Loading...
18 results
Search Results
Now showing 1 - 10 of 18
- Strategic agility through improvisational capabilities: implications for a paradox-sensitive HRMPublication . Cunha, Miguel Pina e; Gomes, Emanuel; Mellahi, Kamel; Miner, Anne S.; Rego, ArménioOrganizations, especially, multinationals, inevitably confront contradictory challenges. One crucial challenge is the value of strategic consistency versus the value of rapid change related to unexpected problems, opportunities and fast moving trends. Accentuating the previously planned strategy can reduce temporal responsiveness; accentuating the immediate problems/opportunities can harm overall consistency. Strategic agility offers a potential path to resolve this paradoxical situation. In this article we advance a vision in which firms nourish improvisational capabilities in order to enhance strategic agility. We develop six HRM domains of action that can enhance effective improvisation and can inform the practice of a paradox-informed HRM. We discuss their implications for HRM-based strategic agility, paradoxical HR, and improvisation.
- Why does performance management not perform?Publication . Cunha, Miguel Pina e; Vieira, Daniel Veiga; Rego, Arménio; Clegg, StewartPurpose – The purpose of this paper is to ask why poor performance management practices persist in Portugal, in the middle of claims to increase productivity. Design/methodology/approach – An inductive micro-practice analysis is used to understand barriers to management practice that do not require massive institutional changes. Findings – The practice of performance management in Portugal typically displays three weaknesses: (1) insufficient planning (2) process and integrity issues, and (3) a non-meritocratic logic. Research limitations/implications – The paper discusses the important topic of persistence of bad practices, showing how institutionalized patterns might be difficult to eradicate even they are suboptimal. Practical implications – The authors identity key issues in the functioning of performance management, therefore helping managers in developing remedies to improve the quality of their practice. Originality/value – The paper explains the persistence of bad management practice whose continuity hinders not only organizations’ effectiveness but also that of their members.
- Resilient leadership as paradox work: notes from COVID-19Publication . Giustiniano, Luca; Cunha, Miguel Pina e; Simpson, Ace V.; Rego, Arménio; Clegg, Stewart
- The optimism-pessimism ratio as predictor of employee creativity: the promise of dualityPublication . Rego, Arménio; Cunha, Miguel Pina e; Júnior, Dálcio Reis; Anastácio, Cátia; Savagnago, MorielPurpose: The purpose of this paper is to study if the employees’ optimism-pessimism ratio predicts their creativity. Design/methodology/approach: In total, 134 employees reported their optimism and pessimism, and the respective supervisors described the employees’ creativity. Findings: The relationship between the optimism-pessimism ratio and creativity is curvilinear (inverted U-shaped); beyond a certain level of the optimism-pessimism ratio, the positive relationship between the ratio and creativity weakens, suggesting that the possible positive effects of (high) optimism may be weakened by a very low level of pessimism. Research limitations/implications: Being cross-sectional, the study examines neither the causal links between the optimism-pessimism ratio and creativity nor other plausible causal links. The study was carried out at a single moment and did not capture the dynamics that occur over the course of time involving changes in optimism/pessimism and creativity. Future studies may adopt longitudinal or quasi-experimental designs. Practical implications: Managers and organizations must consider that, even though positivity promotes creativity, some level of negativity may help positivity to produce creativity. Originality/value: This study suggests that scholars who want to study the antecedents of creativity (and innovation) must be cautious in focusing only on the positive or the negative sides of individuals’ characteristics, and rather they must explore the interplay between both poles. Individuals may experience both positive and negative states/traits (Smith et al., 2016), and this both/and approach may impel them to think divergently, to challenge the status quo and to propose “out the box” and useful ideas.
- Through the looking glass: leader personhood and the intersubjective construction of institutionsPublication . Cunha, Miguel Pina e; Cardona, María José; Clegg, Stewart; Gomes, Jorge F. S.; Matallana, Manuela; Rego, Arménio; Sánchez, Iván D.Institutions have been mainly understood in a dualistic way: as abstract, macro cultural logics, or as inhabited socio-cultural sites. This form of dualism divided people into cognitive cultural dopes or persons with a heart. Scholars are now trying to overcome dualistic modes of thinking about people in institutions, through the consideration of the persons as whole human beings. In this new theoretical approach, it is crucial to understand how institutions frame individual action and how individuals shape institutions. We study this duality by considering the lived experience of Colombia’s presidential transition period from Uribe to Santos in the decade of the 2010s.
- "Heaven or Las Vegas": competing institutional logics and individual experiencePublication . Cunha, Miguel Pina e; Giustiniano, Luca; Rego, Arménio; Clegg, StewartSignificant research has been dedicated to the study of the dual constitutive core at the field and organizational levels but less attention has been paid to the micro-dimensions of the collision of competing logics, namely in terms of how individuals experience and navigate through them and how that influences organizational ethos and strategy. We study how one individual, founder of the organization behind the independent music label 4AD, made sense and lived through the fundamental clash of two logics: 'music as art' and 'music as business'. We analyse how the personal struggles of the founder allowed the construction and maintenance of a strong, solid and continued organizational identity for 4AD. We uncover four factors accounting for the protection of 4AD's sustained artistic integrity in face of a transforming industry.
- Ambidextrous leadership, paradox and contingency: evidence from AngolaPublication . Cunha, Miguel Pina e; Fortes, Armanda; Gomes, Emanuel; Rego, Arménio; Rodrigues, FilipaThe study departs from two assumptions. First, it considers that organizations, their leaders and the HRM function are inherently paradoxical and that, in that sense, dealing with paradox is a necessary component of the leadership process which requires ambidexterity capabilities. Second, it explores whether the paradoxes of leadership may manifest differently in different contexts. We explore the emergence of paradox in the leadership of Angolan organizations. Angola is an economy transitioning from a centrally planned to a market mode, and this makes it a rich site for understanding the specificities of ambidextrous paradoxical processes in an under-researched, ‘rest of the world’, context. The findings of our inductive study led to the emergence of four interrelated paradoxes and highlight the importance of ambidextrous paradoxical work as a HRM contingency.
- Mission impossible? The paradoxes of stretch goal settingPublication . Cunha, Miguel Pina e; Giustiniano, Luca; Rego, Arménio; Clegg, StewartStretch goal setting is a process involving multiple and nested paradoxes. The paradoxical side of stretch is attractive because it holds great promise yet dangerous because it triggers processes that are hard to control. Paradoxes are not readily managed by assuming a linear relation between the here and now and the intended future perfect. Before adopting stretch goal setting, managers should thus be prepared for the tensions and contradictions created by nested or interwoven paradoxes. Achieving stretch goals can be as difficult for the managers seeking to direct the process as for designated delegates. While the increasing popularity of stretch goal setting is understandable, its unexpected consequences must be taken into account. The inadequate use of stretch goals can jeopardize the social sustainability of organizations as well as their societal support systems.
- Leader humility and team performance: exploring the mechanisms of team psychological capital and task allocation effectivenessPublication . Rego, Armênio; Owens, Bradley; Yam, Kai Chi; Bluhm, Dustin; Cunha, Miguel Pina e; Silard, Anthony; Gonçalves, Lurdes; Martins, Mafalda; Simpson, Ace Volkmann; Liu, WenxingAlthough there is a growing interest toward the topic of leader humility, extant research has largely failed to consider the underlying mechanisms through which leader humility influences team outcomes. In this research, we integrate the emerging literature of leader humility and social information processing theory to theorize how leader humility facilitates the development of collective team psychological capital, leading to higher team task allocation effectiveness and team performance. While Owens and Hekman (2016) suggest that leader humility has homogeneous effects on followers, we propose a potential heterogeneous effect based on the complementarity literature (e.g., Tiedens, Unzueta, & Young, 2007) and the principle of equifinality (leaders may influence team outcomes through multiple pathways; Morgeson, DeRue, & Karam, 2010). In three studies conducted in China, Singapore, and Portugal, including an experiment, a multisource field study, and a three-wave multisource field study, we find support for our hypotheses that leader humility enhances team performance serially through increased team psychological capital and team task allocation effectiveness. We discuss the theoretical implications of our work to the leader humility, psychological capital, and team effectiveness literatures; and offer suggestions for future research.
- Brazilian managers’ ageism: a multiplex perspectivePublication . Rego, Arménio; Vitória, Andreia; Tupinamba, Antonio C. R.; Reis Júnior, Dálcio; Reis, Dalcio; Cunha, Miguel Pina e; Lourenço-Gil, RuiPurpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the Brazilian managers’ attitudes toward older workers, and how those attitudes explain HRM decisions in hypothetical scenarios. Design/methodology/approach: Brazilian managers (n=201) reported their attitudes toward older workers and their decisions in scenarios involving an older vs a younger applicant/worker. Findings: In spite of expressing positive attitudes toward older workers, a significant number of managers chose a younger one even when the older worker is described as more productive. To build a better understanding of how attitudes predict decisions, it is necessary to identify attitudinal profiles and the interplay between attitudinal dimensions, rather than simply studying each dimension separately. Attitudinal profiling also shows that some managers discriminate against younger workers, a finding, that is, ignored when (only) regressions are taken into account. The managers’ attitudes and behavioral intentions relate with their age. Evidence does not support the double jeopardy effect against older women workers. Research limitations/implications: The sample is small. The scenarios cover a reduced number of HRM decisions. The data about attitudes and decisions were collected simultaneously from a single source. The findings may be influenced by idiosyncrasies of the context. Future studies should also consider real situations, not hypothetical ones. Practical implications: Efforts must be made (e.g. via training and development) to raise managers’ awareness about the consequences of ageism in organizations. Originality/value: Empirical studies about managers’ perceptions/attitudes toward older workers are scarce. Studies in the Brazilian context are even scarcer.