Wouter,
You might also check out the Environmental Psychology literature. Sundstrom, Burt, & Kamp have an AMJ piece from the 80s that draws on some of this lit to examine relationships of physical office design and privacy. Irwin Altman's stuff on boundary regulation may also be informative. The social facilitation literature would also speak to issues of physical enviornment as it relates to social interaction and behavioral outcomes such as performance. Good luck,
Brad
Bradley J. Alge, PhD
Associate Professor of Management
Krannert School of Management
Purdue University
100 S. Grant St., Rawls Hall 4043
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2076
Ph. 765-494-4483
Fax. 765-496-7434
E-mail: algeb@purdue.edu
From: Organizational Behavior Division Listserv [mailto:OB@AOMLISTS.pace.edu] On Behalf Of Robinson, Sandra
Sent: Wednesday, November 21, 2007 1:00 PM
To: OB@AOMLISTS.pace.edu
Subject: Re: Employeescapes
Hi Wouter
You might want to contact Graham Brown, at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Singapore</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Management</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place>. His research focuses on territorial behavior in the workplace. Although territoriality research goes beyond the physical to address territoriality of roles, relationships and other intangibles in organizations, it is grounded, in part, on the research of physical space found in environmental psychology.
Sandra
Dear Sirs,
My name is Wouter Liekens and I am a graduate student at the University of Liverpool (MBA).
My current dissertation topic is EMPLOYEESCAPES.
Working further on the ideas from Mary Jo Bitner I turn the whole behavioral theories in the direction of the employees in a service setting.
We all agree that the physical environment alters our ways of acting and even thinking, there is ample literature available to sustain this to say the least.
What I am looking for is direct research and literature that links the physical environment to behavior.
Why EmployeeScapes?
EmployeeScapes are the areas in which employees act and interact, feel and behave and serve customers. As indeed the physical environment is made a certain way as to influence customers, "atmospherics" as Kottler would call it. We see with Bitner a connection to employees. However I would like to see it 100% towards the employees in the setting.
What then influences their behavior and how can it be influenced positively? The research I tend to conduct will be directed towards the employees in the setting I have chose, being my own hotel. I am now looking for a good set of theories that I can use as the basis for the questions in my questionnaires and interviews.
I do hope you could help me in the right direction.
Kind regards,
Wouter
Wouter