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The moderating effect of group star proportion on the conditional relationship between non‐star negative affect and non‐star job performance—Study 2 (real estate firm)
Source publication
Organizations grapple with how to position and manage star employees within and across workgroups. One critical question not yet well understood is how to optimize the influence of stars on non‐stars and specifically whether to concentrate together or spread out stars across workgroups. Furthermore, we lack knowledge of who is more likely to benefi...
Citations
... However, these effects also vary by context, motives, and whether peers perceive potential benefits versus threats from high performers (Campbell et al. 2017). Star performers influence their non-star peers in various ways, with effects depending upon factors such as non-star competence and status (Kehoe and Bentley 2021) and the proportion of stars within and across workgroups (Call et al. 2021). ...
Building on research on star performance, gender, and situational constraints, we introduce a longitudinal process model explaining the gender gap in star emergence. We argue that star emergence is less likely for women than men due to stardom's association with men and masculinity. As a result, situational constraints are more likely to insulate women's performance in terms of knowledge, skills, and abilities development and evaluation (e.g., access to vicarious deliberate practice, biased standards), motivation (e.g., competition intensity, negative interpersonal behavior), and opportunity (e.g., access to high potential tasks, partner supportiveness in the extra‐work environment). We theorize that these factors lead to insulation cycles that reduce the likelihood of women emerging as stars over time. We also offer propositions about mitigators (e.g., strategic diversity goals and influential sponsors) that might attenuate these insulating effects. Finally, we discuss theoretical implications of understanding gender gaps in star emergence (e.g., performance insulation as gender inequity, the importance of a longitudinal perspective, insulation cycles, and star longevity) and practical implications for organizations to create equitable environments for star emergence (e.g., focusing on performance equity and facilitating gender inclusivity). We conclude that greater insight into the role of gender in star performance can also contribute to the broader understanding of gender gaps in organizations.
... They wield a profound influence on their colleagues and possess the capacity to catalyze the growth and progress of others through what is known as the "spillover effects" (Backhaus & Heiner, 2014), effectively showcasing the "power of example". In response to the call from Call et al. (2021) and other researchers to investigate the influence mechanism of star employees on their colleagues, the current paper seeks to explore the impact of star employees' contributions and task visibility on the craftsman spirit of their fellow colleagues within the organizational context. ...
Achieving high-quality development holds significant importance in the contemporary era, making it imperative to nurture and promote the craftsman spirit to its fullest extent. Enterprises are increasingly focusing on enhancing their human capital to establish core competitiveness. In this pursuit, they recognize the pivotal role of exemplary employees, often referred to as “star employees”, and envision creating a career platform resembling a metaphorical “dance with the stars” within the organizational context. Cognitive appraisal theory of emotion suggests how the contribution and task visibility of star employee as external stimulus positively influence colleagues’ emotions, attitudes and behaviors. Through an analysis of 263 leader-employee paired samples, the current study empirically confirms that the exceptional contribution and task visibility of star employees significantly impact the craftsman spirit and professional pride of their colleagues. Furthermore, this study also proves that perceived external prestige and perceived internal respect not only positively strengthened the influence of contribution and task visibility of star employees on professional pride of colleagues, but also positively moderated the mediating role of colleagues’ professional pride between contribution and task visibility of star employees and craftsman spirit of colleagues. Through these findings, the study unveils the specific psychological mechanisms and motivational conditions underlying how star employees’ contribution and task visibility influence their colleagues’ craftsman spirit, providing valuable insights for enterprises seeking to further stimulate the craftsman spirit of employees.
... SIP theory is particularly relevant in understanding how star employees influence their non-star colleagues. Stars, with their high visibility and exceptional performance, provide a rich source of social information (Call et al., 2021) for nonstars to navigate their own roles and performance expectations. Consequently, nonstars are likely to emulate the behaviors of star employees, adjusting their own attitudes and actions based on the social cues they receive (Call et al., 2021). ...
... Stars, with their high visibility and exceptional performance, provide a rich source of social information (Call et al., 2021) for nonstars to navigate their own roles and performance expectations. Consequently, nonstars are likely to emulate the behaviors of star employees, adjusting their own attitudes and actions based on the social cues they receive (Call et al., 2021). This starnonstar exchange (SNE) helps non-stars validate their perceptions and also fosters cooperative relationships (Oettl, 2012;Li et al., 2020). ...
... Accordingly, through SNE, nonstars extract information from their work environment (i.e. from star colleagues) to shape their attitude and behavior. Research has suggested that high-status colleagues can strongly influence the performance of employees (Call et al., 2021). Stars, with their high status and performance capabilities, provide cues for nonstars to adapt their attitudes and behaviors to fit the environment (Salancik and Pfeffer, 1978). ...
Purpose
This study aims to examine how star–nonstar exchange (SNE) influences nonstars’ performance using social information processing theory.
Design/methodology/approach
A time-lagged survey approach is utilized to collect data from 531 nonstars in China. Structural equation modeling and process macro models are applied to test the moderated mediation model of this study.
Findings
Results reveal that SNE has a positive effect on nonstars’ performance through their psychological empowerment, with task complexity moderating the relationship between psychological empowerment and innovative performance. However, no moderating effect was found for routine performance.
Originality/value
Although previous research has delved into how leader–member exchange and team–member exchange influence employee performance. This study uniquely concentrates on how the exchange relationship between star performers and nonstars influences nonstars’ performance – a dimension that has generally been overlooked in existing literature. Findings are important for understanding SNE influence on nonstars’ performance while managing task complexity.
... Interestingly, although a growing body of research has begun to pay attention to the effects of star employees in recent years (e.g., Asgari et al., 2021;Barlow et al., 2023;Call et al., 2021;Li et al., 2020;Villamor & Aguinis, 2024), it has become increasingly difficult to definitively answer the question of how non-stars are affected by star employees. Researchers have demonstrated that star employees can serve as professional guides (Asgari et al., 2021), work assistants (Oettl, 2012), and role referents (Downes et al., 2021). ...
... For example, star employees-as high-quality colleagues-can serve as retention mechanisms for non-stars (Groysberg & Lee, 2010). More recently, studies have found evidence suggesting that star employees also exert negative effects (e.g., Call et al., 2021;Chen & Garg, 2018;Prato & Ferraro, 2018) such as organizational myopia (Chen & Garg, 2018). As it stands, a promising research avenue for star employees is to explore the conditions under which they exert positive and negative influences, especially through an integrative theoretical lens. ...
... As it stands, a promising research avenue for star employees is to explore the conditions under which they exert positive and negative influences, especially through an integrative theoretical lens. Inspired by this, Call et al. (2021) developed a unit-level model utilizing theories of vicarious learning and found that when the proportion of stars in the group exceeds approximately 20%, non-stars' job performance continuously declines (i.e., a curvilinear relationship). Taking the question one step further, this research highlights the social comparison between non-stars and star employees as well as the resulting psychological feelings and subsequent behavioral responses of non-stars. ...
Although star employees have been well documented as having a series of positive impacts in organizations, there is emerging evidence that they also negatively influence non-stars. Research using an integrative framework to explore the advantages and disadvantages of star employees is limited.Drawing on upward social comparison theory and the pain-driven dual envy framework, this research develops a model to examine when and how star employees differentially affect non-stars. Through a 2 × 2 between-subjects scenario-based experiment (Study 1) and a multi-wave field survey (Study 2), it finds that when non-stars possess a high level of expected future similarity to star employees, they tend to develop a feeling of benign envy that motivates them to exhibit role-modeling behavior. Contrariwise, when non-stars have a low level of expected future similarity, they are likely to feel malicious envy and then tend to engage in negative gossip about star employees. This research not only contributes to the star employee literature, but also provides practitioners with useful insights into human resource management practices.
... Despite the issues with ratios, Certo et al. (2020) acknowledged that some researchers present justifiable arguments for using ratios in their analysis. Indeed, the ratio measurement is widely used in literature on star quality employees (e.g., Call et al., 2021;Groysberg et al., 2011;Swaab et al., 2014). Thus, we retained the ratio approach but followed Certo et al. (2020)'s third suggestion that, "at the very least, they report results of models with unscaled data for purpose of comparison and full disclosure (p. ...
... 50 suggests that star employees produce much of an organization's beneficial outputs, serving to offset the impact of relatively unproductive employees. 51 Zucker and Darby (2014) opined that individual stars, especially in science and technology fields, create star organizations which in turn attract yet more individual stars from other organizations. 52 In the academic setting, Desselle et al. (2022) found that institutions of higher learning needed to do more to attract, recognize, and retain star faculty. ...
... First, the current research enriches the literature on morality and star employees by connecting these two independent lines of research for the first time. Specifically, the existing literature on star employees has typically focused on in-role performance stars (Call et al., 2015;Call, Campbell, Dunford, Boswell, & Boss, 2020;Long et al., 2015;Oldroyd & Morris, 2012) with recent research beginning to explore issues related to other types of performance-related star employees such as creative stars (Li et al., 2020). However, while the presence of a moral star is common in teams, the existing star literature has yet to look into this important phenomenon and explored how the presence of a moral star affects other team members' moral behaviors. ...
Although a growing body of literature on star employees has focused on top performers, the influence of moral stars has been neglected, an unfortunate situation given that employees’ moral behavior has prolonged impacts on organizations and society as a whole. In this case, we propose the concept of the moral star, defined as the employee (not the team leader) who exhibits disproportionately high and prolonged morality relative to others and has a reputation of being moral on his or her team. We further draw upon self-categorization theory and investigate the double-edged sword effect of the presence of a moral star on the prosocial behavior of other team members. Specifically, we propose that for nonstar employees who have high levels of moral identity, the presence of a moral star is positively related to their felt moral responsibility and prosocial behavior. In contrast, for nonstar employees with low levels of moral identity, the presence of a moral star is negatively related to their felt moral responsibility and prosocial behavior. We found support for our hypotheses across an experiment and a multi-wave and multi-source field study. Taken together, our findings call for closer attention to the recognition of moral stars, as well as their potential unintended negative impact on teams and organizations.
... Additionally, Scullion et al. (2010), Schuler et al. (2011, claimed that understanding the relation between talent management and performance is extremely important to establish the academic legitimacy of the field. Furthermore, O'Boyle and Kroska (2017) and Call et al. (2021) proved that the growing body of literature focuses on "star" individuals and their performance. What is particularly significant, in the opinion of those authors, and confirmed by O'Boyle and Kroska (2017), is that high performers (stars) constitute a relatively small proportion of employees, yet they contribute disproportionally positively to organizational effectiveness. ...
Talent management has a long scientific trajectory of interest both in organizational and academic dimensions. Over the years, the talent concept has evolved, becoming a managerial phenomenon implemented to different sectors, yet, there is a debate in the context of defining talent, with no agreement as to the semantic concept. Moreover, many publications do not even make any effort to define the talent which, however, does not prevent them from proving the existence of various relations between talent management and other economic phenomena – and this does not merely apply to the academia. Both scholars and practitioners face unfettered freedom in the formulation of what elements constitute the term of talent and its meaning, creating the subject literature, some of which vague and biased, and an extensive analysis of contemporary contribution is lacking. As a consequence, ‘t contributor_role="author"alent’ has become whatever the researcher or practitioner established it to be, creating a path towards scientific chaos. To address this gap, the author proposed an SLR and bibliometrics study of 235 articles published in 71, IF-ranked management journals, from January 1966 to July 2021. There are three objectives of this paper: to analyse definitions of talent aiming at their clarity and unambiguity, to identify trends, and to estimate the future research directions in this area. Finally, as the first attempt of this kind in the domain of science to determine whether there is a need for defining talent to achieve the research goals. As such, this is a new perspective on the existing state of knowledge and it meets the aim and scope of Argumenta Oeconomica.
... 69 Across industries, organizations should take steps to capitalize on the power of teamwork and not just count on the efforts of top-performing individuals. 70 Organizational leaders should invest in team training, work design, and climate. (See Table 2 for key findings from research related to these actions, and see the sidebar Consequences of Poor Teamwork in the Supplemental Material for examples of the effects of poor teamwork in different fields.) ...
Teamwork has been at the core of human social organization for millennia and is essential for organizational productivity and innovation. Yet teamwork often is not as effective as it could be. Drawing on extensive research into the factors that enable teams to function well, this article offers policy recommendations for bolstering teamwork capabilities in society at large and in organizations. Our proposals call for teaching teamwork skills as part of the curricula in higher education and in lower grades in school, creating government and industry regulations designed to enhance teamwork, and designing jobs and organizational workflows in ways that prioritize and support teamwork.
... Talents can also indirectly improve performance, for example, by role-modeling attitudes and behaviors that are adopted by other employees, creating a culture of excellence (Kehoe et al., 2018). On the other hand, talents can have negative impact on firm success due to, for example, status conflicts and inflated egos that lead to over-competition and discourage innovation (Call et al., 2021). These competing findings have led to a debate around the contribution of talents, relative to non-talents, to individual and collective performance, to justify investment in the former. ...
