Flexible global working arrangements: An integrative review and future research agenda

The topography of global mobility within multinational enterprises (MNEs) is evolving where we now have a portfolio of flexible global working arrangements (FGWAs) including: international business travellers, flexpatriates, short-term international assignees, international commuters, and rotational assignees. The need for more agile structures and more efficient mechanisms to transfer globally dispersed knowledge are two key enablers in this evolution. With increased interest, this paper offers the first systematic, integrative review of 100 articles on FGWAs. The review indicates that these forms of global work appear to be a somewhat overlooked double-edged sword in that they may confer significant but unrealised value for MNEs alongside hidden, adverse consequences for individuals. Notable was the lack of insight into the HR function's input or oversight at either a strategic or operational level. We find that there is a distinct lack of strategic linkages to global mobility and/or HR functions. We propose a research agenda that centres on better understanding the international HR function's role and responsibility in providing a more strategic and sustainable perspective of these increasingly common FGWAs alongside virtual work. The COVID-19 pandemic may offer a critical juncture point in which there is greater strategic consideration on the utilisation and support of such arrangements.     

Towards a spatial perspective: An integrative review of research on organisational space

Although the notion of space has gained considerable attention in organisation studies, it remains vague, and the respective literature is fragmented. In this paper, we review the empirical literature on organisational space with the aim of synthesising the findings of existing research and thereby facilitating the development of cumulative knowledge in this field. We highlight three dominant concepts that define space: boundaries, distance and movement. Furthermore, we identify four major spatial themes: the distribution of positions in space, the isolation of space, the differentiation of spaces and the intersection of distinct spaces. On that basis, we develop a comprehensive research framework and propose an agenda for future research on organisations from a spatial perspective.     

Ethical development and human resources training: an integrative framework

This article draws on the training and business ethics literatures to craft a framework for creating and maintaining effective ethics training programs. We identify four themes in the recent training literature — trainee characteristics, training design, transfer of trained skills, and evaluation issues — and use these as the basis for creating a model of ethics training. As an illustrative example, we explore the research on individuals' cognitive moral development and examine how a framework built on sound training principles might enhance the efficacy of ethics training. Finally, we present a series of research questions that arise from this integration of ethics and training research.     

Teams in transition: An integrative review and synthesis of research on team task transitions and propositions for future research

Scholars have long sought to understand the factors that influence team functioning and effectiveness. However, we know relatively little about the performance ramifications of transitions between tasks, especially when the transitions are punctuated and brief and the tasks are highly varied. To address this gap in our understanding, we review and integrate several streams of research in the literature on small groups and teams that have implications to team task transitions. From our synthesis, we offer a broad framework and propositions regarding the nature and effects of team task transitions. We conclude with a brief discussion of implications to research and practice.     

Harmonizing corporate venturing modes: an integrative review and research agenda

Management Review Quarterly - The modern landscape of corporate venturing (CV) is emerging and has undergone increasingly rapid evolutions over the past two decades. A growing heterogeneity of CV...     

Mixed methods research in service-learning: an integrative systematic review

Quality & Quantity - In view of the challenges involved in designing a study of Mixed Methods (MM), as well as the problematics inherent in studying Service-Learning (S-L) from new research...     

Coaching models for leadership development: An integrative review

The purpose of this article was to describe and compare coaching models and to address their relevance to the advancement of leadership. Coaching has become a popular strategy for leadership development and change in complex environments. Despite increasing popularity, little evidence describes the necessity and impact of coaching. An integrative literature review from 1996 to 2010, retrieved through seven databases, reference tracking, and consultation with academic networks, led to inclusion of peer‐reviewed articles on coaching models. Themes and critical elements in the selected coaching models were analyzed. The search yielded 1,414 titles. Four hundred twenty‐seven abstracts were screened using inclusion/exclusion criteria, and 56 papers were retrieved for full‐text screening. Ten papers were included: two coaching models from health care settings, seven from business settings, and one from a medical education institution. Critical components of coaching models are: coach–coachee relationship, problem identification and goal setting, problem solving, transformational process, and mechanisms by which the model achieves outcomes. Factors that impact positive coaching outcomes are: coach's role and attributes, selection of coaching candidates and coach attributes, obstacles and facilitators to the coaching process, benefits and drawbacks of external versus internal coaches, and organizational support. The elements of coaching models identified in this review may be used to guide future research on the effectiveness of coaching as a leadership strategy.     

Transparency of nonprofit organizations: An integrative framework and research agenda

Over the past 20 years, as the study of transparency has evolved into a burgeoning multidisciplinary field, nonprofit scholars have developed an impressive body of research on the antecedents and outcomes of the transparency of nonprofit organizations (NPOs). From both theoretical and practical purposes, it is necessary to develop an overall picture of such antecedents and outcomes, to allow scholars and NPOs to understand why, when, and how transparency should be implemented. Current studies provide a fragmented view, focused on specific elements of NPO transparency; with a systematic literature review of 76 articles, this article offers both an integrative framework of the antecedents and outcomes of NPO transparency and an agenda for research, based on a critical analysis of the integrative framework. Four relevant research orientations emerge: (1) direction of NPO transparency, (2) distinguishing actual from perceived transparency, (3) the dark side of NPO transparency, and (4) NPO transparency contingency factors. Research along these four orientations could add nuance to existing knowledge of transparency and provide key insights with regard to why, when, and how transparency works.     

Employee rights and organizational forms: An integrative framework for research

The goal of this study is to stimulate thought and provide initial direction for theory development and empirical investigation in regard to proposed linkages between employee rights concerns in the work environment and organizational forms. A review of pertinent literature on the subjects of organizational forms and employee rights is presented, in which a summary and critique of the current state of theory and research is emphasized in relation to those components of the two subject areas that are most relevant to the aims of the study. Following this review, the article undertakes a synthesis and integration of existing work, bringing together two scholarly fields of inquiry that have not been incorporated previously, and providing suggestions to establish critical associations and fill conceptual gaps. In this respect, the study constitutes a “first step” in the development of an orientation that accentuates the complementarity of perspectives concerning employee rights and organizational forms.     

The delivery of bad news: An integrative review and path forward

Managing the delivery of bad news is a crucial component of effective human resource management. However, the diversity of contexts in which this phenomenon has been studied has made it difficult to develop a consolidated theoretical and practical understanding of bad news delivery. Using an interdisciplinary integrative review (N = 685), we critically analyze how bad news delivery has been conceptualized as well as what interdisciplinary theoretical insights and practical guidance can be offered. Beyond identifying key challenges in the extant literature, we also provide a path forward by showcasing key opportunities, including how conceptualizing bad news delivery as a dialectic process that unfolds over time can further enhance theoretical insights and practical guidance for effectively managing bad news delivery in the workplace.     

The role of family firm specific resources in innovation: an integrative literature review and framework

Management Review Quarterly - Family firms are the prevalent form of entrepreneurial organizations worldwide. While even long-lasting and successful family firms are said to invest less in...     

Workplace mindfulness: An integrative review of antecedents,mediators, and moderators

In recent years, research on and the practice of mindfulness have received greater attention in organizational scholarship. Much of the prior work in this area is directed at the workplace outcomes of mindfulness interventions in terms of employees' well-being, relationships, and performance. Meanwhile, there is an absence of work that integrates research findings concerning individual and workplace factors that affect workplace mindfulness and determine when and how they influence workplace outcomes. This article reviews current organizational literature concerning potential antecedents of workplace mindfulness as well as mediating mechanisms and boundary conditions of the relationship between workplace mindfulness and workplace outcomes. Based on 32 selected studies, an integrated framework of workplace mindfulness is developed, helping us to summarize the extant scholarship in this area. The framework provides a foundation for an emerging research area and outlines key directions for future research.     

Export strategy: : a dynamic capabilities perspective

It is argued here that traditional export strategy research (encompassing the study of internationalization processes and export performance) is characterized by weak theoretical foundations and could benefit from a reorientation towards a dynamic capabilities perspective (DCP). We seek to draw on insights from DCP in order to devise a theoretical basis that could enrich export strategy research. Although our development of DCP insights builds on previous work, it also adds a crucial distinction between knowledge stocks and informational architecture. Changes in architecture are of greater importance. Following this elaboration of the dynamic capabilities perspective, we outline some implications and guidelines for future export strategy research.     

On the conceptualization and measurement of dynamic capabilities for sustainability: Building theory through a systematic literature review

We performed a systematic literature review to explore and understand how the 23-year long debate about dynamic capabilities has addressed sustainability issues. Based on this, we propose a unifying framework that distinguishes different facets of dynamic capabilities for sustainability (DCsS) based on the different types of performance they are more suitable to predict. The theoretical contribution is twofold. First, we add to the literature by highlighting the dependence of different forms of DCsS on different levels of the centrality of sustainability outcomes in corporate strategies. Second, we shed light on the operationalizations of DCsS by providing guidance on the adoption of pertinent constructs and measurement models. The review concludes with a discussion of the managerial implications of the proposed conceptual framework to help decision makers better understand, which strategic moves to make to achieve their intended sustainability goals.     

An integrative literature review of the CSR-HRM nexus: Learning from research-practice gaps

Evidence-based approaches to management receive support from both academics and practitioners, with momentum for this growing as research-practice gaps widen. Knowledge transmission is central to research-practice gaps with ‘knowledge lost before translation’ and ‘knowledge lost in translation’ identified as two areas of concern. To enhance communication channels between academia and practitioners, these gaps require illumination. This study analyzes research and practice literatures connected to the corporate social responsibility/sustainability (CSR/S) and human resource management (HRM) nexus. Findings show there exists broad consensus across these literatures about outcomes (e.g. its salience to employee attraction, retention, involvement with sustainability and organizational performance). However, when it comes to potential approaches to integration (e.g. mechanisms through which CSR/S and sustainable HRM impact outcomes and the role played by contextual factors), research findings are not being disseminated to the practitioner community. This and other points of disjuncture, along with their implications for research and practice, are addressed in this paper.     

An integrative literature review of employee engagement and innovative behavior: Revisiting the JD-R model

The purpose of the current literature review is to (a) provide a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between employee engagement and innovative behavior through the lens of the JD-R model; (b) identify and revisit the guiding theories underpinning employee engagement studies; and (c) construct an integrated conceptual framework based on empirically validated factors and their relationships, along with relevant theories. An integrative literature review of 34 empirical studies indicates that employees perceive a mix of reasonably high demands and high resources to be ideal for their engagement, innovative behavior is a consequence of these delicate interactions, and engaged employees are more likely to behave innovatively by activating coping strategies to deal with challenges. Together, these findings suggest an integrated conceptual framework that refines the original JD-R model and that in doing so, better explicates the dynamics surrounding employee engagement and innovative behavior. Key implications for research and practice are provided.     

Organisational learning,learning organisation,and learning orientation: An integrative review and framework

Organisational Learning (OL) is essential for the survival of an organisation and has led to a significant amount of conceptual and empirical studies. However, no attempt has yet been made to track the overall evolution of OL literature along with the inter-related concepts of learning organisation and organisational learning orientation. Therefore, the present study attempts to fill this gap and track the interdisciplinary flow of knowledge by applying a structural methodology called Systematic Literature Network Analysis (SLNA). The results reveal four main areas of investigation within the field: i) the fundamentals of OL; ii) OL in relation to managerial and economic variables; iii) management of learning organisation; iv) learning orientation in relation to managerial and economic variables. Furthermore, this review contributes by arranging the findings into a theoretical framework which is termed organisational learning chain. Based on the co-analysis of main themes and key concepts detected, the framework integrates and highlights the factors that influence learning performance in and by organisations. Finally, several further research avenues are discussed, and the benefits of the applied review methodology are highlighted.     

An integrative framework of strategic international human resource management

The globalization of business is making it more important than ever to understand how multinational enterprises (MNEs) can operate more effectively. A major component of this understanding appears to be the field of human resource management and, in particular, the field of international human resource management (Brewster, 1991; Hendry, 1992; Desatnick and Bennett, 1978; Dowling, 1986; Dowling and Schuler, 1990; Evans, 1986; Evans, 1989; Laurent, 1986; Tung, 1984). The trend over the past few years has been to identify the linkage of human resource management with strategy and offer an understanding of how single country or domestic human resource management can facilitate organizational understanding and effectiveness (Wright and McMahan, 1992). In this article we attempt to extend this line of work into the international arena. We do this by offering a framework of strategic international human resource management (SIHRM). Anchoring SIHRM in the strategic components of MNEs, namely their interunit linkages and internal operations, strategic aspects of international human resource management are described. Using several theoretical bases, numerous propositions are offered. These propositions reflect the single and multiple influence of the strategic components of MNEs and several exogenous and endogenous factors on SIHRM. The intention is to offer a framework that can serve both academics and practitioners in furthering our understanding of strategic international human resource management.     

The paradox of employee psychological well-being practices: an integrative literature review and new directions for research

Abstract

It is well established that many HR practices aimed at increasing employees’ psychological wellbeing (PWB) and organisational performance conflict and even contradict one another. We address this long-standing issue by undertaking an innovative integrative literature review using the paradox metatheory as a lens. Unlike the contingency approach, a paradox perspective deems real-world tensions as normal, which can also be harnessed, and benefit employees and the organisation. We make three contributions; firstly, we identify contradictory employee PWB and organisational performance HR practices; secondly, we offer a solution in addressing the inherent tension between PWB and organisational performance by developing a new sensemaking conceptual framework; and thirdly, we offer a more nuanced perspective of prevailing arguments by distinguishing endogenous factors that organisations can influence to enhance the synergies between employee PWB and organisational performance HR practices. The intended impact of this paper is to instigate a paradigm shift and shape a new trajectory of thinking about how employee PWB and organisational performance practices can exist side-by-side.