The influence of leadership on creativity: A systematic review of experimental studies

__Abstract__ Various studies argue that leaders can stimulate the creativity of their followers. However, many of these studies rely on survey or case studies methods, which generally suffer from endogeneity threats, such as reverse causality or omitted variables. In order to provide robust evidence on the cause-and-effect relationship of leadership on creativity, this paper systematically reviews the published experimental studies available on this topic. Findings show that – contrary to expectation – we did not an unequivocal positive influence of general leadership styles such as transformational leadership. On the other hand, leadership strategies such as letting followers participate (related to empowering leadership) and increasing self-efficacy of followers (related to authentic leadership) did increase creativity across various studies. Furthermore, when leaders set creativity goals, this can positively influence creativity. Based upon the review, future research directions are suggested

Development of a Broader Conceptualization and Measurement Scale of Ethical Leadership (BELS)

This study presents a broader construct of ethical leadership as an alternative to existing understanding of the term. The study divides the existing literature into classical and contemporary thoughts. The study brings forth limitations of the existing classical conceptualization based on several shortcomings. Synthesis and development of existing studies lead to a broader narrative that essentially addresses the limitations posed in this study. This broader viewpoint is based on the categorization of ethical theories by Van Wart (2014). A new definition of ethical leadership is presented and a survey scale of ethical leadership based on this conceptualization is developed. This study calls for empirical studies to test the new scale and use it to re-validate existing studies

Connecting HRM and Change Management: The Importance of Proactivity and Vitality

Purpose. Organizations are continuously under pressure to adapt to changing circumstances. Job proactivity and vitality are important in changing environments. For instance, vital employees can better deal with change because they possess more energy. However, it is still unclear how organizations can stimulate proactivity and vitality. This study connects HRM and change management by analyzing how HRM practices can stimulate job proactivity and vitality. Design. We used survey data collected in three large public healthcare organizations in the Netherlands (n = 1,507) to investigate the effects of five important HRM practices on proactivity and vitality. Analyses were performed using Structural Equation Modeling. Findings. Results suggest that three HRM practices are particularly effective for improving proactivity and vitality: 1) high autonomy, 2) high participation in decision-making, and 3) high quality teamwork. Based on these results, we discuss the possibilities of using HRM to improve employees’ abilities t

Connecting HRM and Change Management: How HR Practices Can Stimulate Change Readiness

Organizations are continuously under pressure to adapt to new developments such as policy changes, budgets cuts, and the introduction of new management ideologies. To adjust successfully to changing conditions, it is important that employees feel vital and are pro-active so that they can help implementing proposed organizational changes. However, how job proactivity and vitality is achieved is still unclear. This study connect HRM literature with change management literature to analyze how HR practices can increase proactivity and vitality at work. We used data collected in three large public healthcare organizations in the Netherlands (n = 1,507). SEM results shows that three HR practices are particularly effective for improving proactivity and vitality: 1) autonomy, 2) participation in decision-making, and 3) teamwork. Based on these results, we discuss the possibilities of using HRM to stimulate employees’ readiness for organizational change

One HRM fits all? A meta-analysis of the effects of HRM practices in the public, semi-public and private sector

For a long time, public and semipublic organizations have borrowed Human Resource Management (HRM) practices from the private sector to enhance employee performance. Numerous scholars argue, however, that business-like practices are less effective outside the private sector context because of sector-specific conditions. Based on the ability–motivation–opportunity model, we performed a three-level meta-analysis to investigate differences in effects of HRM practices on individual performance across sectors. Our study shows that significant differences exist between sectors, but the expectation that the effects of HRM practices are largest in the private sector and smallest in the public sector is not supported. More specifically, the differences between the public, semipublic, and private sector are not straightforward. In this respect, we encourage future scholars to further examine these differences

Sustainable procurement : A big-data study into the level of sustainability of more than 140,000 published procurement contract notices by Belgian contracting authorities

The __objective__ of this study is: to systematically analyse all public procurement notices and specifications from the E-notification database and determine to what extent and how Belgian public purchasers respond to sustainable procurement policy in the public procurement notices and contract specifications and then to what extent patterns and best practice can be identified. In addition, the following __research questions__ are fundamental: 1. What is sustainable procurement, in the opinion of the Belgian government? 2. To what extent and how do purchasers respond to the sustainable procurement policy in the public procurement notices and specifica

Highlighting tensions in recruitment and selection research and practice

In this article we highlight five tensions that exist in recruitment and selection (R&S) research and practice today and that are centered around the 'efficiency press' and so called 'research-practice' gap. Identified tensions are desires for (1) innovation and efficiency, (2) customization and consistency, (3) transparency and effectiveness, (4) wide-reach and coherence, and (5) diversity and standardization. Each tension is illustrated with findings from the five studies of this Special Issue that were presented at the third meeting of the European Network of Selection Researchers (August 2014), and supplemented with empirical data on the research-practice gap in R&S (period 2009-2013). We consider how we might move forward in addressing the 'efficiency press' in research as well as managing these tensions in practice

Ein Vergleich traditioneller und computergestützter Methoden zur Erstellung einer deutschsprachigen Need for Cognition Kurzskala

Die vorliegende Arbeit dient der Entwicklung einer Kurzskala zur Messung von Need for Cognition (NFC). Neben traditionellen Verfahren der Itemreduktion auf Basis von Itemkennwerten der klassischen Testtheorie wurde in Studie 1 (N = 282) ein neues, computergestütztes Verfahren des "full information approach" vorgestellt. Mithilfe der beiden Verfahren wurden 3 mögliche Skalen mit jeweils 5 Items selektiert, welche in einem unabhängigen Datensatz in Studie 2 (N = 530) Validierungskriterien unterzogen wurden. Aus den 3 Skalen mit ähnlichen Ergebnissen bezüglich der Gütekriterien wurde eine anhand der "full information approach" erstellten Skalen als finale Kurzskala NFC-K ausgewählt. Diese NFC-K weist ein Cronbachs α von .69 auf, eine Korrelation mit der Langskala von .81 und keinen signifikanten Zusammenhang mit sozialer Erwünschtheit. Neben der systematischen und objektiven Selektion und Validierung der Kurzskala NFC-K stellt die vorliegende Arbeit auch eine Fallstudie zu den Herausforderungen der Kurzskalenentwicklung auf Basis klassischer und computergestützter Selektionsverfahren dar. (DIPF/Orig.)The current study presents the development and validation of a Need for Cognition (NFC) short scale. In Study 1 (N = 282), traditional item selection procedures based on classic test theory were used as well as an innovative computational approach, our "full information approach." The procedures led to three different short scales with comparable psychometric quality, which were validated in Study 2 (N = 530). Based on different validation criteria, one of the three scales obtained from the full information approach was selected as the final short scale NFC-K. This NFC-K achieved a Cronbach\u27s α of .69, a correlation of .81 with the original scale, and showed no significant correlation with social desirability. Besides presenting a systematic and objective selection and validation of the NFC-K, this article represents a case study of the challenges of developing a short scale comparing both traditional and computational approaches. (DIPF/Orig.