“Omega is a four-letter word”: Toward a tension-centered modelof resistance to information and communication technologies

The adoption of enterprise-wide information and communication technologies (ICTs) has become a growing trend in a wide range of industries. Resistance has been identified as one of the most common reasons for unsuccessful implementations. Assuming technologies as fixed objects, many existing theories tend to reduce resistance to psychological mechanisms or structural misalignment. The purpose of this study is to retheorize resistance to ICTs by integrating a social constructionist perspective of technology and a framework of organizational tensions. By employing qualitative methods, a case study examined the adoption, implementation and use of an enterprise-wide software system in a technology service organization. The in-depth case analysis revealed a tension-centered process model, which shows that resistance to ICTs is constituted in a dynamic, reflexive interplay between the ongoing construction of ICTs and organizational tensions. In this process, an ICT adoption brings into play various organizational tensions, which then shape the interpretations of the ICT in oppositional terms, and reactions to these tensions and oppositional interpretations result in various forms of resistance behaviors. This tension-centered process model offers a useful alternative to existing research on resistance to ICTs in the workplace

Identity and technology: Organizational control of knowledge-intensive work

Much has been written about the functioning of managerial ideologies in identity-based organizational control. However, less attention has been given to the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and identity defined by a technological discourse in regulating knowledge-intensive work. The purpose of this research is to examine the roles of identity and ICTs in the control of knowledge-intensive work. A case study of a technology service organization reveals that the construction and consumption of a technologist identity operate as organizational control, and that ICTs enable the functioning of a dialectic of technological control. This study also demonstrates the paradoxical nature of work knowledge that both empowers and controls knowledge-workers

Unpacking unintended consequences in planned organizationalchanges: A process model

The author develops a process model of the unintended consequences in planned organizational change that draws on the structuration, organizational change, and organizational tension literatures. The model depicts the communicative actions of both senior management and employees and reveals the dynamic through which unintended consequences unfold. The model extends theoretical understandings of planned organizational change and discusses how future research can build a dialectic and dialogic model of planned change focused on employee participation. The author illustrates the model with a case study of organizational change and its unintended consequences. The article concludes with insights on change management for practitioners and with directions for future research

Revisiting the association of LMX quality with percieved role stressors: Evidence for inverted-U relationships among immigrant Europeans

Although earlier research on leader-member exchange (LMX) theory supported a negative linear relationship between LMX quality and role stressors, recent studies suggest that a more complex, nonlinear relationship may exist between LMX quality and variables traditionally associated with it. Based on communication research of LMX and social exchange theory, the aim of this article is to revisit the relationship between LMX quality and role stressors by reconceptualizing their associations and testing the hypotheses of an inverted U relationship. A survey study among immigrant employees revealed differential effects of LMX quality on role stressors. In particular, with role conflict and role overload LMX quality was found to have an inverted U relationship, but a negative linear relationship with role ambiguity. These findings challenge the prevailing assumptions and carry significant theoretical and practical implications

Understanding the wired workplace: The effects of job characteristics on employees\u27 personal online communication at work

As organizations increasingly embrace Internet technologies in daily work activities, an unintended consequence is the growing personal Internet use by employees. This study examines the association between job characteristics and a particular form of personal Internet use at work, personal online communication (POC). The study analyzes data of the 2008 Networked Workers Survey sponsored by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. The results demonstrate that job characteristics explain a large, significant portion of the variance of POC at work. The findings suggest that for jobs with high knowledge intensity, managing POC could be approached from a work–life balance perspective. The study also suggests that changes in work structure, job variety, and autonomy could have significant implications for managing POC activities in the wired workplace

Does culture matter? The effects of acculturation on workplace relationships

In spite of immigrants’ growing role in the workforce of the United States and other developed countries, organizational communication research about the experience of immigrant employees in the host culture is still very limited. Drawing on the bidimensional acculturation theory, the purpose of this study was to investigate the association of acculturation of immigrant employees with three types of workplace relationships: leader–member exchange (LMX), coworker, and mentoring relationship. Based on a survey of immigrant employees in a U.S. Midwestern city, the study reveals that the two dimensions of acculturation, adjustment to one’s host culture and retention of one’s original culture, are differentially related to the three types of workplace relationships. Both theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed in the study

Materializing Guanxi: Exploring the Communicative Practice of Liao Tian in Chinese Business Settings

Article présenté à la conférence, publié avec de légères modifications comme chapitre d'ouvrage.Paper presented to the : International Association Conference 2010, Singapore, panel : “The Materialization of Immateriality in the Constitution of Organizations in Asia: Perspectives on Malaysian, Chinese, Japanese, and Indian Organizations” Scheduled Time: Wed, Jun 23 - 11:30am - 12:45pm SUNTEC International Convention Centre, Chair : Boris H.J.M. Brummans (Univ. de Montréal); Respondent : Linda L.Putnam (Univ. of Santa-Barbara California)International audienceIn recent years, more and more scholars have started to investigate guanxi (personal connections) as a socio-cultural construct by examining its types (Zhang & Zhang, 2006), consequences (Chen & Chen, 2009), and development processes (Chen & Chen, 2004) in Chinese business organizations. The current study aims to advance research on guanxi by proposing a communicative perspective. Particularly, we see the concept of liao tian (informal discussion) as an important communicative practice that materializes guanxi in Chinese business settings. We argue that liao tian is a unique communicative activity during which conversation takes place together with extra-linguistic performances, such as chi fan (having dinner), and through which people construct and maintain guanxi. In turn, we analyze ethnographic data collected from managers of two small enterprises in China to offer initial support for our view of liao tian, and suggest directions for future research on guanxi as a form of business organizing.pas de résumé en françai

Talk matters at work: The effects of leader member conversational quality and communication frequency on work role stressors

Although it is clear that leadership plays a significant role in followers’ psychological health, the specific mechanisms by which leadership effects may take place await further theorizing and investigation. We argue that communication practices may constitute such specific mechanisms. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine how leader-member conversational quality (LMCQ) and communication frequency are associated with members’ perception of work role stressors. Through an online survey, the study found that LMCQ has a significant predictive effect on work role ambiguity and role overload. However, LMCQ interacts with communication frequency in their effects on role conflict. These findings contribute to theories of leadership communication and the continuous development of role dynamics theory

Conversation at work: The effects of leader-member conversational quality

Although research has made significant gains in understanding the constitutive nature of conversation in the process of organizing, its predictive effects on organizational outcomes are still uncertain. To contribute in this direction, based on social exchange theory and leader-member exchange (LMX) research, this study examined the predictive effects of leader-member conversational quality (LMCQ) on employee organizational commitment (OC), and the potential interaction effects of LMCQ with LMX quality. Using data from an online survey, this study found that above and beyond communication frequency and other control variables, LMCQ is significantly associated with employee OC. More interestingly, the effects of LMCQ vary based on the level of LMX quality. These findings have significant implications at both theoretical and practical levels

Conversation at work: The effects of leader-member conversational quality

Although research has made significant gains in understanding the constitutive nature of conversation in the process of organizing, its predictive effects on organizational outcomes are still uncertain. To contribute in this direction, based on social exchange theory and leader-member exchange (LMX) research, this study examined the predictive effects of leader-member conversational quality (LMCQ) on employee organizational commitment (OC), and the potential interaction effects of LMCQ with LMX quality. Using data from an online survey, this study found that above and beyond communication frequency and other control variables, LMCQ is significantly associated with employee OC. More interestingly, the effects of LMCQ vary based on the level of LMX quality. These findings have significant implications at both theoretical and practical levels