Multisource feedback: Lessons learned and implications for practice

Organizations around the world are using multisource, or 360‐degree, feed‐back. Although many HR practitioners embrace it as an important mecha‐nism for leadership development, organizations must attend to and address several issues in order to maximize the utility of multisource feedback (MSF). We discuss current research findings and highlight issues for managers to consider both before starting a multisource feedback process and after the feedback is given, plus we review potential outcomes of the process. We also describe lessons learned from an intensive three‐year investigation of an MSF implementation in two organizations. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Can performance appraisals motivate employees to improve performance? A Mexican study

In this study of Mexican employees, we examined the relationship between performance appraisal characteristics (appraisal source, appraisal purpose and feedback richness) and perceived reactions of employees to the appraisal characteristics (perceived fairness and perceived accuracy of appraisals) and appraisal outcomes (appraisal satisfaction and motivation to improve). We hypothesized that multisource appraisals, appraisals used for administrative and developmental appraisals (multipurpose appraisals) and appraisals that have a high degree of feedback richness would lead to more perceived accuracy and perceived fairness of appraisals. We further hypothesized that higher levels of perceived fairness and accuracy would lead to higher levels of employee appraisal satisfaction and motivation to improve performance in the future. Results based on a survey of Mexican employees provide support for most of the hypothesized relationships. We discuss implications of the findings for research and practice of performance appraisals in the Mexican context.     

Signalling Theory and Equilibrium in Strategic Management Research: An Assessment and a Research Agenda

Actors within organizations commonly must make choices armed with incomplete and asymmetrically distributed information. Signalling theory seeks to explain how individuals are able to do so. This theory's primary predictive mechanism is ‘separating equilibrium’, which occurs when a signal's expectations are confirmed through experience. A content analysis finds that most strategic management signalling theory studies have not fully leveraged separating equilibrium. This presents two possible paths for future research. First, some researchers may wish to incorporate separating equilibrium. We illustrate how doing so can uncover new relationships, generate novel insights, and fortify the theory's application. Others who want to theorize about signals, but not examine separating equilibrium, could integrate ideas from signalling theory with other information perspectives. Here a signal becomes one stimulus among many that corporate actors interpret and act upon. We provide research agendas so strategy scholars can apply signalling theory most effectively to meet their research objectives.     

THEORIES OF THE FIRM: IMPLICATIONS FOR STRATEGY RESEARCH*

Theories of the firm provide a perspective for thinking about organizational objectives and a framework for analysing important research problems. Here, we demonstrate the usefulness of several economic theories of the firm for guiding strategy research. We evaluate the relevance of each theory with regard to how the underlying conceptualization of the firm permits us to investigate issues of substantive interest to strategy researchers, and how compatible the assumptions contained within the theory are with the traditional strategy framework. We also examine the relevance of the theories from the viewpoint of philosophical methodology. We argue that, because of the integrative nature of strategy research, it is imperative for researchers to adopt multiple frameworks represented by different theories for the advancement of the field.     

Workforce diversity and firm performance: Relational coordination as a mediator and structural empowerment and multisource feedback as moderators

Workforce composition in organizations has become increasingly diverse. As an important step in determining how workforce diversity leads to firm performance, we proposed relational coordination as a mediator through which diversity in age and education indirectly affects firm performance. We also highlighted two human resource management practices (structural empowerment and multisource feedback) as critical contingencies that moderate the effects of workforce diversity on relational coordination and firm performance. We conducted hierarchical multiple regression on multisource data (including responses from senior directors, department directors, managers, and employees, as well as financial performance) from 189 Korean firms in the manufacturing sector, which yielded support for our hypotheses. These findings offer novel theoretical and practical insights into the effective management of workforce diversity.     

Reflecting on Reflexivity: Reflexive Textual Practices in Organization and Management Theory

abstract    This paper identifies four sets of textual practices that researchers in the field of organization and management theory (OMT) have used in their attempts to be reflexive. We characterize them as multi-perspective, multi-voicing, positioning and destabilizing. We show how each set of practices can help to produce reflexive research, but also how each embodies limitations and paradoxes. Finally, we consider the interplay among these sets of practices to develop ideas for new avenues for reflexive practice by OMT researchers.     

Analyzing the Effectiveness of Multisource Feedback as a Leadership Development Tool for College Students

Undergraduate students (n = 144) completed the Socially Responsible Leadership Scale (SRLS), which measures leadership capacity within the framework of the Social Change Model (SCM) of Leadership Development. Observers (n = 374) who knew the students from a variety of contexts completed observer‐report versions of the SRLS. The research was designed to measure differences in rating of capacity between student leaders and those who know and observe their behaviors. Mean observer scores were higher than self‐reported scores for most capacities, with moderate to large effect sizes. Significant differences between self and observer interscale correlations and a high degree of subscale intercorrelations within observer‐reports led to conducting an exploratory factor analysis of observer responses. A universal one‐factor structure emerged that was different from the SCM model, suggesting observers make little distinction among separate leadership capacities in those they observe. Implications for leadership development and education programs are discussed including the benefit of rater training prior to the use of multisource feedback instruments, how the context in which students interact with observers affects feedback, and the need for further examination of other methods of determining effectiveness in conjunction with multisource feedback instruments.     

Logics,Leaders, Lab Coats: A Multi‐Level Study on How Institutional Logics are Linked to Entrepreneurial Intentions in Academia

Situated in the context of academia, this study integrates ideas from institutional theory, person‐environment fit theory and leadership research to conceptualize and examine the cross‐level link between the organizational‐level institutional logic of research commercialization and the entrepreneurial intentions of researchers. Multi‐level analyses based on a sample of 254 researchers working for 85 research group leaders in 49 German research institutes reveal that two distinct attributes of research group leaders – that is, their track records of entrepreneurial behaviour and their entrepreneurial intentions – play a significant role in transmitting the organizational‐level logic to the individual level. We also observe a complementary interaction between organizational‐level commercialization logic and the entrepreneurial track records of leaders. We discuss how these findings advance our understanding of science commercialization through academic entrepreneurship and how they inform institutional theory and theory development in other domains of entrepreneurship research.     

Measurement equivalence of executives' performance ratings for same‐ and opposite‐gender dyads

The measurement equivalence of performance ratings from different raters is important to establish if researchers and practitioners want to have confidence that raters are using the performance measurement system in the same way. The purpose of the present study was to examine the measurement equivalence of performance ratings from male and female direct reports. Women and men executives from various organizations participated in a multisource assessment process for feedback and development purposes and were rated by both women and men direct reports. The results indicated gender equivalence for direct reports' ratings of men and women executives, meaning that regardless of gender, raters provided ratings using the same psychological metric. The implications and limitations of the study are discussed.     

Balancing Interests in the Search for Occupational Legitimacy: The HR Professionalization Project in Canada

Despite broad debates surrounding how the human resource management occupation can increase its legitimacy, researchers have yet to examine the collective steps HR practitioners are taking in this regard and the extent to which they have been successful. We conduct a case study of the HR professionalization project in Canada via multisource qualitative and quantitative data, which we analyze using a unique integration of the trait and control models from the sociology of professions, as well as isomorphism from institutional theory. Viewed through the lens of these frameworks, we find that HR practitioners are attempting to emulate traits that define traditional notions of professions, and are aspiring to transcendent values associated with balancing the sometimes conflicting interests of employers and employees. Objective data from external stakeholders and institutions show that these collective strategies have been somewhat successful in garnering greater legitimacy thus far, particularly when comparisons are made with the HR professional project in the United States. We highlight numerous implications for future research and practice surrounding the legitimacy of the HR profession. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Action,knowledge and business–environment research: a case for grounded constitutive process theories and a sense of audience

Reflection upon the business–environment literature reveals a difficult transition from early concerns with raising awareness, to current interest in meeting the shortfall in knowledge that many recognize as a barrier to improving environmental performance. From its standpoint of ‘research as reflective conversation’, this paper suggests how research contributions can be framed to provide knowledge with which to address this shortfall. In particular, a case is presented for ‘constitutive process theories’: rich but concise stories of situated action from which others can draw lessons. The paper demonstrates how constitutive process theories can illuminate key aspects of the context, content and process of environmental initiatives. Criteria are identified for assuring rigour and relevance for theories developed in this genre. For instance, individuals involved in a particular initiative must recognize their story in its summary. Also, the theory should include meaningful cues for a wider practitioner audience. These points are illustrated in a constitutive process theory of how a multi‐agency network formed in response to concerns about air quality, transport and public health. Reflecting on lessons learned, the paper argues that the ability to be guided, but not limited, by an acute ‘sense of audience’ is a critical skill for researchers seeking to provide knowledge for action. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

Acquisition performance and the “Quest for the Holy Grail”

Olimpia Meglio and Annette Risberg investigate how researchers measure acquisition performance. I develop some complementary ideas that reinforce their conclusion: this issue is not another Quest for the Holy Grail; it simply highlights our research practices.     

Interpersonal insight in organizations: Cognitive models for human resource development

This article draws on research and theory on social information processing to understand how people learn about themselves and others in organizations. Interpersonal insight stems from four key components of cognition: receiving performance feedback, categorizing the information, attributing cause, and re-evaluating perceptions of oneself and others. The article examines how this process can be applied to self-insight and insight into one-on-one relationships, group dynamics, and negotiations. Implications for research and practice in human resource development are discussed.     

Best practices in developing,conducting, and evaluating inductive research

This editors' introductory article to the Human Resources Management Review special issue on inductive research methods aims not only to provide an overview of the four main articles, but to provide guidance to researchers and gatekeepers about how best to conduct such research. We address four specific goals in the current article. First, we present a brief overview of each of the four papers. Second, we provide a general background on deduction, induction, and abduction: what they are, how they are distinguished from one another and should be used in a complementary manner, and how our field has moved away from inductive toward deductive paradigms over the last five decades. Third, we shed further light on the current representations of deductive versus inductive approaches in our collective published works, and what can/should be done to achieve a better balance between them as we move forward. Fourth, we offer several “best-practice” recommendations for how best to conduct and evaluate research that does not conform to the prevailing hypothetico-deductive model.     

Assessing legitimation in mixed research: a new framework

In this article, we have merged or intersected two typologies: Greene’s (Res Sch 13(1):93–98, 2006) four-domain typology for developing a methodological or research paradigm in the social and behavioral sciences and Onwuegbuzie and Johnson’s (Res Sch 13(1):48–63, 2006) nine-component typology for assessing mixed research legitimation. We argue that merging or interconnecting these typologies present a framework for assessing legitimation in mixed research. Specifically, we demonstrate how the nine types of legitimation map onto Greene’s (Res Sch 13(1):93–98, 2006) four methodological domains and illustrate how legitimation in mixed research, rather than being viewed as a procedure that occurs at a specific step of the mixed research process, is better conceptualized as a continuous iterative, interactive, and dynamic process. Additionally, in presenting this framework, we hope to reduce misperceptions that some researchers have voiced about mixed research.     

How do leaders' perceptions of organizational health climate shape employee exhaustion and engagement? Toward a cascading-effects model

Although researchers and practitioners increasingly focus on health promotion in organizations, research has been mainly fragmented and fails to integrate different organizational levels in terms of their effects on employee health. Drawing on organizational climate and social identity research, we present a cascading model of organizational health climate and demonstrate how and when leaders' perceptions of organizational health climate are linked to employee well-being. We tested our model in two multisource studies (N_{Study 1} = 65 leaders and 291 employees; N_{Study 2} = 401 leader–employee dyads). Results showed that leaders' perceptions of organizational health climate were positively related to their health mindsets (i.e., their health awareness). These in turn were positively associated with their health-promoting leadership behavior, which ultimately went along with better employee well-being. Additionally, in Study 1, the relationship between perceived organizational health climate and leaders' health mindsets was moderated by their organizational identification. High leader identification strengthened the relationship between perceived organizational health climate and leaders' health mindsets. These findings have important implications for theory and practice as they show how the dynamics of an organizational health climate can unfold in organizations and how it is related to employee well-being via the novel concept of health-promoting leadership.     

A review of current construct measurement in entrepreneurship

Construct measurement practices lay at the foundation of empirical research. They are central considerations for entrepreneurship researchers and for consumers of entrepreneurship-related research findings. Yet, little is known about the extent to which entrepreneurship researchers currently take into account these considerations. In this study, we assess the current state of measurement practices in entrepreneurship by content analyzing recent empirical research published in several leading journals. Our findings indicate that, in general, extant research relies far too heavily on measures that do not allow for the assessment of reliability. We offer important implications and provide ways to help surmount these challenges.     

Symposium

The goal of this symposium is to bring researchers and practitioners together to seek out and build common frameworks for discussion. We hope to provide a meeting ground for dialogical discourse among diverse approaches to leadership theory and practice, with an eye to developing models for implementation. To facilitate interaction among participants, this symposium will regularly include invited responses to specific topics, such as appear in this issue around the topic of the globalization of leadership in business, health care, and education. In future issues, we plan to include opinions by leading figures in leadership research, as well as panel discussions around various practical issues in leadership research. We also invite candid reflective responses to issues and ideas encountered in this symposium. Please send responses to managingeditor@phoenix.edu. Note: Only those responses selected for publication will be acknowledged.     

Feedback frequency and appraisal reactions: a meta-analytic test of moderators

Abstract

Performance appraisals provide employees with feedback that helps them improve subsequent performance, with acceptance of feedback as a key precondition to improve performance. In this study, we use the due process model of performance feedback to better understand predictors of favorable employee reactions to performance appraisal. The due process model views knowledge of performance standards and frequent feedback as aspects of adequate notice in performance appraisal, and as key predictors of favorable appraisal reactions. Empirical findings to date, however, have been inconsistent on this issue. Feedback frequency has not been consistently related to appraisal reactions in primary studies, suggesting the potential for moderator effects. We therefore meta-analyzed the relationships between knowledge of performance standards and feedback frequency with appraisal reactions through the due process lens with performance rating favorability and knowledge of performance standards as moderators. Our findings suggest prior inconsistent results could be partly explained by the moderating effects of performance rating favorability and knowledge of performance standards on the relationship between feedback frequency and appraisal reactions. We discuss the implications of our results for theory, research and practice.