Please find below details of recent Human Relations OnlineFirst articles that may be of interest to you.
You can access a list of all Human Relations OnlineFirst articles here: http://hum.sagepub.com/content/early/recent .
Categorization and identification: The identity work of 'business sellers' on eBay
Corentin Curchod, Gerardo Patriotta, and Nicolas Neysen
Published online before print in Human Relations February 17, 2014, doi: 10.1177/0018726713516376
http://hum.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/02/05/0018726713516376?papetoc
Abstract
This article aims at gaining a better understanding of how, in a market environment, categorized actors construct their identity in relation to the category to which they are assigned. Drawing on extensive fieldwork conducted at eBay, we consider how the newly categorized 'business sellers' connected eBay's framing of the category (categorical framing) to their subjective interpretations of it (categorical self). We find that business sellers perceived varying levels of discrepancy between categorical framing and categorical self, which led them to engage in processes of identification, identity work and disidentification. Based on our findings, we present a framework relating the level of perceived discrepancies to distinctive paths of identification and we draw implications for understanding the interaction of categorization and identification. The framework highlights how feelings of self-enhancement, injustice and alienation intervene in orienting individuals' paths of identification.
China's 2008 Labor Contract Law: Implementation and implications for China's workers
Mary Gallagher, John Giles, Albert Park, and Meiyan Wang
Published online before print in Human Relations February 17, 2014, doi: 10.1177/0018726713509418
http://hum.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/02/05/0018726713509418?papetoc
Abstract
This article presents empirical evidence from household and firm survey data collected during 2009−2010 on the implementation of the 2008 Labor Contract Law and effects on China's workers. The Government and local labor bureaus have made substantial efforts to enforce the provisions of the new Law, which has likely contributed to reversing a trend toward increasing informalization of the urban labor market. Enforcement of the Law, however, varies substantially across cities. The article analyzes the determinants of worker satisfaction with the Law's enforcement, workers' propensity to have a labor contract, their awareness of the Law's content and their likelihood of initiating disputes, and finds that all are highly correlated with education level, especially for migrants. Although higher labor costs may have had a negative impact on manufacturing employment growth, this has not led to an overall increase in aggregate unemployment or prevented the rapid growth of real wages. Less progress has been made in increasing social insurance coverage, although signing a labor contract is more likely to be associated with participation in social insurance programs than in the past, particularly for migrant workers.
This article will feature in the forthcoming special issue:
Changing work, labour and employment relations in China
Guest Editors: Sarosh Kuruvilla and Eli Friedman
Defined by our hierarchy? How hierarchical positions shape our identifications and well-being at work
Kate E Horton, Charlotte R McClelland, and Mark A Griffin
Published online before print in Human Relations February 17, 2014, doi: 10.1177/0018726713516374
http://hum.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/02/05/0018726713516374?papetoc
Abstract
We explore the influence of hierarchy on workers' identification and well-being. Specifically, we hypothesize that the accessibility of different identity targets will vary according to the distinct priorities and perspectives found at different hierarchical levels, and that this will have implications for the identification and well-being of workers operating in these different positions. Testing our predictions in a sample of 789 naval personnel we find strong support for our hypotheses. Specifically, we find that individuals in operational positions identify strongly with their career and functional workgroups and that these attachments are important in predicting their affective well-being. In contrast, the identifications and well-being of personnel in mid-level and strategic positions are more strongly tied to career and organizational identities respectively. This research provides new insights into the nature and impact of patterns of identification in the workplace, with important theoretical and practical implications for the affective well-being of workers.
Enhancing performance of geographically distributed teams through targeted use of information and communication technologies
Arvind Malhotra and Ann Majchrzak
Published online before print in Human Relations February 17, 2014, doi: 10.1177/0018726713495284
http://hum.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/02/05/0018726713495284?papetoc
Abstract
Increasingly, geographically dispersed teams are relying exclusively on sophisticated information and communication technologies (ICTs) to coordinate their knowledge. Current research argues that the reliance on the technology (versus face-to-face) for communication may inhibit geographically distributed team performance. In contrast, we argue that previous research associates negative performance effects with the level or degree of exclusive reliance on ICT without regard to the specific form or ways in which team members use ICT. We hypothesize that teams will be more successful when they use ICT to specifically facilitate the situational awareness needs created by their teams' composition and task. We studied 54 geographically dispersed teams that all relied exclusively on ICT (with minimal to no face-to-face interactions) for coordination in order to control for the effect of the level of reliance on ICTs. Our multi-source/multi-method study demonstrates that the form of use can have a positive association with team performance even in teams relying exclusively on ICT depending on the team composition and nature of task being performed. Our findings suggest that, instead of assuming that technology reliance negatively impacts team performance, researchers studying distributed teams should separate the level of reliance (degree of use) from form of reliance (type of use) on ICT.
Understanding the positive and negative effects of emotional expressions in organizations: EASI does it
Gerben A van Kleef
Published online before print in Human Relations February 17, 2014, doi: 10.1177/0018726713510329
http://hum.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/02/05/0018726713510329?papetoc
Abstract
Emotions have a pervasive impact on organizational behavior. They do not just influence people's own actions; when expressed, emotions may also exert influence on other organization members who perceive the expressions. Sometimes emotional expressions have 'symmetrical' effects, in that positive expressions yield advantageous outcomes for the expresser, while negative expressions produce disadvantageous outcomes. In other cases effects are 'asymmetrical', such that negative emotional expressions generate beneficial outcomes for the expresser, while positive expressions produce detrimental outcomes. Drawing on Emotions as Social Information (EASI) theory, I develop a theoretical analysis of when and how expressions of anger and happiness generate symmetrical versus asymmetrical effects. I support my analysis with a review of empirical research on the interpersonal effects of anger and happiness in negotiations and leadership. This review permits two general conclusions: (1) symmetrical effects of anger and happiness are mediated by affective reactions of perceivers, whereas asymmetrical effects are mediated by inferential processes in perceivers; (2) the relative strength of affective reactions versus inferential processes (and thereby the likelihood of symmetrical versus asymmetrical effects) depends on the perceiver's information processing motivation and ability and on the perceived appropriateness of the emotional display. I discuss theoretical implications and future directions.
This article will feature in the forthcoming special issue:
When it can be good to feel bad, and bad to feel good: Exploring asymmetries in workplace emotional outcomes
Guest Editors: Dirk Lindebaum and Peter J Jordan
Modeling team knowledge sharing and team flexibility: The role of within-team competition
Hongwei He, Yehuda Baruch, and Chieh-Peng Lin
Published online before print in Human Relations February 3, 2014, doi: 10.1177/0018726713508797
http://hum.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/02/03/0018726713508797?papetoc
Abstract
This study examines the role of within-team competition (i.e. team hypercompetition and team development competition) in a team process. We developed and tested a model that associates team collectivism as the antecedent of within-team competition, and knowledge sharing and team flexibility as the outcomes. The model was empirically tested with data from 141 knowledge-intensive teams. The empirical findings showed that team collectivism had a positive relationship with team development competition and a negative relationship with team hypercompetition. Regarding the outcomes, team development competition and team hypercompetition had an indirect relationship with knowledge sharing and team flexibility through team empowerment. We offer a number of original contributions to the team effectiveness literature, especially by showing that team hypercompetition and team development competition have different impacts on team knowledge sharing and team flexibility.
Chinese migrants' work experience and city identification: Challenging the underclass thesis
Stephen J Frenkel and Chongxin Yu
Published online before print in Human Relations January 28, 2014, doi: 10.1177/0018726713508991
http://hum.sagepub.com/content/early/2013/12/18/0018726713508991?papetoc
Abstract
Are internal migrant workers who have contributed so much to contemporary Chinese economic growth forming a distinct, impoverished underclass (Chan, 2010; Solinger, 2006) or are they slowly merging into the Chinese working class? In this article sociological theory is employed to develop the distinction between underclass and working class, including the conditions and criteria that enable these social categories to be distinguished theoretically and empirically. Drawing on a large range of survey data, including our own analysis of a recent Chinese migrant worker survey, we examine relevant aspects of work and city experience in order to assess the underclass thesis. In addition, we evaluate the argument that younger migrant workers are significantly different in work orientation and strategies for work-life improvement compared with their more experienced counterparts. We conclude that evidence for the underclass thesis is less compelling than an interpretation that views most migrant workers as transitioning into the working class. In addition, although younger workers are more intrinsically oriented than older migrants, both groups concur that labor law enforcement is critical for work-life improvement while simultaneously developing their own collective capacity to influence labor relations outcomes.
This article will feature in the forthcoming special issue:
Changing work, labour and employment relations in China
Guest Editors: Sarosh Kuruvilla and Eli Friedman
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Source: 2012 Journal Citation Reports® (Thomson Reuters, 2013)