Future work selves : how salient hoped-for identities motivate proactive career behaviors

The term future work self refers to an individual's representation of himself or herself in the future that reflects his or her hopes and aspirations in relation to work. The clearer and more accessible this representation, the more salient the future work self. An initial study with 2 samples (N = 397; N = 103) showed that future work self salience was distinct from established career concepts and positively related to individuals' proactive career behavior. A follow-up longitudinal analysis, Study 2 (N = 53), demonstrated that future work self salience had a lagged effect on proactive career behavior. In Study 3 (N = 233), we considered the role of elaboration, a further attribute of a future work self, and showed that elaboration motivated proactive career behavior only when future work self salience was also high. Together the studies suggest the power of future work selves as a motivational resource for proactive career behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved

An identity-based perspective on proactivity: Future work selves and beyond

An identity-based perspective on proactivity: Future work selves and beyon

Future work selves : How hoped for identities motivate proactive behaviour at work.

In this thesis I focus on individuals' agentic attempts to shape their future through proactive behaviour. Anticipating and envisioning a possible future is a crucial part of the sequence of interrelated acts and phases that constitutes proactive behaviour. I draw on self-concept theory to investigate the role of visions of the self in the future in the motivation of proactive behaviour. Building on research on future selves (also termed "possible selves") I develop the concept of the "Future Work Self (FWS)", an imagined, hoped for, future identity that captures an individual's hopes and aspirations in relation to their work. I argue that FWS play an important role in the creation of discrepancies that underlie proactive behaviour, and facilitate the setting and pursuit of proactive goals. I take two different approaches to exploring the link between FWS and proactive behaviour in samples of postgraduate research students. I focus on students' self-ratings of their proactive behaviours in a cross-sectional and a longitudinal study, and I content-analyse the goals students were currently pursuing in order to bring about their FWS. The findings of this thesis provide initial support for the usefulness of the concept of the FWS in the motivation of proactive behaviour. In particular, the clarity of the FWS evolved as a significant predictor of proactive behaviours and goals. This emphasises the importance of processes of anticipation and mental simulation in the proactive behaviour process, and has practical implications for those aiming to enhance individuals' proactive attempts to shape their environment, and their future. This thesis integrates the concepts of identity and self-concept into the literature on proactive behaviour and suggests directions for future research on individuals' future-oriented identity work

How entrepreneurs influence their employees’ job satisfaction:The double-edged sword of proactive personality

This paper aims to enhance our understanding of work and wellbeing in the entrepreneurial society. We integrate research on proactive personality (PP) and job design to explore how entrepreneurs’ PP impacts their employees’ job satisfaction by shaping employee job design in a multi-source multilevel study of 43 entrepreneurs/firms and 511 of their employees. In contexts of firm instability, entrepreneurs’ PP was negatively associated with employee job satisfaction due to higher employee job demands. In stable firms, PP related positively to employee job satisfaction due to higher employee job control and social support. We replicate these findings for mental health as a broader indicator of employee wellbeing. Our study extends research on entrepreneur PP by considering its effect on employees. It advances understanding of the bright and dark sides of PP for others in the organization, and contributes new insights on the origins of job design and the quality of work in entrepreneur-led firms.</p

What seals the I-deal? Exploring the role of employees' behaviours and managers' emotions

Idiosyncratic deals (I-deals) are work arrangements between an employee and a manager, aimed at meeting the employee's specific work-related needs (Rousseau, I-deals: Idiosyncratic deals employees bargain for themselves, M. E. Sharpe, New York, NY). Studies to date have focused on the effects of successful I-deal negotiations, but have paid little attention to what determines whether negotiated I-deals are also obtained. We propose that managers play a crucial role in this process, and explore the role of managers' emotions in translating negotiation into obtainment. We suggest that I-deals are more likely to be obtained when managers feel more positive and less negative about an employee's I-deal process in the aftermath of the negotiation. We then aim to determine what shapes managers' emotions about the I-deal process. Given that I-deals are intended to be beneficial for the entire team (Rousseau, I-deals: Idiosyncratic deals employees bargain for themselves, M. E. Sharpe, New York, NY), we expect that managers feel more positive about the I-deal process of employees who engage in socially connecting behaviours following their I-deal negotiation. In contrast, managers feel more negative about the I-deal process of employees who engage in socially disconnecting behaviours. Results from a two-wave study of employees and their managers supported our hypotheses. Our findings contribute to research on I-deals by distinguishing between the negotiation and obtainment of I-deals and by highlighting the role of managers' emotions in translating negotiated I-deals into obtainment and the importance of employees' socially connecting and disconnecting behaviours following I-deal negotiations. Practitioner points: I-deals are individually negotiated work agreements between an employee and an employer about parts of their jobs or specific tasks. Previous research has predominantly focused on the negotiation of I-deals. Yet, negotiated I-deals may not always materialize. How managers feel about the I-deal process of employees in the aftermath of the negotiation is a crucial factor in translating successfully negotiated I-deals into obtained I-deals. When managers feel more positive and less negative about the I-deal process, they are more likely to facilitate the obtainment of employees' deals. Because I-deals are supposed to benefit the entire team, managers' emotions about the I-deal process are influenced by employees' behaviours following the negotiation. Managers are likely to feel more positive about an employee's I-deal process if he/she displays socially connecting behaviours and more negative when the employee disconnects from others in the aftermath of I-deal negotiations.</p

Making things happen : a model of proactive motivation

Being proactive is about making things happen, anticipating and preventing problems, and seizing opportunities. It involves self-initiated efforts to bring about change in the work environment and/or oneself to achieve a different future. The authors develop existing perspectives on this topic by identifying proactivity as a goal-driven process involving both the setting of a proactive goal (proactive goal generation) and striving to achieve that proactive goal (proactive goal striving). The authors identify a range of proactive goals that individuals can pursue in organizations. These vary on two dimensions: the future they aim to bring about (achieving a better personal fit within one’s work environment, improving the organization’s internal functioning, or enhancing the organization’s strategic fit with its environment) and whether the self or situation is being changed. The authors then identify “can do,” “reason to,” and “energized to” motivational states that prompt proactive goal generation and sustain goal striving. Can do motivation arises from perceptions of self-efficacy, control, and (low) cost. Reason to motivation relates to why someone is proactive, including reasons flowing from intrinsic, integrated, and identified motivation. Energized to motivation refers to activated positive affective states that prompt proactive goal processes. The authors suggest more distal antecedents, including individual differences (e.g., personality, values, knowledge and ability) as well as contextual variations in leadership, work design, and interpersonal climate, that influence the proactive motivational states and thereby boost or inhibit proactive goal processes. Finally, the authors summarize priorities for future researc

Circular economy inspired imaginaries for sustainable innovations

In this chapter, Narayan and Tidström draw on the concept of imaginaries to show how Circular Economy (CE) can facilitate values that enable sustainable innovation. Innovation is key for sustainability, however, understanding and implementing sustainable innovation is challenging, and identifying the kind of actions that could direct sustainable innovations is important. The findings of this study indicate that CE-inspired imaginaries enable collaboration and by relating such imaginaries to common and shared social and cultural values, intermediaries could motivate actors into taking actions that contribute to sustainable innovation.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Cross-cultural Validation of the 5-Factor Structure of Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia.

Objective: Negative symptoms are currently viewed as having a 2-dimensional structure, with factors reflecting diminished expression (EXP) and motivation and pleasure (MAP). However, several factor-analytic studies suggest that the consensus around a 2-dimensional model is premature. The current study investigated and cross-culturally validated the factorial structure of BNSS-rated negative symptoms across a range of cultures and languages. Method: Participants included individuals diagnosed with a psychotic disorder who had been rated on the Brief Negative Symptom Scale (BNSS) from 5 cross-cultural samples, with a total N = 1691. First, exploratory factor analysis was used to extract up to 6 factors from the data. Next, confirmatory factor analysis evaluated the fit of 5 models: (1) a 1-factor model, 2) a 2-factor model with factors of MAP and EXP, 3) a 3-factor model with inner world, external, and alogia factors; 4) a 5-factor model with separate factors for blunted affect, alogia, anhedonia, avolition, and asociality, and 5) a hierarchical model with 2 second-order factors reflecting EXP and MAP, as well as 5 first-order factors reflecting the 5 aforementioned domains. Results: Models with 4 factors or less were mediocre fits to the data. The 5-factor, 6-factor, and the hierarchical second-order 5-factor models provided excellent fit with an edge to the 5-factor model. The 5-factor structure demonstrated invariance across study samples. Conclusions: Findings support the validity of the 5-factor structure of BNSS-rated negative symptoms across diverse cultures and languages. These findings have important implications for the diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of negative symptoms