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Nonexperimental research, defined as any kind of quantitative or qualitative research that is not an experiment, is the predominate kind of research design used in the social sciences. How to unambiguously and correctly present the results of nonexperimental research, however, remains decidedly unclear and possibly detrimental to applied disciplines such as human resource development. To clarify issues about the accurate reporting and generalization of nonexperimental research results, this paper aims to present information about the relative strength of research designs, followed by the strengths and weaknesses of nonexperimental research. Further, some possible ways to more precisely report nonexperimental findings without using causal language are explored. Next, the researcher takes the position that the results of nonexperimental research can be used cautiously, yet appropriately, for making practice recommendations. Finally, some closing thoughts about nonexperimental research and the appropriate use of causal language are presented.

A review of the extant social science literature was consulted to inform this paper.

Nonexperimental research, when reported accurately, makes a tremendous contribution because it can be used for conducting research when experimentation is not feasible or desired. It can be used also to make tentative recommendations for practice.

This article presents useful means to more accurately report nonexperimental findings through avoiding causal language. Ways to link nonexperimental results to making practice recommendations are explored.

Challenges with acculturation in organizations may make employees an easy target of workplace incivility and awareness of what constitutes uncivil behaviors at work can influence the association between acculturation and incivility. The current study examined the links between acculturation, incivility and tested mentor holding behavior as a moderator.

Survey data including responses to incivility vignettes were collected from 163 full-time first- and second-generation immigrant employees in the southeastern United States. The data were analyzed through moderated hierarchical regression analysis.

The results indicated that those experiencing separation or marginalization in trying to acculturate into the dominant culture reported experiencing uncivil behaviors from supervisors and coworkers. Also, one's awareness of incivility moderated the positive relationship between experience of separation and experiences of incivility, such that this relationship was stronger for those who had higher awareness of what constitutes uncivil behavior. Additionally, the effect of marginalization on reported incivility was dampened with higher levels of mentor holding behavior.

This study’s findings extend the application of the selective incivility theory beyond the minoritized categories of race and gender to the immigrants struggling with acculturation in organizations. Also, our study lends support to widening the theoretical lens for mentoring to include relational systems theory.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relation between learning engagement (time spent in playing the game) and knowledge attainment (points earned answering questions) and sales performance on the job. Knowledge attainment was also examined as a mediator of the engagement-performance relation.

In this nonexperimental study, travel agent engagement, knowledge, and sales performance data were collected from 309 cruise industry participants. A combination of MANOVA, correlation and regression analyses were used to examine these relations.

Moderate to strong positive and statistically significant relations were found between learning engagement and knowledge attainment, and learning engagement and sales performance. Additional analysis revealed that knowledge attainment mediated the link between learning engagement and sales performance.

Because the study was not designed to examine causal relations among the research variables, its generalizability was limited. Still, moderate to strong relations were found between learning engagement and knowledge attainment, and knowledge attainment and sales performance. Further, while engagement had a direct effect on sales performance, it also had an indirect effect through the knowledge attainment variable. The findings provide preliminary support for further research into how serious computer games motivate learner and engagement and learning best and how each is linked to important organizational outcomes like performance.

Serious computer games are becoming an increasingly useful means for promoting employee learning, development, and performance. This research offers new evidence that computer serious games can enhance learning and performance.

This study responded to the call to empirically reconcile conflicting findings in unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB) literature. It did so by examining the influence of organizational culture on the relationship between affective organizational commitment and UPB.

Using a sample of 710 U.S. service sector employees based on a three-wave data collection design, structural invariance assessment was utilized to evaluate the relationship between affective organizational commitment and UPB across organizational cultures with opposing effectiveness criteria (i.e. focused on stability vs flexibility).

The result indicated a statistically significant positive direct effect between affective organizational commitment and UPB for the stability-focused cultures, while finding a statistically insignificant effect for the flexibility-focused cultures. These results support organizational culture research, which shows that organizational cultures with opposing effectiveness criteria (i.e. stability vs flexibility) can either encourage or discourage ethical behavior.

While leaders and managers encourage employee commitment to the organization, it is important to understand that increased organizational commitment is not limited to positive outcomes. Cultivating elements of flexibility-oriented cultures, like promoting teamwork (as in clan cultures) or fostering innovation and adaptability (as in adhocracy cultures), can be a strategic approach to minimize the chances of UPB among committed employees.

By integrating insights from social exchange theory, Trevino’s interactionist model and the competing values framework, we have contributed to a nuanced understanding of how different organizational cultures can suppress or stimulate UPB.

The purpose of this study is to test a model where human resource inputs (e.g. motivation, employee skill) and human resource processes/practices (e.g. training and development; profit sharing) are hypothesized to contribute uniquely and positively to organizational outputs, i.e. job performance and firm performance.

The cross‐sectional study consisted of 350 business professionals (91 percent managers; 9 percent consultants) from a midwestern US professional organization who took a battery of survey measures via the internet.

After statistically controlling for the background variables (organizational type, size and status), the hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated that both the human resource inputs and process/practice variables explained statistically significant variance in each of the nine regression models. The effect size in each model was medium to large.

The findings illustrate the considerable utility of researchers and managers examining the entire human resource system of an organization when searching for productive leverage points to improve organizational outputs like job and firm performance. The results suggest that human resource managers can have a positive influence on firm performance through implementing and supporting organizational policies and procedures that serve to positively motivate workers (e.g. reasonable incentive compensation and rewards, fair grievance procedures, and performance management), and learning and development activities that stimulate optimal task and contextual job performance.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between mentoring, job satisfaction and organizational commitment among African‐American males.

An online questionnaire was completed by 359 African‐American males in a business setting.

Job satisfaction and organizational commitment were higher for those who were being mentored versus those who were not. The multiple regression results suggested mentoring was a statistically significant predictor of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Further, the relation between mentoring and organizational commitment was mediated by job satisfaction.

Current organizational research is limited, in that it tends to focus on majority culture where findings can be inappropriately generalized to minority groups. Future mentoring research should include more minorities that can provide a new window for interpreting the contributions of minorities to organizational competitiveness.

Mentoring programs should be continued and/or expanded upon to reduce the likelihood of poor job satisfaction and organizational commitment for African‐American males.

Organizations through their human resource efforts can contribute to the learning and development of African‐American males and other minorities by designing and implementing quality mentoring programs. Such programs could lessen the likelihood of costly under‐performance and turnover.

This is one of the relatively few organizational studies designed specifically for a minority group. The results have implications for how human resource professionals and managers might improve mentoring experiences for minorities.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between attachment styles, mentoring (psychosocial support and career support), organizational commitment, and turnover intent of protégés in formal faculty mentoring.

An internet survey was conducted with a population of 125 protégés in a formal faculty mentoring program at a US university.

Results from linear regression analyses revealed that protégés’ secure attachment was positively and significantly related with their organizational commitment and was negatively and significantly related to intent to turnover. Additional linear regression analyses revealed that psychosocial support and career support were positively and significantly related with protégé organizational commitment and were negatively and significantly related to intent to turnover. Hierarchical regression showed that secure attachment alone was a unique predictor of protégés’ organizational commitment and intent to turnover. Further, attachment and career support interacted to predict both organizational commitment and intent to turnover.

Although psychosocial support and career support in mentoring influence organizational commitment and turnover intent, protégés who are securely attached experience more support. Furthermore, career support the positive association between secure attachment and organizational commitment and the negative association between secure attachment and turnover intent.

Little research has specifically addressed attachment and its links to mentoring and organizational outcomes such as organizational commitment and turnover intent in the context of faculty mentoring. Therefore, the study contributes to the understanding of how attachment and mentoring influence organizational commitment and turnover intent in academe.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the vital issue of managerial recruitment for private industry. Personality and demographic variables and their interactions are to be examined to determine the extent they uniquely influence the attraction of business professionals to managerial jobs in simulated position advertisements.

The study consisted of 330 experienced business professionals who role‐played as applicants for managerial positions by rating jobs described in simulated position advertisements.

After statistically controlling for the demographic variables, the hierarchical regression analyses suggested that personality (inclusion, control, openness) as determined by the FIRO Element B explained statistically significant job rating variance in each of the three regression models. Thus, job applicant personality influenced the attraction of the participants to simulated managerial jobs.

These findings suggest the practical significance of human resource professionals producing recruitment media to attract managerial applicants with the appropriate personality to best assure a good person‐job fit. This notion is discussed as a possible lost cost method for managerial recruitment improvement and as a solid first step in developing a cadre of managers for organizations.

The purpose of this study is to identify how themes and contributions featured in the four scholarly journals sponsored by the largest human resource development (HRD) research association (the Academy of Human Resource Development, AHRD) reflect the changing identity of the HRD field.

A frequency and content analysis of articles published during the period 2002-2011 was conducted to identify the dominant themes and research trend. Further, comments were made on the aims and scope and editorial discretion for each journal to understand how the journals influence the direction of scholarship in HRD.

It was found that the boundaries of the field are constantly expanding with some of the older and mature themes losing momentum and new themes coming to the forefront of scholarly interest. The journals were found to play a critical role in setting the future direction for the field.

Future researchers can examine if the waxing and waning themes identified in the findings remain same after analyzing contributions featured in journals that are not sponsored by the AHRD, but publish articles on topics closely related to HRD. Also, the findings can guide further examination of the editors’ leadership role in driving the evolution of the HRD field.

Considering the characteristics of HRD as an applied discipline, the findings can guide future researchers to explore if the thematic changes as identified in the study are associated with the needs of HRD practice.

The study attempts to understand the landscape of HRD research by looking at how the field’s identity boundaries have shifted over time and how different entities, like authors and editors publishing scholarly articles in the four HRD journals in the past decade, have interacted to contribute to the shift.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to examine the influences of theory of planned behavior (TPB) constructs (i.e. attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control (PBC)) on individuals’ volunteer intention for future sporting events, and second, to investigate the moderating effects of brand reputation and moral obligation in the relationships between TPB constructs and volunteer intention.

The sample consisted of 107 volunteers at the 2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. Moderated hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to test the hypothesized relationships of the model.

Subjective norm and PBC were significantly associated with volunteer intention. Brand reputation was found to be a moderator in the relationships between attitude and volunteer intention and between subjective norm and volunteer intention, and moral obligation moderated the relationship between PBC and volunteer intention.

Sporting events/volunteer managers must understand individuals’ decision-making process with respect to volunteering at sporting events and important insights into new strategies to increase volunteer recruitment, retention, and reliability.

Because sporting event managers face considerable obstacles in recruiting and retaining a volunteer workforce, an enhanced understanding of volunteering may highlight new ways to remove obstacles to being a volunteer to the benefit of individuals and society.

This paper emphasizes the importance of brand reputation and moral obligation as moderators of the effects of the TPB constructs on volunteer intention in the context of sporting events.