Management & Organization Theses and Dissertations

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MBO Program Characteristics, Type A Personality and Individual Performance
(1984) Lee, Cynthia; Carroll, Stephen J.; Business and Management; University of Maryland (College Park, Md); Digital Repository at the University of Maryland
This study sought to explain some of the inconsistent results in the Management By Objectives research by examining the moderating role of the motivational individual difference variable, Type A Behavior Patter, and the mediating role of the cognitive individual difference variable, perceived self-efficacy. Specifically, individuals low in Type A Behavior Pattern (TABP) were hypothesized to respond more positively to various components of Management By Objectives (MBO) programs than individuals high in TABP. This is based on the assumption that Type A individuals generally set higher performance goals, seek performance feedback, and in general, attempt to control their performance situation more than their Type B counterparts. On the other hand, the mediating role of self-efficacy is based on the assumption that certain external environment variables, such as MBO programs, affect performance primarily through influencing an individual's percept of self-efficacy. The results did not support the above hypotheses. The findings, however, provide further support for Bandura's (1977) assertion that self-efficacy has a positive effect on performance. Moreover, the results also supported previous research on the positive effect of quality MBO attributes on performance.
The Role of Gender, Androgyny and Attraction in Predicting the Identity and Effectiveness of Emergent Leaders
(1986-04) Goktepe, Janet; Business Management and Organization; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
This field study used groups performing "sex-neutral" tasks over a six- to fifteen-week period to examine determinants of emergent leadership and leadership effectiveness. The study included 149 subjects in 35 task groups (28 mixed-sex groups, 4 all-male groups, and 3 all-female groups) working in conjunction with personnel management or business policy courses. Data were collected twice during the period for all measures used in predicting the identity and effectiveness of emergent leaders (based on follower perceptions of their sex, physical and interpersonal attractiveness, and the leader's self-described sex-role identity, i.e., masculine, feminine, undifferentiated, or androgynous). The results showed that the leader chosen by group members did not change from Time 1 to Time 2 except in one group (an all-male group). Most of the results were similar between Time 1 and Time 2, and were consistent with predictions made based upon theoretical considerations and previous research. The hypotheses in this study were tested using a combination of statistical techniques. The results supported the major hypotheses of the study. In general, within the total sample, sex did not influence perceptions of an emergent leader. However, within groups, the probability of a female gaining leadership status was dependent upon the relative proportion of females in the group, i.e., at least half or more members had to be female. Female leaders were rated more physically attractive than male leaders. Male leaders received the lowest ratings of physical attractiveness, even lower than male nonleaders. Leaders were rated more interpersonally attractive than nonleaders. Emergent leaders with high ratings of physical and interpersonal attractiveness were also rated higher on effectiveness. Individuals with a self-described "masculine" sex role identity emerged as leaders more than undifferentiated, feminine, or androgynous types. There were no differences in leader effectiveness ratings among the four leader types.
THE ROLE OF GENDER, ANDROGYNY AND ATTRACTION IN PREDICTING THE IDENTITY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF EMERGENT LEADERS
(1986-05) Goktepe, Janet R.; Schneier, Craig Eric
This field study used groups performing "sex-neutral" tasks over a six- to fifteen-week period to examine determinants of emergent leadership and leadership effectiveness. The study included 149 subjects in 35 task groups (28 mixed-sex groups, 4 all-male groups, and 3 all-female groups) working in conjunction with personnel management or business policy courses. Data were collected twice during the period for all measures used in predicting the identity and effectiveness of emergent leaders (based on follower perceptions of their sex, physical and interpersonal attractiveness, and the leader's selfdescribed sex-role identity, i.e., masculine, feminine, undifferentiated, or androgynous). The results showed that the leader chosen by group members did not change from Time 1 to Time 2 except in one group (an all-male group). Most of the results were similar between Time 1 and Time 2, and were consistent with predictions made based upon theoretical considerations and previous research. The hypotheses in this study were tested using a combination of statistical techniques. The results supported the major hypotheses of the study. In general, within the total sample, sex did not influence perceptions of an emergent leader. However, within groups, the probability of a female gaining leadership status was dependent upon the relative proportion of females in the group, i.e., at least half or more members had to be female. Female leaders were rated more physically attractive than male leaders. Male leaders received the lowest ratings of physical attractiveness, even lower than male nonleaders. Leaders were rated more interpersonally attractive than nonleaders. Emergent leaders with high ratings of physical and interpersonal attractiveness were also rated higher on effectiveness. Individuals with a self-described "masculine" sex role identity emer.ged as leaders more than undifferentiated, feminine, or androgynous types. There were no differences in leader effectiveness ratings among the four leader types.
The Effects of Appropriately Participative Leadership on the Core Dimensionis of Climate
(1990) Kidder, Pamela J.; Schneider, Benjamin; Psychology & Business and Management; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
A field experiment was conducted to determine some effects of the appropriateness of participative leadership styles on the core dimensions of climate. Climate is a construct that has received considerable attention in organizational research. The research on Climate has revealed a core set of issues or dimensions that appear to be useful for capturing employees' perceptions across all or most organizations. Proposed core dimensions of climate have included role stress or harmony in the work environment, job challenge and autonomy, leadership facilitation and support, and workgroup warmth, empathy and cooperation. I hypothesized that leadership style would affect employees' perceptions of these core dimensions of climate. The literature in psychology and organizational behavior shows significant agreement regarding the potential effect of leadership style on climate, but little empirical work has been conducted in this area. The particular leadership style I studied concerned the appropriateness of participativeness of leaders' decision making styles. I carried out a field experiment, using a two group pre- and post- experimental design. The experimental manipulation was a training program in appropriate participative decision making, with supervisors randomly assigned to a training or no training control group. Pre- and post- measures of the core dimensions of climate and decision making style were collected prior to and following the training. Appropriate participativeness in decision making (Vroom & Jago, 1988) was found to predict the three core dimensions of role stress, leadership facilitation and support, and workgroup cooperation, friendliness, and warmth. The quality of the supervisor-subordinate relationship, based on vertical dyad linkage theory, was found to contribute to the prediction of the core climate dimension of role stress. It was concluded that leadership style has an effect on employees' perception of some, but not all of the core dimensions of climate. Implications of these results for research and practice regarding climate and leadership were explored.
The Backhaul Problem and Related Topics in Vehicle Routing
(1991) Casco, Daniel Orlando; Golden, Bruce L.; Business and Management; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
The problem studied in this dissertation is a variation of the classical vehicle routing problem (VRP) that has received limited research attention, and concerns the routing of vehicles over a set of mixed customers; that is, some customers are delivery or linehaul points but others are pickup or backhaul points. In contrast to deliveries, when a vehicle services a pickup point, product, bound for the distribution center, is loaded on the truck. Practical considerations usually dictate that the number of backhauls per route is small and they are serviced near the end of a route. The vehicle routing problem with backahuls (VRPB) can be stated as follows: Find a set of vehicle routes that service the delivery and backhaul customers such that vehicle capacity is not violated and the total distance traveled is minimized. In this dissertation, we examine three real-world routing applications with backhauls and several first-generation algorithms designed to solve VRPBs. The key dissertation research objective is to develop new heuristics to solve the VRPB that redress the shortcomings of existing solution methods in dealing with real-world considerations. The four new heuristics developed allow common carrier or supplier deliveries, dedicated backhaul routes, and mixed routes. In order to evaluate their performance, the heuristics were coded in Pascal and a series of computation experiments were performed on a Macintosh platform. The experiments consisted of generating twenty seven hundred random problems covering a range of possible combinations of critical problem parameters. These problems were solved by the heuristics and the main findings are as follows: 1) on average, the new heuristics outperformed heuristics which allow only pure delivery and mixed routes, 2) the effectiveness of the new procedures was found to vary with changes in problem size, the percentage of backhaul nodes, and the delivery node concentration region, 3) the effective of the new procedures was found not to vary with changes in the cost to insert backhaul location in mixed routes, or with changes in common carrier costs, and 4) the execution times to solve 40-node and 100-node problems was found to be less than a minute.
Decomposing Charismatic Leadership: The Effects of Leader Content and Process on Follower Performance, Attitudes, and Perceptions
(1992) Kirkpatrick, Shelley Ann; Locke, Edwin; Business and Management; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
Leadership entails both content and process elements, e.g., what the leader says and how the leader says it. For example, charismatic leaders are theorized to communicate and implement a vision (content) with an enthusiastic communication sty l e (process). In a laboratory experiment with manipulated independent variables and a simulated task, this dissertation separately examined the content and process components of charismatic leadership on performance and attitudes. The content aspect was separated into two parts, vision (versus no vision) and implementation of the vision through task strategies (versus no task strategies). Process was manipulated as enthusiasm level (low versus high). Thus, a 2 x 2 x 2 design was employed. Two trained actors, one male and one female, played the role of leader, a CEO/President of a local printing company. Upper-level business students served as participants and performed a binder assembly task. Students completed questionnaires before each session and at the end of the experiment to assess how they are influenced by the leader. Results indicated that content affected performance and many attitudes and perceptions. Process did not affect performance and affected only a few attitudes and perceptions. Exploratory analyses showed that self-set goals and self-efficacy served as mediators between the content variables and performance. Theoretical, methodological, and practical implications are discussed.
THE EFFECTS OF SUPERLEADERSHIP TRAINING ON LEADER BEHAVIOR, SUBORDINATE SELF-LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOR, AND SUBORDINATE CITIZENSHIP
(1993) Cox, Jonathan F.; Sims, Henry P.; Management & Organization; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
A field experiment was conducted to assess the effects of SuperLeadership training on trainee leadership behavior, subordinate self-leadership behavior, and subordinate citizenship. The experiment involved approximately 70 focal training participants and 500 subordinates. Participants were assigned to two conditions: a) a training condition, in which participants received training immediately after baseline questionnaire data were collected; and b) a comparison condition, where participants did not receive training until after a second set of data had been collected to assess change. The lag between the first and second rounds of data collection was 10-weeks. Although data analysis confirmed the psychometric adequacy of the research questionnaires, the broad finding of the study was that the leadership behavior of participants in the training group did not change as a result of the training. Subordinate, self-leadership behavior and citizenship also did not appear to change as a result of the training. However, supervisors of the participants reported increased performance of the trainees as a result of the training. This suggested that supervisors may have seen early evidence of positive change as a result of the training. Subsequent investigation determined that although the training was perceived as effective by the participants, reductions-in-force in the host organization were perceived as inhibiting participants' ability to apply the training. Speculation concerning the apparent lack of change explored aspects of the experiment itself, the training, and the transfer setting in the host organization.
The relationship between leader core self-evaluations, team feedback, leader efficacy, transformational leadership, team efficacy, team goals, team action and transition processes, and team performance
(2003-11-11) Quigley, Narda Roxanne; Locke, Edwin A.; Tesluk, Paul E.; Management and Organization
This research attempts to explain how internal team leaders can help teams perform in high stress, dynamic environments. Specifically, the aim of the research was to examine a chain of relationships beginning with team leaders' core self-evaluations and ending in team performance. Several core research questions were examined, including: "Do leaders' core self-evaluations and self-efficacy serve as important antecedents of transformational leadership? Is transformational leadership an important antecedent of team efficacy? How does team efficacy lead to higher levels of team performance?" First, I reviewed the extant relevant literature. Second, I derived from this review a theoretical model, which proposes that both leader core self-evaluations and team feedback may influence leader self-efficacy and transformational leadership. Transformational leadership may then influence team efficacy, which in turn may influence performance through its impact on team goals and team action and transition processes. Third, using data collected from a sample of teams composed of first-year MBA students involved in a week-long business simulation, I tested the model and demonstrated support for a number of hypothesized relationships. Fourth, I revised the model based on modification indices provided by covariance structure analysis. I found that leaders' core self-evaluations do influence their self-efficacy; this efficacy exhibited positive and significant direct relationships with team efficacy and with team processes. In addition, I found support for a chain of relationships linking team efficacy to team goals to team processes to team performance.
HOW DO WE GET FROM THERE TO HERE? UNDERSTANDING THE BLACK BOX IN STRATEGIC HRM RESEARCH FROM RESOURCE-BASED AND SOCIAL EXCHANGE PERSPECTIVES
(2003-11-24) Takeuchi, Riki; Lepak, David P.; Taylor, M. Susan; Management and Organization
In this dissertation, I examine the specific mediating mechanisms through which High Performance Work Systems influence overall unit performance. In particular, I draw mainly on two theoretical perspectives, the resource-based view of the firm and behavioral perspective, to propose and test the mediated model of strategic human resource management. The data were collected from 322 managers and 526 employees for a sample of 76 units of Japanese companies in various industries. The data were aggregated to the unit-level of analysis. On one hand, the data provided support for many of the hypotheses advanced in the dissertation. The results of the hierarchical regression analyses revealed that High Performance Work Systems was positively related to both the level of human capital that the unit possesses and the collective normative contract that the employees working in the unit share. In addition, the level of human capital and collective normative contract were significantly related to most of the HR-related outcomes, which, in turn, were significantly related to overall unit performance. Moreover, as hypothesized, the level of human capital acted as mediators of the relationship between High Performance Work Systems and HR-related outcomes while HR-related outcomes played the role of mediator on the relationships between the level of human capital or collective normative contract and overall unit performance. On the other hand, the mediating hypothesis for collective normative contract as well as interaction hypothesis for the level of human capital* collective normative contract were not supported. The implications of the findings and future research directions are also discussed.
The Performance of Global Business Teams within Multinational Corporations: The Test of an Intervening Process Model
(2004-05-18) Duriau, Vincent J.; Gupta, Anil K.; Reger, Rhonda K.; Management and Organization
Global business teams are a critical component of the strategic management process of multinational corporations. In the context of this dissertation, they are defined as teams of managers who are responsible for a business or a function across several countries. Given their multi-country charter, national diversity, and geographical dispersion, there are major questions as to the drivers of the performance of global business teams. Building on the growing literature, I propose an intervening process model of the performance of global business teams in relation to the following research question: In the context of global business teams, how do composition, governance, and organizational context affect: (a) team identity, (b) team cognitive comprehensiveness, and (c) team performance? The model links the variables of national diversity and geographical dispersion to the performance of global business teams through the mediating variables of team identity and team cognitive comprehensiveness. In addition, organizational policies and team governance are posited to moderate the relationships between team composition and emergent processes. The model is tested using a field data set of global business teams. By and large, the empirical results provide little support for the hypotheses. In particular, no effect is found, direct or indirect, of composition on emergent processes and team performance. In addition, there is only limited support for the moderating influence of team governance. However, several governance variables have a direct effect on team identity and team cognitive comprehensiveness. As a result, a post hoc model of the effect of team governance on the process and performance of global business teams is proposed and tested. The results are broadly supportive. Specifically, team-based rewards have a significant and positive impact on the performance of global business teams through the mediating variables of team identity and team cognitive comprehensiveness. The frequency of face-to-face meetings has an indirect effect through team identity. Finally, geographical dispersion moderates the relationship of team-based rewards and frequency of e-mail communication with team cognitive comprehensiveness.
PERCEIVED ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT: LINKING HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES WITH IMPORTANT WORK OUTCOMES
(2004-06-16) Liu, Wei; Bartol, Kathryn M.; Management and Organization; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
It is widely believed that the implementation of progressive HR practices that affect employee skills, motivation, and behaviors can create strategic advantage for the organization (e.g., Arthur, 1994; Delaney and Huselid, 1996; Snell & Dean, 1992). However, the intervening mechanisms of this effect are yet to be examined. Given the strategic value of HR in successfully cultivating organizational culture and social relationships that cannot be readily replicated (Becker & Gerhart, 1996), researchers have pointed to the need to investigate the role of social relationships in the HR literature (Uhl-Bien, Graen, & Scandura, 2000). Drawing on social exchange theory (Blau, 1964) and organizational support theory (Eisenberger, Huntington, Hutchinson, & Sowa, 1986), this dissertation aims to meet this need by examining the role of perceived organizational support (POS) in linking employee perceptions of HR practices and important work outcomes. It is hypothesized that employee perceptions of the HR practices implemented that demonstrate organizational recognition of employee contribution and caring about employee well-being will increase employee POS, which in turn, will lead to positive employee attitudes and behaviors. Further, it is also proposed that employees' professional commitment will interact with POS to influence the outcomes. Survey data were collected from 193 information technology workers and their direct supervisors within a large corporation. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the hypothesized model, and hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to test the interaction effects. As expected, it was found that employee perceptions of HR practices, including pay level, career development opportunities, work-family support, and relationships with the leader, are positively related to their POS. Higher levels of POS, in turn, resulted in lower turnover intention, and a sense of obligation within the individuals to reciprocate the organization with better job performance and increased OCBs, as well as stronger organizational commitment. In addition, the effects of POS on turnover intention, felt obligation, and organizational commitment were found to be moderated by professional commitment. The findings of this study shed some light on the process through which the implementation of appropriate HR practices may influence employee attitudes and behaviors.
CUTTING ACROSS TEAM BOUNDARIES: ANTECEDENTS AND IMPLICATIONS OF INDIVIDUAL BOUNDARY SPANNING BEHAVIOR WITHIN CONSULTING TEAMS
(2004-07-28) Marrone, Jennifer Ann; Tesluk, Paul E; Management and Organization; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Boundary spanning activities, or external team processes such as establishing and managing relationships with key external parties to the team, are critical to the success of many organizational work teams. Surprisingly, however, while the performance benefits of team boundary management have been documented in several seminal pieces by Ancona and her colleagues (e.g., Ancona, 1990; Ancona & Caldwell, 1992), little research has directly explored the role of the individual team members in carrying out these critical activities or if performance benefits exist for those engaging in boundary management for their teams. My dissertation addresses these limitations by considering potential predictors and consequences of individual boundary spanning behavior within a team setting. By investigating several personal and motivational antecedents to boundary spanning, I seek to expand previous teams research by predicting why particular team members engage in critical boundary spanning behaviors. Furthermore, complementing existing support for the performance benefits accompanying boundary management at the team level of analysis, I explore the consequences of boundary spanning on individual level outcomes, namely, peer ratings of individual leadership and contributions to the team. Finally, I present two sets of alternative hypotheses postulating a mediating and a moderating role for information network centrality in the boundary spanning behavior-individual outcome relationship. Hypotheses for this dissertation were tested using data from 27 consulting teams, comprised of 171 full-time MBA students. Data were collected primarily through surveys administered to team members at multiple points in time and were analyzed via hierarchical linear modeling, regression, and social network techniques. Results indicated partial support for the predictive value of self-monitoring, proactive personality, and boundary management self-efficacy on an individual's engagement in boundary spanning behaviors within their team. Additionally, boundary spanning directed toward clients and general scanning / scouting of the environment showed strong relationships with peer ratings of individual leadership and contributions, revealing that those engaging in boundary spanning behaviors were highly valued team members. Interestingly, the relationships between these boundary spanning behaviors and individual outcomes were fully mediated by information network centrality. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Understanding Dynamic Capabilities at the Subunit Level: Operational Flexibility and the Crucial Role of Organization Design and Information Sharing
(2004-11-24) Gardner, Sharyn; Stevens, Cynthia K.; Faraj, Samer A.; Management and Organization; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Organizations are currently facing increasingly dynamic environments that require fast action in high-velocity settings. Recent research on dynamic capabilities purports that organizations need to build these capabilities to successfully confront increasing uncertainty. Among these capabilities, authors suggest that flexibility may be a key ingredient needed to adapt to uncertainty and change. Yet, a review of the literature reveals that there is a gap that neglects subunit level activities at the lower levels of the firm, and thus it is difficult to determine how to build flexibility at this level. In this study, I examined key factors related to operational flexibility, defined as the ability of subunits to change day-to-day or within a day with the operational problems and changes. Utilizing organizational design, information theory, and organizational learning theory, I developed and tested a model of subunit design factors and information sharing relationships with operational flexibility and in turn subunit performance. I conducted a national field study of emergency departments in level I and II trauma centers examining these relationships. Data were collected from 110 trauma centers throughout multiple levels in the emergency department within each participating organization. Using hierarchical regression analysis, results indicate that subunit design factors and information timeliness and accessibility are significantly related to operational flexibility. Additional analyses further show that these subunit design factors are also related to subunit performance. Results also indicated that operational flexibility was not related to subunit performance, yet a combined operational flexibility index was. The findings contribute to the emerging field of dynamic capabilities by establishing operational flexibility as one of these important qualities at the subunit level. Second, this study furthers research at the meso or subunit level of the organization supporting the notion that organizational functioning is a combination of micro and macro concepts as well as contextual issues. Moreover, the results help identify possible antecedents of operational flexibility, yet fall short of empirically linking the separate dimensions with performance. Finally, the field setting of this dissertation provides a distinct contribution through the examination of concepts in a rarely studied setting: emergency departments in level I and II trauma centers.
HUMAN CAPITAL, SOCIAL CAPITAL, AND EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION: HOW DOES THE SLICE OF PIE EXECUTIVES APPROPRIATE COMPARE TO WHAT THEY BRING TO THE TABLE?
(2004-11-24) Di Gregorio, Dante Dominic; Smith, Ken G; Stevens, Cynthia K; Management and Organization; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Prior research has identified the manner in which human capital, social capital, and other intangible resources create value for organizations. Among such resources, those contributed by a firm's top managers have been singled out as particularly important for the generation and preservation of competitive advantage. However, the costs incurred to gain access to these resources, which reside at the individual and relational levels rather than at the firm level, are rarely considered. In this dissertation, I focus on individual executives as the level of analysis instead of the traditional view of firms as unitary actors in order to study intra-organizational value appropriation. I focus on the most direct and economically significant form of value appropriation by top managers: executive compensation. I introduce a theoretical framework linking executive compensation to executive-level intangible resources including human capital and social capital. I distinguish between generic and firm-specific forms of capital due to differences in the causal mechanisms linking each type of resource to compensation. Generic resources convey market power and are directly appropriable by executives. Firm-specific resources have no value outside the firm and therefore do not convey market power, yet they will convey a different sort of power derived from familiarity, visibility, and legitimacy. Drawing on a sample of 71 executives from 36 publicly-traded US firms in high-technology industries, I provide empirical results that are broadly supportive of three of four hypotheses. Executive compensation is found to be positively related to generic human capital (measured by the breadth of executives' experience across multiple industries), generic social capital (external network size, external network range) and firm-specific social capital (the strength of intra-TMT ties, internal network size, criticality of internal ties, criticality of external ties). I find no evidence linking executive compensation to firm-specific human capital. These results demonstrate the hazard of focusing on the value created by human capital and social capital without also considering the costs firms incur to access those resources.
Understanding State Goal Orientation: Leadership and Work-Group Climate as Key Antecedents
(2005-01-26) Dragoni, Lisa; Stevens, Cynthia K.; Tesluk, Paul E.; Management and Organization; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
This research attends to a broad range of practically significant employee achievement goals and provides insight into how to enhance individual-level performance by examining the antecedents to individual-level state goal orientation in organizational work groups. State goal orientation is defined here as a temporary achievement goal, and it is theorized that leadership and work group climate processes parallel each dimension of state goal orientation to cue and ultimately induce the corresponding achievement goal among individual work group members. The leader's achievement priority is argued to drive the formation of work group climate consistent with this priority. The resulting work group climate signals and compels group members to adopt the ascribed form of state goal orientation. The quality of the leader-member exchange (LMX) relationship is viewed as a means to internalize cues from the work group climate in the emergence of state goal orientation. Results from experimental and field studies provide evidence that (1) leadership and climate perceptions are related to their parallel form of state goal orientation, (2) the relation between individual perceptions of a climate for learning and state learning goal orientation is stronger when group members enjoy higher quality exchange relationships with their leader, and (3) state goal orientation may be validly and reliably assessed using the measure created especially for this research.
AN ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE PERSPECTIVE ON ROLE EMERGENCE AND ROLE ENACTMENT
(2005-04-19) Marinova, Sophia; Tesluk, Paul E; Management and Organization; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Organizational culture has received ample attention both in the popular and scholarly press as an important factor predicting organizational effectiveness by inducing employees to behave effectively (Cooke & Rousseau, 1988; Schein, 1985, 1990). The assertion that culture leads to behavior, however, has received only limited empirical support. The purpose of this dissertation is to explicate the impact of organizational culture on employees' roles and subsequent role behaviors. I propose that four types of cultures (clan, entrepreneurial, market and hierarchy) exert different and at times competing pressures, thus, creating distinct role schemas regarding the range of expected employee behaviors, which in turn, guide distinct forms of employee role behavior (e.g. helping, innovation, achievement and compliance). In addition, I examine boundary conditions on the relationships between culture and role perceptions and role perceptions and behavior. I propose that in the process of role emergence, culture strength as an organizational level characteristic, cognitive self-monitoring, and perceived person-organization (P-O) fit influence the degree to which individuals interpret and incorporate the organizational culture's norms as part of their roles at work. I also suggest that culture strength, behavioral self-monitoring as well as P-O fit have an impact on the extent to which employees enact the expected organizational work roles. Data from about hundred different organizations were collected to test the proposed relationships. The empirical results provide support for most of the proposed relationships between culture and employee roles, thereby validating the role of culture in establishing what is expected and valued at work. In addition, culture strength had moderating effect on the linkages between culture and employee roles for two of the culture dimensions (clan and hierarchical). Surprisingly, self-monitoring (cognitive) had a significant moderating effect but in a direction different from the predicted. Perceived fit moderated the relationship between market culture and helping role. Innovative role exhibited a negative significant relationship with compliant behavior while market strength intensified the negative relationship between achievement role and helping behavior. Thus, the results lend some support to the overall framework. Implications for theory and practice, as well as directions for future research, are discussed.
Managerial Search and the Pursuit of Opportunity
(2006-04-27) Maggitti, Patrick G; Smith, Ken G; Management and Organization; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
This dissertation explores the search behavior of CEOs and how this behavior relates to the opportunities they recognize and take action upon. Opportunities are defined in this dissertation as the perception of a novel and appropriate resource combination acted upon or seized for potential gain. As such, recognizing and acting upon opportunities is among the most important roles of a manager. This is particularly true for CEOs since they are most often tasked with setting the strategic direction of the firm. Despite the importance of managers recognizing opportunities, the literature has failed to fully address the behaviors that influence the novelty and appropriateness of the opportunities those individuals recognize. This dissertation examines those behaviors, known as search. I define search as individual behavior resulting in the acquisition of information and knowledge that can be used to recognize and seize opportunities to solve problems. Search is categorized into two broad categories: Search terrain (where the search takes place) and search process (the manner in which the terrain is searched). Searches consists of both a terrain and a process. Search terrains are comprised of three dimensions: Distance, familiarity, and breadth of information sources. Search processes are comprised of 4 dimensions: Effort, exhaustiveness, iteration, and formality. Hypotheses are tested to determine the impact that search has on the novelty and appropriateness of opportunities acted upon by CEOs. The findings offer some valuable information about CEO search. First, with respect to opportunity novelty, CEOs appear to maximize novelty when they are effortful and exhaustive in searching a narrow and familiar terrain. On the other hand, CEOs appear to maximize appropriateness in two ways. First, when searching in distant terrains outside the organization, CEOs need to exhaustively explore that terrain but only focus on information outside the organization that is easily obtained and understood. Additionally, it seems helpful to be informal when undertaking the search - particularly among unfamiliar terrains.
Reputation Building by New Ventures: Three Essays on Processes and Performance
(2006-05-24) Petkova, Antoaneta Petkova; Gupta, Anil K.; Rindova, Violina P.; Management and Organization; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Management scholars have established the importance of reputation for firm performance but the mechanisms through which reputation can be accumulated are still to be explored. While some researchers have proposed that reputation accumulates through causally ambiguous social processes and can be built through continuous investments over time, there is little evidence regarding the nature of firm activities that may serve as strategic investments in reputation building. Prior research has focused primarily on studying reputation in large established firms that have both their prior performance, which can guide public perceptions and opinions, and substantial resources to make costly investments in product quality and advertising, which serve to increase their reputation. The tendency to study reputation among firms that already have accumulated some reputation does not allow for examining how this critical intangible asset comes into being and what factors account for the variance in the levels of reputation among young firms in an industry. This gap in the literature can be addressed by studying the process of reputation building in the context of new ventures (NVs), because such a context allows for examining the processes and different paths that may evolve from day one in the life of a firm. Specifically, my dissertation addresses these gaps in the current state of knowledge by examining the critical factors that determine the variations among NVs in their reputation building efforts, the factors that account for the relative efficiency of these efforts, and the performance implications of reputation building activities and reputational capital at different stages of the life of NVs. The dissertation is composed of three essays. The first essay describes the exploratory stage of this dissertation and provides initial insights regarding the activities that help NVs develop reputation early in their lives. The second essay provides a theoretical framework to understand the process of reputation building by NVs. I propose that NVs can build their initial reputations by investing in symbolic activities and critical resources that serve as signals of NVs' underlying quality and potential. The patterns and efficiency of such investments are likely to vary systematically depending on the founders' entrepreneurial experience and the technology and market uncertainty faced by NVs and their stakeholders. The third essay tests and provides empirical supports to the hypothesized model of reputation building in a sample of 415 information technology NVs.
TMT Diversity, CEO Procedural Fairness, and TMT Conflict
(2006-06-01) Jiang, Long; Smith, Ken G.; Tesluk, Paul E.; Management and Organization; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
The purpose of this dissertation was to address three research questions: (1) What are the antecedent conditions that contribute to the development of conflict within TMTs? (2) how can TMTs develop constructive conflict profiles - those that simultaneously have relatively high levels of cognitive conflict but low levels of or little affective conflict? and (3) how does TMT conflict relate to firm performance? Two complementary studies were conducted to enhance both the internal validity and the generalizability of this research: an experimental study of 77 project teams with senior business-major undergraduates at a US-based university, and an in-depth field study of 61 TMTs of US-based high-technology firms. The consistent results from both studies revealed that: (1) TMT informational diversity was positively related to TMT cognitive conflict, however, TMT power centralization was negatively related to TMT cognitive conflict; (2) TMTs with higher levels of CEO procedural fairness were more likely to report constructive conflict profiles; and (3) TMT affective conflict was detrimental to firm performance. Contributions to the literature, methodology and managerial practices, and limitation and future research directions were discussed.
The Influence of Career Identity and Social Networks on Career Transition Magnitude
(2006-06-01) Slay, Holly Selena; Taylor, Susan; Management and Organization; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Increasingly, scholars and journalists are suggesting that there is a trend toward greater magnitude in career transitions signified by the crossing of career boundaries (such as level, functional, organizational, industry and professional boundaries). To date, much of the quantitative empirical research suggests that organizational, relational and environmental factors influence career transition behavior. However, while we know that these external influences may cause an individual to transition, we know less about the process through which career transitions evolve, especially those of larger magnitude and how forces internal to the individual may help to explain variance above and beyond these external factors. In this dissertation, I use qualitative and quantitative methodologies to develop and refine a model of career transition focusing on career transition magnitude. Specifically, I use research from social identity, social networks and role exit theory to develop a model of career transition magnitude that posits career identity (the cognitive representation of the self derived from past career experiences, beliefs, values, attributes and motives that define the individual in terms of their career) and network characteristics (the pattern of interpersonal relationships) influence the magnitude of intended career transition, the career exit behaviors one engages in and the evaluation of career opportunities. Further, I use path analysis to find that career exit behaviors are influenced by the magnitude of the intended career transition as well as strong coworker ties and social and personal turbulence. Additionally, I find that the favorable evaluation of career transition opportunities is impacted by career identity centrality and organizational satisfaction. Finally, I find that the magnitude of the intended career transition is influenced by the favorable evaluation of transition opportunities, network career range, organizational satisfaction and social and personal turbulence. Theoretical and practical contributions are discussed.

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