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In view of a disruptive environment, the authors consider theories that explain left-skewed performance outcomes and inverse risk–return relationships where some rationales imply causal dependencies with slightly differing outcomes while others refer to spurious artifacts. These literatures are briefly outlined and dynamic response capabilities introduced as an alternative perspective expressed as strategic responsiveness where commonly observed performance outcomes derive from heterogeneous response capabilities among firms that compete in dynamic environments. Financial performance outcomes are analyzed empirically based on a comprehensive corporate dataset where computational simulations of adaptive strategy making among firms generate comparable outcomes from a simple strategic responsiveness model. The findings demonstrate how diverse adaptive strategy-making processes can generate a substantial part, if not all, of the commonly observed artifacts of firm financial performance. The implications of these results are discussed pointing to propitious approaches of analyzing the impact of dynamic adaptive strategies.

This chapter explores other theoretical explanations to the commonly observed phenomenon of negatively skewed performance outcomes and inverse risk-return relationships in empirical firm data. The analysis conducted in many prior studies have implicated direct causal dependencies between performance and risk, or vice versa, with the possibility of simultaneous two-way relationships that are harder to discern. It is also shown how spurious artifacts deriving from the arithmetic links between mean and variance associate left-skewed distributions with negative mean variance correlations. However, the heterogeneous display of response capabilities among firms that compete in the same industry contexts may provide an alternative explanation for the observed performance characteristics. This is expressed as strategic responsiveness where performance outcomes with high negative skewness and excess kurtosis derive from heterogeneous adaptive processes among firms as they respond to a dynamic environment with different degrees of success. We test these results in different simulated competitive contexts disrupted by major unexpected events and find robust results across different environmental scenarios. The analysis looks at two different response processes, one modeled as conventional adaptive planning following an annual budget cycle, and another modeled as interactive updating where executives have frequent informative budget discussions with operating managers in the firm. The computational simulations show that interactive updating generates outcomes with higher returns and lower performance risk for moderate learning levels and restructuring costs. However, the resulting performance distributions are not as left-skewed as those observed in the empirical data that show higher resemblance to the adaptive planning outcomes.

Previous studies that examined the role of empathy and nonverbal immediacy on business-to-business (B2B) salesperson performance is limited in scope and yielded inconclusive evidence. Grounded in Plank and Greene’s (1996) framework of salesperson effectiveness, this paper aims to empirically investigate the mediating role of adaptive selling behavior through which empathy and nonverbal immediacy influence sales force performance and the form of empathy (cognitive or affective) that has the most beneficial role in improving relationship (versus outcome) salesperson performance.

Using cross-sectional data that were collected from 422 pharmaceutical sales representatives, this study used structural equation modeling to test the hypothesized relationships.

Adaptive selling behavior mediates the effect of perspective taking empathy and empathic concern on relationship performance. However, the impact of empathy on outcome performance is not significant through adaptive selling behavior, but perspective taking empathy has a direct influence on outcome performance. Contrary to expectations, nonverbal immediacy is not mediated by adaptive selling behavior but has a direct and positive impact on relationship performance.

The results of this study have several implications for recruitment, training and assessment of salespeople in a B2B context. Based on the empirical evidence, it is highlighted that firms may use different forms of empathy and nonverbal cues to promote adaptive selling behavior that impact sales force performance (i.e. outcome or relationship).

To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study which simultaneously examines the mediating role of adaptive selling behavior in the relationship between three antecedent variables that relate to sales force empathy and nonverbal communication (i.e. perspective taking empathy, empathic concern and nonverbal immediacy) and two aspects of B2B sales performance (relationship and outcome).

The study aims to examine the association between learning culture and adaptive performance of delivery employees during crises situation. The study develops and tests a model that explains how learning culture, through change-efficacy and meaningful work, influences employees' adaptive performance (including how they handle crisis situations and deal with uncertainty).

Data was collected from 298 delivery employees working in e-commerce companies throughout India in a time-lagged manner. Regression analysis and structural equation modeling were performed to assess the influence of learning culture, change-efficacy and meaningful work on adaptive performance using SPSS 24. Further, PROCESS macro was used to test the parallel mediation effects through bootstrapping approach.

The study establishes a significant direct and indirect relationship between learning culture and adaptive performance for employees. Further, underpinning the transformative learning theory (Mezirow, 1997), and job characteristics theory (1976), this study came across two pathways for organizations to transform their learning efforts into improved adaptive performance for employees.

Organizations, particularly in crisis situations, can leverage employees' change-efficacy and meaningful work to connect learning efforts with employees' adaptive performance.

The study contributes significantly to existing theory on transformative learning and job characteristics theory while strengthening the literature on antecedents of employees' adaptive performance, particularly in crises situation.

On the path to accomplishing task work, teams may face disruptive events like budget issues, equipment failures, and membership change that trigger adaptation. While recently researchers have clarified the team adaptation nomological network, our objective is to extend theory by providing a roadmap about various ways in which temporal considerations may complicate the impact of adaptation triggers on team adaptation and in turn adaptive outcomes.

We present three adaptation temporal considerations (i.e., timing, duration, and frequency) that may change the way team adaptation unfolds in response to a given adaptation trigger. We further explore and offer propositions about how the impact of adaptation timing, adaptation duration, and adaptation frequency differ by the type of adaptation trigger (i.e., task-based or team-based) experienced by the team.

By examining adaptation to task-based or team-based triggers from a temporal perspective researchers may better explain why the timing of when the team adapts across its lifecycle (adaptation timing), how long the team takes to adapt (adaptation duration), and the recurrent need to adapt (adaptation frequency) is more or less likely to lead to positive adaptive performance outcomes.

Organizations may benefit from setting up teams for success by helping members understand that there are inherent differences in the adaptation triggers they face including temporal expectations. Organizations may see value in providing initial and on-going support to teams so they are better able to adapt when needed and mitigate negative effects due to adaptation timing, adaptation duration, and adaption frequency.

The purpose of this research study was to explore the relationship between adaptive performance and work-related indicators of psychological well-being among ‘The Episcopal Church bishops.’

Hierarchical regression models were used in this research study to explore the relationship between adaptive performance and work-related psychological health.

There was a positive correlation between adaptive performance and work-related psychological health. Demographic factors did not correlate to adaptive performance. However, a negative correlation was observed between the years ordained as a bishop and the interpersonal adaptability dimension of adaptive performance.

Managing work stress has been revealed as an integral part of adaptive performance and satisfaction in ministry. Interpersonal adaptability and reactivity could be understood, then, as useful vehicles for increasing the capacity of bishops to manage work stress. In this research, the authors applied the Scale for Individual Adaptive Performance and the two scales Scale of Satisfaction in Ministry and Scale of Emotional Exhaustion in Ministry .

The results provided insights into the behaviors necessary for adequate development of bishops in their role. The religious landscape was becoming more challenging from a revenue generation perspective. The resultant complexity and the financial strain would necessitate the need for development of different models of ministry for long-term sustainability. This could further necessitate a different set of knowledge creation related to a set of behavioral capacities like those of adaptive performance. Such insights would assist in the promotion and development of greater work-related psychological health in bishops while deepening their ability to deal with complex and uncertain environments. Furthermore, this would increase satisfaction in ministry through improved workplace management skills.

Presently, very few studies empirically established the developmental needs of bishops as they entered, learned and grew into their leadership roles. Such insights would allow the formation programs for new bishops to be grounded in empirical data. Furthermore, this research study examined a largely unexplored population. This would provide a basis for a larger research agenda related to adaptive performance in judicatory leaders and their work-related psychological health. Consequently, it is posited that improved psychological health would result in better workplace learning.

The present research attempts to show the contribution of emotional intelligence and servant leadership climate to individual adaptive performance. The authors intend to explain the relations between the emotional intelligence of employees as well as of manager and the employee's adaptive performance. Moreover, this research assesses the significance of the mediating role of “servant leadership” climate in the relationship between the emotional intelligence of the manager and the employee's adaptive performance.

This research uses the quantitative research method and is included in explanatory research. Data collection used several informants for each organization. Data were collected using a sample of 57 managers and 204 team members spread over 24 companies belonging to different sectors of activity.

Employees' emotional intelligence directly influences individual adaptive performance. There is a direct influence of manager's emotional intelligence on individual adaptive performance. Then, there is an indirect influence of emotional intelligence on individual adaptive performance through the mediation of servant leadership climate.

The novelty of this research is in its effort to observe the multilevel mediation of servant leadership climate with other variables developed in the research model. No previous studies have found a relationship between employee and manager's emotional intelligence and individual adaptive performance.

This study aims to draw on the categorization theory to explore the mediating role of customer qualification skills in explaining how social media use in sales contributes to salespeople’s adaptive selling behaviors to achieve high sales performance in export selling. The study also integrates network effect theory and social linguistics theory to identify the specific social media platform (Facebook versus non-Facebook) and the characteristics of salespeople in terms of English language proficiency, which play a facilitating role in promoting the effectiveness of social media use in export sales.

The sampling frame of the research is a list of Chinese export salespersons obtained on the FOB Business Forum website. Survey data were obtained from 873 Chinese export salespeople. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was performed to analyze the data.

Social media use in sales is associated positively with customer qualification skills and adaptive selling behaviors. Moreover, the results revealed a partial mediating effect of customer qualification skills on the positive impact of social media use in sales on adaptive selling behaviors. The moderating effect analysis found that the positive association between social media use in sales and customer qualification skills was stronger in export salespeople who used Facebook and had mastered a high level of English language proficiency.

This study provides new findings, based on data collected from salespeople in Mainland China, that support the effectiveness of social media use in an export sales context. Moreover, the study advances prior research by showing that the effectiveness of social media use still depends on the type of social media used and the English language proficiency of the salespeople.

Drawing on the social exchange theory, this study focuses on the impact of perceived organizational support (POS) and perceived supervisor support (PSS) on employees' adaptive (selling) behavior in a personal selling context. As part of the support-adaptive behavior relationship, the authors also explore the mediating role of psychological empowerment and the moderating role of customer orientation (CO).

Data were collected from 200 salespeople from the financial and pharmaceutical sectors in Turkey. Hypotheses were tested with hierarchical multiple regressions and hierarchical moderated regressions.

Supported salespeople feel more empowered in their jobs and show adaptive (selling) behavior. Our results also show that the impact of support on adaptive selling behavior through empowerment is stronger for salespeople with low CO.

This study has two limitations: the generalizability of its findings and cross-sectional design. Still, it significantly contributes to support, empowerment and adaptive behavior literature.

By creating a supportive work environment and by training their managers to improve their support skills, organizations boost their employees' adaptability. Both of these support practices motivate employees to use their discretion in sales situations. Organizations should also evaluate and manage their employees' level of CO by conducting company surveys and by increasing top management communication.

This study tests the mediating role of psychological empowerment on the relationship between POS, PSS and adaptive behavior in the understudied personal selling context. The authors also test the moderating role of CO in the proposed model.

Paradoxical leadership (PL) is an emerging perspective to understand how leaders help followers deal with paradoxical demands. Recently, the positive relationship between PL and follower performance was established. This paper builds on and extends this research by interpreting PL as sensegiving and developing theory about mediation in the relationship between PL and adaptive and proactive performance.

The paper develops a new measure for PL as sensegiving and provides a test of the mediation model with data from two different sources and two measurement times in a German company.

Multilevel mediation analysis (N = 154) supports the mediation model.

The paper presents sensegiving about paradox as a core element of PL, which informs the choice of change-readiness as mediator. This study also develops and validates a scale to measure PL in future research.