Essays in banking and household finance

The thesis consists of four chapters in banking and household finance. The first chapter examines the joint impact of bank size and scope on banks’ exposure to systemic risk. It shows that the dark side of diversification dominates for small banks, whereas the bright side effects of diversification and innovation dominate for medium and large banks. The second chapter provides insight in consumer bank switching behaviour. It outlines the most important factors in explaining variation in switching propensities for switching with the main savings account, current account and mortgage loan. Besides, it documents barriers that withhold people from switching and sheds light on (hypothetical) policy initiatives to facilitate switching. The third chapter studies bank switching behaviour after government interventions. Although aggregate switching behaviour did not change after the troubles and bail-outs, there is heterogeneity in customer responses. Customers with low levels of trust in the government are more likely to switch away after a nationalisation. Moreover, risk-averse current account holders are more likely to leave the nationalised bank. The last chapter is on savings behaviour. It shows that the socio-economic dimension, parental teaching, household administration skills, personality factors and the social circle are all related to savings. The socio-economic dimension and the social circle are most important in explaining variation in savings behaviour, irrespective of how savings behaviour is measured

Innovation and the "dark side" of personality: Dysfunctional traits and their relation to self-reported innovative characteristics

This paper explores the relationship between self-reported innovative characteristics and dysfunctional personality traits. Participants (N = 207) from a range of occupations completed the Innovation Potential Indicator (IPI) and the Hogan Development Survey (HDS). Those who reported innovative characteristics also reported the following dysfunctional traits: Arrogant, Manipulative, Dramatic, Eccentric; and lower levels of Cautious, Perfectionist and Dependent. A representative approximation of the higher order factor “moving against people” (Hogan & Hogan, 1997) was positively associated with innovative characteristics. It is concluded that innovation potential may be viewed as a positive effect of some otherwise dysfunctional traits, most notably those encompassed under the second-order HDS factor ‘moving against people’

Comprehensive Creativity When We Need It, review of The Cambridge Handbook of Creativity, edited by James C. Kaufman and Robert J. Sternberg

Reviews the book, The Cambridge handbook of creativity edited by James C. Kaufman and Robert J. Sternberg (see record 2010-21837-000). The title suggests that The Cambridge handbook of creativity is an encyclopedic collection of all the major chunks of knowledge connected to creative behavior. Although it does not disappoint in that regard, the contributing authors do a superb job of capturing the coherence and the theoretical and thematic developments of their respective areas. Overall the reviewer would recommend The Cambridge handbook of creativity to serious researchers in creativity and anyone who wants to be seriously creative. Psychologists and educators are advised to keep a copy close by. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved

The enemy has passed through the gate: insider threats, the dark triad, and the challenges around security

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to highlight the potential role that the so-called “toxic triangle” (Padilla et al., 2007) can play in undermining the processes around effectiveness. It is the interaction between leaders, organisational members, and the environmental context in which those interactions occur that has the potential to generate dysfunctional behaviours and processes. The paper seeks to set out a set of issues that would seem to be worthy of further consideration within the Journal and which deal with the relationships between organisational effectiveness and the threats from insiders.<p></p> Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopts a systems approach to the threats from insiders and the manner in which it impacts on organisation effectiveness. The ultimate goal of the paper is to stimulate further debate and discussion around the issues.<p></p> Findings – The paper adds to the discussions around effectiveness by highlighting how senior managers can create the conditions in which failure can occur through the erosion of controls, poor decision making, and the creation of a culture that has the potential to generate failure. Within this setting, insiders can serve to trigger a series of failures by their actions and for which the controls in place are either ineffective or have been by-passed as a result of insider knowledge.<p></p> Research limitations/implications – The issues raised in this paper need to be tested empirically as a means of providing a clear evidence base in support of their relationships with the generation of organisational ineffectiveness.<p></p> Practical implications – The paper aims to raise awareness and stimulate thinking by practising managers around the role that the “toxic triangle” of issues can play in creating the conditions by which organisations can incubate the potential for crisis.<p></p> Originality/value – The paper seeks to bring together a disparate body of published work within the context of “organisational effectiveness” and sets out a series of dark characteristics that organisations need to consider if they are to avoid failure. The paper argues the case that effectiveness can be a fragile construct and that the mechanisms that generate failure also need to be actively considered when discussing what effectiveness means in practice.<p></p&gt

A Survival Guide for the Creativity Economy, review of The Dark Side of Creativity, edited by David H. Cropley, Arthur J. Cropley, James C. Kaufman, and Mark A. Runco

Reviews the book, The dark side of creativity by David H. Cropley, Arthur J. Cropley, James C. Kaufman, and Mark A. Runco (see record 2010-16278-000). Theory and research on creativity clearly address how breakthrough ideas are formed and what happens to them next, but the present state of creativity research needs a few breakthrough ideas of its own. The Dark Side of Creativity , edited by David Cropley, Arthur Cropley, James Kaufman, and mark Runco, has hit that target. It also resonates with contemporary concerns about creativity and technology. There is a long-standing ethic in engineering that a technology itself is neither good nor bad; it is what one does with technology that can go either way. Coeditor Mark Runco takes this position in Chapter 2, maintaining that creativity itself has no dark side; it is the product of that creativity that can be light or dark. Product in this context is the actual implementation of the ideas produced by the creative processes that preceded it. Part of the delay in recognizing the presence of the dark side can be traced to a societal bias toward regarding “good” things as “creative” and treating things that people find morally objectionable as “not creative.” The Dark Side of Creativity is a refreshing book with original insights. I found it easy to go beyond its boundaries and connect to other related ideas about creativity that have been circulating lately. I would recommend the book to anyone interested in creativity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved

The Dark Side of Creativity: Original Thinkers Can be More Dishonest

Creativity is a common aspiration for individuals, organizations, and societies. Here, however, we test whether creativity increases dishonesty. We propose that a creative personality and creativity primes promote individuals' motivation to think outside the box and that this increased motivation leads to unethical behavior. In four studies, we show that participants with creative personalities who scored high on a test measuring divergent thinking tended to cheat more (Study 1); that dispositional creativity is a better predictor of unethical behavior than intelligence (Study 2); and that participants who were primed to think creatively were more likely to behave dishonestly because of their creativity motivation (Study 3) and greater ability to justify their dishonest behavior (Study 4). Finally, a field study constructively replicates these effects and demonstrates that individuals who work in more creative positions are also more morally flexible (Study 5). The results provide evidence for an association between creativity and dishonesty, thus highlighting a dark side of creativity.creativity, creative thinking, dishonesty, intelligence, unethical behavior

Illuminating and applying “The Dark Side”: Insights from elite team leaders

In contrast to socially desirable behaviors, recent work has suggested that effective elite team leadership also relies on socially undesirable behaviors. Accordingly, this study aimed to further explore the authenticity of dark side leadership behaviors, what they look like, and how they may be best used. Via interviews with 15 leaders, behaviors associated with Machiavellianism/mischievousness, skepticism, social dominance, and performance-focused ruthlessness were found. Moreover, these behaviors were enabled by leaders’ sociopolitical awareness and engineering as well as their adaptive expertise. Findings promote practitioner sensitivity to dark side leadership and, for leader effectiveness, sociopolitical and temporal features of its application

Examining the Overlapping Traits of Athletes and Entrepreneurs Through a Series of Case Studies

Today’s psychologists have paid close attention to personality and how it can affect many areas of a person’s life. From career success to criminal behavior psychologists continuously are trying to define key characteristics that may be contributing factors in the prediction of future happenings. This paper will look closely at theories regarding personality traits that are key to success. Those traits are identified in eight case studies relating to both entrepreneurial and athletic success with the findings showing a possible link between success and some key traits and an overlap of some traits between athletes and entrepreneurs

The sport coach

Chapter Objectives After completing this chapter you should be able to: 1. Understand some of the core differences between coaching requirements in participation and performance domains. 2. Discuss diverse models of sports coaching and how these differ in terms of their emphasis, strengths, and limitations. 3. Describe a range of key factors which impact on the coaching process and how these can be integrated through a focus on professional judgment and decision making. 4. Describe some crucial skills that can help coaches to understand and manage the complex and dynamic environments in which they work and best lead performers