k-Centres Functional Clustering:A Person-Centered Approach to Modeling Complex Nonlinear Growth Trajectories

In the present paper, we introduce k-centres functional clustering (k-centres FC), a person-centered method that clusters people with similar patterns of complex, highly nonlinear change over time. We review fundamentals of the methodology and argue how it addresses some of the limitations of the traditional approaches to modeling repeated measures data. The usefulness of k-centres FC is demonstrated by applying the method to weekly measured commitment data from 109 participants who reported psychological contract breach events. The k-centres FC analysis shows two substantively meaningful clusters, the first cluster showing reaction patterns with general growth in commitment after breach and the second cluster showing general decline in commitment after breach. Further, the reaction patterns in the second cluster appear to be the result of a combination of two interesting reaction logics: immediate and delayed reactions. We conclude by outlining how future organizational research can incorporate this methodology

Commitment system theory:The evolving structure of commitments to multiple targets

Employees form commitments to multiple targets and the coordination of those multiple commitments has become a ubiquitous part of the contemporary workplace. However, commitments are still largely studied in isolation or in one-off combinations and current commitment theory does not account for the dynamic interrelationships among multiple commitments. To address this deficiency, we propose commitment system theory (CST). We draw upon general systems theory to depict commitment systems as malleable and interconnected structures. We present the defining elements by which commitment systems can be described and studied, develop theory regarding when commitment systems will diverge or converge over time, and discuss how taking a systems perspective resolves discrepant findings in the literature. Specifically, CST advances the commitment literature by offering an alternative perspective to explain how commitments behave as parts of larger systems. Specifically, CST accounts for (a) why and when commitments have synergistic, neutral, or conflicting inter-relationships and (b) the temporal dynamics of those inter-relationships as commitments develop, change, and dissipate. CST thus offers a new vocabulary and conceptual “toolkit” for understanding the evolving structure of commitments to multiple targets

On becoming (un)committed: A taxonomy and test of newcomer on-boarding scenarios

How does the bond between the newcomer and the organization develop over time? Process research on temporal patterns of newcomer's early commitment formation has been very scarce because theory and appropriate longitudinal research designs in this area are lacking. From extant research we extract three process-theoretical accounts regarding how the newcomer adjustment process evolves over time: (1) Learning to Love; (2) Honeymoon Hangover; and (3) High Match, Moderate Match, or Low Match. From these scenarios we develop a taxonomy of newcomer adjustment scenarios. Further, we empirically verify these different scenarios by examining naturally occurring "trajectory classes," which are found to display strengthening, weakening, or stabilizing of the employee-organization linkage. For this, we use a sample of 72 Ph. D. graduates whose organizational commitment history was recorded in their first 25 consecutive weeks of new employment. In closing, we discuss the theoretical and practical implications of the scenario-based approach

Redefining concepts to build theory: A repertoire for conceptual innovation

Defining and redefining theoretical concepts is an essential part of HRM research, but its role in the theorizing process is still poorly understood. While concept redefinition practices are often dismissed as a scholarly malpractice (‘concept proliferation’) by methodologists, we argue that concept redefinition enhances the health of a literature if one makes a theoretical contribution. To learn what this entails, we first explore the various philosophical motivations for why and how concept definitions are reformulated, changed, and improved. This culminates in a general framework and a vocabulary of ten different opportunities for making theoretical contributions via conceptual redefinition, using the concept of charisma as an illustrative case. From our analysis we induce that concept redefinition is both inevitable and necessary as a form of theory development and conceptual maintenance in many fields of inquiry. We discuss the implications of our framework as being a methodological ‘repertoire’ that, we hope, spurs both useful and novel concept redefinitions that help maintain a healthy HRM literature

Redefining concepts to build theory:A repertoire for conceptual innovation

Defining and redefining theoretical concepts is an essential part of HRM research, but its role in the theorizing process is still poorly understood. While concept redefinition practices are often dismissed as a scholarly malpractice (‘concept proliferation’) by methodologists, we argue that concept redefinition enhances the health of a literature if one makes a theoretical contribution. To learn what this entails, we first explore the various philosophical motivations for why and how concept definitions are reformulated, changed, and improved. This culminates in a general framework and a vocabulary of ten different opportunities for making theoretical contributions via conceptual redefinition, using the concept of charisma as an illustrative case. From our analysis we induce that concept redefinition is both inevitable and necessary as a form of theory development and conceptual maintenance in many fields of inquiry. We discuss the implications of our framework as being a methodological ‘repertoire’ that, we hope, spurs both useful and novel concept redefinitions that help maintain a healthy HRM literature.</p

The Emergence of Moral Leadership

The emergence of “moral leadership,” discussed here as a situation wherein individuals take a moral stance on an issue, convince others to do the same, and together spur change in a moral system, abounds in practice. Existing ethical and moral leadership theories, however, have remained confined to micro-level behavioral research. Therefore, in this paper, we develop a process theory of the socially situated emergence of moral leadership and its development into a broader movement affecting moral systems within and across formal organizations. We theorize the pathways through which moral leadership emerges; the triggers that bring about moral awareness and the moral courage to offer an alternative moral stance toward an issue, and leaders’ ability to deftly connect followers and their moral convictions into a broader movement, such that a moral system changes from within. With our process theory, we bridge between micro and macro levels of analysis, and highlight the crucial ability of leaders to be both principled and pragmatically savvy, and thus capable of bridging between their own moral convictions and those of others in order to develop a common and mutually binding ground toward change

Change in unit‐level job attitudes following strategic interventions: A meta‐analysis of longitudinal studies

The present meta-analysis tests how cost- and people-oriented strategic interventions impact temporal-dynamic changes in unit-level job attitudes within organizations. Analyses are based on 573 effect sizes across 137 longitudinal studies containing unit-level change in job attitudes across three time periods (pre-change, during change, and post-change). Results reveal that unit-level job attitudes (a) decline during cost-oriented changes (e.g., restructuring) and remain at lower levels following the changes (supporting a sustained change model); (b) increase during people-oriented changes (i.e., HRM investments) and remain at higher levels following the interventions (consistent with a sustained change model); and (c) remain unchanged over time when cost- and people-oriented interventions are combined. Tests of a process model further reveal that cost-oriented (people-oriented) interventions impact unit-level job attitudes by reducing (increasing) perceived support (relative to a no intervention control). The pattern of findings suggests that long-term, unit-level change in job attitudes can be anticipated to follow from strategic interventions, although some of the negative impact of cost cutting can be mitigated by maintaining perceptions of support

The influence of social interaction on the dynamics of employees' psychological contracting in digitally transforming organizations

This paper takes a process perspective in exploring the influence of social interaction on the dynamics of psychological contracting throughout organizational change. Although social interaction is a key focus in social exchange theory, this aspect is largely overlooked in the current psychological contract literature. In this qualitative study, we adopt a retrospective design, asking change recipients to recollect events over time in the context of digital transformation in Dutch travel organizations. Our data reveal a sequence of different kinds of social interactions over the course of a change process, from collective-focused interactions (i.e., kindness and sharing) in stable contracts to transactional interactions (i.e., “what is in it for me”) following psychological contract disruption, to relational interactions (i.e., vigilance about equity in social exchange) in psychological contract repair, and to a final return to resonance and alignment with others and a return to psychological contract maintenance. Our results suggest that social interactions play a more potent role in the dynamics of psychological contracting than is currently recognized in the literature. Finally, we discuss a number of implications for dynamic models of psychological contracting

How will the story end: followers’ prospective scenarios of organizational change

The aim of this paper is to understand how employees, in their role of follower of change, frame upcoming change by studying the prospective stories they tell (n=110). This study complements the dominant retrospective approach to the research of employees’ change sensemaking. We incorporate forward-looking awareness into organization theories and add to the scholarly interest in prospection (Gioia & Patvardhan, 2018). This could lead to a better understanding of followers’ adaptation- or rejection intentions in response to change initiatives (Konlechner et al., 2018). Theoretical background Employees experience continuous shifts in relationships and organizational roles (Van der Smissen et al., 2013). This ‘turbulence’ triggers intensive sensemaking (Weick, 1995) of what is going on and how to respond. In uncertain times, employees often form expectations towards the future based on their remembered experiences from the past, and organizational change literature has traditionally taken a retrospective approach to understand followers’ change sensemaking (Boje, 2008). However, traditional literature neither provides elaborate insight in followers’ attempts to build scenarios for their future, nor do they add to the understanding of followers’ hopes, dreams, concerns, or fears (which all have a future time orientation) in the context of upcoming change. Scholars suggested that the current radical changes employees face cannot be anticipated easily from a mere retrospective approach (MacKay & Chia, 2013). In reality, employees think as often about their future as they do about their past and tend to create complex, temporal ranges of future orientations (Klein, 2013). Hence, researchers have critiqued the omission of the possible impact of beliefs and expectations about the future (e.g., Kaplan & Orlikowski, 2013), and have developed complementary notions to develop temporal sensemaking to challenge us to “mentally reverse the arrow of time” (Lord et al., 2013, p. 4) by focusing on expected futures to understand the present. The acknowledgement of prospective sensemaking directing attitudes and behaviors today (Maitlis & Christianson, 2014), expectedly offers novel insights to those interesting in understanding employees’ change behaviors. Design/Methodology/Approach/Intervention. A narrative approach is used to capture 110 individuals’ idiosyncratic and cultural sensemaking efforts (Pentland, 1999). We created a digital research set-up in which participants were guided to write a narrative that resembles a biographical account about a fictive colleague. Participants were introduced to the task by a video message from the fictive focal actor “Jim” and a video announcement of upcoming change by a fictive CEO in a Zoom-call for the entire organization. By means of the Story Completion Method, participants were asked “how does the story end?” and invited to write subsequent chapters on how they expected this story to continue, and how the roles and responses of the different actors would unfold along the way. Research context is provided by the Dutch travel industry in which organizations are dealing with heavy consequences of the COVID19 pandemic. Results will be available by November 2021. Limitations Qualitative research is less generalizable given the sample size and scope. Besides, the method requires specific skills and a level of empathy with the scenario, this proved to be difficult for some of the participants. In our analysis we therefore have to account for a difference between prospective sensemaking efforts and mere extrapolations of past experiences. Research/Practical Implications This study reveals potentialities that are considered to be available in the future. For change leaders, it is helpful to understand these potentialities as they reveal explanations for differences in followers’ prospective change strategies, and diverse anticipative responses to change efforts. We extend the concept of prospective sensemaking, and explore its use in a follower-based, dynamic context of organizational change. Originality/Value Advancing the concept of follower-based prospective sensemaking is important as it could provide explorative notions that illustrate the formation and use of expectations. Especially interesting is the context Dutch travel industry context as employees at the time of data collection experienced a ‘cosmology episode’ triggering sudden loss of meaning and coherence. This is perceived to be a critical trigger for sensemaking in the absence of past empirical experience (as no one experienced a pandemic and resulting business challenges before, but rather relies on transcendent belief systems in the face of future uncertainty (Weick, 1993))