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ORIGINAL ARTICLES

Workplace events and employee creativity: A multistudy field investigation
Yang Chen, Dong Liu, Guiyao Tang, Toschia M. Hogan

A burgeoning body of research has examined the influence of stable attributes of individuals, teams, and organizations on employee creativity. Events, however, permeate the increasingly dynamic and uncertain business context. To extend the creativity literature, we draw on event system theory to examine whether, when, and how workplace events impact employee creativity. Our findings based on two time-lagged field studies reveal that workplace event novelty and criticality interact to fuel employee improvisation and in turn, employee creativity. The positive relationship between workplace event novelty and employee improvisation is stronger when workplace events are more critical. Our research highlights the value of an event-oriented theory-building approach to investigate dynamic organizational phenomena.

Rationalize or reappraise? How envy and cognitive reappraisal shape unethical contagion
Chase E. Thiel, Julena Bonner, John T. Bush, David T. Welsh, Rakesh Pati

Reducing unethical employee behavior is a complex challenge for organizations given that such behavior is often highly contagious. Yet, although many employees imitate the unethical behavior of their coworkers, some adhere to ethical standards in spite of their coworkers' unethical behavior. Drawing on social cognitive theory, we propose an expanded model of unethical social influence that sheds light on the processes and boundary conditions associated with unethical contagion within organizations. Specifically, we argue that observing others engage in unethical behavior evokes feelings of envy that, in turn, facilitate moral disengagement and unethicality. We then integrate research on cognitive reappraisal with the moral disengagement literature to propose that cognitive reappraisal attenuates the experience of envy in those who observe unethical behavior. Across two field studies and an experimental study, we build a model in which envy mediates the relationship between observed unethical behavior and moral disengagement with downstream consequences in the form of unethical behavior. Additionally, both cognitive reappraisal orientation (Studies 1 & 2) and cognitive reappraisal training (Study 3) attenuate this mediated effect. Given the substantial costs of unethical contagion within organizations, these findings have implications for both scholars and managers.

You get me: Examining the implications of couples' depersonalization agreement for employee recovery
Kelly Schwind Wilson, Catherine E. Kleshinski, Fadel K. Matta

Previous research demonstrates that depersonalization is harmful for employee outcomes. In addition, research is beginning to examine employees' family context along with their experiences both at work and at home. We advance these literatures using shared reality theory as a foundation for investigating couples' dyadic agreement surrounding employee depersonalization and its implications. Using polynomial regression and response surface methodology of data from employee-significant other dyads, in Study 1, we find that agreement between partners on employee depersonalization is associated with lower work-to-family conflict (following general shared reality theory arguments) and increased subsequent recovery for the employee. In Study 2, we examine more specific shared reality theory arguments using the same analytic approach. We show that agreement between partners on employee depersonalization is associated with less distress and an increased perception that one's depersonalization is understood, and ultimately increased recovery for the employee via reductions in distress. Taken together, these results suggest the harmful effects of depersonalization are largely minimized if an employee's partner accurately recognizes their depersonalization. Interestingly, our collective results show it is better for employees to have agreement with their partners surrounding a high level of employee depersonalization than have low levels of depersonalization accompanied by disagreement.

Too much of a good thing: Examining the curvilinear relationship between team-level proactive personality and team performance
Ruixue Zhang, Anran Li, Yaping Gong

Research has largely shown a positive linear relationship between proactive personality and job performance at the individual level. However, it remains unknown whether the same relationship holds at the team level. In this research, we propose and test a curvilinear relationship between team mean level of proactive personality and team performance. We also examine team potency and team cohesion as the explanatory mechanisms and the dispersion of proactive personality as a boundary condition for the relationship. We conducted two studies to test these ideas. In Study 1, we collected data from 93 teams in four companies from different industries. In Study 2, we collected data from 101 nursing teams in three hospitals. We found a curvilinear relationship between team mean level of proactive personality and team performance in Study 1 and replicated it in Study 2. We further demonstrated in Study 2 the moderating role of dispersion of proactive personality and the mediating role of team potency and team cohesion, respectively, in this curvilinear relationship. The positive trend of the curvilinear relationship is strengthened (weakened) when the dispersion of proactive personality is high (low). The negative trend is mitigated under high dispersion of proactive personality but is not significant under low dispersion of proactive personality. Practically, managers must be aware that team mean level of proactive personality benefits team performance only up to a certain point.

Vocational interests, gender, and job performance: Two person–occupation cross-level interactions
Serena Wee, Daniel A. Newman, Q. Chelsea Song, John A. Schinka

Vocational interest theories imply a person–occupation cross-level interaction effect (e.g., artistic interests predict job performance better in artistic occupations), which has rarely if ever been tested as such. Using a large military sample, we find person–occupation interest congruence effects are supported: (a) on core technical job performance for six of eight interest dimensions, and (b) on job performance ratings for structural/machines and rugged outdoors (i.e., Realistic) interests. Another cross-level interaction involves the person–occupation gender congruence effect. Our data also confirm the job performance gap favors men when in male-dominated occupations, but favors women when in gender-balanced occupations. Due to strong overlap between vocational interests and gender, we conduct a critical test of whether person–occupation interest congruence might be due to person–occupation gender congruence. In only two of six cases (i.e., rugged outdoors and administrative interests), did the person–occupation interest congruence effect disappear after controlling for the person–occupation gender congruence effect; the gender congruence effect also remained significant after controlling for the interest congruence effect. Consequently, the two cross-level interactions on job performance (for vocational interests and for gender) appear to represent distinct effects. In a second, service organization sample, the person–occupation interest congruence effect (for Realistic interests) on job performance ratings and the person–occupation gender congruence effect were both replicated.

BOOK REVIEWS

Workplace wellbeing: A relational approach. Costello, James. New York: Routledge.
Alexander T. Jackson, Reed Priest

The Cambridge handbook of technology and employee behavior. Landers, R. N. (Ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Felix Wu, Frederick L. Oswald

The new business of consulting: The basics and beyond. Elaine Beich. Hoboken NJ: Wiley.
Rik Nemanick

Dynamics of psychological goals. A self-organization theory of motivation and personality. Kai, Zhang. Quebec, Canada: Royal Collins Publishing Group Inc. 
Karin Sanders