IU Indianapolis ScholarWorks :: Browsing by Author "Boyd, Elizabeth"

Browsing by Author "Boyd, Elizabeth"

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Examining the feedback environment and accountability in informal performance management systems
(2013-03-06) Coulter-Kern, Paige E.; Williams, Jane R.; Ashburn-Nardo, Leslie; Boyd, Elizabeth; Grahame, Nicholas J.
Improving performance management is a high priority for many organizations that want to improve the performance of their employees. Recently, researchers have focused on the social context to promote behavioral change, and have created new scales to examine context, such as the feedback environment. The current study examined internal and external accountability as mediators of the relationship between the feedback environment and developmental behaviors. Participants each completed three scales measuring the feedback environment, internal and external accountability, and developmental behaviors. Results suggested that internal and external accountability both mediate the relationship between the feedback environment and developmental behaviors, but neither is a stronger mediator than the other. In addition, internal and external accountability both mediate the relationship between each component of the feedback environment and developmental behaviors, but again neither is a stronger mediator than the other. This study contributed to the literature on performance management, and emphasized the importance of training supervisors to use the feedback environment to increase perceptions of accountability for employees.
Gender and work-family conflict : the moderating role of a job's gender-type
(2013-11-06) Bradley, Kyle James; Boyd, Elizabeth; Williams, Jane R.; Ashburn-Nardo, Leslie; Grahame, Nicholas J.
With an increased interest in work-family conflict, researchers have recently turned much of their attention to understanding what puts people at risk of experiencing higher levels of work-family conflict. The purpose of this paper is to examine how gender might influence work-family conflict (WFC) experienced. While past research has explored this topic, results have remained inconclusive. Although some research indicates that women experience more conflict, other research indicates that men experience more conflict, while still other research indicates no gender difference. It is proposed here that these mixed results indicate other factors may be present which moderate the effect of gender on work-family conflict. Drawing on the theory of work-family conflict and role congruity theory, this paper looks specifically at how the gender-type of a job moderates the relationship between gender and experienced levels of work-family conflict. Data from alumni from a large Midwestern University were analyzed using hierarchical regression. Job gender-type (i.e., femininity) was found to moderate the relationship between gender and work-family conflict such that women in jobs that were less stereotypically feminine reported higher levels of time based-conflict than women working in jobs that were more stereotypically feminine. Men reported similar levels of WFC regardless of their job type. Directions for future research on gender and WFC are discussed.
Managing Invisible Boundaries: How "Smart" is Smartphone Use in the Work and Home Domains?
(2014) Chatfield, Sarah E.; Boyd, Elizabeth; Hundley, Stephen P.; Sliter, Mike; Grahame, Nicholas J.
The present study sought to examine the impact of technology in permeating the boundaries between individuals’ work and family domains, testing and extending the current theoretical model of boundary management. The first goal, to explore predictors of the boundary management styles (BMS) people use with respect to communication technology (CT), was accomplished by demonstrating that three factors predicted BMS for CT use: preferences for integration, identity centrality, and work/family norms. The second goal, to examine outcomes that could result from varying CT use boundary management styles, was also supported in that BMS for CT use was a predictor of work-family conflict and enrichment. However, one key component of the model was not supported in that perceived control over BMS did not moderate the relationship between BMS and outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed, as well as suggestions for future research on boundary theory and CT use. By exploring tangible boundary management behaviors, the present study offers interesting implications that could ultimately assist organizations in developing policies regarding CT use both at home and at work.
Moving Beyond Work-Family: Establishing Domains Relevant to Work-Life Conflict
(2013-03-06) Crask, Erin M.; Boyd, Elizabeth; Williams, Jane R.; Salyers, Michelle P.
Theoretically, inter-role conflict can occur between any life domains that place competing demands on an individual. However, inter-role conflict research has mainly focused on the conflict between only two domains: work and family. This limited focus is problematic because it has excluded many other potential life domains in which people participate. In order to focus more attention on other life domains, however, it is necessary to understand which life domains people are participating in. As such, the goal of the present qualitative research was to identify and define the full spectrum of life domains by asking two questions: What life domains are relevant to work-life conflict, and how do people value the various life domains in which they are involved? A total of 13 life domains emerged from the data. Participants engaged in an average of 9 of these domains, indicating that people engage in many activities in life outside just work and family.
Multitasking in the workplace : a person-job fit perspective
(2014) Woods, Whitney K.; Ashburn-Nardo, Leslie; Rand, Kevin L.; Boyd, Elizabeth; Williams, Jane R.
In today’s workforce, multitasking on the job has become increasingly important. However, past research has characterized multitasking primarily as a counterproductive work strategy. Drawing from the theory of person-job (PJ) fit, in this this study it is proposed that multitasking may not always result in performance decrements but rather that people’s perceptions and experiences of multitasking may differ depending on individual differences. The theory of PJ fit suggests positive outcomes when there is a match between employee preferences, abilities and job characteristics. Using this framework, this study proposes the concept of multitasking fit and predicts that a match between multitasking preferences and multitasking job demands will result in positive work attitudes. Lastly, it is predicted that higher working memory will lead to higher job performance, especially in jobs requiring higher amounts of multitasking. This study found that PJ fit had generally positive effects on work-related outcomes such as job satisfaction, organizational commitment, turnover intentions, and strains. Due to measurement issues, the relationship between working memory and job performance could not be assessed. However, the results of this study relating to PJ fit suggest that perhaps multitasking is not always a bad strategy within the workplace and that its consequences may instead depend on the degree of fit between an individual and his or her working environment.
A preliminary development and validation of a measure of safety performance
(2014) Yuan, Zhenyu; Sliter, Mike; Boyd, Elizabeth; Williams, Jane R.; Grahame, Nicholas J.
Safety researchers have devoted extensive attention to safety performance behaviors. However, current safety performance models have yet to differentiate between safety citizenship behaviors directed towards the organization and those directed towards individuals. This might be a potential oversight, considering that citizenship behaviors targeted at different beneficiaries might be associated with different antecedents. As such, the purpose of the present study was to develop and validate a new safety performance scale. Items from existing measures formed the item pool and those tapping into the proposed dimensions were selected. Next, items were pilot tested using an online panel of 333 employees from various safety-related industries. A 4-factor structure emerged after exploratory factor analysis and the scale was further refined using reliability analysis and item response theory analysis. Finally, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to replicate the factor structure using data from 137 employees. Theoretically related variables were correlated with the safety performance dimensions to establish the nomological network. Results supported the 4-factor structure of the new safety performance scale and construct validation hypotheses were largely supported. Implications, study limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.
Reducing the tension between work and life roles: testing a work life conflict intervention
(2014-11) Laughman, Courtney Ann; Williams, Jane R.; Boyd, Elizabeth; Ashburn-Nardo, Leslie; Stockdale, Margaret S.
Work-life conflict has been repeatedly demonstrated to have a negative impact on individuals and organizations alike. Although the negative impact of work-life conflict has been recognized in the Industrial Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavioral literature, very few researchers have developed interventions to reduce it. Moreover, the interventions currently in existence tend not to be practical, grounded in relevant theory, or experimentally tested. Thus, the present study sought to create and test an intervention based upon concepts from border theory and conservation of resources theory. Specifically, using these theories, the intervention sought to provide segmentation techniques as a resource for participants to reduce work-life conflict. The intervention was tested on a group of university employees. Results were unsupportive of predicted hypotheses, the intervention was not found to significantly impact segmentation, work-life conflict, work outcomes, or personal outcomes. Future directions, theoretical and practical contributions, and limitations are discussed. Despite insignificant findings, the present study offers practical and theoretical guidance for organizations and researchers interested in developing interventions to reduce work-life conflict.
The relationship between implicit person theory and transformational leadership
(2013-12-10) Kale, Aron Justin; Williams, Jane R.; Boyd, Elizabeth; Ashburn-Nardo, Leslie; Grahame, Nicholas J.
Transformational leadership has been one of the most heavily researched theories of leadership of the past 25 years, largely because this style has been associated with a wide range of positive individual- and organizational-level outcomes. Despite the need for transformational leaders, the antecedents of transformational leadership behavior remain ambiguous. Numerous potential antecedents of transformational leadership have been identified in the past, but this research has focused on popularly addressed or commonly measured variables rather than characteristics with a strong theoretical link to transformational leadership. The current study expands on past research by examining a theoretically driven predictor of transformational leadership behavior. Specifically, the current study will examine whether a leader’s implicit person theory (IPT) will be a predictor of leadership behaviors. This theory was chosen as a potential antecedent because it centers on the concept of malleability or change, and as such shares a strong intuitive connection with transformational leadership (which itself places a heavy emphasis on change and growth). Results did not support our hypotheses, however, as regression analysis revealed that IPT failed to account for significant variation in leadership behavior after accounting for some of the most commonly examined predictors in the literature, (the Big Five personality traits). Limitations of the current study and opportunities for future research are discussed.
The role of appearance in selection for sex-typed jobs
(2014) Redhead, Megan E.; Stockdale, Margaret S.; Williams, Jane R.; Boyd, Elizabeth; Grahame, Nicholas J.
Madeline Heilman’s (1983) Lack of Fit Model, which postulates why discrimination occurs in the selection of sex-typed jobs, has been applied to the interaction of applicant attractiveness. Yet recent research suggests that other appearance variables, namely sex-typed facial features, may be associated with perceptions of fit. Building upon Heilman’s 1983 model, the current study evaluated how sex-typed facial features relate to applicant selection for sex-typed fields. Undergraduate students were recruited for participation during the spring academic semester (n = 413) and data were analyzed using a 2x2x2 ANOVA. Results indicated that selection is significantly impacted by the three-way interaction of applicant sex, facial feature-type, and sex type of the applying field. Further, masculine-featured females and feminine-featured males were significantly less favored for selection within the feminine sex-typed field. Implications of these findings and the differential evaluation of male and female applicants in a feminine field are discussed.
Social comparison, social networking sites, and the workplace
(2015) Tomasik, Rachel E.; Ashburn-Nardo, Leslie; Williams, Jane R.; Boyd, Elizabeth
Although social comparison has been studied for over 60 years, little research has been done to determine the effects it has on the workplace. Moreover, the explosion of social networking sites and their potential impact on the workplace have been largely overlooked by organizational researchers. Therefore, this study will attempt to evaluate the effect social comparison, specifically through social media, has on work relevant outcomes such as one’s job satisfaction, life satisfaction, and entitlement, moderated by materialism (relevance) and job expectations (attainability) of the referent other. Participants selected from an alumni database of a large Midwestern University were asked to view a manipulated Facebook newsfeed page and then complete a brief survey (N=290). A hierarchical multiple regression was conducted to assess the hypotheses. Results, implications, and limitations are also discussed.

Browsing by Author "Boyd, Elizabeth"

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