Adaptive performance

One of the major endeavors in industrial, work, and organizational psychology has been to understand and predict individual job performance (Viswesvaran, 2001). Traditional models of job performance focused on individuals’ task and interpersonal behaviors in a static environment. Complementing traditional models of job performance, research on adaptive performance (AP) emphasizes individuals’ responses to changing work environments. Recent developments on AP research have warranted an in-depth review of the literature. We begin this chapter with a brief historical background of the AP literature and discuss the primary conceptualizations of AP. Our critical review of the literature, organized by two dominant research paradigms, focuses on key studies that advance understanding of AP. After the review, we highlight the connection between the AP literature and several other bodies of literature, and end the chapter with directions for future research

The Benefits of Individual Proactive and Adaptive Performance: An Organizational Learning Perspective

Public sector organizations (e.g., government, hospitals, schools) are tasked with both (1) innovating change and (2) responding to environmental, economic, political, and social change. For employees, this translates to demands for proactive and adaptive performance. This chapter provides an overview of individual proactive and adaptive performance, and leverages macro-level organizational learning theory to examine how and when both types of performance can be beneficial for organizational learning and strategic renewal. The analysis further highlights various strategies that organizations can use to promote and develop proactive and adaptive performance among employees. Finally, the chapter considers the unique demands of public sector organizations and the implications of these demands for proactive and adaptive performance

Individual adaptive performance in organizations: A review

Modern work is frequently characterized by jobs where adaptive performance (AP) is crucial for employees to succeed in light of new or altered task demands. This recognition has fueled growing interest in AP as a dimension of workplace performance. To this point, however, research on AP has evolved from disparate perspectives and methods, resulting in fragmentation and a less than coherent knowledge base. This paper presents a comprehensive review of research studies regarding the nomological network of individual AP. In doing so, we synthesize the current knowledge base surrounding correlates of AP, elucidate current ambiguities, and suggest directions for future research efforts. We conclude that although the extant AP literature has amassed a critical body of studies linking various predictors to successful AP outcomes, much remains unknown, most critically regarding the implications of different methods of assessing AP, the effects of different types of changes in the task environment, the process of AP, and the steps organizations can take to foster AP among their employees. We hope that our synthesis and analysis paves the way for efforts to address these important questions

Initiative in a social context : Interpersonal outcomes of interdependent proactive behaviour

Organisations increasingly expect employees to take initiative at work (i.e., enact proactive behaviour) while simultaneously relying on individuals to work with others to complete tasks. We argue proactive behaviour within an interdependent context is a potentially risky social behaviour as others may not appreciate changes to the way their team does things. Thus, before organisations blanketly encourage individual proactive behaviour, it is important to understand variability in how others react to and interpret such behaviours. The current studies investigate the implications of how and by whom proactive behaviours in interdependent settings are enacted. In particular, we suggest individuals base their reactions to another’s interdependent proactive behaviour based on this person’s role and perceived social skill. Moreover, these reactions shape the extent to which individuals are willing to trust this other person. Data collected across two studies indicated that individuals were most likely to positively react to and trust another team-member who enacted proactive behaviour if that team-member was high in social skill. The enacting members’ role on the team also influenced how others reacted to their proactive behaviour. Our two studies allowed us to establish the robustness of our findings across a variety of industries, utilizing two different study designs

In the Eye of the beholder: A multi-stakeholder perspective of organizational citizenship and counterproductive work behaviors

Researchers have generally treated organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) as positive and counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs) as negative forms of discretionary work behavior. Consequently, there has been extensive focus on the symmetrical relationships surrounding these behaviors (i.e., focusing on positive outcomes of OCBs and negative outcomes of CWBs), with less recognition of potential asymmetric outcomes of such behaviors. One possible reason asymmetric outcomes have been overlooked is the lack of organizational research that considers multiple stakeholders' perspectives when studying these behaviors. We argue that studying OCBs and CWBs from multiple perspectives helps guide research to identify more asymmetric outcomes of these behaviors, and thus better understand these behaviors overall. The current paper identifies asymmetric outcomes of OCBs and CWBs for multiple stakeholders, proposes conditions under which OCBs and CWBs may be more likely to result in negative and positive outcomes, respectively, and offers propositions to stimulate and guide future research

When do job insecure employees adapt to change?

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between job insecurity and adaptive performance (AP), contingent on changes to core work tasks, which we position as a situational cue to employees regarding important work behaviors. Design/methodology/approach Employees and their supervisors were invited to participate in the study. Supervisors were asked to provide ratings of employees’ AP and changes to core tasks; employees reported on job insecurity. Findings As predicted, changes to core tasks moderated the relationship between job insecurity and AP. Job insecurity was negatively related to AP for those experiencing low levels of change, but was not related to AP for those experiencing high levels of change. Counter to expectations, no main effect of job insecurity was found. Research limitations/implications This study employed a fairly small sample of workers from two organizations, which could limit generalizability. Practical implications The study identifies changes to core tasks as a boundary condition for the job insecurity–AP relationship. Findings suggest that organizations may not observe deleterious consequences of job insecurity on AP when changes to core tasks are high. Originality/value Few researchers have examined boundary conditions of the impact of job insecurity on AP. Furthermore, inconsistent findings regarding the link between job insecurity and AP have emerged. This study fills the gap and expands upon previous research by examining changes to core tasks as a condition under which job insecurity does not pose an issue for AP

Doing Bad to Feel Better? An Investigation of Within- and Between-Person Perceptions of Counterproductive Work Behavior As a Coping Tactic

Employee counterproductive work behavior (CWB, e.g., theft, production deviance, interpersonal abuse) is costly to organizations and those who work within them. Evidence suggests that employees are motivated to engage in CWB because they believe that these behaviors will make them feel better in response to negative workplace events. However, research has yet to consider the situational and individual factors that shape the extent to which employees view CWB in such a manner. In order to provide insight into the decision-making process surrounding the use of CWB as a coping strategy, this study leverages coping theory to examine the factors (both situational/within-person and individual/between-person) that contribute to employees\u27 beliefs that CWBs will be instrumental for emotion regulation aims in response to workplace stressors. In a repeated measures scenario-based study of 297 employees, we found that individuals\u27 perceived coping instrumentalities for CWBs are a function of the controllability and source of the stressor as well as a more stable learned response to stressful situations at work