Organizational Change and the Identity Cycle: Understanding the Effect of Change on Individual Attitudes and Behaviors Through a Combined Social Identity Theory/Identity Theory Perspective

The study of roles and role behavior is particularly relevant today as individuals acquire more roles in the complexity of the 1990s. One environment that has been significantly prone to change is the workplace, where multiple committees, teams, and departments have transformed the nature of work and are altering the way that jobs are defined. In addition to the fact that workers are now taking on multiple roles within organizations, the roles themselves are changing at an accelerated pace. Reengineering, downsizing, mergers, acquisitions, and total quality initiatives are just a few of the interventions that businesses are implementing in order to become leaner, flatter, and more responsive to their environments. This paper draws from social identity theory and identity theory to understand how employees respond to organizational change. Given the fairly low success rates of major change efforts (estimates are between 10% and 50%), it is suggested that a more thorough understanding of the effect of these programs on an individual\u27s role within the organization is necessary. This paper begins by first defining, comparing, and contrasting social identity theory and identity theory. This has, to date, not been done, and it is particularly important because a number of authors appear to be using the two theories interchangeably. Next, social identity theory and identity theory are used to build a broader framework for understanding human behavior, and this model, called the identity cycle, is used to develop a set of propositions regarding the effects of organizational change on employee attitudes and behavior

Group Incentives and Pay Satisfaction: Understanding the Relationship Through an Identity Theory Perspective

The goal of this paper is to develop a conceptual model based on identity theory to specify the relationship between group incentives and pay satisfaction. Pay satisfaction, as currently measured, does not include items that directly assess group-based rewards, therefore, any changes in pay satisfaction associated with group incentive implementation would be the result of some spillover effect. Identity theory is employed to model this effect by delineating how group incentives tap salient work-related roles; the theory also has implications for various behavioral consequences. The research described in this paper tests two hypotheses derived from the conceptual model. These hypotheses are tested in two quasi-experimental field studies conducted in a high technology firm and a consumer products company that both implemented gain sharing programs. The findings indicate that gainsharing plans can be viewed as either a benefit or as part of individual pay based on the ability of the incentive plan to activate salient work roles

Effects of Compensation Systems on Job Search Decisions: An Application of Person-Organization Fit

Past research has demonstrated the importance of pay level in job search and choice processes. Compensation policies other than pay level may have important effects on applicant attraction, yet there has been little research examining this possibility. The role of person-organization fit in job search and job choice decisions has also been supported. Because pay systems define an organization\u27s expectations and culture, they may be an important organizational attribute for individuals to compare with their needs and values; thus the corresponding level of fit between compensation policies and individuals\u27 dispositions may affect subsequent job search and choice decisions. Using several research methods and a sample of individuals currently involved in the interviewing process, this stugy examines both the main and interactive effects of various pay system attributes on job search. Resulting analyses primarily supported the hypotheses, suggesting that many facets of pay systems may have important effects on individuals\u27 job search and choice decisions

The Role of Person-Organization Fit in Organizational Selection Decisions

This paper presents and tests a theoretical model of person-organization fit and organizational selection decisions using data from 35 organizations making hiring decisions. Results suggested that (a) interviewers were able to assess applicants\u27 values with above-chance levels of accuracy, (b) interviewers compare their perceptions of applicants\u27 values with their organizations\u27 values to assess person-organization fit, and (c) it is perceived values congruence and not actual values congruence between applicants and organizations that predicted interviewers\u27 person-organization fit perceptions. Results also suggested that interviewers\u27 person-organization fit assessments had the largest effect on their hiring recommendations even after controlling for competing applicant characteristics (e.g., demographics, human capital), and that interviewers\u27 hiring recommendations had large and significant effects on organizations\u27 hiring decisions (e.g., job offers)

Effects of Selection Systems on Job Search Decisions

On the basis of Gilliland\u27s (1993) model of selection system fairness, the present study investigated the relationships between selection procedures, perceived selection system fairness, and job search decisions in both hypothetical and actual organizations. We conducted two studies to test the model. In Study 1, we used an experimental method to examine job seekers\u27 perceptions of, and reactions to, five widely used selection procedures. Results suggested that applicants viewed employment interviews and cognitive ability tests as more job related than biographical inventories (biodata), personality tests, and drug tests, and that job relatedness significantly affected fairness perceptions, which in turn affected job search decisions. Study 2 examined the hypothesized relationships between the selection systems and job seekers\u27 pursuit of actual, relevant organizations. Results from both studies offer support for the hypothesized model, suggesting that selection tests have differential effects on perceived selection system validity and fairness, which affect subsequent job search decisions

An Empirical Investigation of the Predictors of Executive Career Success

The present study examined the degree to which demographic, human capital,motivational, organizational, and industry/region variables predicted executive career success. Career success was assumed to comprise objective (pay, ascendancy) and subjective (job satisfaction, career satisfaction) elements. Results obtained from a sample of 1,388 U.S.executives suggested that demographic, human capital, motivational, and organizational variables explained significant variance in objective career success and in career satisfaction. Particularly interesting were findings that educational level, quality, prestige, and degree type all predicted financial success. In contrast, only the motivational and organizational variables explained significant amounts of variance in job satisfaction. These findings suggest that the variables that lead to objective career success often are quite different from those that lead to subjectively defined success

Breaking Them In or Revealing Their Best? Reframing Socialization Around Newcomer Self-expression

Socialization theory has focused on enculturating new employees such that they develop pride in their new organization and internalize its values. Drawing on authenticity research, we propose that the initial stage of socialization leads to more effective employment relationships when it instead primarily encourages newcomers to express their personal identities. In a field experiment carried out in a large business process outsourcing company, we found that initial socialization focused on personal identity (emphasizing newcomers' authentic best selves) led to greater customer satisfaction and employee retention after six months as compared to (a) socialization that focused on organizational identity (emphasizing the pride to be gained from organizational affiliation) and (b) the organization's traditional approach, which focused primarily on skills training. To confirm causation and explore the mechanisms underlying the effects, we replicated the results in a laboratory experiment. We found that individuals working temporarily as part of a research team were more engaged and satisfied with their work, performed their tasks more effectively, and were more likely to return to work when initial socialization focused on personal identity as compared to a focus on organizational identity or a control condition. In addition, authentic self-expression mediated these relationships. We call for a new direction in socialization theory that examines how both organizations and employees benefit by emphasizing newcomers' authentic best selves

Breaking Them In or Eliciting Their Best? Reframing Socialization Around Newcomers’ Authentic Self-Expression

Socialization theory has focused on enculturating new employees such that they develop pride in their new organization and internalize its values. We draw on authenticity research to theorize that the initial stage of socialization leads to more effective employment relationships when it instead primarily encourages newcomers to express their personal identities. In a field experiment carried out in a large business process outsourcing company in India, we found that initial socialization focused on personal identity (emphasizing newcomers’ authentic best selves) led to greater customer satisfaction and employee retention after six months than socialization that focused on organizational identity (emphasizing the pride to be gained from organizational affiliation) or the organization’s traditional approach, which focused primarily on skills training. To confirm causation and explore the mechanisms underlying the effects, we replicated the results in a laboratory experiment in a U.S. university. We found that individuals working temporarily as part of a research team were more engaged and satisfied with their work, performed their tasks more effectively, and were less likely to quit when initial socialization focused on personal identity rather than on organizational identity or a control condition. In addition, authentic self-expression mediated these relationships. We call for a new direction in socialization theory that examines how both organizations and employees can benefit by emphasizing newcomers’ authentic best selves

Preparing the Self for Team Entry: How Relational Affirmation Improves Team Performance

Working in teams often leads to productivity loss because the need to feel accepted prevents individual members from making a unique contribution to the team in terms of the information or perspective they can offer. Drawing on self-affirmation theory, we propose that pre-team relational self-affirmation can prepare individuals to contribute to team creative performance more effectively. We theorize that relationally-affirming one’s self-views increases general feelings of being socially valued by others, leading to better information exchange and creative performance. In a first study, we found that teams in which members affirmed their best selves prior to team formation (i.e., by soliciting and receiving narratives that highlight one’s positive impact on close others) outperformed teams that did not do so on a creative problem-solving task. In the second experiment, conducted using virtual teams, we show that pre-team relational self-affirmation leads to heightened feelings of social worth, which in turn explains the effect of the treatment on the team’s ability to exchange information