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1 – 10 of over 7000Guohong Helen Han and Yuntao Bai
Research has shown that creative self-efficacy is an important antecedent of workplace creativity, but recent research indicates that this relationship may be moderated by…
Abstract
Purpose
Research has shown that creative self-efficacy is an important antecedent of workplace creativity, but recent research indicates that this relationship may be moderated by contextual factors. The current study investigates whether leader dialectical thinking and leader member exchange moderate the relationship between employee creative self-efficacy and employee creativity.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey sample of 222 employees in 43 teams from Chinese high-tech companies was collected and HLM was used to test our research model.
Findings
The positive association between employee creative self-efficacy and employee creativity was strengthened when a leader displayed a dialectical thinking style. Additional analyses failed to find support for the moderating role of leader-member exchange (LMX).
Research limitations/implications
These findings establish leadership cognitive style as a potential boundary condition of the relationship between creative self-efficacy and employee creativity.
Practical implications
Companies can make an active effort in recruiting and training leaders who have a dialectical mindset as they can play significant roles in facilitating employee creativity.
Social implications
Technological advancement and innovation is important for social welfare. This paper helps to improve the efficiency of creativity processes and finally benefits the whole society.
Originality/value
This is the first introduction of the leader's dialectical thinking as a moderator of the relationship between creative self-efficacy and creativity.
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The article questions what is meant by the term critical theory and discusses some common misconceptions that have arisen about the meaning of this term. The dialectic logic that…
Abstract
The article questions what is meant by the term critical theory and discusses some common misconceptions that have arisen about the meaning of this term. The dialectic logic that was championed by the group of scholars collectively known as the Frankfurt School is outlined and a number of implications for the field of organization and behaviour are discussed.
Raises the initial problem of what is meant by the term critical theory and discusses some common misconceptions that have arisen about the meaning of this term. The dialectic…
Abstract
Raises the initial problem of what is meant by the term critical theory and discusses some common misconceptions that have arisen about the meaning of this term. The dialectic logic that was championed by the group of scholars collectively known as the Frankfurt School is outlined and it is noted how dialectics transcends binary oppositional thinking. It is argued that the body of work of these scholars has a strong contemporary relevance to issues in the management of change in organizations. The other papers in the issue are introduced.
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Xin Li, Verner Worm and Peihong Xie
The paper debunks Peter P. Li’s assertion that Yin-Yang is superior to any other cognitive frames or logical systems for paradox research. The purpose of this paper is to alert…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper debunks Peter P. Li’s assertion that Yin-Yang is superior to any other cognitive frames or logical systems for paradox research. The purpose of this paper is to alert the Chinese indigenous management researchers to the danger of Chinese exceptionalism and over-confidence.
Design/methodology/approach
To show that Peter P. Li’s assertion is doubtful, the authors identify the flaws in his analysis.
Findings
The authors find that there are three serious flaws in Peter P. Li’s analysis. First, there are four defects in the typology of cognitive frames he built in order to compare Yin-Yang with the others. Second, his understanding of dialectics in general and Hegelian dialectics in particular is flawed. And finally, without resorting to Yin-Yang, many scholars can develop theories that are equivalent to those derived from Yin-Yang.
Research limitations/implications
Due to the page limit, this paper only focuses on arguing that Yin-Yang is not superior to other cognitive frames or logical systems without going one step further to explain in which situations Yin-Yang are valuable and might be more suitable than others for helping us understand some research issues.
Practical implications
This paper implies that we should not blindly believe that the Chinese way of thinking and acting is superior to other people’s. Chinese people should be open-minded in the globalized era, not only promoting their own culture but also appreciating and learning from other cultures.
Social implications
The reduction of cultural exceptionalism and ethnocentrism can make cross-cultural communication and interaction smoother.
Originality/value
This paper is a rigorous critique on the “Yin-Yang being superior” assertion of Peter P. Li.
The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the usage of the word critical in the social sciences, to review how being critical is a process through which criticism…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the usage of the word critical in the social sciences, to review how being critical is a process through which criticism is a positive act, and to highlight the relevance of such a perspective in relation to international business.
Design/methodology/approach
International business is viewed through the critical optic of the work of a group of scholars, collectively known as the Frankfurt School. Critical logic is shown to be a “destructive” and “disrobing” act to reveal buried presuppositions. It is argued that a form of negation occurs that carries an important reflective function through a modality of estrangement – it is destructive, but the destruction is revealed to re‐emerge in a positive act.
Findings
The term critical is revealed as a constructive processual activity. The pretentious nature of positivism that seems to pervade thinking in international business is disrobed as being some kind of science and instead revealed to be a discourse firmly in the realm of values.
Originality/value
A paper that is among few that rigorously interrogates the meaning of being critical in relation to international business.
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The purpose of this chapter is to describe an accounting ethics course whose purpose, in part, is to short circuit the process that leads to foolish ethical decisions by…
Abstract
The purpose of this chapter is to describe an accounting ethics course whose purpose, in part, is to short circuit the process that leads to foolish ethical decisions by professional accountants. In addressing how to make ethical decisions, the course deliberately includes processes intended to develop wisdom and to impede reflexive decisions that reflect the five fallacies of thinking. The approach described represents an active, engaging approach to increasing dialogical and dialectical reasoning in students’ pursuit of wisdom through individual selection of outside reading, engaging speakers, and the use of ethics accountability groups. The course is adaptable to large and small class settings where the professor desires extensive interaction among students, and it creates an environment designed to help students develop self-chosen principles to guide their professional lives. Students take responsibility for developing self-determined principles to guide their professional lives. Clearly identifying these principles provides students a basis for resisting ethical compromises in their careers. The course focuses students on developing wisdom and recognizing the weaknesses in a purely calculation-based moral reasoning.
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This chapter goes into deeper discussion and consideration of holistic leadership through the concept of holistic leadership presented in Part 1 and analysis of a number of case…
Abstract
This chapter goes into deeper discussion and consideration of holistic leadership through the concept of holistic leadership presented in Part 1 and analysis of a number of case studies presented in Part 2. The chapter first analyzes and considers the concept of dialectical leadership, which is an element for achieving a balance between centralized leadership and distributed leadership at the psychological boundary layer located at the boundary layer between the formal organizational layer and the informal organizational layer from the perspective of four dimensions: the time axis, spatial axis, strategic axis, and management axis. This is because there is new knowledge gained from multiple case analyses and because dialectical leadership has an impact on management elements in these four dimensions when companies execute strategic knowledge creation processes to achieve business innovation. Second, the chapter discusses the concept of leadership interaction which occurs among leaders at the individual boundaries of the three-layered structure (practice layers) of the informal organization layer located in the business community, the psychological boundary layer located in the boundary layer of the business community, and the formal organization layer located in the formal organization, and the three management layers. Third, as demonstrated in the cases of Apple, Cisco Systems, Dyson, SoftBank, and Sony, strategic collaboration with other companies including customers is extremely important for those practitioners who are promoting business ecosystem strategies across different companies. To achieve this, synchronization of leadership at the three practice layers and three management layers in holistic leadership through boundary negotiations among individual leaderships across different companies is important. These concepts are discussed in this chapter. Fourth, this chapter indicates that excellent holistic leadership is necessary for practitioners to achieve strategic knowledge creation high in quality, but this requires leadership for value creation for the formation of new business communities that originate in the formation of “Ba.” The chapter also indicates that “practical wisdom” is an important element for practitioners in such value creation, and the presence of this element is a necessary condition for generating excellent holistic leadership.
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Rebecca Bednarek, Marianne W. Lewis and Jonathan Schad
Early paradox research in organization theory contained a remarkable breadth of inspirations from outside disciplines. We wanted to know more about where early scholarship found…
Abstract
Early paradox research in organization theory contained a remarkable breadth of inspirations from outside disciplines. We wanted to know more about where early scholarship found inspiration to create what has since become paradox theory. To shed light on this, we engaged seminal paradox scholars in conversations: asking about their past experiences drawing from outside disciplines and their views on the future of paradox theory. These conversations surfaced several themes of past and future inspirations: (1) understanding complex phenomena; (2) drawing from related disciplines; (3) combining interdisciplinary insights; and (4) bridging discourses in organization theory. We end the piece with suggestions for future paradox research inspired by these conversations.
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Jingjing Li, Jian Zhang, Bo Shao and Chunxiao Chen
Previous research draws on the dualistic model of passion (harmonious and obsessive passion) overlooks how the different two types of passion interact within individuals using a…
Abstract
Purpose
Previous research draws on the dualistic model of passion (harmonious and obsessive passion) overlooks how the different two types of passion interact within individuals using a variable-centered approach. The purpose of this paper is to identify work passion profiles and their antecedent and consequences adopting a person-centered approach, and to explain inconsistences in previous studies.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper conducts three studies (n=2,749 in total) using a latent profile analysis. Study 1 identifies three work passion profiles, namely, dual passion, pro harmonious passion and pro obsessive passion; study 2 examines dialectical thinking as an antecedent to work passion profile membership; study 3 examines how each profile relates to work performance and well-being.
Findings
This paper finds that the participants with a dual passion profile showed higher task performance and subjective well-being than the participants with the other two profiles; the participants with a pro obsessive passion profile were higher in task performance, interpersonal performance and psychological well-being than the participants with a pro harmonious profile.
Originality/value
This paper is the first that uses a latent profile analysis approach to examining work passion configurations. It provides a unique perspective to investigate how different types of passion configure and interact within individuals; it explores an antecedent (i.e. dialectical thinking) and outcomes (i.e. performance and well-being) of the three work passion profiles.
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