44 research outputs found
Diversity and Social Network Structure in Collective Decision Making: Evolutionary Perspectives with Agent-Based Simulations
Collective, especially group-based, managerial decision making is crucial in
organizations. Using an evolutionary theoretic approach to collective decision
making, agent-based simulations were conducted to investigate how human
collective decision making would be affected by the agents' diversity in
problem understanding and/or behavior in discussion, as well as by their social
network structure. Simulation results indicated that groups with consistent
problem understanding tended to produce higher utility values of ideas and
displayed better decision convergence, but only if there was no group-level
bias in collective problem understanding. Simulation results also indicated the
importance of balance between selection-oriented (i.e., exploitative) and
variation-oriented (i.e., explorative) behaviors in discussion to achieve
quality final decisions. Expanding the group size and introducing non-trivial
social network structure generally improved the quality of ideas at the cost of
decision convergence. Simulations with different social network topologies
revealed collective decision making on small-world networks with high local
clustering tended to achieve highest decision quality more often than on random
or scale-free networks. Implications of this evolutionary theory and simulation
approach for future managerial research on collective, group, and multi-level
decision making are discussed.Comment: 27 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables; accepted for publication in Complexit
Effects of Network Connectivity and Diversity Distribution on Human Collective Ideation
Human collectives, e.g., teams and organizations, increasingly require
participation of members with diverse backgrounds working in networked social
environments. However, little is known about how network structure and the
diversity of member backgrounds would affect collective processes. Here we
conducted three sets of human-subject experiments which involved 617
participants who collaborated anonymously in a collective ideation task on a
custom-made online social network platform. We found that spatially clustered
collectives with clustered background distribution tended to explore more
diverse ideas than in other conditions, whereas collectives with random
background distribution consistently generated ideas with the highest utility.
We also found that higher network connectivity may improve individuals' overall
experience but may not improve the collective performance regarding idea
generation, idea diversity, and final idea quality.Comment: 43 pages, 19 figures, 4 table
"We the people . . . ": levels of analysis and the US Constitution
Abstract Purpose -Levels of analysis and multi-level issues have a long history and are becoming increasingly important in many areas of management and the organizational sciences. Nevertheless, specifics and clarity regarding these issues can be elusive for scholars and educators. To help overcome this difficulty, the paper aims to use the Constitution of the United States of America and the US presidential election to illustrate levels of analysis and multi-level issues. Design/methodology/approach -The paper uses the example of the Constitution of the United States of America and the US presidential election to illustrate levels of analysis and multi-level issues in the areas of management and the organizational sciences. Findings -The paper reveals the levels of analysis and multi-level issues using the US Constitution and US presidential elections. Originality/value -The value of the paper to scholars and educators is the explanation and illustration of levels of analysis and multi-level issues using the US Constitution and US presidential elections
Transformational and charismatic leadership: the road ahead 10th anniversary edition
This is the 10th anniversary edition, we seek to update the theoretical and empirical work and professional practice issues associated with transformational and charismatic leadership that have transpired over the past decade
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Investigating Contingencies: An Examination of the Impact of Span of Supervision and Upward Controllingness on Leader-Member Exchange Using Traditional and Multivariate Within- and Between-Entities Analysis
Using a sample of 150 bank employees, span of supervision and subordinate use of influence tactics were examined as moderators of relationships between leader-member exchange (LMX) and subordinate performance and organizational commitment. Raw score analyses indicate that moderators are present. Span of supervision and upward controlling influence tactics moderate relationships between LMX and both performance and commitment. However, using multiple relationship analysis and multivariate within- and between-entities analysis to assess the level of analysis results in some discrepant findings. These discrepancies are discussed, as are implications for future LMX research
Assassination and leadership : traditional approaches and historiometric methods
Research on the assassinations and attempted assassinations of leaders seems warranted, as leaders and their interactions with extreme followers (e.g., fanatics) and non-followers (e.g., assassins) can have tremendous consequences not only for the leaders but also their larger collectives (e.g., nations, social movements). Based on the traditional and established leadership approaches of power orientation and outstanding leadership, we explored whether particular types of leaders were more likely victims of assassinations and targets of assassination attempts. Using historiometric methods, we found that socialized as well as pragmatic and ideological leaders were the most frequent victims of assassinations; but personalized as well as pragmatic and ideological leaders were the most frequent targets of assassination attempts; and for U.S. Presidents, socialized charismatics were the most frequent victims of assassinations and targets of assassination attempts. Results regarding leader paranoia, regions of the world, and assassins operating alone or as a group in relation to assassinations and leadership approaches also are presented. Implications of these findings for future leadership research involving leaders and their extreme followers, non-followers, and larger collectives are discussed