns of
ideas (Kahneman, 2011).
Programmed decisions share similarities with System 1 thinking in that they fol-
low a set pattern and can be made repeatedly. They are often guided by a set of rules
that have already been made. These decisions may be simple or complex. Still, the
criteria that go into making the decision are all known or can be estimated with a
reasonable degree of accuracy. Unlike System 1 thinking, which follows a learned
pattern, programmed decisions are primarily used in the workplace where there are
standard operating procedures for specific jobs, so the outcome is predetermined by
following the process. The management of most organizations’ daily operations
abounds in highly programmed decisions (Soelberg, 1966). The difference between
Programmed decisions and System 1 thinking is that programmed decisions mostly
follow the rules or guidelines that are written down, whereas System 1 thinking fol-
lows a pattern of learned behaviors that have become a default when faced with
certain circumstances. However, in some cases, for instance, when an employee has
been at a job for so long, they no longer need to refer to manuals or processes to do
a job they operate with system 1 because the processes and procedures required for
their job are now second nature.
Nonprogrammed decisions share more similarities with System 2 thinking
because they involve spur-of-moment decision making. Nonprogrammed decisions
are unstructured, rely on vague criteria, and may involve complicated or missing
information, so the person making the decision must use good judgment and cre-
ative thinking to come up with a good answer.
Table 5.1 Definition of different decision-making types

System 1 Thinking Decisions that have been drilled into our brains via repeated practice are
said to be made using System 1 thinking. These judgments represent
knee-jerk, subconscious, and emotional responses to events and stimuli
System 2 Thinking System 2 thinking, on the other hand, is what we do when we’re
confronted with a choice that we can’t put off any longer. System 2
directs one’s focus toward mentally taxing tasks, such as doing difficult
calculations
Programmed Programmed decisions follow a pattern and are repetitive. A set of
decision making already-established rules often guides them
Nonprogrammed Unprogrammed decisions are unstructured and based on vague criteria.
decision making Unexpected decisions can involve complicated or missing information, so
the person making the decision must use common sense and creativity to
come up with a good answer
The story of the plane that landed on the Hudson River provides a clear interplay
of System 1 and System 2 thinking and the overlap between programmed and non-
programmed decision making. Please check the gray box for the full case of “The
Miracle on the Hudson” (Table 5.1).
Decision-Making Types: The Miracle on the Hudson River

Cactus 1549, a flight operated by US Airways, was supposed to depart from
New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA) on January 15, 2009, and land in
Charlotte, North Carolina’s Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT),
from whence it would continue on to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. It
was an Airbus A320-214 with a CFM International CFM56-5B4/P engine.
Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, 57, was in charge of flying the plane.
After retiring in 1980 from the US Air Force, he became a commercial airline
pilot and quickly rose through the ranks. Aside from being an air safety
authority and a glider pilot, he had a total of 19,663 h of flying experience,
4763 of which were in an A320. The 49-year-old First Officer Jeffrey Skiles
has logged 20,727 total flight hours, with just 37 of those hours spent behind
the controls of an Airbus A320, 8–9. The flight had three flight attendants and
150 passengers onboard. The plane crashed into a flock of Canada geese at
03:27:11, around 7.2 km north-northwest of LaGuardia International Airport,
while it was rising. All the pilots could see were giant birds, and the passen-
gers and crew saw engine fires and heard tremendous explosions. Then there
was stillness and the smell of jet fuel. When it was discovered that both
engines had stopped working, Sullenberger assumed command, while Skiles
went through the steps to restart the engines. At 3:28:10, the aircraft started its
glide descent, increasing its speed to 210 knots (240 mph; 390 km/h) as it
descended to an altitude of 1650 feet (500 m). At 3:27:33, Sullenberger
reported over the radio to New York Terminal Radar Approach Control
(TRACON) that both engines had stopped working. Our next stop is back at
LaGuardia Airport. To get Sullenberger back to Runway 31, Patrick Harten
told LaGuardia Tower to stop all takeoffs. It’s impossible,“ Sullenberger said.
As an alternate landing spot in New Jersey, Sullenberger suggested Teterboro
Airport. The original reaction was “yes,“ followed by “we can’t do that“ and
“we’ll be in the Hudson”; therefore, permission was given for Teterboro
Runway 1. About 270 m (less than 900 feet) over the George Washington
Bridge, the aircraft was flying. When it came time to evacuate, flight atten-
dants relayed Sullenberger’s order over the cabin address system to the pas-
sengers. The narrative illustrates the difference between System 1 and System
2 processing. A pilot’s normal workday consists of flying an aircraft. The only
rules a pilot needs to obey are those for preflight, takeoff, and landing; after
the engines are turned off, however, the pilot’s expertise takes over. Aiding in
the conclusion that System 1 is not a viable option, He and his passengers will
be rescued from danger by this work. Using his knowledge of how to land an
airplane on the water despite air traffic control and other obstacles, he is cred-
ited with saving the lives of everyone on board.
Source: Langewiesche (2009), Wikipedia Contributors (2021).
Reflective Questions:
1. How much of Captain Sullenberger’s experience played a part in avoiding
a fatal crash?
2. Did the pilot use System 2 thinking or nonprogrammed decision making?
3. When faced with similar scenarios, what default thinking do you nor-
mally apply?
4. Can Systems 1 and 2 be learned?
5. Should companies train employees to develop systems 1 and 2 thinking?
5.1.2 Processes
A decision-making process is a series of activities that begin with the recognition of

a problem and end with an action. It is possible to categorize these activities using a
structure, or it is possible that patterns in the activities will become apparent after
studying and analyzing the examples. The problem with imposing a framework to
organize data is that it gives the illusion of order to a chaotic process. When using
this classification system, decision-making processes may not have a delineated
order of steps. It was determined that the advantages of generalizability and struc-
ture, both necessary for a large database, outweighed the disadvantages. Both fea-
tures are required for a large database (Snowden & Boone, 2007).
5.1.2.1 Rational Decision-Making Model
The assumptions about the “data“and the “flavor” of different rational choice mod-
els are determined by the rules or conditions that must be met for rational adaptation
to occur (Simon, 1955). To make good decisions, you need to choose the options
that are most likely to turn out well. While your gut can lead you somewhere, a more
rational approach to choices is often best. Knowing a rational decision model and
how to use it in the workplace is helpful. All constraints arising from the rational
decision-making model include the set of alternatives available for selection, the
relationships that determine the payoffs depending on the chosen alternative, and
the preference orders among the payoffs. The choice of these constraints by the
rational decision-making model and the rejection of others include implicit assump-
tions about which variables the rational organism can modify and thus optimize for
rational adaptation and which variables it must accept as fixed. It also takes into
account assumptions about the characteristics of the fixed variables. The organiza-
tion must be able to attribute specific gains to each possible outcome when making
a decision. This also includes the ability to specify the particular nature of the
results, eliminating the possibility of unintended consequences. Payouts should be
structured so that it is always possible to indicate whether one result is consistently
better, comparable, or worse than another. When using certainty or probability rules,
the outcomes of the alternatives must be known with certainty, or a precise probabil-
ity must be assigned. Most comprehensive rational choice models weigh all options
before making a decision. In real human decision making, alternatives are often
considered in order. The mechanism that determines the order of the procedures has
not yet been discovered. When the alternatives are examined in order, we can con-
sider the first satisfactory alternative analyzed as the chosen one. See Table 5.2 for
a classic example of a rational decision-making model.
5.1.2.2 Bounded Rationality Model
Bounded rationality is a concept in economics and decision theory that assumes that
individuals, when making decisions, have limited cognitive abilities and are subject
to inherent biases, leading them to make decisions that are not fully rational. In
other words, individuals have rational behavior that is bounded by the information
they have, the mental shortcuts they use, and their emotions. The bounded rational-
ity model suggests that people make their decisions on the constraints they face.
Empirical studies demonstrated the way people think and make decisions in real-
life situations does not have to follow the strict rules and principles of rational deci-
sion making. In other words, the success of certain cognitive mechanisms in the real
world suggests that people can make good decisions even if they do not always
follow the logical and systematic processes associated with rational inference
(Gigerenzer & Goldstein, 1996). Also, we don’t have to choose the best alternative
available in making ethical or other value-based decisions.
Table 5.2 Rational decision-making model example

Process Practical scenario
Define the problem: First, you must identify After the yearly appraisal, you are promoted
the issue and grasp why making a choice is to lead a division comprising sales, marketing,
essential. A detailed description of the problem and operations with a mandate to increase
could help better understand the desired sales, acquire market share, and reduce
outcome. Ensure that the problem definition is operating costs by 25%
clear and concise without any ambiguity
Identify decision criteria and collect The next step is to analyze the data you’ve
pertinent information on the objective or gathered to determine what changes need to
issue. Getting to this point usually requires be made to boost earnings, acquire market
serious thought and research, as well as an share, and reduce operating costs by 25%.
excellent understanding of articulating and There are several options to reduce operating
establishing decision criteria. The criteria you costs: You could reduce the headcount with
use to decide should consist of factors that layoffs by closing the manufacturing operation
might affect its result and are often based on and outsourcing the manufacturing; you could
your most deeply held beliefs also increase manufacturing capacity and
acquire more distributors to expand your
market and increase market share; or you
could increase account payable by offering
more liberal credit terms. Consider how your
choice will affect your clients, your staff, and
the quality of the final product. This is your
decision criterion
Assign weights to the decision criteria. The To proceed, you must evaluate the potential
next step is to rank your criteria for selecting a effects of your strategy on your organization’s
solution according to its importance. Analytical operations, processes, growth goals, and
and critical thinking skills are often required at financial results. Other considerations, such as
this level of difficulty. Analytical thinking the effect on consumers and product quality,
requires dissecting a problem to find a workable may be just as crucial
solution, whereas critical thinking is used to
reach a verdict
Create a list of options in order of Create a list of solutions and rate them in
importance. The next step is to sketch answers order of their efficacy. You may, for instance,
to the issue. The best alternatives can be create a list like this:
supported by facts showing how they improve (a) Recruit additional distributors
upon the status quo and assist the creator in (b) Offer more liberal credit terms
getting closer to the goal or over the obstacle. (c) Increase production capacity
Finding workable solutions at this phase often (d) Pitch the executive board for funds to
requires using imagination and research skills boost output
(e) Pitch the executive board for funds to
boost output
Choose the cause of action and finalize the Based on the decision criteria already set,
decision. Give yourself plenty of time to recruiting more distributors will be best.
consider your paths and how they would affect Recruiting more distributors and offering
your success. It’s essential to weigh your better credit terms will increase sales,
options carefully to make the right decision. increasing revenue. You should put together a
Having settled on a course of action, you must document for your executive board explaining
be willing to see it through to completion how the rational decision-making model was
implemented
Suppose a manager needs to make a decision about investing in a new project.

They have limited time and resources to gather information, analyze data, and make
a choice. Rather than evaluating all available options and making an optimal deci-
sion, the manager may rely on gut instincts, focus on only a few key factors, or rely
on the advice of a trusted colleague, all of which can lead to suboptimal decision
making. In this case, the manager’s bounded rationality has impacted their decision-
making process and potentially led to a suboptimal outcome for the organization.
Systemic Effects on the Bounded Rationality Model

Every institution has a complex hierarchy of decision-makers. Institutional choices
are often made with economics in mind. However, this overlooks the fact that peo-
ple are sometimes rational thinkers. Individuals make these evaluations, but busi-
nesses want them to reflect their own economic values and goals. Business
decision-makers must sometimes make snap judgments that have far-reaching con-
sequences because people are influenced by reasons other than logic. When time is
of the essence, the best option for the company’s goals may be compromised for the
sake of expediency.
Workplace rationality is more difficult, since an employee’s best decision may not
be the best option for the business. In this instance, CEOs and other decision-makers
are required to put the demands of the business ahead of their own, which places new
constraints on their reasoning. Instead of conceptualizing rationality based on an
“ideal” subject that is outside of these complications, limited rationality might be a
fatal weakness when considering decision making in the context of a network.
Roehrich aimed to examine the impact of constrained rationality on sustainable
supply chain practices by corporations (Roehrich et al., 2014). Sustainable supply
chain practices are more expensive to implement than less eco-friendly alternatives.
According to the findings, the managers’ main worry was striking a good balance
between the costs, reputation, opportunities, and resources at their disposal.
These concessions demonstrate that businesses do not always make completely
reasonable decisions. Their ability to reason is constrained by external factors,
though. Decision-makers typically choose a more costly, sustainable, and ethical
supply chain despite the risks it poses to their budgets and brands rather than the
most cost-effective option. Since humans do not live in a black-and-white world and
must instead navigate a complicated one, this scenario demonstrates that limited
rationality may be more useful than perfect rationality.
5.1.2.3 Intuitive Decision-Making Model
Intuitive decision making is a type of decision-making process that relies on uncon-

scious thinking and gut instincts. Rather than systematic analysis and deliberate
reasoning, in an intuitive decision-making model, individuals rely on their previous
experiences, emotions, and personal values to make quick and effective decisions.
The intuitive decision-making model can be extremely helpful in certain circum-
stances; sometimes, it is even the only available option.
According to a study by Leibowitz et al. (2019), less experienced employees

prefer to use data to make decisions. In contrast, Managers prefer intuitive infer-
ence, which refers to judgments based on decision-making processes that were once
analytical but have become intuitive in practice. You could say that managers
“ignore the data,” but the smart ones lack the perspective to build the right models
and evaluate the results. Big-picture managers’ reasoning and holistic intuition can
help interpret statistics and patterns. Interview studies also supported the impor-
tance of experienced-based intuition decision makings (Burke & Miller, 1999).
Studies on executives have shown that fast decision-makers actually utilize more
information and achieve superior performance than slow decision-makers
(Eisenhardt, 1989). Another surprising result is that North American executives
trust their intuition more than European executives, even after controlling the survey
data for years of experience, role, gender, and industry, demonstrating the cultural
differences in decision makings (Leibowitz et al., 2019).
According to a KPMG report (The Star, 2018), while being optimistic about
breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics, 65% of the over
2200 CEOs polled relied on their intuition rather than AI-generated data. In another
poll conducted by PwC Global Data and Analytics, 59 percent of decision-makers
said that the analysis they need is mostly dependent on human judgment rather than
computer algorithms (PwC Management Services LP, 2018).
5.1.3 Behavioral Forces
Many behavior forces influence organizational decision making. This section dis-
cusses office politics, ethics, environment, risk, and emotional intelligence forces.
Office Politics
The influence of office politics on decision making is often overlooked, but it has
likely already influenced your career long before you oversaw your first employee
project as a manager, read your first management book, or even started looking for
a job. Office politics can influence who has the power and influence to make deci-
sions and the outcomes of those decisions. Specifically, office politics influence
power dynamics by distributing power differently. Some individuals have more
influence over decision making than others, which skews in favor of certain indi-
viduals or groups. Besides impacting power distribution, office politics can also
impact information distribution, as individuals may selectively share information or
withhold information to further their own interests. Office politics can also create
conflicts of interest, where individuals with personal or political motivations make
decisions that are not in the best interest of the organization. The imbalanced power,
information, and conflict of interest will eventually create perceived injustice, dis-
trust, and insecurity, which can lead to decision paralysis, where individuals are
reluctant to make decisions or are unable to make effective decisions.
Ethics
Ethics refers to a set of moral principles and values that guide behavior and decision
making. Ethics can have a significant impact on decision making in organizations,
as it helps individuals determine what is right and wrong and informs the values and
principles that guide organizational behavior. An organizational code of ethics is a
great guide for decision makings in the organization to promote a culture in which
all actions benefit the person, the organization, and the community the company
serves or surrounds.
Environment
The kind of environment created within an organization is critical to the mood and
behaviors of that organization, which will impact decision making, team cohesive-
ness, and overall performance. Most of the time, the environment is established by
the kind of actions that the leadership enables. A famous example is sports teams;
when the unit is underperforming owing to the leadership of a coach, the coach is
usually sacked, and a new coach is hired. Often, a new coach will infuse fresh
energy and create an environment that encourages hard work, and the team that has
been losing every game for the last several months will go on a winning streak due
to the change in environment. Or cases where a company is doing poorly and a new
CEO suddenly changes the company’s fortunes, not because the company changed
anything except changing the leadership direction, which in most cases produces a
change of environment. Creating an environment is a typical form of nudging; the
issue is whether leaders constantly examine how their endeavor to drive change
would influence the environment, whether favorably or adversely.
Risks
Organizations face various dynamic risks, such as technological change, government
policy changes, new product launches, leadership changes, and the emergence of new
competitors. A recent study on the decision to get the Covid-19 vaccine investigated
the importance of the evaluation of risks (Trueblood et al., 2022). For the same ratio-
nale, evaluating the risk will impact the decisions in the organizations.
Emotional Intelligence (EI)

Emotional intelligence has been studied as a factor in organizational decision mak-
ing as well. For instance, emotional intelligence can impact how individuals per-
ceive information and situations, such as career advancement (Brown et al., 2003).
Emotional intelligence also helps individuals understand their own emotions and
motivations, which can improve self-awareness and decision-making accuracy. In
addition, emotional intelligence can also help individuals build and maintain posi-
tive relationships and understand and respond to the emotions of others. It increases
corporation decisions (Fernández-Berrocal et al., 2014).
Cognitive Dissonance
We tend to match our attitudes with our behaviors. It makes us uncomfortable when
we behave in different ways as our attitude. Cognitive dissonance refers to this
mental discomfort when we experience conflicting ideas, beliefs, attitudes, and

behaviors. Festinger (1957) proposed the term in his book A Theory of Cognitive
Dissonance.
Consider the following circumstance. Nick cares about the environment. He is
also the sales representative for Volkswagen and is aware of the emission issues.
The conflicting beliefs of the Volkswagen Golf TDI emitting a dangerous level of
NOX (Gates et al., 2015) and earning the commission of selling it leads to Nick’s
cognitive dissonance. To reduce this discomfort, Nick needs to rationalize the emis-
sion problem or change his attitude towards it, believing that it is not going to harm
the environment.
5.2 Biases
A cognitive bias refers to systematic errors or deviations in judgment that arise from
individual or group decision-making processes. These biases are influenced by psy-
chological, social, and emotional factors and can impact the quality of decisions and
the ability to perceive information accurately and make sound judgments.
5.2.1 Individual Biases
This section covers some common individual biases in the organizational decision-
making processes. The last section of the chapter, nudge, will discuss how to design
the workplace better to mitigate and avoid some biases.
Overconfidence Bias
Overconfidence bias is the tendency to overestimate the ability. And it could happen
for individuals and teams. Executives are largely studied for overconfidence biases
(Lovallo & Kahneman, 2003). A large-scale longitudinal study on CFOs demon-
strated that overconfident CFOs tend to use more debt and are less likely to pay
individuals (Ben-David et al., 2007). Overconfident CEOs are also more likely to
use more incentive-heavy compensation structures (Humphery-Jenner et al., 2016).
In a specific area, innovation, studies show a positive link between overconfidence
and the likelihood of pursuing innovations. Studies by Galasso and Simcoe (2011)
found the robust tendency of how overconfident CEOs are more likely to underesti-
mate the failure probabilities and more likely to pursue innovation. The effect is
especially salient in more competitive industries (Galasso & Simcoe, 2011).
Framing Bias
How information is presented sometimes plays a more critical role than the actual
data itself. The information with incomplete knowledge can make it more attractive
than alternatives or information that is objectively better but resented negatively.
Framing bias occurs when how the way information is presented affects our judg-
ment. Depending on the presentation of the characteristics, the same data can
receive a completely different effect.
Consider that you are presenting cloud storage solutions to the board of your
company, you have tested the two solutions, and both offer a 20% discount, but dur-
ing your presentation, you tell the board that solution A offers 20% more space on
the cloud and solution B offers 20% discount. Your board will likely choose solution
A, which says 20% more space. It is important to be aware of the framing bias so
we are not tricked into the inferior options by how the option is framed.
Status Quo Bias

The status quo bias refers to the fact that we tend to prefer what the options are right
now rather than change the status.
A manager resumes at a new company and has the job of reviewing policies to
make changes. One of the changes the manager wants to make is to create a plat-
form for sharing feedback that enables colleagues to rate each other’s work. The
manager faces serious pushback from supervisors who believe that the current
yearly appraisal, which is subjective to the supervisor, is the best. This pushback is
a product of the supervisors having a status quo bias. They are afraid of what the
change will bring. In their opinion, the current appraisal system is not broken, so
why the new fix? This results from status quo bias, where we prefer to keep things
as they are rather than attempt to alter them.
Status quo bias indicates that you’re not attempting to make decisions. This helps
us to free up brain resources for other activities, but it also implies that our choices
aren’t always founded on reason. As a result, we could make decisions that are not
in our best interests. In this situation, continually choosing the default choice might
prevent us from taking advantage of chances that would be to our advantage.
Sunk Cost Bias

The sunk cost bias is the tendency to keep working on a project after putting time,
energy, or money into it, even if the current costs are higher than the possible
benefits.
During the great resignation, it was really difficult for organizations to recruit
new employees. A marketing department continued to employ an underperforming
employee because they had spent so much effort, time, and energy in recruiting and
selecting the employee. Despite evidence that the employee is not likely to improve
or meet company standards, the company may continue to invest in their develop-
ment and performance instead of making the difficult decision to let them go and
hire someone more suitable for the role. A clear rule can help in this case.
Confirmation Bias
Confirmation bias refers to the tendency to seek out and give more weight to infor-
mation that supports preexisting beliefs and attitudes while discounting or disre-
garding information that contradicts them. Confirmation bias can arise from various
sources, such as cognitive dissonance (the discomfort associated with holding
conflicting beliefs) and social influence (the pressure to conform to the beliefs and
attitudes of others).
In organizations, confirmation bias can impact decision making by leading indi-
viduals to make decisions based on limited or inaccurate information rather than
seeking out and considering a full range of relevant information. For instance, a
manager who has a strong belief in a particular management technique consistently
looks for evidence that supports its effectiveness while disregarding evidence that
suggests it may not be as effective as they believe. This can lead to poor decision
making and impede progress in the organization. To minimize the impact of confir-
mation bias, organizations can promote a culture of open communication and
inquiry, encourage critical thinking and the examination of alternative viewpoints,
and use decision-making frameworks and tools that reduce the influence of confir-
mation bias.
5.2.2 Group Decision Making
Organizations encourage teams and teamwork, as the adage “two heads are better
than one” applies. But aren’t two heads better than one? There are advantages as
well as disadvantages to making decisions as a group. If the groups can leverage
their members’ diverse viewpoints, ideas, and experiences, they become more and
more successful. Research has shown that multiple groups discussing issues lead to
more insightful judgments for management teams that are better for financial per-
formance in terms of profitability and sales (Simons et al., 1999).
Group decision making also has a variety of drawbacks while being widely used
in businesses. Groups sometimes can’t surpass their best member (Miner, 1984;
Woolley et al., 2010). The following section introduces some group decision-mak-
ing biases: social loafing, escalation of commitment, groupthink, and group
Polarization.
Social Loafing
Social loafing refers to the propensity that people tend to exert less effort and are
less accountable when they are group members than when they act as individuals.
Max Ringelmann, a French agricultural engineer, first studied social loafing in 1913
when he compared individuals’ efforts pulling on a rope individually versus in
groups. Ringelmann’s (1913) study showed that individuals exerted less effort when
performing in a group rather than working alone.
Various reasons could cause social loafing. First, people tend to perceive less
responsibility as individuals when they perceive more people are sharing the respon-
sibilities. Studies confirmed the dilution effect in social loafing. Perceived less
responsibility is also the cause of a social psychology phenomenon, the bystander
effect, which describes the propensity to be less inclined to assist someone in need
while others are around. Second, people perceive less social pressure, less attention,
and less expectation when working in a team compared to working as an individual.
Therefore, the larger the group size, the higher the possibility of social loafing.
Compared with teams of eight members, teams with four members performed better
in collaborated tasks. Individuals in smaller groups signified a smaller dilution
effect, perceiving more pressure to be active, and had increased individual contribu-
tions and group outcomes (Chidambaram & Tung, 2005).
There are a few practices organizations can use to avoid social loafing, for
instance, setting up clear roles and responsibilities, using proper metrics for perfor-
mance appraisals, utilizing collaborative tools to provide resources and clarify con-
tributions, promoting collaborative culture, encouraging communication, and
recognizing accomplishments by group members.
Recall back to the Two Pizza rule from Amazon, which is a great application to
avoid social loafing.
Escalation of Commitment
Escalation of commitment is a phenomenon in which individuals or teams persist in
the course of action despite evidence that it is not working or is failing. It is often
used with sunk cost bias interchangeably, but there is some difference. While sunk
cost bias mainly focuses on the continuous effect due to previously invested time,
effort, and money, escalation of commitment can be driven by sunk cost and other
factors like the sense of commitment and the desire to avoid embarrassment.
One example of the escalation of commitment in teams is the ill-fated Mars
Climate Orbiter mission by NASA in 1999. Despite evidence that the spacecraft
was not on the course, the team persisted with the mission, ultimately resulting in
the loss of the spacecraft due to miscommunication between two teams using differ-
ent units of measurement. The team’s commitment to the initial decision and the
sunk costs in time, resources, and reputation led to the escalation of commitment
and the eventual failure of the mission.
It is complicated to mitigate the escalation of commitment bias. This requires,
among other things, to counteract our fixation. Some strategies to help the team
reducing escalate of commitment include regularly assessing progress, assigning
devil’s advocate, building an honest and safe team that allows suggestions for alter-
natives and reduce the embarrassment of making mistakes, learning from past expe-
rience, and setting clear goals and expectations.
Groupthink
When individuals prioritize loyalty to their group over making the best decisions,
groupthink occurs. In a group, it can be difficult for people to think and act indepen-
dently. Peer pressure leads to groupthink, which Janis (1972, p. 8) describes as “a
loss of mental agility, a failure to test reality, and a loss of moral judgment.”
Members of the group often need more confidence and a strong belief in the group’s
morality and ability. The groupthink hypothesis was first proposed as a psychologi-
cal phenomenon by Janis (1972). Janis defined “groupthink“as “a way of thinking
that gets deeply involved people to work together coherently in a group when the
members’ desire for agreement is stronger than their desire to think about other
ways to act” (Janis, 1972, p. 8).
Groupthink is not easy to spot. However, a few symptoms exist. There are also
conditions where the chance of this sort of notion is higher.
• The illusion of unanimity. This is a prominent symptom of groupthink, charac-
terized by suppressing dissenting opinions. It occurs when members mistakenly
believe that there is a consensus among the group, leading to self-censorship and
the avoidance of expressing alternative viewpoints. This illusion can be perpetu-
ated through various means, such as the dominance of vocal majority opinions or
the failure to seek input from all members actively. In the workplace, an example
of the illusion of unanimity could be observed in a team meeting where a pro-
posal is met with silence or nodding agreement, giving the impression of unani-
mous support. However, unbeknownst to the group leader, several team members
have reservations about the proposal but refrain from voicing their concerns due
to the perception of unanimous agreement (Janis, 1972, p. 17; Baron, 2005, p. 89).
• Moral illusion. The moral illusion in which members participating in the group’s
decision-making process loses sight of their moral principles. Instead, belief in
the general character of the group overrides a personal sense of right and wrong.
Groups that make massive misjudgments tend to draw wrong conclusions about
the group’s true intentions.
• Rationalization. Rationalization discourages individuals from rethinking their
ideals and makes them disregard caution signs. The prominent red flags are
excused. That’s when team members are convinced that, despite evidence to the
contrary, the decision or alternative is the best. Others disagree because they have
yet to research the topic as thoroughly as we have.
• Stereotypes. As a group becomes more unified in its views, it begins to perceive
outsiders as having different and inferior morals and characteristics. These quali-
ties, perceived as unfavorable, are then used to discredit the opposition. Organi-
zation contributors disregard or demonize nonorganization contributors who
might oppose or venture into the organization’s ideas. Stereotypes motivate orga-
nization participants to disregard critical thoughts or information.
• Self-censorship. Self-censorship motivates people who have problems to cowl
their fears or problems. Instead of sharing what they understand, people stay
silent and anticipate the institution’s need to understand better. The need to con-
form to group ideas causes individual members to censor their opinions or view-
points. If everyone agrees, my opposing thoughts must remain wrong.
• Peer pressure. If a team member expresses an opposing opinion or questions the
rationale for a decision, the other team members work together to pressure or
punish that individual for complying. Members who ballot and query the organi-
zation are frequently visible as disloyal or treacherous. “Well, if you think we’re
wrong, you can always leave the group.”
• The illusion of invulnerability. The illusion of invulnerability is another symp-
tom of groupthink. Members of a nondissident group may feel that their group is
doing well. The group members believe that their group cannot make big mis-
takes. The members are very assertive and trust the group’s decision-making
ability. Over-reliance on group decision-making powers causes members to cre-
ate the illusion of invulnerability. Members believe they are invulnerable to all
obstacles, which allows them to put aside clear and analytical thinking.
• Mind Guards. Mind guards also influence groupthink. A Mind Guard is a mem-
ber of the group who, in order to uphold the central idea of the group, omits any
information that might raise doubts in the group. Mind Guard is responsible for
protecting other group members from “controversial” information that could dis-
rupt the overall dynamic of the group. If the mind guard receives negative infor-
mation from outside, he does not report it to the group. It also puts pressure on
dissenting members, eventually forcing them to remain silent. To this end, the
mind guard can use various strategies to persuade the dissenter to rethink. One
such strategy would be to convince the dissident that the group could disband if
all members disagree. The purpose of mental protection is to prevent questions
about group decisions from being raised for other group members.
There are several leading causes of groupthink, which include group cohesion,
isolation, leadership, and decision-making stress. A high level of cohesion reduces
the amount of verbal disagreement in a small group due to interpersonal pressures
to conform. This strong cohesion is also reflected in the self-censorship and appar-
ent unanimity within the group. In the absence of these disagreements, options for
action are never considered. Another cause of groupthink is isolation. Decisions
made or actions taken in group situations often need to be kept secret. External
opinions or considerations are not required to be included in the decision-making
process. Groups often make and implement decisions without consulting external
sources. One of the results of this extreme isolation is the isolation of criticism. This
lack of resistance can lead to illusions about the group’s insensitivity and morale.
Group leadership can also lead to groupthink, as the leader’s total control over the
group can lead to an environment where no one speaks their mind. When leadership
in a group is highly authoritarian (e.g., in the military), group discussions are often
tightly controlled. Suppose the leader in a group situation clearly expresses his
opinion at the beginning of the conversation. In this case, group members often
refrain from voicing their opposition to the leader’s authority. Any dissent is sup-
pressed through intimidation or simply by not allowing dissent to differ. Another
common cause of groupthink is stress related to making decisions. When a group is
forced to make an important decision, only some are safe. Group members will try
to reduce this decision-making stress only if this uncertainty is reduced when the
decision is made quickly. The group can easily justify a decision with little disagree-
ment, as the attrition is minimal. They focus on the positive consequences of group
decisions while minimizing the negative impact. Focusing on the small details of a
group’s decisions or actions in this way can overlook more critical issues that may
need attention. When decisions are made in a high-pressure group, members’
attempts to reduce decision-making stress often lead to groupthink.
Some well-known tragedies attribute largely to groupthink in the decision mak-
ing process, such as the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Challenger disaster. The
Kennedy administration, composed of a close-knit group of advisors, made the
decision to invade Cuba without fully considering alternative options or adequately
assessing the risks involved. The group’s strong sense of unity and a desire to pres-
ent a united front led to a failure to critically evaluate the plan, resulting in a disas-
trous outcome. In the case of the Challenger disaster in 1986, groupthink was
evident in the way that engineers at Morton Thiokol, the company responsible for
the shuttle’s solid rocket boosters, were reluctant to speak up about potential safety
concerns due to pressure from NASA officials to meet launch deadlines. This led to
a decision to launch the shuttle despite concerns about the integrity of the O-rings,
which ultimately failed during takeoff and caused the explosion. Both scenarios
highlight the importance of diversity of thought and the ability to freely raise con-
cerns in decision-making processes, especially in high-stakes and complex
situations.
Transparent decision making helps group members avoid prejudice, be innova-
tive, share ideas, and learn from one another. Reduce groupthink and improve group
decision making with these six Protective measures.
• List the goals of the group. What are your goals for this decision? Show how
the goal aligns with the company’s vision and mission by providing supporting
evidence. The simple process of creating and sharing with the group allows each
member to relate the goal to their functional areas and analyze how it fits into
their work. Define the scope of the problem and set clear boundaries. This may
seem limited, but it allows people to find creative solutions that can be imple-
mented. Given the company’s resources, you can come up with good ideas that
would only be possible with limits.
• Create a model. Effective appraisals require rigorous evaluation. A model can
organize your thoughts and provide the correct data for your selection. Include
one of the following questions in your template: What’s a brief explanation?
What is the relationship? What are the assumptions behind this concept? Is it
feasible in the framework? What can prevent it? And if we don’t implement it?
Your opinion? Do you have any statistics to support this idea? How will second-
order effects benefit in the future?
• Brainstorm offline. Share your goals and designs with the offline group and set
a deadline for suggestions. Expect these ideas to be discussed at a later meeting
and for everyone to think thoroughly and imaginatively beyond their team/their
function for the organization and its people. Make sure the group is diverse.
Include the functions, involve ideas, and avoid prejudice by keeping your infor-
mation anonymous.
• Create a group policy. It is essential to organize a meeting to hear and discuss
any ideas before discarding them. Encourage others to listen without interrupt-
ing. The dialogue should be productive and not harmful. Discuss the idea, not the
person. This assumption influences how people approach the problem. Evaluate
the suggestions using different mental models. Reverse mental models and sec-
ond-order reasoning models can help the group move from predictable reactions
to systems 2 thinking that requires thoughtful effort. A leader must also listen
before speaking. The group can discuss without the leader’s influence. If every-
one agrees on the options, but further discussion is needed, consider adjourning
and encourage everyone to prepare more data points for the next meeting. Silent
nodding or inactivity indicates groupthink.
• Improve the process through feedback. Improve yourself by analyzing the
feedback and the results of the process. Decision methods vary. Delphi Tech-
nique is powerful in allowing team members to contribute individually without
knowing the group’s viewpoint and the few penalties for disagreement.
• Use decision support tool. Some of the tools include Group Decision Support
Systems (GDSS), which facilitate group communication (check out details in the
next Chapter on communication); Risk Analysis tools, which help team members
understand and manage risk; Impact Analysis tools, which provide a detailed
insight into the consequences of decisions; and Wire of Inference tools, which
help people monitor and review the different stages of the decision-making
process.
Group Polarization
Group polarization refers to the phenomenon in which people within a group tend
to make more extreme decisions or adopt more extreme attitudes than they would as
individuals. The study of group polarization can be traced back to the mid-twentieth
century when social psychologists examined how group dynamics can influence
individual attitudes and decisions (Sherif, 1936). Group polarization can lead to a
“herding effect” where people follow the opinions of the group even if they do not
agree with them, leading to increased group cohesion but also potentially to an
inability to consider alternative perspectives.
During the budget season, the organization’s internal budget committee needs to
decide what to spend for next year and how to balance different factors like corpo-
rate social responsibility (CSR), branding, media, and advertising spend. Members
often find themselves on the other side of the original decision. For example, if a
group leans toward lower CSR investments, the team is more likely to end the meet-
ing by spending more money on CSR and vice versa.
Some of the psychological foundations for group polarization include social
comparison, influence, self-categorization, and shared reality
• Social Comparison Theory. People tend to compare their opinions and attitudes
to those of others in their group and adjust their views to align with the group’s
consensus. This can lead all group members to adopt a more radical view, or one
in line with the beliefs of the group leader.
• Influence of Information: The influence of information plays a significant role in
shaping the attitudes and opinions of group members, either by reinforcing or chal-
lenging the group’s shared views. This influence operates through several mecha-
nisms. When the information aligns with the existing beliefs of the group, it tends
to strengthen those beliefs, a phenomenon known as confirmation bias, which can
result in group polarization. Additionally, the presentation of information can
impact its appeal to the group. Suppose the information is framed in a way that
emphasizes a particular position. In that case, it can make that position more attrac-
tive to the group, leading to framing bias and, subsequently, group polarization.
• Self-Categorization. People categorize themselves as members of a group and

adopt the attitudes and opinions of that group as their own, leading to a sense of
identity with the group.
• Shared Reality. Group members develop a shared understanding of reality and
interpret information in a way that supports their shared views, leading to a con-
firmation bias and a disregard for alternative perspectives.
There are a few tactics for organizations and leaders to adopt to mitigate group
polarization (Reeves et al., 2021).
• Inhibit group competition but encourage collaboration. According to the
study, creating a culture of collaboration can help minimize illusory polarization.
This manifests itself differently depending on the type of green work, but a good
starting point is to review companies’ incentive structures and replace competi-
tive systems with ones that encourage teamwork. For example, a London-based
law firm created an online application that employees can use to earn points with
their peers, allowing teams to work together toward common goals. These sys-
tems allow employees to interact more deeply and see beyond political divides.
• Encourage contact between group members. Spending more time getting to
know people with different political views is one of the best ways to break down
prejudices and harmful assumptions about them. That doesn’t mean managers
should force employees to attend numerous baseball games and work picnics.
Research has shown that instead of mixing with different groups in many work
situations, individuals often meet their own group. Instead, managers should
look for ways to build trust between employees who typically cannot work
together. For example, NASA conducts rigorous nature walks prior to missions,
during which team members from diverse backgrounds are subjected to testing
conditions that accelerate the development of mutual trust. Extreme sports may
not be the best fit for your business, but managers must develop an approach that
promotes openness and trust among employees. Finding a trusted middleman,
someone who knows both parties and can formally or informally foster a bond
between two lesser-known colleagues, is one tactic This search was helpful.
While there is no specific technique for building relationships, managers can do
anything to help their employees connect more deeply, which will help break
down negative bias and foster a more productive work environment.
• Make it easy and safe for group members to share their opinions. Based on
research, restrictions such as a ban on political conversations in the workplace are
ineffective. Instead, managers should encourage honest conversations at the indi-
vidual, collective, and organizational levels. In political conflict, leaders must
embody tolerance and compassion by showing how to communicate by example:
possibly conflicting opinions without offending employees who might disagree.
Additionally, research has shown that explaining a complicated concept can be a
humbling and enlightening experience. When people honestly discuss why they
hold certain views, it can help them see that they do not have exclusive access to
the truth, increasing their openness and understanding of other viewpoints. Con-
flicts may be difficult at first, but they will be in the long run. Open discussions
can show everyone that another perspective doesn’t define them, reducing false
polarizations among employees. You can speculate about other people’s opinions
all day, but the only way to really understand someone is to talk to them.
5.2.3 Group Problem-Solving
As a specific type of group decision making, group problem-solving often requires

a more structured and focused process and a higher level of collaboration and com-
munication among group members to reach an effective solution. Group problem-
solving involves identifying the problem components, understanding the critical
considerations in the problem-solving process, and acting on solving the problem
(Adams & Galanes, 2008a, b).
First, all problems have three problem components. The first component is an
undesirable situation. If the situation is desirable, there is no problem. Second, there
is an ideal situation. Even if it’s a vague idea, a strong desire exists to improve the
situation. A vague idea can become a more concrete goal despite no reaction. Last,
there are barriers or obstacles in the way of the desired situation, blocking the
group’s goal of solving the current problem. In this phase, decisions are made.
Obstacles can be a need for more income, resources, labor, time, or information.
Opponents of change or a lack of understanding can also be obstacles. Because each
scenario is unique, discussing these three problem elements will help the group
refine their problem-solving strategy. All problems share these three general charac-
teristics, but the group should also look at the characteristics of the problem.
Adams and Galanes (2008a, b) state that there are five important considerations
in the process of problem-solving: the task’s difficulty, the number of possible solu-
tions, group members’ interests in problem-solving, group members’ problem-solv-
ing skills, and agreement with the solution. When encountering complex tasks,
groups must examine and discuss the task to create common ground. Groups also
need to navigate multiple solutions and alternatives. We also need to identify group
members’ interests. Group members invest more energy and effort in solving prob-
lems when they are genuinely interested. The team members interested in the task
and understanding the problem may prefer more freedom in designing and execut-
ing solutions. In contrast, low-interest group members may prefer a leader who
provides structure and leadership. Team members’ problem-solving skills also play
a role in the process. Last, there should be an evaluation of the agreement in imple-
menting the idea.
The Group Problem-Solving Process

Various problem-solving schemes use the reflective thinking technique of John
Dewey (1910). The following steps are important and useful in group problem-
solving. However, methodical troubleshooting improves group performance.
• Step 1: Define the problem. Define the problem by analyzing the three compo-
nents of each problem discussed above: current undesirable circumstances, more
desirable goals or situations, and obstacles (Adams & Galanes, 2009). This step
addresses the “what” question.
• Step 2: Investigate the issue. This step includes assessing the issue and the role
of the group within the issue. Group members can now discuss possible causes.
Prepare an agenda or schedule for a group. This step addresses the “why”
question.
• Step 3: Generate possible solutions. This is the brainstorming step, and it
involves presenting solutions without criticizing them. This step addresses the
“how” question.
• Step 4: Evaluate possible solutions. Group members then need to evaluate the
solutions based on credibility, completeness, and quality advantage. After nar-
rowing down the possibilities, the group should analyze all possible outcomes,
even undesirable ones.
• Step 5: Rate and review the solution. Groups may then use various methods to
rate and review the effectiveness after adopting the solution.
5.3 Nudge: Application in Work Design
We now understand the different types of decision making, the processes, influential
factors, and our limitations on biases. This section focuses on the concept nudge.
Richard Thaler, the Nobel Prize winner in Economics, popularized the concept in
his book with Cass Sunstein in 2009 (Nudge: Improving decisions about health,
wealth, and happiness). The foundation of nudge is our dual thinking system: auto-
matic system 1 and reflective system 2. Nudge is to improve our decisions, espe-
cially our system 1 automatic thinking, through adaptive designs. Please be noted
here that our choice should not be limited. Nudge is on the condition to maintain the
freedom of choice. Setting a default option for choosing the most balanced retire-
ment investment plan is a nudge, while not providing other risker options at all for
employees is not a nudge. Some of the nudge strategies might overlap with previous
suggestions to mitigate biases, but this section shifts our focus to work design
specifically.
Nudge is designed based on our human nature to address the biases we discussed
before. We build the following suggestions mainly based on Thaler and Sustein’s
(2009) book and research. First, be cautious about the fact that we make mistakes
and design the work system to avoid the error. Second, understand the power of
inertia and use default, feedback, and priming to help make the best decisions at
work. Third, be aware that we are social animals and design the work system to
promote better decisions using social pressure and social comparison. Fourth,
understand the difficulties facing complex choices and use mapping, collective fil-
tering, and knowledge sharing to choose the best options. Last, use incentives to
motivate employees for the best choice (also check Chap. 3 Motivation).
Building the System to Avoid Errors

We have to understand that error happens (expect error), so we can design the work
system to avoid errors. For instance, add a reminder “You might have forgotten to
attach a file” automatically when you use the word “attachment” in your email, and
add a reminder to confirm when you delete a working file.
With long working hours and stressful working conditions, it is very much likely
for nurses to make mistakes when they distribute medications. The practice of “unit
dose dispensing,” assisted with the bar code medication administration system,
where a small dose is packaged, and there’s a mechanism to double check to scan
the bar code every time, can effectively reduce errors. Smart infusion pumps were
also developed to set up drug infusion protocols with predefined limits and emit an
alarm when the dose is out of range compared to the parameters (Page, 2004).
Building the System Based on Inertia Tendency

We need to understand the power of inertia, which can be harnessed. Many of our
decisions are mindless, much more than we expect. That’s why your employer is
trying to set up the best default option for your retirement plans and health benefit
plans. In case you missed the annual open enrollment deadline, you can still have
the most beneficial choice.
The default setting is a powerful way to help us. To prevent obesity in Western
societies, ergonomic designers make the desks adjustable in height. But when its’
my choice, I will still always prefer sitting down. In a research conducted in a gov-
ernmental organization where employees share a desk, researchers had an interven-
tion to change the desks from sitting to standing height (Venema, et al., 2018).
Employees seem to forget they are still standing! Their standing time significantly
increased, even after 2 weeks and 2 months of the intervention!
We constantly check our emails, surf the web, and watch social media or sports
news. We can be nudged by changing the default in our email app. Turning off noti-
fications and reducing the synchronization frequency to avoid distracting pop-ups
(Ebert & Freibichler, 2017).
Feedback can also be a critical tool to nudge our behavior. Research showed a
simple nondirectional educational message on the risk of ionizing radiation
appended to the CT report reduced the subsequent numbers of CT significantly in
teaching hospitals in the UK. This type of nondirectional nudge intervention is
cheap, easy to implement, and effective in modifying clinician use of CT (Lewis
et al., 2019).
In these messages, you also prime the positive messages. Our automatic system
is influenced significantly by the primes. Asking, “are you going to vote?” increased
the probability of voting behavior by 25% (Greenwald et al., 1987). Facilitating the
formation of a voting plan (i.e., implementation intentions) can increase turnout
even more (Nickerson & Rogers, 2010). In the organization, implementation inten-
tions can result in more likely attainment of the relevant goals (Ebert &
Freibichler, 2017).
Building the System by Applying Peer Pressure

We are social animals, and we are influenced by peer pressure. We care about where
we are among our peers. Just like how advertisements of college drinking rates can
reduce drinking and teenage tobacco-free rates can reduce smoking, the workplace
can also use peer pressure to build a sense of accountability and community. For
instance, publicly recognizing the achievements of individuals may create a positive
and competitive environment. Gamification can also provide the competition mech-
anism to improve competition (please check out Chap. 3, Gamification).
Building the System to Help with Complex Choices

We have cognitive limitations. In the process of making complex decisions, we still
need guidance. For instance, a foundation for the complex choice is to understand
“mappings” to link the choice with welfare. It’s hard to choose among the health
benefit plans the employers offer. They seem rather complex, and there are too many
parameters to compare. HR should provide a complete list for comparisons on top
of putting the best default option.
Collaborative filtering is also a great way to help. Right now, technologies maxi-
mize the possibilities of collaborative filtering with the algorithm. The algorithm
can provide employees with personalized recommendations for tasks, projects, or
skills to work on based on the behavior and preferences of similar employees. The
algorithm can also help managers assign tasks to employees who are well-suited for
them, reducing the time and resources spent on training and increasing overall
efficiency.
This has to be done through the key factor: knowledge sharing. It is also the key
for success in innovation for most companies. Organizations come up with all sorts
of nudge practices to help with knowledge sharing. For instance, leave one printer
on the first floor, to force interactions. “Micro kitchens” were introduced by Google
to increase knowledge transfer among knowledge workers in an easy and
pleasant way.
Building the System Using Incentives

In contrast to economic nature, human decisions are not something a free competi-
tion can solve. But, sometimes, incentives help. When a competitive consulting firm
needs to start promoting more collaboration, incentives on collaborative projects,
mentoring, and team-building activities could help. Overall, the empirical literature
on nudging has established that choice architecture techniques can succeed in
changing behavior in many managerial and policy-relevant settings (Beshears &
Kosowsky, 2020).
This chapter is designed to equip students with an understanding of the interplay
among decision-making elements, behavioral forces, biases, and nudges. I hope you
have gained knowledge to differentiate between different types and process models;
understand the various forces that impact the decisions; be aware of individual and
team biases; and finally, understand how to improve decision making through nudg-
ing. What are the key takeaways from the case studies, and how do you intend to
apply the knowledge from this book?
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Chapter 6
Communication, Conflict, and Negotiation
Thad C. Olson
Abbreviations
BATNA Best Alternative to The Negotiated Agreement

ESM Enterprise Social Media
GDSS Group Decision Support System
Amazon Internal Communication Problems

In 2019, Amazon workers were upset. They had many concerns about working con-
ditions and employment policies among them, and they were pushed to the brink.
Specifically, Amazon workers were unhappy with the minimum wage they were
receiving. Amazon eventually raised its minimum wage to $15 per hour. Employees
also spoke out about the mandatory 60-hour weeks during the holidays and ware-
house conditions. In a separate incident, Amazon was accused of misleading lenders
about workplace safety records and had been cited at their warehouses for not
reporting injuries correctly (Vanderford, 2023). In 2009, Amazon was also in the
headlines because employees who used the bathroom on company time would be
disciplined (Streitfeld, 2021).
Workers had planned a rally outside Jeff Bezos’ residence in Manhattan and
leaked to the media when it could happen. Amazon executives chose to use social
media tools to combat the negative press and apparently ignored the core issues.
Dave Clark, Amazon’s SVP of Operations, responded to a Twitter post on ware-
house conditions by John Oliver. In this post, Clark alluded to the $15 per hour
wage and “one of many programs” Amazon offers. This post was specific about the
wage increase but not specific about other programs being offered, and it did not
mention the warehouse conditions. In other attempts to have Amazon comment
about workers’ complaints, Amazon tended not to reply at all.
As with many organizational problems, there was a breakdown in communica-
tion and an enormous opportunity to improve Amazon’s internal communication
T. C. Olson (*)
Becker, MN, USA
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-31356-1_6
158 T. C. Olson
between employees and management. A wage increase across the board can be
communicated easily to employees and would greatly impact the company. And
during the holidays, this could help hire more employees to minimize 60-hour
weeks or remove them altogether. The “other programs” need to be discussed inter-
nally, and hopefully, they pertain to the warehouse conditions and long hours
employees are concerned about. A dysfunctional conflict between the office and
warehouse employees and the company existed, but the resolution between the par-
ties was not clear. Amazon and its founder Jeff Bezos are popular for their conflict-
handling strategy of disagreeing and then committing (Belludi, 2020).
The disagreement between management and employees was apparent; however,
there is no evidence of anyone committing to solutions. It seemed as though the
leaders at Amazon were avoiding the topics employees were most concerned with.
At the time, it looked like Amazon was not willing to negotiate with employees or
possibly took a negative tone to the employee wants.
What type of specific concerns did Amazon employees have? What could have
caused management not to hear or know of these concerns? If you run Amazon, how
would you create a communication loop to hear, review, and act on employee con-
cerns? What type of conflict were the employees having with Amazon manage-
ment? Which conflict mode or modes did management use with the employees? If
you were negotiating on behalf of the Amazon employees, what strategy or strate-
gies would you use for the best outcome? What is the best outcome for both parties?
(Source: Hoffmann, 2019).
6.1 Communication
What is the process of communication? Which type of communication method

works better in a specific situation? How are different levels of communication dif-
ferent in the organization? Businesses’ communication media varies: how should
we choose among them? As communication methods have changed during the
COVID-19 pandemic, what barriers affect communication at various levels? And,
what are strategies to remove these barriers? This section will discuss the process,
different types of communication, levels of communication, media options, and
communication barriers.
6.1.1 Process
At its core, communication is a process and it starts by wanting to share an idea for
another person or group of people. The sender encodes the idea using words, sym-
bols, or gestures, which is then turned into a message. The message is sent to the
receiver via a medium, and then the receiver must decode the message and provide
feedback. Anything that distorts or causes the message to be misinterpreted is a
6 Communication, Conflict, and Negotiation 159
communication barrier, and they can stop the message or change how it is received
(Lunenburg, 2010a).
6.1.2 Types
6.1.2.1 Verbal and Nonverbal
Verbal Communication
Communication is given and received in different forms. Verbal communication can
be spoken and written. We are using verbal communication daily within the organi-
zation, face-to-face, in virtual meetings, over the telephone, or in written form.
Employees use verbal communication to share information, exchange new ideas,
and interact to complete their job. Businesses use written communication to share
mission statements, corporate slogans, goals, values, announcements, and daily
tasks to be done. Verbal communication is the main source for employees to gather,
share, and use critical knowledge (Harris & Nelson, 2007). It is also equally impor-
tant to receive and decode the message. Listening is a skill that is not always devel-
oped in school and in organizations today. Most organizational leadership training
programs focus on how leaders can communicate effectively one way. Rarely do
they include how to listen effectively. Effective listening from managers can increase
employee satisfaction, trust, retention, and performance (Itzchakov & Grau, 2022).
Nonverbal Communication
Nonverbal communication is just as important to organizations and their workforce.
Nonverbal communication comes in various cues. These cues help us send mes-
sages and understand the meaning and intent of a message someone shares with us;
it can also hinder the process of communication. The following section introduces
nonverbal communication codes (Bonaccio et al., 2016): body codes can be broken
down into kinesics, eye contact, and appearance; sensory and contact codes are
made up of haptics, vocalics, and olfactics; spatiotemporal codes include proxe-
mics, chronemics, and environmental.
• Body Codes
–– Kinesics – Kinesics includes posture, poses, and other physical characteristics
of the body (Lunenburg, 2010b). Superiors may lean back, look around the
room when being spoken to, and these cues give the impression of being dis-
interested in a topic or person (Kudesia & Elfenbein, 2013). A high-power
pose, such as sitting in a chair, leaning back with arms up, and fingers inter-
locked behind the head, can increase testosterone and reduce cortisol.
Increased testosterone will lead to a feeling of more power and dominance,
while reduced amounts of cortisol lead to a feeling of less stress (Carney
et al., 2010). Postures can also predict motivation and social skills during the
employment interview process.
160 T. C. Olson
–– Oculesics – Oculesics is known as eye contact, which can signal the start and
finish of a conversation, reflect interest and attention in the topic, show emo-
tion, and describe how the communicators feel about one another (Lunenburg,
2010b; Harrigan, 2005). Eye contact, or lack thereof, also speaks volumes on
whether someone is lying or unsure of themselves. In job interviews,
applicants are sometimes nervous and suffer from communication apprehen-
sion and anxiety in eye contact with the interviewer. One study showed posi-
tive results when the interviewer was an avatar robot compared with a human
being (Mehmood et al., 2021). This would allow candidates to be more com-
fortable, and employers would obtain a more accurate interview with the
interviewee. The meta-analysis also demonstrated the importance of eye con-
tact on job performance (Martín-Raugh et al., 2022).
–– Appearance – Everyone experiences first impressions when meeting someone
new, and facial expressions can impact how one feels about another. Smiles
often convey warmth, happiness, and positivity, and frowning could be a sig-
nal of dissatisfaction or anger (Lunenburg, 2010b). People who tend to smile
more are thought of as more honest than those who do not smile (Todorov
et al., 2015). Humans gather information about other people by their appear-
ance, specifically their faces. Politicians’ appearance affects voting habits
(Olivola & Todorov, 2010). Babyface and attractive features make the person
seem more competent. People are more likely to pick a winning, more attrac-
tive face as a leader than the alternative (Little et al., 2007; Wyatt & Sylvester,
2018). Social perception of each type of face lends itself to be associated with
dominance, being physically weak, submissive, and honest. Masculine faces
are tied with dominance, whereas more feminine faces are considered sub-
missive. The dress can also impact your job interview results as one nonverbal
cue. For example, applicants ranked dress as a way to predict the level of
social skill in applicants (Gifford et al., 1985). However, job interviews have
changed during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The dress may not be as
important during a video conference job interview. Or, in some situations,
applicants may only be viewed from the shoulders or neck up.
–– One interesting perspective is that the perceptions of different parties vary. In job
interviews, the interviewee perceives how they dress up, and trunk recline pos-
ture is important to showing their motivation. The judges believed that smiles
and time talked are the best categories to predict motivation (Gifford et al., 1985).
• Sensory and Contact Codes
–– Haptics – Haptics refers to communication through touch. Often, light physi-
cal interactions can create an initial bond between people and increase coop-
eration. In business, a handshake can be a warm greeting between new
colleagues. Another hand-to-hand touch, a fist bump, can signal “hello” or
“hi” playfully. In organizations such as hospitals, physical touch is frequent
and sometimes needed. For instance, studies have shown that increased physi-
cal touch by nurses can bring on greater workplace well-being for the nurses.
The studies also showed that nurses uncomfortable with physical touch could
lead to burnout and less job satisfaction (Pedrazza et al., 2015). Physical touch
can also be unwanted. Sexual harassment, or perceived sexual harassment,
has zero tolerance in businesses. With the COVID-19 pandemic being front
and center in everyone’s mind, physical touch was found to transmit the virus
more frequently (Dawson & Dennis, 2021). During the pandemic, touchless
technology helped reduce the spread of viruses (Iqbal & Campbell, 2021).
–– Vocalics – Vocalics is made up of pitch, range, volume, accent, and pronuncia-
tion. A rising pitch may indicate that someone is upset, angry, stressed, or
nervous. A lowering pitch maybe someone trying to explain a complex topic
or calm another person down. Information about a supervisor or manager can
be taken from their vocalics, for instance, whether their employees are fond of
them (Hinkle, 2001).
–– Olfalics – Olfalics is known as smell. Olfactics can be expressed if someone
is nervous, sick, or has been working in certain environments. A good scent
can attract people, while an unpleasant smell pushes or keeps people away.
Unpleasant-smelling employees can gain a reputation as someone who does
not practice good hygiene habits. Other employees will not want to work with
or around an employee with a body odor issue (Bonaccio et al., 2016).
• Spatiotemporal Codes
–– Proxemics – Proxemics refers to space usage, seating arrangements, and per-
sonal and interpersonal space. Typically, the higher-ranking employees in a
company have nicer and bigger offices. These offices tend to be away from the
general population and are protected more from noise and walk-by traffic.
Using some thoughts on seating arrangements can help to facilitate a difficult
conversation. Seating someone next to you at the table can aid in cooperation.
To increase collaboration, organizations tend to put groups of people in the
same team together with cubicles next to or adjacent. In contrast, if you are
negotiating or taking a competitive position, you should place the person
across the table from you (Lunenburg, 2010b). Individuals view interpersonal
space differently. Depending on the level of social anxiety someone has, they
will have a preferred distance of interpersonal space. Typically, a person with
higher social anxiety prefers more distance between themselves and who they
may communicate with (Perry et al., 2013).
–– Chronemics – Chronemics focuses on the use of time. Meetings are common
throughout the business day, and being on time or late can signal different
messages. Being on time, in general, is expected, but higher-ranking employ-
ees can be late without issue. Sometimes, this is even expected. Being late to
meetings could also make people believe that the high-ranking person is very
busy. When lower-ranking employees are late, they can be perceived as lazy,
don’t care about the topic or the meeting leader, or do not want to be involved.
Lower-ranking employees could have a negative stigma attached after the
meeting, whereas higher-ranking people may not (Lunenburg, 2010b).
–– Environment – Organizational environment involves office floorplan and
décor. The office floor plan can show how various groups sit together to create
162 T. C. Olson
Table 6.1 Nonverbal code summary

Code Code type Characteristics Organizational example
Body Kinesics Posture, pose, and The high-power pose is associated
hand gestures with dominance
Oculesics Eye contact, gaze, and Eye contact can reflect confidence
facial expressions
Facial Smile, frown, no A smile conveys warmth; a frown
expression expression can reflect sadness
Appearance Attractiveness, facial Professional dress can signal
characteristics, and ambition
dress
Sensory and Haptics Physical touch, A handshake can signal cooperation.
contact handshake, fist bump Refusing a handshake reflects being
angry
Vocalics Pitch, range, volume, Constant pitch reflects comfort, and
accent, pronunciation quickly increasing pitch can reflect
stress and anxiety
Olfalics Smell The bad smell could be body order
from stress
Spatiotemporal Proxemics Space usage, seating Arranging cubicles together can
arrangements, and increase cooperation
interpersonal space
Chronemics Time usage Being on time for meetings can
signal you think the meeting is
important; being late can mean you
do not care about the meeting
Environmental Floor plan, décor, Office wall pictures, slogans, and
company slogans, and messages tell people what is
values important within the company
teamwork dynamics. Cubical walls tended to be high for privacy and trended
toward shorter walls to increase communication. During the COVID-19 pan-
demic, many businesses brought back the higher walls to create office barri-
ers. Décor can signal warmth in the office or the opposite. Many businesses
use walls to communicate company slogans, goals, or other messages
(Bonaccio et al., 2016) (Table 6.1).
More and more organizations are creating their own leadership training programs to
teach leaders how to use verbal and nonverbal communication effectively.
Organizational leaders must understand their verbal and nonverbal cues to send the
right message and lead positively.
6.1.2.2 Levels of Communication
There are different levels of communication in the organization. Employees use

intrapersonal communication when handling their various tasks on their own.
Dyadic communication comes into play when working with a coworker. Team
communication happens during meetings or problem-solving throughout the day.

Finally, organizational communication occurs when the leadership team or CEO
sends a message about the company’s status, directives, or changes. Each level of
communication offers advantages and disadvantages.
Intrapersonal Communication
Intrapersonal communication can be considered self-talk. Athletes often use self-
talk to create inner motivation to meet goals or prepare for the big game. These
same principles are used in the business world as well. Self-talk is a great method to
“pump one’s self-up” before a big meeting or presentation; to work through a prob-
lem as one studies it at their desk; or, to be used to calm down during stressful situ-
ations. Intrapersonal communication can start very early and can be associated with
positive development outcomes (Geva & Fernyhough, 2019). Those who spend
more time in social isolation have higher levels of self-talk.
Dyadic Communication
Dyadic communication is the interaction between two people. People spend signifi-
cant amounts of time communicating one on one at the workplace. The COVID-19
pandemic pushed technology and businesses to adopt other methods of communica-
tion in lieu of face-to-face methods due to exposure. Today, businesses provide
employees with multiple avenues for communication. Organizations must strike a
balance between providing employees with the technology they want and protecting
them from too many options and bad information (Stich et al., 2018).
Hierarchy, organizational structure, and culture are important factors that play a
part in dyadic communication. The hierarchy refers to the position each person has
within the organization. If one person is ranked high in the organization and com-
municates to someone who is considered low ranking, it can be a one-sided mes-
sage. Also, messages going from low-ranking members to high-ranking members
may lack informality and affection. Organizational structure can also affect dyadic
communication. Rigid structures can force a message to travel through multiple
dyadic partners from the original communicator to the intended receiver. However,
less strict structures could allow fewer’ intermediaries to be involved with this com-
munication. In terms of culture, a strict culture may stop or slow down communica-
tion about new ideas and processes. A culture that is open to new ideas will foster
this type of thinking. However, a culture that is too open can actually stop improve-
ment and progress.
Team Communication
How effectively team members can communicate their thoughts and ideas directly
affect decision-making. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, organizations used new
tools to keep their people connected and able to work in groups. Without small-
group communication, most businesses would not succeed.
Communication in groups in the workplace is not always free-flowing. There
could be a predetermined but unspoken social pecking order. Members of the group
who rank higher title-wise in the organization may carry more decision-making
164 T. C. Olson
weight than entry-level people. This can be a barrier to positive communication as

the lower-ranking person may not feel comfortable speaking up. Individual partici-
pation may depend on which ideas are approved or rejected. Those with rejected
ideas may become quiet during further discussion.
One tool to facilitate group discussion is the Group Decision Support System
(GDSS). GDSS is a technology-based aid to help groups make quality decisions by
guiding them through a situation where they have all the necessary tools and infor-
mation (Aiken & Martin, 1994). GDSS are gaining more traction within organiza-
tions because they combine communication, computers, and decision-support
methodologies. GDSS structures increase communication effectiveness and speed
and allow anonymous input and idea critique, which could add value to decision-
making (DeSanctis & Gallupe, 1984). Anonymous input helps group members to
not feel embarrassed if their idea is rejected as other group members would not
know whose idea it was and can increase participation (DeSanctis & Gallupe, 1984).
Additional synergies are found as groups can use an idea in ways originally unin-
tended. Automated recordkeeping of meeting notes is available to help the group
capture all aspects of the meetings and helps keep progress moving forward.
Organizational Communication
Communication at the organizational level can have a drastic effect on workplace
performance. Different communication methods and challenges arise in different
situations. For instance, during an organizational change, communication is the
key to making it successful. How employees perceive the change and its impact
on their job is important, as they will talk about this daily with coworkers.
Organizational change has a higher percentage of success when communication
occurs at every level throughout the business during each step of the change
(Jones et al., 2004).
A common form of organizational communication is gossip, particularly during
the day-to-day activities of all groups. Gossip is generally between a few people to
inform and review another person within the organization (Kurland & Pelled, 2000).
Informal talk constantly happens throughout the day, often with people who may be
friends. Gossip can be broken down and characterized into being good or bad, with
both types having different effects on people. Positive gossip can increase power
because this can influence people to do something they normally would not do.
Negative gossip is intended to hurt but also makes people look negatively at the
person spreading the gossip (Pfeffer, 1992).
A study on relational diversity explains the more conversations people have
throughout the day with different types of people, the more even and better off
people will be (Rascoe et al., 2022). For example, if someone only talks to their col-
leagues, they miss out on conversations with family and friends. The same could
hold true within organizations. If employees only talk to their boss, they miss out on
conversations with coworkers and others throughout the organization, which could
help fulfill their day.
In the organization, leaders’ emotional displays can also have a critical impact.
Remand and Patterson (2006) explain that the more cohesive a group is, the more
this affects them. Leaders using negative emotions tend to have these emotions cop-
ied. Their view questions the idea of reading the emotions of others as an avenue of
mistaking negative reading emotions.
6.1.3 Media
Businesses provide many communication media to their employees. At any given

time at work, you may walk to the desk of someone or office to talk face-to-face;
you may use a desk phone or possibly a phone connected to your computer; you
may use text messages or instant messengers to contact coworkers, or you may also
use video conferencing with or without a camera (Standaert et al., 2022). This sec-
tion lists some examples of traditional and new media.
6.1.3.1 Traditional Media
Comparing some traditional media, Kinney and Watson (1992) created a lab-
controlled experiment to measure decision time based on a dyadic communication
medium. The three mediums were face-to-face, telephone, and computer text. The
experiment showed that the average time to complete a single task was 25 min for
dyads communicating through the computer text medium. Nine minutes was the
average time for a task to be completed using face-to-face communication, and
10 min using the telephone (Kinney & Watson, 1992). This is an interesting and
important study for those who prefer email and text to phone calls or face-to-face
discussions. After 30 years of technology change, we should conduct a replication
to determine whether face-to-face use is still more efficient. Cultural differences
also need to be considered when we conduct comparisons like this.
Situations also make it different. Managers should not have difficult conversa-
tions with an underperforming employee through email. It is hard to judge the tone
of an email, and your message will get misconstrued. Emails should be used when
questions are not expected. If the message you are trying to send required clarifica-
tion, a meeting would be the best. People can sit in a group and ask questions. And
if you’re trying to ensure sure your message is heard, you should use multiple
media: presentations during a meeting, email follow-ups and reminders, and signs
throughout the office.
While organizations do their best to provide multiple tools to increase effective
communication, there can be information and communication technology overload.
With the tools to decrease the time to get the right messages to employees, these
same employees can be overloaded with the wrong messages. The communication
tools listed above can divide attention and mandate multi-tasking for employees to
be constantly checking and/or replying to messages. Business-provided cell phones
make communicating easier. However, they also allow for communication outside
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work and during personal time. These new stresses can be referred to as “tech-
nostress” and affect all employees (Stich et al., 2018).
6.1.3.2 New Media
The COVID-19 pandemic pushed new media tools into the spotlight along with
bringing traditional media into a new age. Businesses started to use video meetings
more frequently to practice social distancing and keep people working from home
in communication. Microsoft Teams and Zoom became popular tools within orga-
nizations. And social media became a communication and marketing tool that busi-
nesses could leverage significantly more during the pandemic than before it.
Video Meetings
With the adaption of video meetings, companies could continue important commu-
nication daily to work together and keep businesses moving. While these meetings
brought about an alternative to face-to-face communication, they brought up new
problems. Employees working offsite or at home while using video meetings did
not feel the same social connection as the previous face-to-face communication
brought. Presenters could not as easily see a room full of people and react to visual
cues. Video meetings were a new communication tool, but people seemed to not
know how to use this yet fully. Hills et al. (2022) created experiments using video
meetings to test certain gestures to see how they affected the quality of the meeting.
At the end of experiment one, the group of students trained in the gestures rated the
meetings higher in quality. There was also a lower proportion of negative utterances
and a high proportion of positive utterances compared to previous meetings without
the use of specific gestures. This experiment showed that students trained in new
social cues, which all were in understanding of, would increase the effectiveness of
video meetings.
The Zoom fatigue problem also stemmed from the increased use of virtual meet-
ings. Fatigue was caused by home workers being in Zoom meetings most of the day.
Hackers could hack into meetings being conducted on Microsoft Zoom, causing
problems for businesses and personal privacy. One specific feature, the camera use,
was studied. Using an experience sampling field experiment, researchers found that
the link between camera usage and perceived fatigue and fatigue ultimately impacts
the performance of the same and the following day. This effect is stronger for female
employees and new members of the organization. (Shockley et al., 2021). Social
interaction anxiety is a mechanism of zoom with a camera on zoom fatigue (Ngien
& Hogan, 2022).
Virtual meetings can be a time-saver for organizations when used correctly (e.g.,
Standaert et al., 2022). Previously, companies would spend time and money flying
team members around the world to meet clients. This costs money, employee time,
and the potential for burnout and fatigue. With the virtual meeting option, compa-
nies and their customers can meet on short notice if needed without the need for
travel. Furthermore, when customers want to see what they have purchased before
shipment, organizations can use virtual meeting tools to reduce time and money on
the customer’s end. Other advantages include a higher number of participants and
shorter meetings. Shorter meetings could be a result of people not sitting next to
each other and having side conversations. Future meetings could use more modern
technology, such as virtual offices, and save the organization time.
Social Media
Social media is a popular communication tool throughout the world today. Most
people use at least one form of social media multiple times each day. It is a great
way to stay connected to family, friends, the latest news, and businesses around the
world. Businesses use social media in various ways. Customers can subscribe to
feeds from their favorite companies to obtain information on the latest and greatest
products. Customers can also use social media to get support and help for problems
they are having with products.
Enterprise Social Media (ESM) is defined as a web platform to allow employees
to communicate with one another and share files (Van Osch et al., 2015). ESM does
have various challenges that organizations must overcome. Data cannot be stored in
a structured manner, making it tough to find saved files. Missing someone in your
ESM group can cause delays in sending and receiving messages. The ESM rollout
may not be structured or have a directive behind it. This could cause some workers
to use and rely on the new tool while others simply do not use it. ESM use within an
organization can save time and make communication efficient, but it needs structure
when deploying to many employees.
Organizations must decide which social media platforms to use (Culnan et al.,
2010). Someone should be given the responsibility to govern the platform and con-
tent. Metrics need to be developed to determine the actual value of social media use.
All applications must be readily accessible, and all risks need to be reviewed and
managed. A similar perspective shows the importance of continuous monitoring and
setting goals and short-term and long-term social media goals. Social media can
exploit target audiences such as customers; however, without a solid strategy, these
exploitations can hurt the business (Badea, 2014).
However, sometimes employees use ESM for personal reasons during work.
Quick conversations can happen about weekend plans or events, the next vacation,
or what people are having for lunch. Gossip can also be communicated quickly via
ESM. One perspective is that using ESM during the workday actually increases
effective organizational commitment and positively affects employees (Luo et al.,
2018). IBM developed their own ESM called ‘The Beehive system’. This system
was similar to many popular social media platforms but could only be used by inter-
nal employees. Employees could connect with any thousands of users with IBM and
took advantage of better content sharing with colleagues. IBM reported that The
Beehive helped people connect with new people and knowledge expertise, bringing
a perception of an increased community among users in the company (Leonardi
et al., 2013).
The best communication method to pick depends on why you should meet and
the message you want to send. Refer to media richness to help find the best method.
168 T. C. Olson
It is best to use a method to minimize misinterpretations of the message you want to

communicate.
6.1.4 Barriers
Many barriers hinder effective communication between team members or between

management and employees. Communication barriers are anything that stops us
from receiving a message in its intended way (Rani, 2016). Barriers can be environ-
mental factors, cultural, language, or personal experience. All barriers can affect a
message being received clearly. It is important to understand each type of barrier to
ensure the message is received in the way it is intended.
6.1.4.1 Personal
Personal experience or perception can hinder our ability to communicate with the
audience’s blinded perspective. A manager’s previous functional experience can
create a belief construct that could limit their perspectives. Individuals in leadership
roles come from different backgrounds and have their own personalities. Their man-
nerisms can create communication barriers based on the factors specified. This cre-
ates a challenge for the management in that the manager’s perspectives often have a
wider range than their previous functional experiences and limited connections
between the beliefs (Walsh, 1988).
The key takeaway from the study concludes that the type of functional experi-
ence correlated with both types of selective perception (information attended to and
problems identified). This study supports that managers are selective processors of
information whose previous experiences influence their cognitive processes.
However, the perception can change if they are asked to identify more problems
with a broader observation, as noted in the experiment. The findings of this study
continue to add to the body of evidence that managers are selective perceivers of
problems in an organization, and how problem identification objectives are com-
municated can dictate their vision, an important barrier to note when communicat-
ing with managers during the identification process of organizational problems.
6.1.4.2 Environmental
Environmental barriers are all around people in the organization. Unlike spoken
communication, where you can enrich the communication via inflection, non-verbal
physical cues, as well as the ability to immediately correct your meaning based on
instantaneous feedback by the listener, email communication in the written form
lacks this ability both in terms of timing or cadence as well as conveying emotion
and tone. The study by Kruger et al. (2005) showed that our own perception could
drive us to be blinded to our egocentrism when communicating via email, operating

with the assumption that the recipients can interpret our exact meaning and tone.
This experiment demonstrates an important challenge regarding email communica-
tion that employees often overlook in workplace communication: email lacks con-
textual information that is critically important for conveying emotion or tone. This
challenge becomes even more clear regarding emotionally ambiguous concepts
(e.g., sarcasm, humor) that are more challenging to convey in strictly written com-
munication. As we saw, to make matters more complex, those who engage in email
communication tend to be primarily focused on their own experience and often fail
to consider the reader’s perspective.
6.1.4.3 Cultural
Organizations today are far more culturally diverse than 5 or 10 years ago.
Technology has improved and allows direct communication between people thou-
sands of miles apart. Expanding businesses in other cultures gives a great advantage
to those who can do it successfully. European companies that can set up a satellite
office in America can get a head start in American markets. However, there are
hurdles to overcome when communicating across cultures. Researchers argue that
communicating with diverse cultures requires being aware of cultural differences. A
sense of empathy for those you are attempting to communicate with can help get the
message received correctly (Rani, 2016; Jenifer & Raman, 2015). At times, working
with European work cultures can be frustrating for Americans. European cultures
like to discuss problems at length with minimal action until all parties are heard, and
a decision is made. Americans tend to discuss quickly and move to action. Whether
the action was right or wrong, people move forward. If the action ended up not
being a solution, you have a lesson learned and continue to move forward. Additional
cultural training can help create a better cross-cultural experience.
6.1.4.4 Language
Along with cultural differences, worldwide organizations face a language barrier.

These organizations have offices in different parts of the world and must navigate
employees using different languages. With increasing diversity everywhere, even
smaller businesses can see language barriers. Companies with a single location in a
small town in the Midwest can still use more than one language. It is common in
rural Minnesota to have English- and Spanish-speaking workers on the same team.
Rani (2016) explains that language barriers happen regardless of the language they
speak. Slang terms and new words could also become barriers. A great way to get
past language barriers is to prepare for communication. Think about what the mes-
sage is and how you are sending it. And, maybe most importantly, how could it be
misinterpreted? Voice level, tone, and active listening can help ensure sure people
hear your message the way you intend. Jenifer and Raman (2015) argue that the
170 T. C. Olson
language barrier is the biggest problem within multicultural teams and say one rem-
edy is language training.
6.1.4.5 Gender
Hancock and Rubin (2015) conducted an interesting study on how men and women
communicate. The study hypothesized that the communication partner’s gender is
an essential factor that could influence a speaker’s language. When discussing com-
munication, the message’s sender is often studied in how the message is sent.
However, this study breaks down how the receiver of the message affects communi-
cation. Hancock and Rubin (2015) found that stereotypical language was used more
when the communication partner and receiver were female. More dependent clauses
and interruptions happen when the receiver is female, regardless of the gender of the
sender. Talkativeness is a trait many in business have. The “gift of gab” might be
synonymous with Sales Teams who can generate discussions with customers.
Brescoll (2011) studied how talkativeness can change the opinions of CEOs in an
organization and found that female CEOs who talked significantly longer than oth-
ers were viewed as less competent and not the best leader compared with a male
CEO. This study also found that a female CEO who talked significantly less com-
pared to a male CEO would be just as competent. Essentially, a high-power male
can be talkative, but a high-power female cannot without fear of facing a backlash
of some sort.
6.1.4.6 Organization
Communication barriers exist at the organizational levels because of organizational

structure, geographical layout, cultures, and employee personalities. Employees
within the business are located in various departments and have different roles from
those around them. These factors bring on different skills, motivations, and person-
alities. Information could flow differently from one person to the next because of
these factors. Organizations use different terms, which can hinder communication
with other businesses, such as customers or vendors. The day-to-day cultures may
differ, thus causing potential barriers. A lack of trust between people or businesses
may be clear, and a lack of concern for the other’s agenda can create a barrier
(Fischer et al., 2016). Some businesses have multiple facilities, which can slow
down or stop communication between people and teams.
6.2 Managing Conflict
Conflict
Conflicts are all around the daily inner workings of organizations. Conflicts can be
good for improving businesses daily. Strategies to run the operational side of com-
panies sometimes make a point of creating good conflicts, such as bringing prob-
lems to the surface and getting groups together to find solutions. Unfortunately,
some conflicts in business are bad and cause real problems. What is the difference
between good and bad conflicts? What are some strategies to work through con-
flicts? How do gender and culture affect conflict and conflict resolution?
6.2.1 Functional Versus Dysfunctional
Conflicts can be broken down into functional and dysfunctional conflicts. Functional
conflict is a constructive challenge of thoughts and ideas (Massey & Dawes, 2004).
Respect is maintained throughout any disagreement, promoting open thinking and
building off others’ ideas. Functional conflict is vital in business and aids in team-
work. Without functional conflict, companies would not grow and create new ideas
and processes. Verma (1998) provides ideas on how to promote such conflicts. One
idea is to bring new people into a current situation, which may be a problem. New
people bring the possibility of a new perspective and ask questions. Fresh eyes may
help solve a problem or find a better way to do something. Creating competition is
another idea that could lead to getting ahead of schedule or closing a project
under budget.
Dysfunctional conflict, on the other hand, can be problematic (Massey & Dawes,
2004). Dysfunctional conflict is defined as unhealthy and includes bad behaviors,
dissatisfaction, and poor performance for individuals and groups alike (De Dreu &
Weingart, 2003). This type of conflict distracts people from the true goal and ulti-
mately affects everyone. Examples of dysfunctional conflict could be withholding
information from someone or a group, distorting the truth or facts, being hostile,
and distrusting others.
Can leadership teams who are conflicting make high-quality decisions as a team?
Amason (1996) argues that while conflict helps decision quality within a group, this
same conflict disrupts the group. Leadership teams should try to balance both types
of conflict to make the right decisions and to be able to work together effectively in
the future.
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Fig. 6.1 Five conflict modes. (Adapter from Thomas, 1976, p. 922)
Table 6.2 Conflict-handling modes

Mode Organization example
Competing One employee is trying to use the same resource while another employee
needs to finish their project first and on time
Collaborating Two employees who need the same resource communicate project needs to
complete both projects on time
Compromising Two employees communicating project resource needs and one employee
accepting their project can wait and be late in the schedule until the resource
is free
Avoiding One employee is not willing to communicate project resource needs and lets
their project be late without resource communication
Accommodating One employee is willing to let the resource work on other projects until there
is time for their project. Will just let their project be late
6.2.2 Conflict Modes
Conflict is all around us in our personal lives and the workplace. It can range from
a perceived slight walking into work in the morning or a comment taken the wrong
way in a big meeting. Thomas (1992) breaks conflict handling into five modes:
competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding, and accommodating. A correla-
tion exists between each conflict mode and assertiveness and cooperativeness
(Fig. 6.1). Each conflict mode is used daily within a business. Table 6.2 explains an
organizational example of each conflict handling mode.
Competing is defined as pursuing your interests over somebody else’s interests.
You could be trying to win or stand up for something you believe. Competing can
also be described as assertive and uncooperative. At times, managers must negotiate

to use the same human resource on a project. People can only do one task at a time,
so the manager who gets the resource gets their project on time. The other manager
may have the project go late without the immediate use of the resource.
Collaborating can be described as assertive, cooperative, and positive. When two
people collaborate, they work together to find a solution to satisfy both needs. In
business, both parties may take a deep dive into a disagreement to see both sides of
the topic and then work with each other for an acceptable solution. Two managers
would communicate with each other on project needs and timelines. They can then
find a solution that fits both their project needs and timelines.
Compromising is the middle of the five modes of conflict. The goal of a compro-
mise is to find a fast and mutually acceptable solution for both parties. The main
difference between compromising and collaborating is that compromising may not
find a fully acceptable solution for each party. Compromising could be described as
assertive and cooperative but is less so than collaborating. Compromising happens
a lot in business, as it is often best to find a quick and middle-of-the-road solution
instead of taking a long time to find a fully acceptable solution for all parties. Each
party essentially gives something to be able to come to an agreement. Two managers
needing the same resource for a project may communicate with each other and
determine that one project is more important, and the resource starts there. The
second project would not be a priority and would wait for the resource to be
free again.
The avoiding conflict mode is considered unassertive and uncooperative.
Someone who uses this mode may remove themselves from a situation altogether or
try to get around any potential conflict. Avoiding is not addressing the issue until a
better time arises, or the issue might never be addressed. Two managers needing the
same resource would not communicate needs here, and one manager would be with-
out the resource it needs. This lets the project go late without any communication.
Accommodating is the last mode of conflict. It is unassertive and cooperative.
When people are accommodating, they are not considering their needs or concerns.
Self-sacrifice is another way to describe someone being accommodating. If two
managers are communicating project needs, one manager may willingly let the
resource go knowing their project will go late.
6.3 Organizational Conflict Causes
Culture Handling conflict within an organization can be tricky due to internal poli-
tics, processes, and hierarchy. With many organizations being multicultural, another
level of complexity is added. Individualistic cultures value direct and assertive
conflict-resolving methods (Holt & DeVore, 2005). The United States, Canada,
Germany, Australia, and England are all considered individualistic cultures. This
type of thinking could be aligned with a “me first” attitude as opposed to what is
best for the group. Based on these conflict terms, individualistic cultures would use
174 T. C. Olson
the problem-solving, compromising, and forcing types of resolution. Collectivistic

cultures are found in China, Japan, Korea, the Middle East, and Mexico. These cul-
tures are more focused on the group’s needs instead of one person. Smoothing and
compromising are the preferred methods of conflict resolution so as not to destroy
any relationships. This especially holds true in cultures in Asia as relationship build-
ing takes time and must be done before any business arrangement. Withdrawing is
another method of conflict resolution and is sometimes used to leave an embarrass-
ing situation without embarrassing one particular party.
Gender
Gender can also play a part in organizational conflict (Holt & DeVore, 2005). In the
United States, males are more direct and take on a power position based on social
norms and upbringing. Females, on the other hand, take a more collectivist approach
and want to care for others. Males take on the forcing and problem-solving methods
for conflict resolution. Females tend to use smoothing, withdrawing, and compro-
mising approaches.
6.4 Organization Negotiation
Negotiations frequently happen in organizations. Teams negotiate for resources and

production time. Workers negotiate with other workers, vendors, and customers.
Being able to negotiate with others can help you find win-win situations, get proj-
ects done, and meet company goals. What kind of factors influence how successful
a negotiation is? How does group size affect negotiations? How are negotiations
used in promotion and compensation?
Various factors impact the negotiation processes to contribute the success or fail-
ure. Negotiation within an organization can be slightly different when it is a one-on-
one conversation compared to negotiating within a group. Some important negotiations
employees will experience include career advancement and compensation.
6.4.1 Negotiation Impact Factors
Trust, emotions, power, culture, biases, and personality all come into play during
negotiations. These factors can be positive or negative when trying to reach an
outcome.
Trust
Arkes et al. (1991) mention that trust affects all negotiation parts. Each question-
and-answer moment provides information to both parties but is an avenue to gain or
lose trust. If there is low trust in a negotiation, negotiators will fall back and focus
only on themselves and their needs. Low trust can hurt future relationships and not
find a win-win solution. John (2016) mentions that negotiators tend to lie during
negotiations when there is a motive. This works counterintuitively to making a deal.
The apparent thought when concerned about lying during negotiations is to be able
to catch the liar. However, John (2016) provided provides a pre-emptive approach.
In the scenario where your counterpart shares sensitive information, do the same,
and it will help build trust between the two of you. People will lie less when they
trust the other person. Asking direct questions can also help avoid lies. And stay
persistent with direct questions even when someone may try dodging them. Having
a casual conversational tone will also reduce the likelihood of someone lying. A
perceived slight or inadvertently questioning the integrity of others could cancel
the deal.
Emotions
Emotions play a large part in negotiations. Positive or negative affect, anger, guilt,
regret, anxiety, and worry affect each party in the negotiation. Van Kleef and Côté
(2018) argue that negotiators who experience positive affect are more cooperative
during negotiations. In a dispute setting specifically, negotiators displaying positiv-
ity were more likely to find an agreement that suited both parties (Kopelman et al.,
2006). In addition, Kopelman et al. (2006) found in an ultimatum-type negotiation,
positive emotions used by the negotiators helped their opponents accept the deal at
hand and close negotiations. Negotiators who experience negative affect, such as
anger, become more competitive. A competitive nature may steer the negotiation
focus away from finding the best result for all parties. Emotions such as guilt or
anxiety may fuel a more cooperative negotiator because they may feel they owe the
other parties something or must “make it right.”
Nonverbal Cues
During negotiations, first impressions can mean a lot. People rely more on nonver-
bal information when forming initial impressions (Argyle, 2013). Handshakes are a
nonverbal signal of cooperation and tend to put people at ease. Schroeder et al.
(2014) argue that handshakes between parties during the initial meeting can help
increase cooperative behaviors, gain higher agreeable outcomes, and show people
lie less to their counterparts.
Culture
Culture can play an integral role in negotiations within the business and with cus-
tomers in the United States and globally. Some cultures prefer a more direct and
to-the-point negotiation where no time is wasted. Other customers, however, may
want a slower negotiation and possibly a good relationship before any negotiations.
Understanding who you are negotiating with and their cultural norms can be the
difference between coming to an agreement and losing a potential business partner-
ship. Meyer (2015) specifies several cultural examples of trust and dishonesty dur-
ing negotiations. Its common practice in America to end a meeting while summing
up action items or tasks that people have agreed to do. However, negotiating with
the Middle East may be an insult as they’ve already been committed to such actions
176 T. C. Olson
previously in the discussion. To repeat, what they’ve already agreed to could end the
deal with a “no.” The Chinese culture warrants a stronger relationship between two
parties before trust can happen and before a deal can work out. Cultures from Asia
and Africa require a connection to be made at a more personal level before a busi-
ness relationship. Building the connection takes time and involves learning about
one another outside the business walls.
Cultural differences are evident in the negotiations. When comparing two cul-
tures during negotiations, a bias toward cooperation is found in collective cultures.
Comparing American to Taiwanese negotiation teams, the American group sought
higher amounts and gained higher agreement and gains. The Taiwanese team was
less focused on the economic impact and more on forming a partnership with those
they were negotiating with (Gelfand et al., 2005). However, when comparing
American culture to Chinese or Qatari cultures, the Americans were more coopera-
tive and less competitive (Aslani et al., 2016). Aslani et al. (2016) found that the
Qatari and Chinese negotiations were more competitive, leading to lower amounts.
The Americans were more cooperative, and negotiations led to higher amounts. The
cooperativeness was based on more information sharing during negotiations than
compared with the Qataris or Chinese.
Gender
Gender in various cultures also affects negotiations. Biases often come into play
without people understanding they are biased on a topic. Kray et al. (2002) argue
that women perform badly in negotiations because of the stereotypical roles they are
perceived to have. Shan et al. (2019) argue that a woman’s negotiation performance
is based on the cultural values and practices of the society they currently live in.
Men are more likely to outperform women when the culture they are in values indi-
vidualism, being assertive, and does not value collectivism. Mazei et al. (2021) go a
step further and point out that men rank their masculinity and social status based on
outcomes from a negotiation. If a man wins a negotiation, this reaffirms his status in
society. However, if a man loses a negotiation or doesn’t get the wanted outcome, he
may lose his status in society. With so much at stake, a man may be pushed to be
unethical during the negotiation, which in turn hurts all parties involved.
Personality
Personality plays a part in negotiations, and employees must understand how they
are perceived when working with others. Open and blatant disagreements in America
may offend certain people. However, other cultures, Germany, Denmark, and the
Netherlands, see this as a positive. Meyer (2015) mentioned Russia. Open disagree-
ment is an invitation to a discussion, which is a good start to negotiations. In Mexico,
though, saying you disagree with another person’s position, the negotiation may
very well end. Arkes et al. (1991) review social motives people in social interactions
such as negotiations have. It really boils down to the type of person you are. People
who place their own interests higher than others may focus on what they gain versus
the other person as opposed to what both parties gain. Competitive people could very
well focus on maximizing the difference between their gains and the counterpart’s
gains. The difference is what is important at the end. Someone may be motivated by
their needs and others’ needs and then puts focus on both during the negotiation.
Power
The power within a negotiation affects its outcome. Power in a negotiation comes in
various forms, one being the best alternative to the negotiated agreement (BATNA).
When a negotiator has the knowledge of their BATNA, it helps them make decisions
in real-time on what and what not to concede. BATNA helps the negotiator make
any tradeoffs (Pinkley, 1995). In organizations, when negotiating for resources or
changing priorities, it is best to know the tradeoffs in each situation. When someone
can apply numbers or dollars to the decision-making, it can make the decisions
easier and easier to explain to others.
6.4.2 Level of Negotiation
Dyadic
With a group of two people, or a dyadic group, one person’s feelings or attitude can
affect the other person. One negotiator may pick up on the emotions of another
negotiator and adjust to meet the needs of the negotiation. Van Kleef and Côté
(2018) point out that participants who received angry communication from their
opponent would then adjust and concede a lot to keep the negotiation going.
Participants who received positive messages were more likely to negotiate for more
or give up less, because they were not afraid the negotiation would break down. At
the dyadic level, emotions, specifically anger, can greatly impact negotiations.
Large Group
Large group negotiations bring multiple people into the mix. Oftentimes, these con-
versations happen during meetings. Van Kleef and Côté (2018) reference a group of
studies to come to two conclusions regarding large-group negotiations. Emotions
can be contagious, starting from one person and traveling to the next. Positive emo-
tions from one person can gain traction, increase cooperation, and reduce conflict in
the group. And anger expressions pointed at one person may persuade this person to
act similarly to the group in order not to be singled out further. However, negative
attitudes can be contagious and flow from one person to the next as well.
6.4.3 Career Advancement and Compensation
Two common topics that employees negotiate are career advancement and compen-
sation. These topics can be uncomfortable to talk about with a superior and usually
bring on stress and anxiety for several employees. Bowles et al. (2019) argue that
women are at a disadvantage compared to men during salary and wage negotiations.
178 T. C. Olson
Negotiating strategies such as asking, bending, and shaping are described as tools
for women during negotiations. The tool choice impacts negotiations for women in
their pay and leadership worlds. Asking is described as specifically requesting
career advancement as a direct line of communication between the employee and
employer. This could be applying and interviewing for an open position within the
organization. Bending is defined as going slightly beyond the norm of organiza-
tional practices. An example of bending would be applied to the open position but
negotiating a change in standard hours or maybe working from home a couple of
days a week. Shaping is considered as an employee’s proposal, which would then
change organizational norms. A shaping example could be applied to an open job,
but negotiating a 100% work remotely role certainly changes organizational norms.
6.5 Summary
Communication, conflict, and negotiation are prevalent in the daily lives of employ-
ees of an organization. There are various types of verbal and nonverbal communica-
tion forms. How you communicate your message, both verbally and nonverbally,
can affect how the message is received. Communication happens at different levels
in business, such as intrapersonal, dyadic, team, and as an entire organization.
Traditional media types are still used during the workday, and some of these have
been improved. However, some new technologies have become important and need
effective strategies to gain maximum value. No matter what type of communication
or media to use, there are still barriers to be wary of. Navigating these barriers while
using the right communication method can confirm your message is received the
way you intended it. Amazon seemed to not have an open line of communication
between employees and management. Workers became more vocal about their prob-
lems and concerns. Had Amazon had good communication methods, the employee
concerns may not have been made public and been able to be worked out internally.
Conflict is something all employees deal with, and it is important to understand
the differences between functional and dysfunctional conflicts. This is important
within an organization because organizations are made up of many cultures, person-
alities, and situations. The conflict between Amazon and its’ workers was dysfunc-
tional as valid concerns were brought to light by the media. Amazon pushed its’
workforce hard with long hours and minimal bathroom breaks. An example of func-
tional conflict would have been Amazon's management hearing these concerns and
working with employees for an acceptable solution resulting in a stronger and more
attractive workplace for current and new workers.
Negotiations happen every day, all day, within a business. Along with cultures,
personalities, and various situations, emotions, trust, and biases, all affect negotia-
tions. It is important to understand how each factor can affect the outcome.
Negotiations happen at the dyadic, large group, and employee-employer levels.
Resources, salaries, and benefits might be at stake. Understanding how communica-
tion, conflict, and negotiation affect organizations and their’ members can help
when dealing with difficult situations to move forward to a positive outcome. And
understanding how to navigate these waters effectively can help leaders keep the
business going in the right direction. During the problems at Amazon, it looked like
the Amazon leadership team was not negotiating effectively with their employees.
Positive and good-faith negotiations could have taken care of the issues right away.
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Thad C. Olson lives in Becker, MN., with his wife, Chrissy, and daughter, Faith. He has 14 years
of experience in various manufacturing roles and holds a Master’ degree in Engineering
Management and a Master’s degree in Business Administration. Thad enjoys golfing and spending
time on the water with family and friends.
Chapter 7
Leadership
Lu Zuo
Abbreviation
LMX Leader-Member Exchange
Yu and the Battle of Julu

Yu Xiang was a prominent military and political leader in ancient China. He was
born in 232 B.C., when the first unified, power-centralized Chinese country, the Qin
dynasty, started to fall. During that period, the country was experiencing a number
of peasant rebellions due to the Qin emperor’s tyranny. Yu was one of the major
rebel leaders against Qin. After successfully overthrowing Qin, occupying the Qin
capital, and executing the emperor, he proclaimed himself “Hegemon-King of
Western Chu.”
In the Records of the Grand Historian, Yu had double pupils in his eyes and pos-
sessed unusual physical strength, making people see him as an extraordinary per-
son. As a descendant of a royal family of the Chu state (a small state conquered by
Qin), he hoped to take revenge on the Qin emperor and re-establish the Chu state.
He believed that he was the only person who would be able to replace the Qin
emperor and rule the country.
In 207 BC, Yu led a 20,000 army to cross HuangHe river and attack 300,000 Qin
forces at Julu. After crossing the river, he asked his army to sink boats and only
carry three-day food. Because there were no food supplies or any chance of escape,
his army had to make full efforts to fight to survive. Although the Qin army heavily
outnumbered Yu’s army, the army’s strong desire to survive enabled them to get a
great victory. After the victory, he killed the 200,000 surrendered Qin army. Despite
the Qin’s fertile land and strategic location, he did not want to remain at Qin or
become an emperor of the country. Instead, he divided the country into several
states and only took the old territory of the Chu state.
L. Zuo (*)
Herberger Business School , St Cloud State University, St Cloud, MN, USA
e-mail: lu.zuo@stcloudstate.edu
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-31356-1_7
184 L. Zuo
How do you evaluate Yu as a leader? Was he charismatic, transformational, ethi-

cal, or destructive? Have you worked with a leader like him? What emerged Yu as a
leader? What characteristics make him a leader? Was he an effective leader? Does
culture impact his emergence as a leader? Did he have any culturally endorsed lead-
ership attributes? What influence tactics did Yu use in influencing his followers?
7.1 Early Leadership Theories
Since the Industrial Revolution in the late 1800s, the study of leadership has become
more rigorous. The traditional leadership theories and research can be divided into
three approaches, which include the trait approach, the behavioral approach, and the
contingency approach. Each approach uniquely contributes to our understanding of
leadership and its underlying process.
7.1.1 The Trait Approach
Dominant from the last 1800s to the mid-1940s, the trait approach that rests on the
idea that leaders are born was one of the earliest theories of leadership. The major
assumption underlying the trait theories is that people born with certain traits and
characteristics are more likely to emerge as leaders and/or perform as effective lead-
ers. For example, individuals in high-level positions may possess more leadership
traits than those who are in lower-level positions. Consequently, the trait theories
emphasize on identifying who would be effective leaders and attempt to identify
individual traits and characteristics that can differentiate leaders from followers.
Key theories such as implicit leadership theories (Offermann et al., 1994; Lord
et al., 2020) and evolutionary psychology perspective (van Vugt & Ronay, 2014) are
applied to depict the mechanisms underlying the trait approach to leadership.
Although some leadership traits (e.g., physical attributes and personality traits) are
identified, the trait approach seems not sufficient for predicting leadership effective-
ness – for example, no single individual trait or characteristic can be a solo measure
of leadership effectiveness and there are often weak and inconsistent findings. This
section will discuss the roles of physical height, facial appearance, and personality
in the leadership processes.
7.1.1.1 Physical Height
Taller individuals are “greater.” Tall stature is a metaphor for masculinity and power.
A social perceptual bias is that as taller people are better nourished in childhood,
they are more capable and intelligent, allowing them to gain a more successful
career and even emerge as a leader. Think about the average height for men in the
7 Leadership 185
United States versus for the US presidents. Research findings reveal that height is a
preferred leadership characteristic in the U.S. presidential elections – for example,
taller candidates are more likely to receive more popular votes (Stulp et al., 2013).
All presidents in the past 40 years (see Table 7.1) are taller than the average
American man (5 ft 9 in/180 cm).
From an evolutionary perspective, taller individuals are more leader-like, because
they are seen as physically stronger, healthier, and more energetic (Blaker et al.,
2013). A meta-analytic review by Judge and Cable (2004) has demonstrated that
taller people have more ascendancy into leadership as height is a valuable thing
esteemed by other people. As leadership positions were occupied by males in ances-
tral societies, the positive association between physical height and leadership seems
more obvious for men than for women. Taller men are perceived as more charis-
matic by their followers, while no such relationship was found for female leaders
(Hamstra, 2014).
7.1.1.2 Facial Appearance
Facial appearance considerably matters in the people we select as leaders (Antonakis

& Eubanks, 2017). In Fig. 7.1, who is more competent and more likely to win an
election? Are you choosing the left (face A) in the first pair and the right (face B) in
Table 7.1 Height of US presidents

No. President Height (in) Height (cm)
46 Joe Biden 5 ft 11.5 in 182 cm
45 Donald Trump 6 ft 3 in 191 cm
44 Barack Obama 6 ft 1 in 185 cm
43 George W. Bush 5 ft 11.5 in 182 cm
42 Bill Clinton 6 ft 2 in 188 cm
41 George H. W. Bush 6 ft 2 in 188 cm
40 Ronald Reagan 6 ft 1 in 185 cm
Fig. 7.1 Facial appearance and voting. (Olivola & Todorov, 2010)
186 L. Zuo
the second pair? Research indicates that these faces perceived as more attractive and
less baby faced increase their perceived competence and the likelihood of winning
an election (Olivola & Todorov, 2010). As accurate information about candidates’
competence, intelligence, and leadership are not often available, we derive infer-
ences about their traits and characteristics from facial cues, which is so-called face-
ism (Olivola et al., 2014). The underlying mechanism is that having certain facial
features (e.g., masculine-looking) considered prototypical leadership characteristics
makes people engage in associated self-reinforcing behaviors and in turn gain obe-
dience and trust from others (Antonakis & Eubanks, 2017).
The link between facial appearance and success has been well established across
domains. For example, appearance-based judgments about political candidates’
personality traits impact their electoral success (Olivola & Todorov, 2010). This
facial effect on voting has been found across countries, such as the United States,
Australia, France, Germany, Japan, and so forth (Poutvaara, 2014). In organiza-
tional settings, people with certain facial features are more likely to get selected as
a business leader (Stoker et al., 2016), command higher salaries (Graham et al.,
2017), and achieve higher firm performance (Wong et al., 2011). In the military
hierarchy, dominant-looking men are more likely to advance to higher ranks (Mazur
et al., 1984).
Research also examined the effect of specific facial features on leadership out-
comes. For instance, people with symmetrical faces are more extraverted (Pound
et al., 2007) and intelligent (Banks et al., 2010), and these personality traits allow
them to emerge as a leader (Ensari et al., 2011; Ilies et al., 2004). Men with greater
facial width-to-height ratios have higher negotiation performance (Haselhuhn et al.,
2014). Recently, mouth width is considered a critical facial feature that predicts
leadership selection and success (Re & Rule, 2016). Facial cues of height can also
predict perceived leadership capability. Re et al. (2013) found that faces appearing
to belong to taller people could be rated as better leaders (see Fig. 7.2).
Fig. 7.2 Facial cues of height and leadership perceptions. Who is taller? Looks like a leader?. (Re
et al., 2013)
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Despite the prototypical faces of leaders across contexts, different facial features
are preferable in different contexts (Little, 2014; Van Vugt & Grabo, 2015). As sug-
gested by Van Vugt and Grabo (2015), older-looking faces make people stereotypi-
cally fit into the leadership position in the knowledge domains. Whereas wartime
leaders are expected to have masculine-looking faces, feminine faces are more
favored for peacetime leaders (Van Vugt & Grabo, 2015) (Figs. 7.1 and 7.2).
7.1.1.3 Personality
Personality is a set of stable psychological characteristics that make people unique.

A number of personality traits, such as intelligence (e.g., cognitive ability, emo-
tional intelligence, and political skill) and self-concept traits (e.g., self-confidence,
self-efficacy, and core self-evaluation), make people emergent or effective leaders
(Badura et al., 2022; Judge et al., 2002).
To group many different personality traits into a list of personality dimensions, a
five-factor model (often termed the Big Five) was developed. The Big Five dimen-
sions include neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and
conscientiousness (see Chap. 2).
• Neuroticism. A tendency to be anxious, insecure, worried, and emotional.
• Extraversion. A tendency to be outgoing, talkative, energetic, sociable, and
assertive.
• Openness to experience. A tendency to be intellectual, imaginative, broad-
minded, creative, and curious.
• Agreeableness. A tendency to be trustful, cooperative, warm, and sympathetic.
• Conscientiousness. A tendency to be dependable, responsible, persistent, thor-
ough, and achievement oriented.
The Big Five traits are relevant to leadership (Badura et al., 2022). Findings of a
meta-analytic review indicated that neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experi-
ence, and conscientiousness predicted leadership (Judge et al., 2002). Particularly,
extraversion was the most consistent correlate of leadership emergence and leader-
ship effectiveness across all study settings (Judge et al., 2002).
The Dark Triad represents a taxonomy of dark personality traits that have also
been extensively studied in leadership research. The so-called Dark Triad includes
narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy (LeBreton et al., 2018).
• Narcissism. A self-centered perspective with “(a) feelings of superiority by an
inflated or grandiose sense of self, (b) have a dysfunctional need for excessive
attention and admiration, (c) have a propensity for engaging in exploitive acts or
behaviors, and (d) lack empathy, tending toward callousness.”
• Machiavellianism. A tendency toward manipulation, with “(a) lack of empathy,
(b) lower levels of affect, (c) a focus on pursuing one’s own goals at the expense
of others, and (d) an aberrant view of morality.”
188 L. Zuo
• Psychopathy. A constellation of “interpersonal manipulation (e.g., grandiosity,

lying, superficial charm); callous affect (e.g., lack of empathy, lack of remorse);
erratic lifestyle (e.g., impulsivity, irresponsibility, sensation seeking); and crimi-
nal tendencies (e.g., antisocial or counterproductive behavior).”
The dark triad traits enable people to emerge as leaders; however, they may not
perform effectively on the leadership position. For example, as narcissistic people
are skilled at making positive first impressions (e.g., being extraverted and having
charming facial expressions), they are more likely to emerge as leaders (see Grijalva
et al., 2015 for a meta-analysis). Despite the initial attractiveness, they have diffi-
culty maintaining the positive relationship and are rated more negatively over time
as they are arrogant, entitled, and exploitative (Grijalva et al., 2015). Psychopathy
also demonstrated a positive relationship with leadership emergence while having a
negative relationship with leadership effectiveness (see Landay et al., 2019 for a
meta-analysis).
To clarify the “nature-nurture” issue, leadership researchers look for a link
between genetics and human development. Using identical twins who share 100%
of their genetic background and fraternal twins who share only 50% of their genetic
background, empirical studies found that about 30% of the variance of leadership
role occupancy was accounted for by genetic factors/heritability (Arvey et al., 2006,
2007). The genetic basis for leadership can be explained by the genetic influences
on the chemical (e.g., hormones), physical (e.g., height), and psychological pro-
cesses (e.g., personality) that, in turn, affect leadership. More recent research
focuses on the effect of a specific gene on leadership. For instance, leadership role
occupancy was associated with rs4950 (a single-nucleotide polymorphism) residing
on CHRNB3 (a neuronal acetylcholine receptor gene; De Neve et al., 2013). The
DAT1 10-repeat (a dopamine transporter gene) impacts leadership role occupancy
by determining proactive personality and rule-breaking (Li et al., 2015).
7.1.2 The Behavioral Approach
During the mid-1940 to early 1970s, the behavioral approach became the focus due
to the need for training and developing effective leaders in the World War II. Unlike
the trait approach emphasizing that leaders are born with innate traits, the behav-
ioral approach rests on the idea that leaders can be made to perform effective leader-
ship behaviors. Consequently, the behavioral approach focuses on what an effective
leader does and attempts to identify the unique behaviors displayed by effective
leaders. Among the important leadership behaviors identified, task- and relationship-
oriented behaviors were established as primary leadership behaviors in the behav-
ioral theories (Table 7.2). This section will introduce three main behavioral theories:
Kurt Lewin’s leadership styles, the Ohio State Studies, and the University of
Michigan Studies.
7 Leadership 189
Table 7.2 Summary of key behavioral theories

Key behavioral theories Task oriented Relationship oriented
Kurt Lewin’s leadership styles Autocratic Democratic
Ohio state studies Initiating structure Consideration
University of Michigan Studies Job centered Employee centered
7.1.2.1 Kurt Lewin’s Leadership Styles
The early work of the behavioral approach to leadership was conducted by Kurt
Lewin and his colleagues (Lewin & Lippitt, 1938; Lewin et al., 1939). They identi-
fied three basic leadership styles, which include autocratic, democratic, and
laissez-faire.
• Autocratic (task-oriented). Centralize authority (e.g., derive power from position
and make decisions alone).
• Democratic (relationship-oriented). Delegate authority (e.g., encourage follow-
ers to participate in decision making, rely on followers’ knowledge and exper-
tise, and expect respect from followers).
• Laissez-faire. Provide no direction and do not get followers involved.
Autocratic leaders demand obedience from followers. They make decisions
themselves without consulting with followers and provide followers with clear
expectations regarding the goals, timelines, and methods of the tasks. Followers
cannot make or change any decision in the task completion. Autocratic leadership
style is effective when only the leader possesses the knowledge, skills, and expertise
necessary for completing the task and/or when the team has limited time to com-
plete tasks. However, solely relying on the leader’s expertise, the team may not be
able to produce creative ideas.
As opposed to autocratic leadership, democratic leaders encourage participation
and rely on followers’ expertise. Democratic leadership is effective when followers
have expertise. Teams with democratic leaders can perform effectively even when
the leaders are absent. Although the teams can creatively resolve problems and fin-
ish tasks, democratic leadership would be problematic when the teams produce a
large number of ideas but have no way to reach a consensus.
Unlike autocratic leaders or democratic leaders, laissez-faire leaders do not exert
effort to get work done or to cooperate with followers. Teams with laissez-faire
leaders may not be effective or cohesive.
7.1.2.2 The Ohio State Studies
One of the most influential behavioral theories is the Ohio State University Studies.
The Ohio State research group developed the Leader Behavior Description
Questionnaire (LBDQ) and identified two wide-ranging categories of leadership
behavior (i.e., task- and relationship-related behaviors, later called initiating struc-
ture and consideration).
190 L. Zuo
• Initiating structure (task-oriented). Organize and define followers’ work activi-

ties toward goal attainment.
• Consideration (relationship-oriented). Respect followers’ ideas, establishing
mutual trust, and caring about followers’ needs.
A meta-analysis by Judge et al. (2004) suggests that initiating structure and con-
sideration have positive relationships with leadership outcomes. Specifically, initi-
ating structure was positively associated with leader performance and
group-organization performance, and consideration was positively associated with
follower satisfaction (leader satisfaction and job satisfaction), motivation, and
leader effectiveness. Lambert et al. (2012) found that excess levels of initiating
structure led to a decline in attitudinal outcomes (i.e., employees’ trust in the super-
visor, job satisfaction, and affective organizational commitment) and excess levels
of consideration triggered an increase in attitudinal outcomes. Another interesting
result from Lambert et al. was that for both forms of leadership behaviors, high
levels of absolute fit between leader behaviors needed and received were positively
associated with attitudinal outcomes.
As initiating structure and consideration behaviors are independent of one
another, it is likely that a leader can demonstrate a high level of both behaviors or a
low level of both behaviors in addition to displaying high initiating structure and
low consideration or low initiating structure and high consideration.
7.1.2.3 The University of Michigan Studies
Another well-known series of leadership studies was conducted at the University of

Michigan. The focus of the Michigan studies was to determine the principles and
methods of leadership that led to greater productivity and higher job satisfaction.
The Michigan researchers established two types of leadership behaviors: employee-
centered and job-centered. Unlike initiating structure and consideration, the
Michigan researchers considered job-focused and employee-focused leadership
behaviors to be distinct from one another.
• Employee-focused. Care about employees’ human needs by providing support
for employees and facilitating positive interaction among employees.
• Job-focused. Guide work activities toward task accomplishment by focusing on
reaching task goals and facilitating task structure.
7.1.3 The Contingency Approach
As the trait approach and behavioral approach failed to identify universal leadership
traits and behaviors predicting leadership effectiveness, a more comprehensive
approach to understanding leadership was required since early 1960s. More com-
plex models that involve situational contingencies were taken into consideration.
7 Leadership 191
The contingency approach believes that the effectiveness of leader behavior is

contingent upon organizational situations. That is, leadership effectiveness is deter-
mined by the fit between leader behaviors and specific situations (see Chap. 2 for
people-environment fit). Some leader behaviors that work in one situation may not
work in another situation. To be effective, leaders cannot use one leadership style in
all situations. As situations change, different leadership styles become appropriate.
This section will discuss three main contingency theories: Hersey and Blanchard’s
situational leadership theory, Fiedler’s contingency model, and path-goal theory.
7.1.3.1 Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Theory
The situational leadership theory was proposed by Hersey and Blanchard. As a con-
tingency theory, this theory suggests that there is no one “best” leadership style.
Based on two dimensions – task and relationship behaviors – the leadership styles
were divided into four categories: telling, selling, participating, and delegating.
• Telling. High task and low relationship (e.g., providing clear objectives and
instructions about task accomplishment).
• Selling. High task and high relationship (e.g., providing task instruction and per-
sonal support).
• Participating. Low task and high relationship (e.g., encouraging participation
and relying on employees to complete tasks).
• Delegating. Low task and low relationship (e.g., providing no/little direction and
support).
This theory also identified employees’ readiness – the ability and willingness to
perform a task – as the most important element of organizational situation.
• Low readiness: Unable and unwilling.
• Moderate readiness: Unable but willing.
• High readiness: Able but unwilling.
• Very high readiness: Able and willing.
The tenet of the situational leadership theory is that employees with different
readiness levels should match different leadership styles (Fig. 7.3). Leaders should
change leadership styles when working with employees with different readiness. In
other word, to be effective, leaders should be able to diagnose employees’ readiness
and adopt the leadership style that is appropriate for employees’ readiness level.
• Telling is effective when employees have low readiness. As employees do not
have skills or expertise to perform on a task, leaders can provide clear instruc-
tions about how to complete the tasks.
• Selling is effective when employees have moderate readiness. Although employ-
ees do not have ability, they are willing to learn. Thus, providing directions and
clarifying how the tasks should be performed can help them improve.
192 L. Zuo
Fig. 7.3 Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Theory. (Adapted from Hersey
et al., 1979)
• Participating is effective when employees have high readiness. When employees

have necessary skills and expertise but are unwilling to contribute, leaders can
encourage them to participate.
• Delegating is effective when employees have very high readiness. When employ-
ees have very high levels of ability, expertise, and willingness to accept respon-
sibility, leaders can delegate them sufficient authority.
7.1.3.2 Fiedler’s Contingency Model
Fiedler’s contingency model is a tool that allows leaders to diagnose leadership

styles and organizational situation. As the effectiveness of leadership is determined
by how well leadership styles match organizational situation, an effective leader
should be able to change leadership styles to match specific situation. In Fiedler’s
contingency model, leadership styles are divided into two categories: task-motivated
and relationship-motivated. As Fiedler believed that how people evaluate their least-
preferred coworker determines their priorities toward either accomplishing tasks or
7 Leadership 193
establishing relationships, the leadership styles are measured by the least preferred
coworker (LPC) scale.
• Task-motivated (low LPC). Focus on the task first, evaluate employees based on
their competence and performance, and feel comfortable with details and with
routine events.
• Relationship-motivated (high LPC). Focus on people first and social interactions,
evaluate employees based on their loyalty, and care for employees’ feelings
and needs.
Fiedler also identified three situational factors, which include the relationship
between the leader and the followers, the amount of structure of the task, and the
position power of the leader.
• Leader-member relations (most important). The team with high leader-member
relations is cohesive and has little respect or support from the leader.
• The amount of task structure. A highly structured task has clear goals and
procedures.
• Leader position power. The leader has formal power to hire, fire, reward, and
punish employees (Fig. 7.4).
In a high-control situation, task-motivated leaders are more effective. Leaders who
have good relationships with their members do not have to consider relationships or
conflicts too much. Instead, they spend time providing the teams with resources
necessary for task accomplishment, taking care of details, and helping followers
perform on tasks. However, relationship-motivated leaders may feel that they have
nothing to do as relationship is not the focus of the teams.
In a moderate-control situation, the teams are not cohesive, or the tasks are
unclear. This makes the situations ambiguous or uncertain and members feel it hard
Fig. 7.4 Fiedler’s Contingency Model. (Built based on Fiedler, 1971)

194 L. Zuo
to complete tasks. In these circumstances, the relationship-motivated leaders may

be more effective, because they encourage member participation and focus on
addressing task and relationship conflicts. However, task-motivated leaders in the
moderate-control situation may perform poorly, because they may simply try to
complete the task but ignore task and relationship conflicts, likely generating more
conflicts and troubles.
In a low-control situation where the teams have low cohesion, do not have task
structure, and do not have strong position power, task-motivated leaders who
make decisions without much concern for followers may be more effective.
Although team performance may not be high and followers may not be satisfied,
the leaders can get some work done. However, in the low-control situation,
relationship-
motivated leaders cannot complete tasks or address relationship
conflicts.
7.1.3.3 Path-Goal Theory
The path-goal theory proposes that the role of leaders is to increase follower motiva-
tion to accomplish goals (follower satisfaction, productivity, and rewards) by clari-
fying paths necessary for task completion to the rewards and matching followers’
needs to the rewards. For example, the leaders define goals, procedures, and meth-
ods of work activities that help followers attain task accomplishment and organiza-
tional rewards that followers value and desire. As a contingency theory, the path-goal
theory includes leadership styles and situational contingencies (follower character-
istics and work environment). Four leadership styles are identified in the path-goal
theory, which include supportive leadership, directive leadership, participative lead-
ership, and achievement-oriented leadership.
• Supportive leadership. Care for followers’ personal needs and desires.
• Directive leadership. Provide clear objectives and instructions about task
completion.
• Participative leadership. Encourage participation.
• Achievement-oriented leadership. Set clear goals and helps employees achieve
high performance and improvement.
The path-goal theory also identified two categories of situational contingen-
cies, which include follower characteristics and work environment. The interac-
tion between the leadership styles and situational contingencies leads to goal
attainment (Fig. 7.5).
• Follower characteristics. Followers’ knowledge, skills, expertise, and
motivation.
• Work environment. Task clarity, organizational structure, and the work
team itself.
7 Leadership 195
Fig. 7.5 Path-goal theory
7.2 New Paradigm for Leadership
Since the 1970s, a new paradigm for leadership has emerged. The new paradigm
focuses on providing vision, inspiring followers, and maintaining emotional bonds
with followers that go beyond setting clear goals, providing explicit instructions,
organizing resources, and controlling outcomes. The section will discuss several
new leadership theories.
7.2.1 Leader-Member Exchange (LMX)
Leader-member exchange (LMX) theory originated from the Vertical Dyad Linkage
Model introduced by Dansereau and colleagues during the 1970s (Dansereau et al.,
1975). Unlike other traditional leadership theories that assume leaders developed
similar relationships with all followers, LMX focuses on dyadic exchange relation-
ships between a leader and each follower aimed at attaining mutual goals (Graen &
Uhl-Bien, 1995; Liden et al., 1997). Specifically, the leader establishes unique, one-
on-one relationships with followers through a process of exchanging resources, and
the quality of each exchange relationship varies. Some followers have low-quality
LMX (out-group relationships) based primarily on formal job contract, while the
others have high-quality LMX (in-group relationships) characterized by high mutual
respect, trust, loyalty, and support.
LMX quality is determined by follower characteristics (e.g., personality traits,
implicit leadership theories, cognitive style, and self-efficacy), leader characteris-
tics (e.g., personality traits and influence tactics), interactional variables (e.g.,
leader-follower demographic similarity, personality similarity, and liking), and con-
textual variables (e.g., leader workload; see Martin et al., 2010 for a review).
A considerable amount of research has consistently demonstrated that high LMX
quality leads to a wide range of positive follower attitudinal and behavioral
196 L. Zuo
consequences, such as high job satisfaction, well-being, and work performance

(e.g., Dulebohn et al., 2012; Erdogan & Bauer, 2014; Ilies et al., 2007; Gerstner &
Day, 1997; Martin et al., 2010, 2016). High LMX quality perceived by followers
was also related to the dyad- and organizational-level outcomes (e.g., perceived
leader support, perceived transformational leadership, and perceived justice; see
Martin et al., 2010 for a review).
Although LMX is dyadic in nature, recent research efforts are dedicated to
addressing LMX at the group level. When a leader treats each follower differently
in a team setting, the effect of LMX on follower work outcomes is determined not
only by the quality of the relationship with the leader but by the quality of the rela-
tionships between the leader and other followers of the team. Consequently, while
high LMX quality relates to positive follower outcomes, it is unclear whether the
LMX differentiation is beneficial or detrimental for group outcomes.
Martin et al. (2017) summarized that LMX differentiation can be assessed
through three main properties, which include central tendency (i.e., the average or
middle value of team members’ LMX quality assessed as team mean or median),
variation (i.e., the degree of variation in team members’ LMX quality), and relative
position (i.e., the relative position of a team member’s LMX quality to other team
members). Three key theories, namely, organizational justice theory, social com-
parison theory, and social identity theory, are often utilized when examining the
effect of LMX differentiation on individual and team outcomes (Martin et al., 2017).
Martin et al. also found that based on the three theories, high relative LMX leads to
better individual consequences (e.g., job satisfaction, well-being, and performance)
and low LMX variance was related to better team outcomes (e.g., low team conflict
and greater team potency). A more recent review by Buengeler et al. (2021) concep-
tualized LMX differentiation as LMX separation (disagreement or opposition
regarding an opinion or position), LMX variety (distinctiveness in kind, source, or
category), and LMX disparity (inequality in concentration of valued social assets or
resources). In examining their group consequences, Buengeler et al. found that
while LMX separation and LMX disparity trigger negative group outcomes, LMX
variety benefits groups.
7.2.2 Transformational Leadership
Due to today’s dynamic business environment, organizations need leadership that

inspires employees to achieve revolutionary change. Initially introduced by
Downton (1973) and further developed by Burns (1978), transformational leader-
ship is one of the most heavily researched leadership theories where leaders inspire
followers beyond their immediate self-interests to achieve collective outcomes
through idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and
individual consideration (Bass, 1985, 1999).
7 Leadership 197
• Idealized influence. Leaders have set an example to be followed.

• Inspirational motivation. Leaders communicate a clear picture for the future to
inspire and motivate employees.
• Intellectual stimulation. Leaders encourage employees’ creativity and innovation.
• Individual consideration. Leaders express genuine concern, support, and coach-
ing for employees’ growth and development.
Transformational leadership was positively associated with performance at the
individual, team, and organizational levels (see Wang et al., 2011 for a meta-
analysis). The meta-analysis also indicates that transformational leadership has a
stronger relationship with contextual performance than with task performance
(Wang et al., 2011). Also, transformational leadership has a stronger relationship
with follower satisfaction and self-report effort than superior-report leadership
effectiveness and objective team performance.
Charismatic leadership and transformational leadership are considered overlap-
ping with one another. In recent years, the revised charismatic leadership theory
appears to be closer to the transformational leadership theory. Despite this, there are
some important differences. For example, although charisma is a necessary compo-
nent of transformational leadership, charismatic leaders may not be often transfor-
mational (Bass, 1985). Charismatic leaders are seen as extraordinary by followers,
while transformational leaders appear to inspire, empower, and develop followers,
which may reduce attribution of charisma to the leader. Another difference between
charismatic and transformational leadership lies in the leaders’ influence over fol-
lowers. While charismatic leaders exhibit extraordinary competence to increase fol-
lower dependence on them, transformational leaders develop and empower followers
to reduce their dependence.
Unlike transformational leadership, transactional leadership motivates followers
by appealing to their self-interests in the exchange relationship between the leader
and followers (Bass, 1985, 1999). The exchange process induces followers’ compli-
ance with leaders’ commands rather than arouse enthusiasm and commitment in
followers. Transactional leader behaviors include through contingent reward, man-
agement by exception-active, management by exception-passive, and laissez-faire
(Bass, 1985, 1999). Effective leaders should use a combination of transformational
and transactional leadership (Bass, 1985).
• Contingent reward. Leaders focus on the exchange relationships in which leaders
provide followers with resources (e.g., support and benefits) in exchange for
their work efforts.
• Management by exception-active. Leaders monitor followers’ performance
based on performance standards and take corrective actions if the followers fail
to meet the standards.
• Management by exception-passive. Leaders take corrective actions only when
problems become severe.
• Laissez-faire. Leaders avoid taking responsibilities.
198 L. Zuo
7.2.3 Ethical Leadership
Drawing upon a social learning approach, Brown et al. (2005) define ethical leader-
ship as “the demonstration of normatively appropriate conduct through personal
actions and interpersonal relationships, and the promotion of such conduct to fol-
lowers through two-way communication, reinforcement, and decision-making”
(p. 120). Ethical leadership is also studied within the social exchange framework in
which followers reciprocate the fair treatment of ethical leaders through showing
their ethical behaviors (Hansen et al., 2013). In addition to social learning and social
exchange, ethical leadership is defined from a social influence perspective as the
process of influencing group activities toward goal attainment in a way that is
responsible for followers, organizations, and society (De Hoogh & Den Hartog,
2009). Other researchers define ethical leadership as not intending to harm others,
respecting others’ right, and acting altruistically (Kanungo, 2001).
Ethical leadership has overlaps with transformational and transactional leader-
ship, but they are conceptually different. Like transformational leaders, ethical lead-
ers care about followers and set a role model to be followed; however, ethical leaders
focus on engaging in ethical behaviors that is not the focus of transformational
leadership. In addition, while transformational leaders articulate an appealing future
(inspirational motivation) and encourage creativity (intellectual stimulation), ethi-
cal leadership does not explicitly look at these. In comparing ethical leadership and
transactional leadership, researchers found that they have different focus.
Specifically, ethical leaders aim to shape followers’ ethical awareness and behaviors
through using reward and punishment, while transactional leaders focus on getting
followers to effectively perform on the job through exchanging desired rewards.
Existing ethical leadership research pertains to antecedents, mechanisms, and
outcomes and has been summarized in Den Hartog (2015). First, ethical leadership
was related to a wide range of positive outcomes. For example, Den Hartog found
that ethical leadership results in positive attitudes (e.g., less cynicism and more
commitment), ethical behaviors (e.g., more OCB and less deviance), and more
effort, and high performance. Second, Den Hartog discussed several psychological
mechanisms linking ethical leaders to employee outcomes. For example, ethical
leaders impact employees’ attitudinal, behavioral, and performance outcomes
through improving employees’ ethical awareness and moral judgment, motivating
employees to integrate ethical values into their identity, building trusting relation-
ships and high LMX quality with employees, or developing a heightened sense of
moral obligation in employees. Third, Den Hartog identified the individual-level
(e.g., leaders’ Big Five, the Dark Triad, and moral identity) antecedents of ethical
leadership and the circumstances (e.g., culture and follower characteristics) where
ethical leadership takes place.
In the recent years, several leadership theories have been proposed with a strong
focus on ethical leadership. The theories include servant leadership (Greenleaf,
1970), authentic leadership (Avolio et al., 2004), and spiritual leadership (Fry,
7 Leadership 199
2003). The leadership theories share some similarities but are conceptually different
from one another.
Greenleaf (1970) stated that “The servant-leader is servant first” (p. 13). Servant
leadership is concerned with serving follower and stakeholders needs (e.g., helping
followers grow, standing for ethical standards, and advocating for corporate social
responsibility). Van Dierendonck (2011) identified six key characteristics of servant
leadership, namely, empowering and developing people, humility, authenticity,
interpersonal acceptance, providing direction, and stewardship. Because servant
leaders are authentic and care about followers, the followers have high trust, loyalty,
and satisfaction with the leaders. Servant leadership was also related to high organi-
zational citizenship behaviors (OCB) and positive performance outcomes at the
individual, team, and organizational levels (see Eva et al., 2019 for a review).
• Empowering and developing people. Servant leaders empower followers and
encourage their personal development.
• Humility. Servant leaders put others’ interests first, seek others’ contribution, and
provide support for others.
• Authenticity. Servant leaders express themselves in an authentic way.
• Interpersonal acceptance. Servant leaders can understand others’ feelings and
accept others for who they are.
• Providing direction. Servant leaders can provide direction and accountability.
• Stewardship. Servant leaders are willing to go for service beyond self-interests.
Authentic leaders are “deeply aware of how they think and behave and are per-
ceived by others as being aware of their own and others’ values/moral perspectives,
knowledge, and strengths” (Avolio et al., 2004, p. 802). The six key dimensions of
authentic leadership are positive moral perspective, self-awareness, balanced pro-
cessing, relational transparency, positive psychological capital, and authentic
behavior (Avolio & Gardner, 2005). Due to their conceptual overlap with transfor-
mational leadership, researchers tested the relative performance of these leadership
forms in explaining incremental variance beyond transformational leadership.
Banks et al. (2016) suggested construct redundancy between authentic leadership
and transformational leadership. Hoch et al. (2018) also found that authentic leader-
ship and ethical leadership have low amounts of incremental variance beyond trans-
formational leadership.
• Positive moral perspective. Authentic leaders have high moral character and
internalized positive virtues.
• Self-awareness. Authentic leaders are aware of their strengths, knowledge,
beliefs, and values.
• Balanced processing. Authentic leaders listen to others and objectively consider
and weigh different perspectives.
• Relational transparency. Authentic leaders transparently share information with
followers.
• Positive psychological capital. Authentic leaders are positive and optimistic.
200 L. Zuo
• Authentic behavior. Authentic leaders engage in “actions that are guided by the
leaders’ true self as reflected by core values, beliefs, thoughts, and feelings, as
opposed to environmental contingencies or pressures from others” (Gardner
et al., 2005, p. 347).
The conceptual of spiritual leadership “is developed within an intrinsic motiva-
tion model that incorporates vision, hope/faith, and altruistic love” (Fry, 2003,
p. 693). Spiritual leadership is defined as “comprising the values, attitudes, and
behaviors that are necessary to intrinsically motivate one’s self and others so that
they have a sense of spiritual survival through calling and membership” (Fry, 2003,
p. 695). Like transformational leaders, spiritual leaders can improve work meaning-
fulness by linking it to employees’ values and self-identities. As spiritual leaders
build meaningful relationships (e.g., mutual appreciation, trust, and care) among
organizational members, they can effectively increase cooperation and facilitate
higher performance.
• Calling/transcendence of self. Spiritual leaders create a vision wherein organiza-
tional members believe that their life has meaning and makes a difference.
• Membership/Fellowship. Spiritual leaders can establish a social/organizational
culture whereby organizational members are connected and have a sense of
being understood and appreciated.
7.2.4 Shared Leadership
In the latter half of the twentieth century, leadership theories and research focused
exclusively on single, formal leaders within a team or an organization. In the recent
years, as leadership scholars argued for the importance of leadership responsibili-
ties and roles shared among team members, considerable attention has been paid to
shared leadership beyond the conventional leadership paradigm. Shared leadership
is defined as “an emergent team property that results from the distribution of leader-
ship influence across multiple team members” (Carson et al., 2007, p. 1218). The
definition focused lateral leadership influence among team members. In teams with
high levels of shared leadership example, most of team members can enact leader-
ship influence over one another. Leadership can be shifted among members over
time. As shared leadership “is a relational phenomenon involving mutual influence
between team members” (Carson et al., 2007, p. 1221), social network theory pro-
vides a theoretical framework for understanding this relational influence structure
in teams.
An integrative framework by Zhu et al. (2018) identified formal team leader fac-
tors (e.g., transformational leadership) and team characteristics (e.g., team shared
purpose, social support, and team personality compositions) as antecedents of
shared leadership. With regard to outcomes, shared leadership is an important
resource that results in high team performance on complex tasks (Carson et al.,
2007). A meta-analysis by Wang et al. (2014) also found that shared leadership was
7 Leadership 201
positively related to team effectiveness. Results of the meta-analytic review also

indicate that shared leadership had a stronger relationship with attitudes (e.g., job
satisfaction) and behavioral processes and emergent states (e.g., cooperation and
helping). Using longitudinal data over a 4-month period, Drescher et al. (2014)
found that an increase in shared leadership within groups leads to an increase in
group trust that in turn leads to performance improvement. Zhu et al. (2018) also
found that shared leadership was positively related to team creativity and innovation.
7.2.5 Abusive Supervision
Traditionally, leadership theory and research were dominated by a focus on positive,

constructive leadership (e.g., transformational leadership, charismatic leadership,
and ethical leadership) and its positive effects on employees, teams, and organiza-
tions. Nevertheless, as more and more hostile behaviors perpetrated by organiza-
tional leaders are reported on social media, much attention has been devoted to
understanding destructive leadership and its consequences (see Krasikova et al.,
2013 for a review). Research into different forms of destructive leadership, such as
abusive supervision (Tepper, 2000), supervisor undermining (Duffy et al., 2017),
petty tyranny (Ashforth, 1994), supervisor aggression (Schat et al., 2006), and
supervisor bullying (Fox & Stallworth, 2005), has exponentially grown over the
past two decades.
The most commonly studied form of destructive leadership is abusive supervi-
sion, defined as “subordinates’ perceptions of the extent to which supervisors
engage in the sustained display of hostile verbal and nonverbal behaviors, excluding
physical contact” (Tepper, 2000, p. 178). The forms of abusive supervision include
ridiculing, undermining, and yelling at followers in front of or behind other people.
Extending its original definition, Tepper (2007) suggested that abusive supervision
is intended “to accomplish objectives other than causing injury” (p. 265).
Supervisor characteristics are regarded as the primary explanation for abusive
supervision. A meta-analytic review by Zhang and Bednall (2016) found that abu-
sive supervision was predicted by supervisor negative affectivity, leadership styles,
and personal characteristics. Tepper et al. (2017) proposed an integrative model of
three antecedent mechanisms – social learning, identity threat, and self-regulation
impairment – to explain why supervisors abuse their followers. In addition, follow-
ers with certain personal characteristics (e.g., personality traits and gender) are
more likely to elicit supervisors’ hostility (see Wang et al., 2019 for a
meta-analysis).
Tepper et al. (2017) concluded that perceptions of abusive supervision have a
wide range of negative consequences for individuals, teams, and organizations.
First, followers who perceived abusive supervision tend to retaliate against their
supervisors and react with displaced aggression against family members, cowork-
ers, and the organization. Abusive supervision may also diminish followers’ well-
being. When abusive supervision becomes a team property, more members tend to
202 L. Zuo
copy the abusive leader behavior and direct aggression and hostility toward fellow
members, creating widespread conflict within the team (Farh & Chen, 2014).
7.3 Gender and Culture in Leadership
Gender and cultural differences impact how leaders behave and how their followers
perceive them. For example, men and women differ in their leadership styles. A
leader who is considered effective in an Asian country may not be considered effec-
tive in the United States. This section will discuss gender and cultural differences in
leadership.
7.3.1 Gender Differences in Leadership
Over centuries, women are stereotyped as lacking in leadership qualities. However,

research suggested that female leaders can be effective. For example, women were
more people-oriented and democratic, whereas men were more task-oriented and
autocratic (see Eagly & Johnson, 1990 for a meta-analysis). Another meta-analysis
by Eagly et al. (2003) also found that female leaders were more transformational
and engaged in more contingent reward behaviors than male leaders. Despite evi-
dence supporting that women can be effective leaders, glass ceiling still exists.
Leadership is labeled as “masculine,” and men are typically perceived as more
effective than women in leadership positions. Due to the gender stereotypes and
gender roles that form in the childhood, it is difficult for women to advance within
the organization’s hierarchy. Women striving for leadership roles may have to meet
a higher standard than men on average. This is evidenced by a meta-analysis by
Paustian-Underdahl et al. (2014) revealing that when other-ratings only are exam-
ined, female leaders were rated as significantly more effective than male leaders.
In addition to glass ceiling, there are several challenges that women face when
moving up in the organization. First, the “glass cliff” phenomenon describes that
women are more likely than men to be appointed to leadership positions during
times of crisis or organizational decline. This can put women in a difficult position,
as they are more likely to fail in these roles and face blame for the organization’s
problems. Second, women in leadership roles often face a “double bind” dilemma
in which they are expected to be both assertive and warm but are penalized if they
are perceived as too assertive as assertiveness violates the widely accepted gender
roles of women. Third, men are more likely to be evaluated on their potential for
leadership, whereas women are more likely to be evaluated on their past perfor-
mance. This creates a masculinity bias in performance evaluations and limit wom-
en’s opportunities for advancement. Fourth, women in leadership roles also suffer
from the “motherhood penalty,” which describes that mothers are often perceived as
7 Leadership 203
less competent and committed to their jobs than nonmothers and hence are more
likely to be passed over for promotions and leadership roles.
7.3.2 Cross-Cultural Research in Leadership
Culture affects leadership behaviors and outcomes (Hanges et al., 2016). To under-
stand the impact of organizational/societal culture on leadership and organizational
processes, the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness
(GLOBE) project was launched in 1991 to identify universal and culturally specific
aspects of leadership attributes (House et al., 2002). The GLOBE project contrib-
utes to the cross-cultural and leadership research by categorizing cultures into nine
dimensions (i.e., performance orientation, future orientation, assertiveness, power
distance, humane orientation, institutional collectivism, in-group collectivism,
uncertainty avoidance, and gender egalitarianism) and identifying six global cultur-
ally implicit leadership (CLT) dimensions (i.e., charismatic/value-based, team ori-
ented, participative, humane-oriented, autonomous, and self-protective; Dorfman
et al., 2012). Dorfman et al. (2012) also demonstrated that effective leaders tend to
lead in the way consistent with their culturally endorsed leadership prototypes.
Minorities may face challenges to move up in organizations. For example,
Bamboo ceiling is a phenomenon that Asians on average receive the highest educa-
tion and highest median income across ethnic groups but are underrepresented in
the leadership roles in the United States. A research study by Lu (2022) suggested
that the reason why East Asians are experiencing bamboo ceiling is that they social-
ize more with ethnic in-group members (exhibit higher ethnic homophily). As
American culture and East Asian cultures have differences in communication styles
(e.g., American culture encourages assertiveness and emotional expressivity, while
East Asians communicate directly, implicitly, and humbly), ethnic heterogeneity
(e.g., Chinese culture has low ethnic heterogeneity, while American culture may
include a mix of European and other cultures), and relational mobility. Due to the
cultural differences, East Asians exhibited higher ethnic homophily that results in
lower leadership emergence.
As culture impacts leadership behaviors (Dorfman et al., 2012), paternalistic
leadership is “a prevalent management style in cultures that value collectivism and
hierarchical social relations” (Pellegrini & Scandura, 2008, p. 583). Paternalistic
leadership, defined as “a style that combines strong discipline and authority with
fatherly benevolence and moral integrity” (Farh & Cheng, 2000, p. 94), is rooted in
Confucian ideology. Paternalistic leadership demands blind submission to authority
from employees (authoritarianism), expresses personal concern for employees
(benevolence), and shows superior personal virtues (morality). Uhl-Bien et al.
(1990) suggested that paternalism was positively related to LMX and employees’
job satisfaction in the Japanese context, while it would be ineffective in the North
American context due to the forced submission and dependency.
204 L. Zuo
7.4 Power, Influence, and Politics
Power, influence, and leadership are closely related to one another. As leaders use
power and to influence followers to get things done, a key theme of leadership
research is to understand how leaders use power to impact followers, teams, and
organizations. Influence tactics are strategies in which people translate power into
specific actions. The use of influence tactics impacts followers’ perceptions of orga-
nizational politics (Ferris et al., 2019), which is also deeply linked to leadership.
This section will introduce power, influence tactics, and organizational politics.
7.4.1 Power
Power is one’s ability to make others to do what he/she would have them do. Holding
a source of power over someone else enables people to act in a certain way or com-
mit specific actions, because the people believe that the power could result in certain
consequences. In other words, power sometimes relies on forcing others to do
things. Power plays out in all arenas of work and personal life. In the workplace,
power holders use power to control and direct organizational resources, guide orga-
nizational activities, and get their employees to achieve objectives that they set.
Power comes from different sources, which include legitimate power, reward
power, coercive power, expert power, and referent power. Legitimate power, often
considered “authority,” comes from formal position. Holding legitimate power,
leaders communicate a clear command to allocate organizational resources and
guide employees to accomplish organizational goals. For example, a CEO’s legiti-
mate power is granted by the organization’s board of directors. The CEO can use the
legitimate power to control over all financial, human, informational, and physical
resources in the organization; nevertheless, they are responsible for organizational
performance. However, once the CEO is removed from office, his legitimate power
is gone the next day. Legitimate power can be either positive or negative. Positive
legitimate power focuses constructively on organizational performance, whereas
negative legitimate power may threaten and demean the employees and the
organization.
Reward power is one’s ability to grant rewards (e.g., pay raises and promotion)
to others. As positive reinforcement, leaders can use reward to motivate employees
as long as they value the reward. Coercive power is one’s ability to punish others
(e.g., suspending, demoting, terminating, or assigning unpleasant job assignments).
The threats of punishment/coercion often reduce employee’s mental health (e.g.,
depression and anxiety). Despite the negative consequences, coercive power has its
merits and should be used when employees have poor performance or engage in
deviant behaviors. As legitimate power, reward power, and coercive power come
from one’s position within an organization, they are position power.
7 Leadership 205
Expert power comes from one’s valued knowledge on a subject. Individuals who
have expert power can influence and inform those who need such knowledge but
know less than the experts on the subject. Referent power is one’s ability to influ-
ence others because he/she is liked, admired, and respected. Reward power comes
into play when individuals have interpersonal skills and leadership qualities (e.g.,
charisma). Reward power helps leaders to build a strong connection with employees
and become a role model of the employees. As expert power and referent power is
independent of position, they are personal power.
• Legitimate power. Comes from one’s formal authority to issue command.
• Reward power. Comes from one’s ability to issue reward.
• Coercive power. Comes from one’s ability to punish people.
• Expert power. Comes from one’s expertise.
• Referent power. Comes from being admired and respected.
7.4.2 Influence Tactics
Influence tactics are strategies that people consciously use to affect and change oth-
ers’ attitudes or behaviors. There are nine influence tactics, namely, rational persua-
sion, inspirational appeals, consultation, ingratiation, personal appeals, exchange,
coalition, pressure, and legitimating tactics. A meta-analysis showed that rational
persuasion, inspirational appeals, consultation, and pressure were related to both
task-oriented and relations-oriented outcomes (Lee et al., 2017). Lee et al. also
found that the directions of influence tactics (i.e., upward, lateral, and downward)
may influence the strength of the relationships between influence tactics and work
outcomes. For example, rational persuasion has stronger relationships with both
task-oriented and relations-oriented outcomes when the direction was downward
than upward (Lee et al., 2017).
• Rational persuasion. Convince someone to do something using logical argu-
ments, statistical evidence, or other forms of proof.
• Inspirational appeals. Build enthusiasm by appealing to someone’s emotions.
• Consultation. Ask for someone’s inputs and invite him/her to participate in plan-
ning and decision making.
• Ingratiation. Getting someone in a good mood before asking him/her to do
something (e.g., by being friendly or using praise or humor).
• Personal appeals. Ask someone to do something based on a relationship (e.g.,
friendship and a trusting relationship).
• Exchange. Promise someone benefits in return for doing something.
• Coalition. Create a network of supporters to do something.
• Pressure. Use direct demands, threats, or intimidation to ask someone to do
something.
• Legitimating tactics. Command others to do something based on formal position.
206 L. Zuo
7.4.3 Organizational Politics
Traditionally, organizational politics was often viewed as negative, self-serving,

deceptive, and counterproductive. However, more recently, organizational scholars
suggest that organizational politics is neutral and can also result in desired out-
comes. For example, positive leader political behavior may increase resources for
followers, provide followers with opportunities, and help followers to remove
obstacles that prevent or delay them from achieving goal (Ellen et al., 2013).
Historically, the broad organizational politics literature includes three main areas:
perceptions of organizational politics, political skill, and political behavior (Ferris
& Treadway, 2012).
Perceived politics is defined as “an individual’s subjective evaluation about the
extent to which the work environment is characterized by coworkers and supervi-
sors who demonstrate such self-serving behavior” (Ferris et al., 2000, p. 90).
Following the initial model proposed by Ferris et al. (1989) and Hochwarter et al.
(2020) synthesized the existing meta-analytic reviews. Perceptions of organiza-
tional politics were influenced by four general antecedent categories: (1) demo-
graphic influence (e.g., age, gender, and tenure), (2) personal influences (e.g.,
Machiavellianism and political skills), (3) job/work environment influences (e.g.,
job autonomy, OCB, and LMX), and (4) organizational influences (e.g., centraliza-
tion, hierarchical level, and span of control). Hochwarter et al.’s review also identi-
fied four general outcome categories, which include (1) psychological/health
consequences (e.g., stress/anxiety and strain), perceptual consequences (e.g., trust,
perceived justice, and LMX), attitudinal/intentional consequences (e.g., involve-
ment, job satisfaction, and cynicism), and behavioral consequences (e.g., turnover,
and performance).
Political skill is a critical personality characteristic that enables individuals to
secure resources and influence others. Political skill is defined as “the ability to
effectively understand others at work, and to use such knowledge to influence others
to act in ways that enhance one’s personal and/or organizational objectives” (Ferris
et al., 2007, p. 291). Political skill has four dimensions, which include apparent
sincerity, social astuteness, interpersonal influence, and networking ability (Ferris
et al., 2005). Political skill is a prediction of a range of important work outcomes.
For example, political skill was positively related to self-efficacy, job satisfaction,
organizational commitment, work productivity, OCB, career success, and personal-
ity reputation, and negatively related to physiological strain (see Munyon et al.,
2015 for a meta-analysis). A recent theoretical study identified the role of each
political skill dimension in the social influence process of opportunity recognition,
opportunity evaluation, and opportunity capitalization (McAllister et al., 2018).
• Apparent sincerity. Appear honest, authentic, sincere, and genuine.
• Social astuteness. Understand social interactions well and accurately interpret
behaviors of oneself and others.
7 Leadership 207
• Interpersonal influence. Have a flexible, adaptive personal style that allows one
to adapt and calibrate his/her behavior to different contexts, which in turn elicits
positive responses from others.
• Networking ability. Easily identify and develop diverse network of
relationships.
Political behavior is defined as “(1) an actor’s (individual) or actors’ (group) (2)
self-interested, goal-directed (3) power and social influence actions that are per-
formed (4) in relation to two or more interdependent social actors, (5) by means that
are not officially sanctioned” (Lepisto & Pratt, 2012, p. 74). Political behavior is an
antecedent of a range of work outcomes (e.g., job satisfaction, organizational com-
mitment, and performance; see Ferris et al., 2019 for a review). In addition to gen-
eral political behavior, political behaviors can also take the form of influence tactics
and impression management (see Ferris et al., 2019).
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methodology, and well-being. She has published peer-reviewed articles in journals such as
Personality and Individual Differences and the Journal of Business Venturing Insights.
Part III
Macro Organizational Behavior Topics
Chapter 8
Organizational Processes
Xiaotian Dai
Abbreviations
OSSD Open-Source Software Development

SMEs Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises
8.1 Organizational Structure
Case of Organizational Structure: Sharing Economy

Operating in more than 300 countries worldwide, Uber is one of the big companies
connecting drivers with people who need rides. Other companies also enable people
to share underutilized cars, rooms, or parking spaces. For instance, Airbnb lets peo-
ple rent extra rooms. Parkatmyhouse allows drivers to find parking spaces easily. All
these “sharing economy” companies are enabled by smartphone and web apps, pro-
viding ordinary people with more convenient and economical services and ways to
start their own businesses.
As the sharing economy has become a huge industry and the development of
many organic organizations, many questions about how to manage organizations
have been raised. For instance, companies in sharing economy seem to have a
unique understanding of structuring organizations. Instead of treating drivers as
employees, Uber stresses that it is only an online platform that enables customers to
find “independent contractors” or drivers. And it believes that it is not liable for pay-
ing drivers minimum wages and offering other labor protections. Because of this,
Uber can keep labor and capital cost low but faces many lawsuits demanding
employee protections at the same time. Therefore, it is crucial to ask what an orga-
nizational structure is and what is the appropriate way to structure organizations.
Source: Smith and McCormick (2019).
X. Dai (*)
John Molson School of Business, Concordia University, Montréal, QC, Canada
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-31356-1_8
218 X. Dai
8.1.1 What Is Organizational Structure?
Organizational Structure is the collection of all the ways that the work is broken
up into different tasks so that coordination can be achieved (Mintzberg, 1983).
During the surge of COVID-19 infection in the early months of 2020, a field hospi-
tal was established by healthcare leaders and the local government of Boston. This
field hospital successfully provided immediate care for around 400 patients from
April to June 2022, with a low hospital readmission rate and zero mortality. The
positive clinical outcome can be attributed to the hospital’s organizational structure,
which divided all the tasks into various functions such as clinical care and opera-
tion, human recourses, and information technology. Such a structure also enabled
good coordination among people who focus on different tasks (Baughman
et al., 2020).
8.1.2 Differentiation and Integration
Differentiation is the division of labor within organizations. Tasks within an orga-

nization must be divided because people have different knowledge, skills, and limi-
tations. It is usually impossible and inefficient for everyone to do every task in an
organization. For instance, physicians and nurses in the field hospital can take good
care of patients, but they should not be expected to solve information technology
problems.
There are many ways to divide labor in organizations. In the case of the field
hospital, all its labor was divided into several “departments” that were responsible
for different tasks, such as clinical care and operation, human recourses, and infor-
mation technology. In addition, work was also divided vertically. For those people
who were responsible for clinical care, they specialized in their work based on the
established lines of authority, ranging from chief nursing officer, to nurse director,
to unit resource nurse, to registered nurse, to unit coordinator, and to patient care
attendant (Ahmady et al., 2016).
When tasks within an organization are divided, organizational members must
coordinate these tasks to achieve organizational goals. Mintzberg (1979) presented
five methods of coordinating divided labor: standardization of work processes, stan-
dardization of outputs, standardization of skills, direct supervision, and mutual
adjustment.
Standardization of Work Processes is usually used in tasks that are relatively rou-
tine. Organizations use instructions or descriptions of procedures to ensure that
divided efforts can achieve expected results and be coordinated to reach organiza-
tional objectives.
8 Organizational Processes 219
Standardization of Outputs This method is not concerned with how the work is
done but instead focuses on ensuring that work output meets certain standards. The
standardization of output is used when the situation is uncertain, and many possible
ways can be used to complete tasks. Thus, it would be better to let task performers
decide their work processes since they can find the best work processes under their
unique situations. However, in order to ensure coordination, the final targets should
be specified, and performers should meet these specified targets.
Standardization of Skills is used when work is very complex and cannot be

divided, such as the work of technicians and professionals. These works often
require performers to develop a standardized set of knowledge, abilities, and skills
to make sure they can complete their specified tasks, coordinate with other profes-
sionals, and achieve organizational goals. For example, people from nurse educa-
tion programs and physician programs have different skills but can coordinate and
take care of patients together.
Direct Supervision is used when an individual has profound knowledge of the

work and how the work should be done. Thus, this individual, such as a manager or
supervisor, is able to direct subordinates’ actions and coordinate all their efforts to
achieve organizational goals.
Mutual Adjustment is often used when tasks are complex, and the situation is
uncertain, such that task performers need to engage in a lot of communication to
decide how to perform these tasks. For instance, when a cross-functional team com-
posed of people with diverse specialties is going to design a new product, product
designers, engineers, manufacturers, and marketing advisors have to frequently
communicate to discuss their diverse opinions and then decide what to design and
how to design the product.
To summarize, each method of coordination has its advantages and is appropriate
for certain tasks or jobs in organizations. For example, when tasks are very routine,
people can coordinate by the standardization of processes, outcomes, and direct
supervision. However, when tasks are complex, and the situation is uncertain, skill
standardization and mutual adjustment are needed to coordinate.
8.1.3 Structuring Characteristics
Although many kinds of organizational structures exist, we can use five characteris-
tics to describe and compare different organizational structures. These five charac-
teristics are specialization, standardization, formalization, centralization, and
configuration (Pugh et al., 1968). Specialization is the division of labor in
220 X. Dai
organizations. In other words, certain official duties within an organization are dis-
tributed among people at different positions. Organizations range from those in
which all tasks are performed by everyone to those in which certain tasks are only
performed by people in different positions. Standardization is the extent to which
organizations standardize procedures that control tasks, images, personnel selec-
tion, and advancement. Formalization is the extent to which work roles in organiza-
tions are clearly defined. In highly formalized organizations, people’s job behaviors
and procedures are prescribed and written down. The extent to which decision-
making is centralized at organizational leadership, such as the chairman, is referred
to as centralization. In a decentralized organization, the lower levels are permitted
to make decisions pertaining to organizations, in contrast to a centralized organiza-
tion where the upper levels make all decisions. Configuration is the shape of the
organization structure. Specifically, the organization configuration can be assessed
in two dimensions: the vertical span of control (or height) of the workflow superor-
dinate hierarchy and the lateral span of control (or width). The vertical span of
control is indicated by the number of job positions between the manager and the
employees who are directly responsible for the output. The lateral span of control is
indicated by the number of employees under a manager’s supervision.
8.1.4 Examples of Types of Structures
In the first decades of the twentieth century, organizational theories were strongly
influenced by the Industrial Revolution and factory systems. These theories tended
to focus on the best way to structure organizations that can optimize productivity.
However, later researchers questioned the viewpoint of “one best way” (Kessler
et al., 2017). In 1961, Burn and Staker argued that the best way to structure organi-
zations did not exist. Instead, they defined mechanistic and organic organizational
structures, and believed that the mechanistic organizational structure is suitable for
stable conditions, while the organic structure is suitable for dynamic conditions.
Specifically, these two types of organizational structures have different charac-
teristics (Burn & Staker, 1961). In mechanistic organizational structures, labor is
divided, work procedures are standardized, work roles are clearly defined, and deci-
sions are made by a small group of authorities (i.e., high specialization, standardiza-
tion, formalization, and centralization). The mechanistic organizational structures
also tend to have many management levels but a narrow lateral span of control.
Communication usually happens between superiors and subordinates. The superi-
ors’ instructions and decisions control subordinates’ work behaviors. A classic
example of a mechanistic organizational structure is the military (army, navy,
air force).
In organic organizational structures, people can contribute to common tasks,
work procedures are changing, work roles are not clearly defined, and decisions are
made by a wide group of people (i.e., low specialization, standardization,
formalization, and centralization). In addition, organic organizational structures

also tend to have fewer management levels but a wider lateral span of control.
Communication usually happens among people at the same level but also at differ-
ent levels. Communication content relates to sharing information and advice instead
of commands or instructions.
Later, Mintzberg (1979) presented five basic configurations: the simple struc-
ture, the machine bureaucracy, the professional bureaucracy, the divisionalized
form, and the adhocracy. The simple structure is usually used in small firms that are
newly founded and often composed of one founder and several followers. In these
firms, labor is not well divided, work procedures are changing, and work roles are
not clearly defined. These features are compatible with the organic organizational
structure, which allows them to be flexible and adapt to their environment. However,
decision-making in these organizations is centralized. Thus, the leader, founder, or
owner decides what work and how the work should be done and directly manages
followers. Machine bureaucracy is often used in large industries and service firms.
In these firms, labor is extensively divided, work procedures are standardized, and
work roles are clearly defined. Decisions are made by leaders at a higher level. Its
main method of coordination is standardization of work processes. Professional
bureaucracy is used when the environment is stable, but tasks are too complex to be
divided, such as in universities, hospitals, and accounting firms. Thus, people who
have profound knowledge of a certain field will have large control over their own
work processes. In other words, work processes are not standardized, and decision-
making is decentralized. Its main coordination method is standardization of skills.
For instance, universities usually provide complex educational services through
highly trained university professors from various fields. These professors provide
information to their students with different styles and are flexible in the delivery of
content.
Divisionalized Form is used by organizations that provide services and products to

diverse markets. These organizations have one central office and several divisions.
Each division has its unique structure, such as professional bureaucracy and simple
structure. The central office gives a certain level of autonomy to these divisions,
such that they can make their decisions to meet the needs of diverse markets.
However, the central office still controls the outputs of their divisions. Therefore, its
main method of coordination is standardization of outputs. Many global companies
may have divisions based on different geographic areas. For example, the
McDonald’s in Malaysia provides halal food, the McDonald’s in Japan offers the
Ebi Filet-O (shrimp patty). And customers in Canada can get poutine (french fries
and cheese curds with gravy). Finally, Adhocracy is used when the environment is
complex and dynamic. Organizations need to be flexible and constantly change to
adapt to this environment. Thus, instead of an extensive division of labor, standard-
ized work processes, and clearly defining work roles, organizations with this struc-
ture are more organic and use mutual adjustment to coordinate. This structure
facilitates organizations’ creativity and innovation.
222 X. Dai
In recent years, several new types of more organic organizational structures have
been developed, including the horizontal/flat organization, modular corporation,
ambidextrous organization, open-source software development, and Wikipedia.
Flat Organization A flat organization has minimal layers. It is a type of organic

organizational structure. Many start-ups structure their organizations in this way.
They usually have a small number of people and do not need hierarchical layers of
managers to coordinate (Mintzberg, 1979). The flat structure makes decision-
making more efficient and enables these organizations to adapt flexibly to their
challenging and dynamic environment (Burn & Staker, 1961). An empirical study
discovered that flat structures allow employees of game development start-ups to
exchange ideas freely, which, in turn, facilitates ideation and creative success
(Lee, 2022).
However, the flat structure is not a good choice if the organization is to pursue
execution and commercial success. Lee (2022) argued that the flat structure will
lead to execution and commercial failures because managers are often overwhelmed
by the enormous responsibility of directing subordinates and solving conflicts
among them, and then leaving subordinates aimlessly exploring ideas or struggling
in dysfunctional conflicts. Luckily, the study further found that adding a hierarchi-
cal level in these flat organizations can stop the aimless exploration and dysfunc-
tional conflicts and help them achieve subsequent commercial success (Lee, 2022).
Modular Corporation An organization is referred to as being modular if it focuses

on a few core functions while delegating the rest to outside experts. (Tully, 1993).
Rather than forming a huge and vertically integrated organization, modular organi-
zations focus and excel on a few core activities. For instance, Nike and Rebook
focus on designing and marking fashionable high-tech footwear and outsource pro-
duction to various suppliers that manufacture good quality products but require
lower labor costs. Modular organizations have several advantages, including reduc-
ing costs and investment for producing new products, devoting organizations’
resources to functions where they have competitive advantages, adapting to fast-
changing markets, and achieving rapid growth. However, given that modular orga-
nizations’ business is heavily dependent on outside suppliers, they need to find
loyal, reliable, and trustworthy partners.
Ambidextrous Organization Ambidextrous organizations refer to organizations

that can explore new opportunities while simultaneously exploiting their current
capabilities (Raisch et al., 2009). For instance, Apple is an ambidextrous organiza-
tion that has achieved a high level of innovation and efficiency (Heracleous, 2013).
Apple has a relatively flat organizational structure, and bureaucracy is minimized.
As discussed above, this flat structure can contribute to ideation and creative suc-
cess. In addition, Apple also hires talent and collocates them in one physical space,
its campus, to enable their intensive coordination and innovating activities.
Meanwhile, in order to achieve high efficiency, Apple focuses on the most important
functions (i.e., design and innovation), outsources other functions, such as
manufacturing, to efficient suppliers, enhances its bargaining power with suppliers
by reducing the number of supplies, and shortens manufacturing and delivering
time by asking suppliers to set up near Apple’s facilities.
Open-Source Software Development (OSSD) OSSD is a new form of organiza-

tional structure (Puranam et al., 2014), which is used by individual developers and
companies, such as Google, Facebook, and Alibaba, to develop open-source soft-
ware (Shahi, 2020). An OSSD project is usually composed of the project founder,
core developers, and voluntary contributors (Puranam et al., 2014). The coordina-
tion within OSSD projects relies on a virtual, pull-based development process,
which includes several steps: first, any member of them can propose their code
changes; second, the proposed coded changes are reviewed and evaluated by the
project funder or core developers; third, if the proposed code changes are qualified,
these changes will be used in the main project; fourth, any member can also contrib-
ute to the project by reporting issues in the main project.
Wikipedia Wikipedia is one of the free user-generated reference works. Any regis-
tered users can create new content or edit existing content. The organizational struc-
tures of Wikipedia projects are more decentralized than the structure of OSSD
projects because usually, no chief editors or reviewers will control content made by
users; instead, the factual misinformation and duplication content will be corrected
by other users (Puranam et al., 2014).
To sum up, the ideal organizational structures have changed since the early twen-
tieth century as a result of the changing environment (Anand & Daft, 2007). Between
the 1800s and the late 1970s, the ideal organizational structure was a self-contained
organization that stresses hierarchical control and separate functional specializa-
tion. However, starting in the 1980s, as the world became more complex, organiza-
tions needed coordination between departments and efficient vertical communication.
As a result, horizontal organizations that break down internal boundaries and allow
horizontal coordination become the ideal structure. In the mid-1990s, due to the
advancement of communication technology and the availability of substantial,
skilled, or low-cost suppliers, modular organizations that opened internal and exter-
nal boundaries of the organizations to have many tasks performed externally became
the ideal organizational structures. Recently, many new forms of organizational
structures have been developed and used to meet the requirements of new types of
tasks and environments, including Linux, Wikipedia, and Oticon (Puranam et al.,
2014). All these examples show that there is no one ideal organizational structure.
Instead, different structures should be used depending on the circumstance
(Mintzberg, 1979).
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8.1.5 What Impacts Structure?
Many contextual variables influence organizational structures. Pugh et al.’s (1969)

empirical study found that seven aspects of organizational context (i.e., origin and
history, ownership and control, size, charter, technology, location, and dependence
on other organizations) influence three dimensions of organizational structures (i.e.,
structuring of activities, concentration of authority, and line control of workflow).
The structuring of activities, containing the three structuring characteristics dis-
cussed above, is the degree to which employees’ behaviors are clearly described by
task specification, standardized routines, and formal paperwork; the concentration
of authority refers to the degree to which organizations’ authority primarily make
decisions, and the line control of workflow is the degree to which line personnel,
rather than impersonal procedures, exercise control.
Origin and History Impersonally founded organizations, such as government-

owned organizations, typically have a high concentration of authority and to be
line-controlled in their workflow. Older organizations tend to be more decentralized
and autonomous and have experienced more types of change. Organizations that
have experienced more changes tend to be decentralized.
Ownership and Control Public accountability, which is the extent to which an

organization is subject to public scrutiny when conducting its affairs, is positively
related to concentration of authority, standardization of procedures for selection and
advancement, and line control of workflow. Concentration of ownership with con-
trol is the extent to which an organization’s shareholders, directors, and executives
are the same. It is associated with the dispersion of authority.
Size Larger organizations (i.e., a larger number of employees and net assets) have
higher levels of specialization, standardization, and formalization but a lower level
of centralization. The size of the parent organization is positively correlated with
structuring and concentration of authority.
Charter Charter refers to organization’s social function, goals, ideology, and value
systems. Organizations that are more concerned with manufacturing nonstandard
producer goods will more reply on impersonal control of workflow. Organizations
that provide more standard consumer services tend more to use line control of their
workflow through the supervisory hierarchy. Organizations with operating diversity
tended to have more structured activities and dispersed authority.
Technology Technology here is the extent to which an organization’s technology is

integrated, automated, and rigid. It is associated with a greater structuring of activi-
ties and procedures, decentralized authority, more reliance on impersonal control,
and reduced labor costs. For instance, in the open-source software development
(OSSD), geographically dispersed developers coordinate with each other through
the technology, git: a version control system that can tracks file changes and
coordinates changes from different people. Because of using git, the coordinating
activities and procedures (i.e., proposing code changes, reviewing, and using these
changes) in OSSD are relatively structured.
Location Organizations with a larger number of operating sites tend to have less
structured activities but more centralized authority and more reliance on impersonal
control.
Dependence on Other Organizations The dependence of an organization refers to

the organization’s relationships with other organizations, such as its parent organi-
zations, suppliers, and clients. Dependent organizations’ authority structure is more
centralized and tends to standardize procedures for selection and advancement.
Other environmental factors, such as culture and the global pandemic, also
impact organizational structures. For example, a comparative study found that
Japanese manufacturing plants had taller hierarchies, greater formal centralization,
but less specialization, less centralization than American plants (Lincoln et al., 1986).
Amazon was initially an online marketplace for books. Later, it expanded its
services beyond books and now sells almost everything. In March 2020, the
COVID-19 lockdown led to suddenly increasing customer orders. In order to deal
with this dramatic environmental challenge, Amazon recruited more than 175,000
workers to fulfill customer orders and spend billions on coronavirus-related invest-
ment, such as safety gears and test labs, to protect employees (Annie Palmer, 2020).
The pandemic also hugely impacted the airline industry. An empirical study found
that low-cost carriers in Thailand that stressed personnel with high competence,
organizational culture, and risk management can impact organizational structure to
enhance organizational performance during the pandemic (Kankaew et al., 2021). A
study proposed that agile organizational structures, which are flat and flexible, can
react and adjust rapidly during a global shack, like the pandemic, and then leads to
positive organizational outcomes in higher education (Arokodare & Falana, 2021).
8.1.6 What Do Organizational Structures Impact?
Perceived Fairness An empirical study found that centralization was negatively

correlated to perceived procedural fairness (Schminke et al., 2000). Centralization
includes two dimensions: participation and authority hierarchy; high centralization
means low participation and high authority hierarchy. When employees are allowed
to give more input into policies and procedures (i.e., higher participation) or when
employees have more discretion about their tasks (i.e., lower authority hierarchy),
they tend to perceive a higher level of procedural fairness. The size of the organiza-
tion also contributes to the perceived interactional fairness (Schminke et al., 2000).
In larger organizations, which have fewer relationships based on close personal con-
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tact, people are less likely to perceive interactional fairness. For instance, the real
Madrid soccer club registered as a member-owned, nonprofit sports organization.
Interested parties who have purchased annual memberships can participate in the
clubs’ internal decision-making process (e.g., elections, electing the Club President).
The organizational structure recognizes membership as a fundamental part of insti-
tutional functions and grants members the ability to contribute to the clubs’ deci-
sions, democratically. Coaches and team members for all divisions are also members
and their votes count as much as any other, which raises the perceived levels of
participation and authority hierarchy, and improve the perceived organizational
fairness.
Performance According to Dalton et al.’s (1980) review, subunit size is negatively

related with performance and positively related with absenteeism; some evidence
supports a positive relationship between specialization and performance and a neg-
ative relationship between centralization and performance. However, the relation-
ships between other structural variables (i.e., span of control, flat or tall hierarchy,
administrative intensity, and formalization) and performance are unclear.
In order to augment our knowledge of the structure-performance relationship, we
need more studies that measure performance objectively, examine various indus-
tries with longitudinal designs, and consider the moderating effect of situational
variables (Dalton et al., 1980). For instance, although Burn and Staker (1961)
argued that mechanistic organizational structure is appropriate for stable conditions,
while the organic structure is appropriate for dynamic conditions, for new busi-
nesses in emerging economic sectors, this argument may not be valid.. This is
because it is particularly difficult for new businesses without formal structure to
operate well in in emergent economic sectors where there are no industry norm
regarding organizational design and work processes. (Stinchcombe, 1965).
Supporting the argument, an empirical study found, compared to other businesses,
new businesses that have higher levels of team formalization, functional specializa-
tion, and administrative intensity achieve a higher level of firm revenues; moreover,
the greater the size of founding teams, the greater the positive impact that functional
specialization has on company revenues (Sine et al., 2006).
Innovation Iranmanesh et al. (2021) found that organizational structure (i.e., spe-
cialization, formalization, informal social relations, and link mechanisms) posi-
tively impacts organizations’ innovation capability and operational performance.
Moreover, when organizations have a stronger innovative culture, both informal
social relations and link mechanisms have more of an impact on organizations’
capacity for innovation.
Organizational Learning The organizational processes of information acquisition,

distribution, shared interpretation, and the development of organizational memory
are all referred to as organizational learning (Flores et al., 2012). Companies with
more organic structures (i.e., lower horizontal job specialization and centralization,
higher socializing, and greater autonomy) learn more than those with more mecha-
nistic structures (Martínez-León & Martínez-García, 2011).
8.2 Organizational Culture
Case of Organizational Culture: Organizational Cultures of Google

As one of the biggest technology companies in the world, Google has continued to
grow and thrived greatly. One important contributor to its success is its unique cul-
ture. For instance, Google has a “people operation” culture, which means that
Google “looks at everything from a perspective of data.” In other words, they satisfy
employees’ needs and improve their productivity by constantly experimenting, col-
lecting, processing data, and using it to make management decisions. Besides this,
other cultures also exist and play roles in Google’s success. Its open culture shows
respect toward employees’ cultural backgrounds, allows employees to enjoy many
convenient services, such as free food and health care, and enables employees and
customers to contribute to the success of Google. Given the crucial roles organiza-
tional cultures play, in this part, we will talk about what organizational culture is, its
benefits and liabilities, and how to develop organizational cultures.
Source: Tran (2017).
8.2.1 What Is Organizational Culture
Organizational culture refers to “the pattern of shared values and beliefs that help
individuals understand organizational functioning and thus provide them with
norms for behavior in the organization” (Deshpande & Webster, 1989, p. 4).
Organizations often have several subcultures, which refer to diverse small cultures
that are formed based on different departments, professionals, and occupations
(Gregory, 1983; Sackmann, 1992).
Organizational cultures are usually invisible but can be manifested by their sym-
bols, rituals, and stories, such that employees can see and communicate organiza-
tional cultures. Organizational symbols refer to any object or event within an
organization that can convey meanings about the organization (Ornstein, 1986).
Consider Tesla Motor’s name and its “T” logo, which represent Nikola Tesla, a
genius inventor, and electrical engineer, and part of his invention, the electric motor
(Wasik, 2017). These symbols convey the importance of innovation and technology
in Tesla Motor’s culture. Rites, rituals, and ceremonies can transmit organizational
cultures too. Rites refer to complex, dramatic, and planned sequences of activities
that that bring together a variety of cultural manifestations into a single event and
are carried out by social interactions (Trice & Beyer, 1984). For instance, team
members have a drink in office to celebrate a successful project. Ritual refers to the
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standardized collection of strategies and actions that alleviate anxiety but rarely
result in desired, technical consequences of practical importance (Trice & Beyer,
1984). For instance, in some companies, employees bring their lunch every day and
enjoy it together in the dining room and celebrate individual, team, or project suc-
cess by having drinks in the offices. These activities convey the organization’s peo-
ple-oriented culture and outcome-oriented culture, respectively. Ceremonies refers
to the arrangement of a few rites connected with an event or occasion (Trice &
Beyer, 1984). For example, once you complete the requirements of the MBA pro-
gram, the Herberger Business School conducts a hooding ceremony, where you will
be given a symbol of your accomplishment (the hood). Afterwards, you can attend
the commencement ceremony where your accomplishment will be recognized.
Organizational stories depict a single, coherent sequence of events that happened
in the organization’s history; They convey organizations’ unique cultures through
explicit details and implicit morals (Martin et al., 1983). Rule-breaking stories and
stories that ask the following questions occur in various organizations: “Is the big
boss human? Can the little person rise to the top? Will I get fired? Will the organiza-
tion help me when I have to move? How will the boss react to mistakes? And how
will the organization deal with obstacles?” (Martin et al., 1983, pp. 442–444). For
example, Zappos stories about customer services demonstrate its customer-centric-
ity culture: offering timely and overnight delivery at no additional cost for a wed-
ding and talking 10 h with a customer who needs help (Fabbioni, 2019).
8.2.2 Benefits and Liability of Cultures
In an organization, some cultures are stronger than others. These stronger cultures
are more stable, intense, and widely shared within an organization (Saffold, 1988;
Sørensen, 2002). Strong cultures can bring benefits to organizations but also make
organizations unable to adapt to new environments.
According to a systematic review, organizational cultures can contribute to sus-
tainable development and digitalization in small and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs; Isensee et al., 2020). Specifically, an environmental culture will foster envi-
ronmentally friendly behaviors and decision-making. It can also facilitate organiza-
tions’ level of digitalization, which is related to these organizations’ features of
information system design and the use of digital (e.g., IT) or disruptive technologies
(e.g., Blockchain).
Performance-oriented cultures that enhance effectiveness can increase employee
satisfaction (Kwon & Jeon, 2020). When organizations have a stronger innovative
culture, they will have greater innovation capacity and better performance
(Iranmanesh et al., 2021). In the digital era, a digital organizational culture, which
refers to “collective value and beliefs regarding availability, uses attitudes, and habit
related to information and communication technologies” (Navaridas-Nalda et al.,
2020, p. 4), positively affects government employee performance (Pangarso et al.,
2022). Organizational cultures even shaped the pandemic responses of the Public
Health Agency, one of the most important organizations in Swedish pandemic man-
agement (Olofsson et al., 2022). Its culture of production focuses on broad and
long-term view of public health, tends to rely on prior knowledge and evidence, but
is also willing to gradually adjust measures according to new evidence, which
shaped the Agency’s pandemic response as focusing on balancing current and future
health risks, but sometimes resistant to change.
Furthermore, organizations with strong cultures also have more reliable perfor-
mance because strong cultures can bring many organizational benefits: goal align-
ment, coordination, control, and higher motivation (Sørensen, 2002). However,
when industry volatility increases, the positive effects of strong cultures on man
performance and performance reliability decrease since strong culture organiza-
tions are more committed to a certain understanding of the environment, lack explo-
ration and change, and individuals whose opinions contract the organizations’
dominant opinion (Sørensen, 2002).
However, organizational cultures lead to culture clashes during the merger pro-
cess. One study has shown that after the merging of two firms with different cul-
tures, the merged firm’s performance actually was lower compared to the premerger
performance; furthermore, members of the merged firm had a tendency to overesti-
mate the new firm’s performance and blamed the other firm’s members for the
decline in performance (Weber & Camerer, 2003). During the merger process of
Daimler-Benz and Chrysler, many cultural issues existed relating to executive com-
pensation, business travel, work habits and styles, decision-making process, and
financial reporting system. These different cultures became barriers to the merger
and later operation as a unified team (Badrtalei & Bates, 2007). Another empirical
study has shown that culture fit positively influences mergers and acquisitions suc-
cess, which indicated by objective success (i.e., stock market and accounting-based
performance) and subjective success (i.e., ratings of managers from the acquiring
firm) (Bauer & Matzler, 2014). Thus, each organization’s culture should be studied
and assessed before the merger to avoid culture clashes (Badrtalei & Bates, 2007;
Cartwright & Cooper, 1993).
8.2.3 Foundation, Development, and Maintenance

of Organizational Cultures
Founders and top management shape organizational cultures. Organizations’ found-

ers greatly impact organizational cultures (Schein, 2010). For instance, Apple’s cul-
tures, such as top-notch excellence, secrecy, and combativeness, were created and
influenced by Steve Jobs (Pauline, 2022). Furthermore, many studies have indicated
that leadership styles can influence organizational culture (e.g., Pangarso et al.,
2022; Rizki et al., 2019; Wibisono et al., 2018). For example, Pangarso et al. (2022)
found that empowering leadership, which refers to the process by which leaders
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share power, responsibility, and give autonomy to followers, is necessary for devel-
oping digital organizational culture.
Reward systems can manage organizational cultures. For instance, research indi-
cates the hierarchy-based reward system leads to the clan culture. In this culture, the
relationships between individuals and organizations are fraternal. Individuals and
their organizations have long-term mutual commitment. Individuals are interdepen-
dent and identify with their peers. In contrast, the performance-based reward system
leads to the market culture, in which the relationships between individuals and orga-
nizations are contractual; individuals are independent of their peers (Kerr &
Slocum, 2005).
Organizations maintain their cultures through the attraction-selection-attrition
process. First, different people prefer different organizational cultures. Potential
employees tend to be attracted by organizations with cultures they like or will fit in.
Research has indicated that job seekers with a high level of neuroticism have a
lower change to be drawn to innovative organizational cultures; in contrast, those
with a high level of openness to experience more tend to be drawn to innovative
organizational cultures (Judge & Cable, 1997). However, some job applicants do
not find the organizational culture attractive but are attracted by the organization’s
salary and physical environment. Thus, in the second step, organizations will search
for employees that fit their organizational cultures during the recruiting process.
Finally, although organizations try to recruit the right employees, some employees
cannot fit into the corporate culture after being hired. These employees will natu-
rally leave their organizations, which is called attrition (Kristof-Brown et al., 2005).
In addition, founders and leaders influence organizational culture through the
attraction-selection-attrition process because their personality and value profiles
determine the organizational goals established and the types of employees attracted
and selected (Giberson et al., 2005).
Individuals learn organizational cultures through the socialization process.
According to Pascale (1985), organizations take seven socialization steps to make
their employees learn organizational cultures. Step one, carefully select employees
with specific characteristics that will fit in organizational cultures. Step two, induce
humility in new employees so that they tend to be more accepting norms and values
of the organization. Step three is “in the trenches” training, or making new employ-
ees experience the bottom of the professional ladder so that they can master one
discipline of the business. Step four, reward and promotion are tied to employees’
performance, which contributes to the success of the organization and is aligned
with its values. Step five, identify organizations’ values with common values (e.g.,
serving mankind). This connection enables employees’ personal sacrifices, such as
long work hours. Step six, expose employees to organization folklore or stories that
validate the organization’s aims and cultures. Step seven, provide new employees
with role models to mimic. These role models’ behaviors and ideas must be consis-
tent with organizational cultures (Table 8.1).
The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly influenced organizations and organiza-
tional cultures. For instance, many organizations adopted remote working.
Prepandemic studies (when only a small number of employees worked remotely)
Table 8.1 Steps of socialization

Step one Carefully select entry-level candidates
Step two Induce humility in new employees
Step three “In the trenches” training
Step four Reward and promotion
Step five Identify organizations’ values with common values
Step six Expose employees to organization folklore or stories
Step seven Provide new employees with role models to mimic
showed that remote employees reported they felt more excluded, less respected, and
less identified with the organization compared to office-based employees. However,
during the lockdown of the pandemic, everyone must work remotely. Remote
employees are therefore no longer in the minority. Instead, all members have come
together to build a new culture to adapt to remote working (Bernstein et al., 2020).
For instance, many organizations’ cultures became more conservative: transforming
from exploration and creativity cultures to safety and resilience cultures
(Spicer, 2020).
Furthermore, to sustain effective and efficient remote working, managers must
develop a low-context communication culture, which refers to communication
within an organization that is direct, explicit, precise, and documented (Phillips,
2020). This culture ensures that an organization’s communication is inclusive and
reachable and allows remote members to work asynchronously. Finally, organiza-
tions must not only nurture cultures that adapt to remote working, but also sustain
their valuable original organizational cultures. Organizations can translate these
cultures into remoting settings by rewarding employees’ behaviors aligned with
organizational cultures, documenting rules that engender these cultures, and calling
attention to and acknowledging important cultures in order to adapt to the disruption
during the pandemic (Howard-Grenville, 2020; Phillips, 2020). GitHub, a collab-
orative hosting platform for software development, transitioned to a fully remote
model from a previously hybrid model since the pandemic. GitHub continued to
reward employees for community involvement, such as providing a paid day off for
volunteering and providing dollar matches for donations, to help maintain the col-
laborative company culture.
8.3 Organizational Change
Case of Organizational Change: Pandemic and Remote Working

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has hugely impacted organizations since it made
many organizations transmit from onsite to remote working. Because of the gener-
ally positive remote working experience during the pandemic, many organizations
seem to be more accepting of remote working. According to Gartner’s CFO survey,
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around three in four CFOs and Finance leaders indicated that they plan to make
some employees’ remote working permanent after the pandemic. As said by the
practice vice present of Gartner, Alexander Bant, “This data is an example of the
lasting impact the current coronavirus crisis will have on the way companies do
business.” This organizational change is caused by the pandemic and organizations’
pressure to reduce costs and widely available advanced communication technolo-
gies. Many aspects of organizations, such as structures, cultures, policies, and work
procedures, also change because of external forces, such as competition, technology
development, pandemic, or internal forces, such as low productivity, conflict,
strikes, sabotage, absenteeism, and turnover. In this section, we explore the organi-
zational change process, resistance to change, and how to overcome the resistance,
and implement organizational change.
Source: Gartner (2020).
8.3.1 Change Process
Price et al. (1951) prosed that the organizational change process includes three
stages—unfreeze, change, and refreeze. Unfreezing happens when organizational
members are unsatisfied with the organization’s present state, which could include
inappropriate practices, procedures, dropped performance, falling profits, and
unsatisfied employees. Change happens when organizations make plans to shift
from an unsatisfying state to a desired state. Changes can include enriched job
designs, a revised hiring process, new organizational goals, and organizational
restructuring. After these changes, the newly developed practices, procedures, or
structures will be maintained by training, routines, or policies. However, although
Lewin’s “changing as three steps” becomes the foundation of change theory and
practice, some other researchers argued that this model is overly simplistic
(Cummings et al., 2016).
Weich and Quinn (1999) argued that two types of organizational change exist:
episodic and continuous changes. The episodic change is infrequent, discontinuous,
and intentional. It occurs in inertial organizations when they are unable to modify
their deep structure to adapt to the changing circumstances. The episodic change
follows the process of unfreeze-transition-refreeze, which is similar to Lewin’s
“changing as three steps” model. For instance, in order to achieve higher and more
steady profit, IBM shifted from making computers to being a successful service
provider: by acquiring many services and software companies. In contrast, continu-
ous change is constant, evolving, and cumulative. It occurs in emergent and self-
organizing organizations, in which change is endless and driven by organizational
instability and alertness. The continuous change follows the process of freeze-
rebalance-unfreeze. Specifically, when an organization is continuously changing,
the change process starts with freeze, which involves freezing continuous change,
making sequences visible, and highlighting patterns using stories. Rebalancing
involves reinterpreting, relabeling, and reordering the patterns to eliminate blocks.

Finally, the unfreeze process culminates in the return of more aware improvisation,
translation, and learning.
8.3.2 Resistance to Change
Although organizational change happens often, organizations’ members often resist

change cognitively, affectively, and behaviorally (Smollan, 2011). For instance,
when employees view organizational change negatively, they tend to leave the orga-
nization (Fugate et al., 2008). In contrast, when employees affectively commit to
change, they are satisfied with their jobs and less inclined to quit (Rafferty &
Restubog, 2010). Many reasons can contribute to the resistance to change.
Personal and Organizational Interests When organizational change events are

inconsistent with organizational members’ and organizational goals, when the
change is not ambitious enough to achieve these goals, and when change events are
irrelevant to members’ well-being, people tend to resist changes (Oreg et al., 2018;
Peccei et al., 2011; Sonenshein, 2010). People also resist change because they think
the change will harm their self-interests, they do not understand or trust the change,
perceive the change costs more than gain, and they have experienced unsuccessful
changes in their organizations before (Kotter & Schlesinger, 2008; Rafferty &
Restubog, 2010; Sonenshein, 2010).
Coping Potential When members believe that they cannot develop new skills and
behaviors to cope with these changes and control related outcomes, these changes
tend to be resisted by organizational members (Fugate et al., 2008; Kotter &
Schlesinger, 2008; Oreg et al., 2018).
High Organizational Identification High organizational identification hinders

organizational change (Conroy et al., 2017). Employees with the high level of orga-
nizational identification are less likely to suggest modifying organizational prac-
tices but tend to resist organizational changes, such as mergers and acquisitions,
because they believe that the change threatens their self-identity or requires them to
adapt their current identity (Bouchikhi & Kimberly, 2003; Fiol, 2002; Sonenshein,
2010). For example, an employee of a technical company may have the following
self-identify: I am software developer, but not a salesman. Thus, the employee may
resist his/her company’s practices becoming more market oriented.
Organizational Culture Organizational culture can affect the acceptance of human

resource management policies and practices (e.g., hiring procedures, selection pro-
cesses, and incentive programs). These policies and practices are resisted when they
are not congruent with organizational cultures (Stone et al., 2007). Organizational
beliefs that diversity lowers hiring standards creates conflicts, harm performance,
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and the tolerance for unequal treatment, leading to opposition toward organizational
diversity. In contrast, a positive diversity climate facilitates organizational change
and learning (i.e., the capacity of an organization to adapt and grow on an ongoing
basis; Groggins & Ryan, 2013). Organizational cultures – participative decision-
making, openness, learning orientation, and transformational leadership – also
facilitate organizational learning (Flores et al., 2012).
Interactions Among Changes Different organizational changes also interfere with

each other. Kanitz et al.’s (2022) longitudinal study shows a case in which an orga-
nization initiated two organizational changes. However, the two changes were del-
egated to two different departments with different goals. Thus, organizational
members only focus on the change they are responsible for but ignore the others. As
a result, employees perceive inconsistencies between the two changes and think the
inconsistencies negatively influence their work environment and the organization,
which in turn leads to their negative emotional reactions.
Change Agents’ Contributions Change agents also contribute to the resistance to

organizational changes (Ford et al., 2008). Specifically, they contribute to change
recipients’ resistance by breaching psychological contracts and implied contracts
with recipients before and throughout the change, failing to restore the damaged
trust, failing to legitimize changes, misrepresenting the chances of the change suc-
ceeding, and failing to call people to action (Ford et al., 2008).
8.3.3 Overcome Resistance to Change
Trust When change recipients trust their organizations, or when change agents
repair the damaged trust with recipients before and during changes, the recipients
are less likely to resist changes (Ford et al., 2008; Oreg et al., 2018; Oreg &
Sverdlik, 2010).
Change Communication When the number and quality of change information

offered by organizations increase when the information can explain the appropriate-
ness, rationality, and benefits of changes, and when the communication call for
actions to changes, employees tend to accept changes (Ford et al., 2008; Kotter &
Schlesinger, 2008; Rafferty & Restubog, 2010). With proper communication,
employees perceive better informational justice (recall the concept from Chap. 2,
Individual differences).
Change Participation When an organizational environment is supportive and

encourages members’ participation in changes, they tend to perceive that they can
cope with and control the changes; thus, they are less likely to perceive procedural
justice and resist organizational changes (Kotter & Schlesinger, 2008; Oreg et al.,
2018; Peccei et al., 2011).
Support When an organizational environment is supportive, employees less tend to

resist organizational changes (Oreg et al., 2018). Furthermore, support from cowork-
ers can lessen the harm caused by employees’ resistance to change on their creativ-
ity performance; when coworkers are more supportive, the negative relationship
between employees’ resistance to change and creativity performance is weaker
(Hon et al., 2014).
Commitment When members commit to and identify with organizations, they tend
to perceive that their interests are accounted for, and they are psychologically close
to organizations; thus, they have a lower chance of resisting organizational change
(Oreg et al., 2018; Oreg & Sverdlik, 2010; Peccei et al., 2011).
Leadership When members experience transformational leadership, they tend to

perceive that their interests are accounted for, and they are psychologically close to
organizations; thus, they are less likely to resist organizational change (Oreg et al.,
2018). Empowering leadership can reduce the negative effects caused by employ-
ees’ resistance to change on their creativity performance; when more empowering
leadership is used, the negative relationship is lower (Hon et al., 2014).
Social Identity Social identity refers to “that part of an individual’s self-concept

which derives from his knowledge of his membership of a social group (or groups)
together with the value and emotional significance attached to that membership”
(Tajfel, 1978, p. 68). During a corporate takeover, if employees are able to preserve
their existing social identity, or if leaders are able to alter employees’ perceptions of
their social identity and assist them in acquiring a sense that they are acquiring a
new positive identity, they will identify with the newly formed organization and will
be better able to adapt to the organizational change; specifically, they will be more
satisfied with their job and life, have more organizational citizenship behaviors,
more posttraumatic growth, and lower depression (Mühlemann et al., 2022).
Fairness The degree to which people are given fair treatment during the change process
also influences their acceptance and support toward organizational changes. Research
shows that work unit members’ shared perception of change fairness positively relates
to their acceptance and support for organizational change (Fedor et al., 2006).
Selections The individual difference can influence people’s resistance to organiza-

tional changes. Self-efficacious individuals are more committed to organizational
change because they believe that they can successfully cope with uncertainty and
stress related to organizational changes (Herold et al., 2007). People who have a
high level of growth need, internal locus of control, and internal work motivation
also accept organizational changes (Elias, 2009). In contrast, some people’s dispo-
sitional resistance to change is high (Oreg, 2006; Oreg & Sverdlik, 2010). Thus, to
overcome resistance to organizational change, organizations can recruit and select
employees with certain dispositions.
236 X. Dai
8.3.4 Plan and Implement Organizational Change
John Kotter’s eight-stage process for managing organizational change is a widely

recognized model for planning and implementing organizational change (Kotter,
1996; Pollack & Pollack, 2015). Stage one, organizations must establish a feeling of
urgency by talking about market competitiveness and identifying crises. Stage two,
organizations need to form a powerful guiding coalition by having a powerful group
to work together and lead the change effort. Stage three, organizations must build a
vision to guide efforts to implement change and develop strategies to achieve the
vision. Stage four, organizations must thoroughly explain the vision and strategies
with employees and teach them related new behaviors. Stage five, organizations
need to get rid of obstacles to change and encourage risk-taking ideas and actions.
Stage six, organizations must prepare for, create, and reward individuals that con-
tribute to performance improvement. Stage seven, organizations need to consolidate
the improvement and produce more change by changing unfitting systems, struc-
tures, and policing, selecting and preparing employees who can carry out the vision,
and implementing new changes. In addition, organizations can also create a culture
for organizational change. For instance, an innovative culture can drive innovation
changes in organizations (Iranmanesh et al., 2021). Stage eight, in order to institu-
tionalize new approaches, organizations must explain the connections between the
new behaviors and company success and create ways to foster developing and suc-
cessful leadership (Table 8.2).
Because of the disruptions caused by COVID-19 pandemic, many organizations
had to change and adapt. Research showed that, during the pandemic, transparent
internal communication among employees can help them use problem-focused con-
trol coping strategies, lessen their sense of uncertainty about organizational change,
and foster positive relationships between employees and their organizations during
organizational change (Li et al., 2021). Given the enormous business challenges
after the pandemic, such as inflation and pent-up customer demand, organizations
also need to make changes to prepare for the postpandemic environment. Pedersen
and Ritter (2020) propose five Ps to guide organizations to adapt to this challenging
environment. First, understand your organization’s position in the market to make
smart strategic decisions. Second, make a clear plan about how to get through the
Table 8.2 Eight-stage process for managing organizational change

Stage one Establish a feeling of urgency
Stage two Form a powerful guiding coalition
Stage three Build a vision
Stage four Explain the vision and teach related new behaviors
Stage five Encourage change actions
Stage six Prepare for, create, and reward performance
improvement
Stage seven Consolidate improvements and produce more change
Stage eight Institutionalize new approaches
crisis and go back to business. Third, consider how your organization’s perspective
might evolve because of the pandemic and prepare your organization culturally to
deal with the crisis. Fourth, consider what new projects should be launched to solve
pandemic-related problems and benefit the organization’s future. Fifth, assess the
organization’s preparedness to accomplish these new projects.
The primary topics of this chapter are organizational structure, culture, and
change. First, we discuss important concepts related to organizational structure (i.e.,
differentiation and integration of labor), different types of organizational structures,
their characteristics, and their relationships with other aspects of organizations.
Then, we talk about what organizational culture is, its benefits and liabilities, and
how to develop organizational culture. Finally, we review the organizational change
process, resistance to change, and offer recommendations for overcoming the resis-
tance and implementing organizational change.
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org/10.5267/j.msl.2018.4.026
Xiaotian Dai holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior. Her research focuses on virtual team
communication, remote working, and open-source software project management. Her research
also explores how the covid-19 pandemic impacts virtual teams and how virtual teams adapt to this
disruptive environment.
Index
A B
Abusive supervision, 201–202 Balanced processing, 199
Accommodating conflict mode, 103, 173 Bamboo ceiling, 203
Achievement, 187 Behavioral approach, 184, 188–190
Achievement-oriented leadership, 194 Behavior forces, 139–141
Adaptive, 207 Belongingness, 70
Adhocracy, 221 Benevolence, 203
Affective Commitment (AC), 29, 48 Bias, 175, 184
Age diversity, 119, 120 Big Five, 25–30, 32, 120, 187, 198
Agreeableness, 187 Big Five Personality, 25–30, 32
Ambidextrous organizations, 222 Body language, 33
The amount of task structure, 193 Boundary-spanning team leadership
Antecedents, 198, 200, 201, 206, 207 behaviors, 114
Apparent sincerity, 206 Bounded rationality model, 136–138
Appearance, 8, 159, 160, 162
Archival studies, 13
Articulating shared leadership in virtual C
teams, 119 Calling, 70, 200, 231
Attitude, 67, 173, 177, 198, 200, 201, 205, 228 Case studies, 13, 153
Auditing the virtual team progress and Centralization, 206, 219–221, 224–226
maintaining alignment between Central tendency, 196
teamwork and organizational Charismatic leadership, 197, 201
values, 119 Charismatic team leadership behaviors, 113
Authentic behavior, 199, 200 Chronemics, 159, 161, 162
Authentic leadership, 198, 199 Coaching-focused team leadership
Authenticity, 199 behaviors, 113
Authoritarianism, 203 Coalition, 105, 205, 236
Authoritative opinion, 13 Coercive power, 204, 205
Autocratic, 189, 202 Cognitive ability, 187
Autonomy, 11, 47, 67, 82, 94, 95, 113, 206, Cognitive bias, 6, 141
221, 227, 230 Cognitive dissonance, 49, 140–142
The avoiding conflict management Cognitive style diversity, 121
strategy, 103 Collaborating Conflict Mode, 172
Avoiding conflict mode, 173 Collective filtering, 151
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to 243
Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-31356-1
244 Index
Communication, v, 2, 3, 6, 7, 51, 75, 84, 101, Delegating, 98, 191, 192, 222
107, 110, 111, 114, 116–119, 121, 124, Democratic, 189, 202
143, 144, 148, 150, 157–178, 198, 203, Dependent variable, 14, 15
219–221, 223, 228, 231, 232, 234, 236 Descriptive analysis, 10
Communication-related qualification, 117 Designs, 3, 7–17, 46, 81–83, 91, 123, 141,
Competing conflict mode, 171–173 147, 151–153, 219, 223, 226, 228, 232
Completer-finisher (CF), 97 Devil’s advocate, 144
The compromising conflict management Diagnostic analysis, 10
strategy, 103 Differentiation, 67, 96, 102, 196,
Compromising conflict mode, 172 218–219, 237
Configuration, 219–221 Diffusion of treatments, 15
Confirmation bias, 6, 142, 143, 149 Directive leadership, 194
Conflict management qualification, 117 Direct supervision, 218, 219
Conflict management strategies, 103 Distributive justice, 73
Conflict modes, 158, 171–173 Divisionalized form, 221
Conformity, 36, 37 Double bind dilemma, 202
Conscientiousness, 187 Dress, 160, 162
Consideration, 7, 44, 46, 67, 77, 113, 137, Dyadic, 163, 177, 178, 195, 196
146, 150, 189, 190 Dyadic communication, 162, 163, 165
Consideration team leadership behaviors, 113 Dysfunctional conflict, 158, 171, 178, 222
Construct validity, 17, 26
Consultation, 205
Contextual, 169, 195, 224 E
Contextual performance, 197 Education diversity, 121
Contingency, 184, 190–195, 200 Effort-to-performance expectancy, 75
Contingent reward, 197, 202 Eight-stage process for managing
Continuance Commitment (CC), 48 organizational change, 236
Continuous change, 232 Emotion, 6, 8, 9, 12, 25, 28, 29, 33, 94, 113,
Co-ordinator (CO), 97, 98 117, 136, 138, 140, 160, 164, 165, 168,
Counterproductive behavior, 188 169, 174, 175, 177, 178, 205
Criterion validity, 17 Emotional intelligence (EI), 187
Cultural, 72, 165, 168, 169, 175, 176, 202, Emotionally intelligent team leadership
203, 227, 229 behaviors, 113
Cultural diversity Emotional stability, 26, 27
Culture, 66, 72, 80, 121, 163, 169–171, Employee focused, 190
173–176, 178, 184, 198, 202–203, Empowering and developing people, 199
225–232, 236, 237 Empowering team leadership behaviors,
111, 113
Engagement, 83
D Enriching the added values in the virtual work
Dark triad, 187, 188, 198 process, 118
Data, 7, 10, 11, 13–17, 27, 28, 35, 39–41, 102, Environment, 3, 4, 13, 24, 25, 36, 38–40, 43,
133, 135–139, 141, 142, 147, 148, 167, 44, 50–52, 54, 55, 67, 68, 72, 75, 77,
201, 227, 232 80, 81, 94, 95, 106–109, 112, 115, 117,
Decision-making, v, 3, 6, 38, 83, 94, 95, 103, 132, 139–141, 146, 149, 153, 161, 194,
104, 107, 110, 113, 118, 121, 123, 124, 196, 206, 221–223, 228–230, 234–236
132–153, 163, 164, 176, 189, 198, 205, Episodic change, 232
220–222, 228, 234 Escalation of commitment, 143, 144
Decision-making process, 68, 131, 132, 135, Establishing an inclusion climate, 118
138, 139, 141, 145–148, 226, 229 Esteem, 70, 71
Deep level diversity, 119–121 Ethical leadership, 198–201
The deep structure, 108–109 Ethics, 122–125, 132, 139, 140
Default, 133, 135, 142, 151–153 Ethnicity diversity, 119, 120
Index 245
Evaluating teamwork constantly, 118 Groupthink, 143–148

Exchange, 65, 68, 80, 91, 106, 109–111, 114,
120, 159, 195, 197, 198, 205, 222
Expert power, 204, 205 H
Extinction, 77 Haptics, 159, 160, 162
Extraversion, 26, 28–30, 121, 187 Hawthorne effect, 5
Extroversion, 27, 43 Hedonism, 36, 37
Eye contact, 159, 160, 162 Helping virtual team members recognize and
accept the new reality, 118
Heritability, 27, 188
F Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational leadership
Face-ism, 186 theory, 191–192
Facial appearance, 184–187 High-control situation, 193
Facial expression, 98, 160, 162, 188 Human relations theory (HRT), 4–5
Feedback, 11, 67, 81, 82, 95, 112, 113, 118, Human resource, 3, 46, 67, 68, 96, 118, 122,
142, 148, 151, 152, 158, 168 172, 233
Fellowship, 200 Humility, 199, 230, 231
Fiedler’s contingency model, 191–194 Hygiene factors, 72
Field experiment, 166 Hypothesis, 8–12, 44, 144
Field study, 3
Fit, v, 24–25, 28, 35, 38–44, 52, 55, 67, 79,
109, 149, 187, 190, 191, 229, 230 I
Five Ps, 236 Idealized influence, 196, 197
Fixed-interval schedule, 78 Ideology, 203, 224
Fixed-ratio schedule, 78 IKEA effect, 83
Flat organizations, 222 Illusion of invulnerability, 145, 146
Flexibility, 6, 125 Illusion of unanimity, 145
The forcing conflict management strategy, 103 Implementer (IMP), 97
Formalization, 219–221, 224, 226 Improving communication practices to
The forming stage, 106 maintain effective communication in
Framing bias, 141, 142 virtual teams, 119
Functional conflict, 171, 178 Incentives, 4, 17, 73, 78, 149, 151, 153, 233
Inclusion, 16, 70, 79, 122, 125
Independent variable, 14
G Individual bias, 141–143
Gamification, 76, 78–80, 153 Individual consideration, 196, 197
Gender, 27, 51, 52, 101, 105, 119, 120, 139, Individual difference, v, 3, 6, 27, 32, 53, 73,
170, 171, 176, 201–203, 206 234, 235
Gender diversity, 119, 120 Inertia, 109, 151, 152
Genetic factors, 188 Influence, 3, 25, 67, 91, 139, 164, 188
Genetic influence, 188 Influence of information, 148
Glass ceiling, 202 Influence tactics, 184, 195, 204, 205, 207
Glass cliff, 202 Informational justice, 234
Global Leadership and Organizational Information search and structuring, 112
Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE), 203 Information use in problem-solving, 112
Goal directed behavior, 68, 69 Ingratiation, 205
Group decision-making, 141, 143–150 In-group, 143, 146, 150, 163, 195, 201, 203
Group Decision Support Systems (GDSSs), Initiating structure, 189, 190
148, 164 Initiating structure team leadership
Group polarization, 143, 148–150 behaviors, 114
The group pride component of team The input process output model, 107–108
cohesion, 100 Inspirational appeals, 205
Group problem-solving, 150–151 Inspirational motivation, 196–198
246 Index
Intellectual stimulation, 196–198 Management by exception-passive, 197

Interactional justice, 111, 123, 124 Management teams, 90, 91, 105, 143
Intercultural qualification, 117 Managing personnel resources, 112
Interpersonal acceptance, 199 Mapping, 151, 153
The interpersonal attraction component of Masculinity bias, 202
team cohesion, 100 Maximum performance, 53
Interpersonal influence, 206, 207 Mechanistic organizational structure, 220, 226
Interpersonal justice, 45, 46, 124 Media-related qualification, 117
Interrater reliability, 16, 17 Membership, 52, 100, 200, 226, 235
Intervention, 12, 34, 52, 152 Meta-analyses, 12, 15–17, 27, 29, 30, 34, 73,
Intrapersonal communication, 162, 163 99, 103, 160, 188, 190, 197, 200–202,
Intrateam justice climate, 122 205, 206
Intuitive decision-making model, 138–139 Method, 4, 8, 9, 13, 34, 35, 39, 40, 44, 52, 72,
81, 104, 109, 114, 148, 151, 158, 163,
164, 167, 173, 174, 178, 189, 190, 194,
J 218, 219, 221
Job focused, 190 Mind guards, 146
Moderate-control situation, 193, 194
Modular corporation, 222
K Monitor evaluator (ME), 97
Kinesics, 159, 162 Monitoring the intrateam trust between virtual
Knowledge-hiding, 110, 111 team members, 118
Knowledge sharing, 110–111, 151, 153 Moral illusion, 145
Kurt Lewin’s leadership styles, 188, 189 Morality, 144, 187, 203
Motherhood penalty, 202
Motivation, 3, 25, 66, 95, 139, 159, 190, 229
L Motivation factors, 71, 72
Laissez-faire, 24, 189, 197 Mutual adjustment, 218, 219, 221
Leader behavior, 190, 191, 197, 202
Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire
(LBDQ), 189 N
Leader-member exchange (LMX) Narcissism, 187
differentiation, 196 Naturalistic observation, 9, 13
disparity, 196 Need, 6, 34, 67, 90, 135, 158, 187, 217
separation, 196 Need deficiency, 68, 69, 74
variety, 196 Negative effect, 8, 235
Leader member relations, 193 Networking ability, 206, 207
Leader position power, 193 Neuroticism, 187, 230
Leadership Non-programmed decision-making, 133–135
effectiveness, 16, 118–119, 184, 187, 188, Nonverbal communication, 159, 162, 178
190, 191, 197 Normative Commitment (NC), 48
emergence, 187, 188, 203 The norming stage, 106–107
styles, 189, 191–194, 201, 202, 229 Nudge, 79, 141, 151–153
Least preferred coworker (LPC), 193
Legitimate power, 204, 205
Legitimating tactics, 205 O
Listening, 79, 95, 159, 169 Observation, 8, 9, 13, 17, 25, 53, 76, 80, 168
Low control situation, 194 Oculesics, 160, 162
Office politics, 139
Ohio State studies, 188–190
M Olfalics, 161, 162
Machiavellianism, 187, 206 Openness, 187, 230, 234
Machine bureaucracy, 221 Open-source software development
Manage material resources, 112 (OSSD), 222–225
Management by exception active, 197 Organic organizational structure, 220–222
Index 247
Organization Power, 68, 70, 79, 80, 159, 164, 173, 174, 176,
negotiation, 174–177 184, 189, 193, 194, 203–207, 223, 230
process, v, 3, 5, 7, 203, 217–237 Predictive analysis, 10
Organizational Prescriptive analysis, 10, 11
change, 7, 164, 231–237 Pressure, 3, 8, 28, 51, 66, 98, 143–147, 153,
change process, 232, 237 200, 205, 232
conflict, 173–174 Priming, 151
culture, 107, 200, 225, 227–231, 233, The problem-solving conflict management
234, 237 strategy, 103
structure, 95, 163, 170, 194, 217–227, 237 Procedural justice, 234
symbols, 227 Professional bureaucracy, 221
Organizational behavior (OB), v, Programmed decision-making, 133, 134
1–18, 26, 140 Pro-group unethical behavior, 124–125
Outcome valence, 75 Project teams, 90, 91, 101, 109, 110
Out-group, 195 Providing direction, 191, 199
Overcome resistance to change, 234–235 Proxemics, 159, 161, 162
Overconfidence bias, 141 Psychiatric, 26, 51
Psychopathy, 187, 188
The punctuated equilibrium paradigm, 108
P Punishment, 68, 73, 77, 78, 95, 114, 198, 204
Parallel teams, 90, 91
Participating, 65, 79, 80, 83, 145, 191, 192
Participative leadership, 194 Q
Paternalistic leadership, 203 Quasi-experiment, 9–10, 12, 15
Path-goal theory, 191, 194–195
Peer pressure, 79
Perceived justice, 196, 206 R
Perception, 68, 73–75, 82, 160, 167, 168, 186, Rational decision making model, 136, 137
201, 204, 206, 235 Rational persuasion, 205
Perception of organizational politics, 204, 206 Rationalization, 145
Performance, 4, 24, 66, 90, 139, 159, 186, 225 Readiness, 191, 192
Performance-to-outcome instrumentality, 75 Reassessment of need deficiency, 68
The performing stage, 107 Referent power, 204, 205
Personal appeals, 205 Reinforcement, 68, 72, 76–80, 198, 204
Personality, 6, 24, 96, 174, 184, 230 Relational transparency, 199
Personality diversity, 120–121 Relationship-motivated, 192–194
Personality traits, 184, 186, 187, 195, 201 Relationship-oriented, 188–190
Person-environment, 38–44, 53 Relative position, 196
Person focused team leadership Reliability, 16, 17, 25, 27, 81, 229
behaviors, 113–114 Research, 5, 7–18, 26, 30, 31, 34, 37–39,
Person-Job (PJ), 24, 39, 41–43 42–45, 48–50, 52, 72, 79, 82, 105, 109,
Person-Organization (PO), 24, 39–41, 115, 120–123, 125, 137, 143, 145, 149,
43, 44, 55 151, 152, 184–189, 195, 196, 198,
Person-Supervisor (PS), 39, 44 200–204, 230, 235, 236
Person-Team (PT), 43–44 Resistance to change, 232–235, 237
Person-Vocation (PV), 44 Resource Investigator (RI), 97, 98
Physical height, 184–185 The revolutionary periods, 109–110
Physiological needs, 69–70 Reward, 39, 42, 46, 54, 68, 69, 71–73, 75–80,
Placebo, 14 91, 95, 102, 104, 105, 107, 114, 119,
Plant (PL), 9–12, 97, 98 123, 193, 194, 198, 204, 205, 230,
Political behavior, 37, 206, 207 231, 236
Political skills, 187, 206 Reward power, 204, 205
Positive moral perspective, 199 Risk, 6, 10, 33, 42, 51, 52, 125, 138–140, 147,
Positive psychological capital, 199 148, 152, 167, 225, 229
Positive therapy, 32 Rites, rituals, and ceremonies, 227
248 Index
Roles, v, 3, 7, 28, 34, 36, 46, 48–52, 69, 70, Sunk cost bias, 142, 144
96–98, 107, 109, 111, 112, 114, 119, Supportive leadership, 194
125, 132, 139, 141, 142, 144, 150, 151, Surface-level diversity, 119–120
168, 170, 175–177, 184, 188, 194, 198, Sustaining a trusting corporate culture
200, 202, 203, 205, 206, 220, 221, 227, and displaying leaders’
230, 231 trustworthiness, 118
System 1, 133–135, 151
System 2, 133–135, 151
S
Safety, 69, 70, 157, 225, 231
Satisfaction, 70–75, 79, 83, 159, 161, 190, T
194, 196, 197, 199, 201, 203, 206, The task commitment component of team
207, 228 cohesion, 100
Scientific management, 67 Task focused team leadership behavior, 113,
Security, 65, 69–71 114, 125
Self actualization, 70, 71 Task identity, 82
Self-awareness, 140, 199 Task-motivated, 192–194
Self-categorization, 148, 149 Task-oriented, 189, 190, 202, 205
Self-censorship, 145, 146 Task performance, 197
Self-direction, 36 Task significance, 82
Self-esteem, 25, 31–32, 49 Taylorism, 4
Self management qualification, 117 Team climates, 94, 113
Selling, 66, 141, 191 Team cohesion, 100, 101, 111, 122, 124
Servant leadership, 96, 198, 199 Team competition, 104–105
Shaper (SH), 97, 98 Team conflicts, 102–104, 117, 196
Shared leadership, 114–115, 125, 200–201 Team cooperation, 101–102
Shared reality, 148, 149 Team decision-making, 95
Simple structure, 221 Team deviance, 122, 124
Situational contingency, 190, 194 Team diversity, 119–122
Skill variety, 82 Team justice climate, 122
Social astuteness, 206 Team learning, 95, 110–111, 121, 125
Social comparison, 100, 104, 105, 148, 151 Team norms, 91–94
Social comparison theory, 148, 196 Team process conflict, 102, 103
Social facilitation effects, 99, 100 Team psychological empowerment
Social incentives, 76, 79–80 climate, 94–95
Social loafing, 98–100, 143, 144 Team psychological safety climate, 95
Social media, 27, 28, 79, 80, 152, 157, 166, Team relationship conflict, 102, 103
167, 201 The team role model, 96–98
Social pressure, 143, 151 Teams and groups, 90
Specialist (SP), 97 Team service climate, 95–96
Specialization, 4, 219, 220, 223–226 Team structure, 95
Spiritual leadership, 198, 200 Team task conflict, 102, 103
Stakeholders, 199 Team worker (TW), 97
Standardization, 218–221, 224 Telling, 67, 191
Standardization of outputs, 218, 219, 221 Theory, v, 66–84, 184–201, 220, 232
Standardization of skills, 218, 219, 221 Tradition, 36, 93
Standardization of work processes, 218, 221 Trait, 6, 25–32, 34, 47, 49, 53, 105, 170, 184,
Status quo bias, 6, 142 186–188, 190
Stereotypes, 105, 122, 145, 202 Trait approach, 184–188, 190
Stewardship, 199 Transactional leadership, 197, 198
Stimulation, 36, 196–198 Transactional team leadership behaviors, 114
Stories, 82, 131–132, 134, 227, 228, 230–232 Transcendence of self, 200
The storming stage, 106 Transformational leadership, 95, 115,
Stress, 159, 162, 165, 177, 206, 217, 223, 235 196–201, 234, 235
Index 249
Transformational team leadership Variation, 196

behaviors, 113 Verbal communication, 159
Trust related qualification, 117 Vertical leadership, 114–115
Typical performance, 53 Video meetings, 166–167
Virtual teams, 116–119
Vocalics, 159, 161, 162
U
Unfreeze, change, and refreeze, 232
Universalism, 36, 38 W
University of Michigan Studies, 188–190 Well-being, 160, 196, 201, 233
Wikipedia, 135, 222, 223
Work teams, 83, 90, 91, 122, 125, 194
V
Validity, 16, 17, 25, 26
Values, 14, 24, 70, 92, 138, 159, 194, 227 Y
Values diversity, 121 The yielding conflict management
Variable interval schedule, 78 strategy, 103
Variable ratio schedule, 78

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Ning Hou

Gustavo Valdez Paez

ISBN 978-3-031-31355-4 ISBN 978-3-031-31356-1 (eBook)

St. Cloud, MN, USA Ning Hou

Part I Micro Organizational Behavior Topics

Part II Meso Organizational Behavior Topics

Part III Macro Organizational Behavior Topics

Capt. Cheng Captain Chengquan

Massacre in the Pacific: A Personal Account

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 1

1.1.1 What Is Organizational Behavior?

Organizational behavior (OB) is a systematic approach that studies the behavior of

1.1.1.1 OB Versus HR: What’s the Difference?

In organizational behavior studies, the focus is on how employees interact and

1.1.1.2 OB Under the COVID-19 Pandemic

1.1.2 Why Do We Study OB?

In 1911, Frederick W. Taylor developed the concept of scientific management,

1.1.2.2 Human Relations Theory

1.1.3.1 Individual Difference: Individual Differences in Experiencing

1.1.3.2 Motivation: Flexible Working Hours

1.1.3.3 Decision Making: Decision-Making Biases During the Pandemic

1.1.3.4 Communication: Online Communication

1.1.3.5 Team: Role of Team Members

1.1.3.6 Leadership: Female Leaders During the Crisis

In times of crisis, organizations tend to name female leaders. According to data,

1.1.3.7 Organizational Process: Organization Changes During

Facing the COVID-19 pandemic-induced organizational change, organizations have

1.2 Organizational Behavior Research

To better study the phenomena of organizational behavior, we need to conduct sci-

1.2.1 Why Conduct Research?

Research is conducted to understand phenomena, situations, or behaviors, test exist-

Friendly Cashier and Store Sales: Sutton and Rafaeli (1988)

1.2.2 How to Conduct OB Research? An Example Using

An OB study starts with the development of questions/hypotheses, followed by the

1.2.2.1 Purpose the Questions/Hypothesis

be based on observation (inductive) or theory (deductive). A Theory is a coherent

1.2.2.2 Design the Study

Picking a Design: Quasi-experiment

To test the benefits of adequate explanations on feelings (H2), Greenberg

1.2.2.3 Testing the Hypothesis

Table 1.1 Organizational behavior research elements and examples

As a method of conducting research, observation is the most primitive (least rigor-

Archival Study: Frank and Gilovich (1988)

1.2.3.2 Survey Study

OB researchers are generally interested in determining how predicting factors (such

Survey Study: Frank and Gilovich (1988)

1.2.3.3 Experimental Study

group), then measure the leader-follower relationships (dependent variable) after

Experiment: Frank and Gilovich (1988)

Job Satisfaction on Job Performance Meta-analysis: Judge et al. (2001)

As for validity, it can measure whether a test is measuring the concept it is

Table 1.2 Organizational behavior research design examples

Adams, J. S. (1965). Inequity in social exchange. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental

Nicholas R. Lengyel and Mama N. Toure Ep Camara

N. R. Lengyel (*) · M. N. Toure Ep Camara

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 23

Peter Rice: Not the Right Fit

Nature Versus Nurture

2.1.1 Big Five Personality

Disagree Disagree Disagree Neither Agree A Agree Agree

personality change. Fourth, longitudinally, personality traits have a strong predict-

strongest association with safety behavior (meta-analysis by Beus et al., 2015).

Self-esteem is an individual’s overall positive evaluation of the self (Gecas 1982;

St. Cloud, MN, USA Ning Hou

Part I Micro Organizational Behavior Topics

Part II Meso Organizational Behavior Topics

Part III Macro Organizational Behavior Topics

1.1.1 What Is Organizational Behavior?

1.1.1.1 OB Versus HR: What’s the Difference?

1.1.1.2 OB Under the COVID-19 Pandemic

1.1.2 Why Do We Study OB?

1.1.2.2 Human Relations Theory

1.1.3.1 Individual Difference: Individual Differences in Experiencing

1.1.3.2 Motivation: Flexible Working Hours

1.1.3.3 Decision Making: Decision-Making Biases During the Pandemic

1.1.3.4 Communication: Online Communication

1.1.3.5 Team: Role of Team Members

1.1.3.6 Leadership: Female Leaders During the Crisis

1.1.3.7 Organizational Process: Organization Changes During

1.2 Organizational Behavior Research

1.2.1 Why Conduct Research?

1.2.2 How to Conduct OB Research? An Example Using

1.2.2.1 Purpose the Questions/Hypothesis

1.2.2.2 Design the Study

1.2.2.3 Testing the Hypothesis

1.2.3.2 Survey Study

1.2.3.3 Experimental Study

2.1.1 Big Five Personality

2.3.1 The Basic Human Values

2.4.3 Other Fit Types

2.5 Individual Outcomes in Organizational Context

2.5.1.2 Perceived Organizational Support

2.5.3 Workplace Stress and Well-Being

Job stress typically leads to adverse reactions regarding an employee’s well-

3.1.1 Why Study Motivation?

Performance expectations ability motivation environment

3.1.2 Historical Perspectives on Motivation

3.2.1 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

3.2.2 Two-Factor Theory of Motivation

3.3.1 Equity Theory of Motivation

Motivation expectancy instrumentality valence

3.4.1 Traditional Versus Contemporary Views of Learning

3.4.3 Extensions of Reinforcement Theories

3.5 Applying Motivational Theories at Work

3.5.1 Job Characteristics Theory

3.5.1.1 Task Significance and Beneficiary Contact

3.5.2 Goal Setting and Motivation

4.1.1.1 Definition of Team Norm

4.1.1.2 Functions of Team Norm

4.1.1.3 Origins of Team Norm

4.1.2.1 Definition of Team Climate