Heike Bruch

• University of St. Gallen

As organizations strive for more flexibility, decentralized decision‐making has been at the core of many modern HR approaches. Yet, on a company‐wide scale, it remains unclear whether decentralized decision‐making structures improve organizational performance. Our study aims to illuminate prior ambiguous evidence by examining an employee‐level mech...

In diesem Beitrag beschäftigen wir uns mit der Frage, wie sich die Arbeit im Homeoffice auf die Produktivität, das Wohlbefinden und die Gesundheit von Mitarbeitenden auswirkt. Zudem zeigen wir die Bedeutung von moderner, motionsorientierter Führung als Hebel für eine gesunde Hochleistung von Mitarbeitenden in diesem speziellen Kontext auf.

Prior research suggests that the organizational context supports the emergence of employee ambidexterity; however, the interplay between formal and informal context has been largely unexplored. We analyze this interplay with a multilevel, multi-source data set of 2,446 individual employees nested in 77 organizations. We find that a promotion climat...

Leaders are expected to enhance the work meaningfulness of followers, but little insight exists on the role of leaders’ own experience of meaningfulness in that process. We propose a leader‐follower transfer model of work meaningfulness through visionary leadership, grounded in self‐concept‐based theory, in which leader‐follower dyadic tenure shape...

To strategically manage the deployment of collective human resources toward performance, managers must recognize, interpret, and align the volatile resources of productive organizational energy. Despite relevant prior work, research and practice still lack a comprehensive approach toward analyzing and managing energy patterns over time. We develop...

Research suggests that firms with family CEOs differ from other types of businesses, yet surprisingly little is known about how employees in these firms feel and behave compared to those working in other firms. We draw from family science and management research to suggest that family CEOs, because of their emotion-evoking double role as family mem...

Drawing from team‐level job demands‐resources theory, we hypothesize that team workload demands moderate the positive link between team boundary work (i.e., boundary spanning and boundary buffering) and team effectiveness (i.e., team innovation and team performance), such that boundary work is more beneficial for team effectiveness when teams face...

Research question: What opportunities and challenges arise from working from home and how do managers have to lead in this context? Methodology: Using a multi-method dataset of 108 employees, mean value and regression analyses were employed. Practical implications: Up to two to three days of home office per week had positive effects on employees....

In this study, we seek to understand the consequences of demographic faultlines at the organizational level. Drawing from the faultline and cross-categorization literature, we suggest that organizational demographic faultlines (based on age and gender) have the potential to either reduce or enhance employees’ collective organizational identificatio...

We explore whether, and how, Top Management Team (TMT) cohesion can affect the collective turnover intentions of employees, through two interrelated interface processes. Based on Social Information Processing theory, we propose that the organization's corrosive climate and non-TMT managers' transformational leadership transmit TMT cohesion-based sy...

Multiple team membership (MTM) is a complex phenomenon that poses significant challenges for organizational research and practice. In this article, we delve into the multilevel nature of MTM, which has not received adequate research attention to date. We develop a resource-based framework that advances our understanding of the antecedents and produ...

This study contributes to the emerging literature on age diversity effects at the organizational level of analysis by comparing the role of chronological‐age diversity versus subjective‐age diversity. We hypothesize a multilevel model in which organizational‐level subjective‐age diversity is negatively related to bonding social capital within organ...

Faced with competitive labor markets, firms increasingly use employer branding to build a qualified workforce and engage their employees. However, our understanding of the impact of employer branding orientation on firm performance and the theoretical firm‐level mechanisms underlying this potential impact is very limited. To address this gap, we in...

Early life stress (ELS) affects stress- reactivity via limbic brain regions implicated such as hippocampus and amygdala. Social support is a major protective factor against ELS effects, while subjects with ELS experience reportedly perceive less of it in their daily life. The workplace, where most adults spend a substantial amount of time in their...

This article investigates how and when a firm’s level of customer contact influences the collective organizational energy. For this purpose, we bridge the literature on collective human energy at work with the job impact framework and organizational sensemaking processes and argue that a firm’s level of customer contact is positively linked to the...

Ein wichtiger Faktor für den langfristigen Erfolg von Unternehmen ist die Fähigkeit, Organisationale Energie für die entscheidenden Change- und Innovationsprozesse zu erzeugen und diese Kraftpotenziale optimal zu nutzen und zu erhalten. Ein gezieltes Energiemanagement stellt daher eine Schlüsselaufgabe für Führungskräfte dar. Dies gilt nicht nur in...

Grounded in an open systems perspective, we build and test new theory about how the kinds of industries in which an organization participates influences organizational affective tone and connects to workforce strain. We propose that the more an organization's activities lie in consumer-centric industries (e.g., service, retail), the more positive a...

This study integrates recent advances in interdependence theory with the literature on commitment-based HR practices. New research on interdependence theory suggests that differences, or asymmetries, in task dependence among organisational members can cause interests to diverge. Prior research has shown that this can negatively affect interpersonal...

Recent advances in leadership research suggest that collective-focused leadership climate and differentiated individual-focused leadership might simultaneously, yet oppositely, affect collective outcomes. The present study extends this literature by addressing open questions regarding theory, methods, statistics, and level of analysis. Therefore, a...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how and when customers influence organizational climate and organizational health through their feedback. Based on affective events theory, the authors classify both positive and negative customer feedback (PCF and NCF) as affective work events. The authors expect that these events influence the pos...

We extend theories on charismatic leadership by investigating the influence of prior company performance on subordinates’ attributions of chief executive officer (CEO) charisma within companies of different sizes and ownership structure. First, we use an experimental design to examine the effects of prior company performance on attributions of CEO...

Experiencing work as meaningful benefits both individuals and organizations. While prior research has indicated that leaders may shape followers’ work meaningfulness, little is known about the role of leaders’ own work meaningfulness in this process. Drawing from self-concept based theory and interpersonal sensemaking processes, we argue that work...

This study examines how followers regulate their outward expression of emotions in the context of two types of leadership that are commonly associated with transformational leadership, namely charismatic leadership and individually considerate leadership. Based on new theorizing and a series of three studies involving experiments and field work, we...

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine, theoretically and empirically, whether an employee training program can enhance the collective perception of empowerment of work units within an organization. The authors hypothesized that training participation relates to empowerment by enhancing the potency, meaningfulness, impact, and autonomy o...

This article extends the conceptual knowledge of average relative subjective age in organizations by exploring organizational-level antecedents and consequences of employees, on average, feeling younger than their chronological age. We draw from the theories of selection-optimization-compensation and socioemotional selectivity to build a theoretica...

While complaint management has received much attention, customer compliments and their systematic handling have been largely ignored. Based on two empirical studies, this article suggests that customer compliments bear great potential for benefiting firms, and gives recommendations on how managers can enable, stimulate, and amplify positive custome...

Forschungsfrage: Wie lassen sich Teams in der industriellen Entwicklung effizient steuern und führen? Methodik: Befragung von 906 Teammitgliedern in 131 Teams im F&E Bereich eines Automobilunternehmens. Praktische Implikationen: Die Messung der sozialen und psychologischen Faktoren, die Teamergebnisse beeinflussen, machen es der einzelnen Führungsk...

While prior research has related diversity climate to a range of desirable outcomes, much less is known about which factors shape employees' perceptions of organizational diversity-related policies, practices, and procedures. Our study aims at filling this gap in research by examining the interplay of leadership at different organizational levels f...

With this article we contribute to the inclusion of employees with disabilities in the workplace. Based on Stone and Colella's (1996) model of factors affecting the treatment of employees with disabilities in organizations, we concentrate on the investigation of job satisfaction as a focal affective response. Besides examining job satisfaction diff...

This paper extends the knowledge of the concept of subjective age in organizations by exploring organizational-level antecedents and consequences of employees on average feeling younger than their chronological age. We draw from the theories of selection-optimization-compensation and socio- emotional selectivity to build a theoretical framework for...

This study explores how customer contact energizes organizations. We propose that average customer contact is positively linked to average prosocial impact which, in turn, is positively linked to productive organizational energy. Furthermore, we suggest that transformational leadership climate positively moderates this mediation. Thereby, we integr...

Past research has found ample evidence that high-performance work systems (HPWSs) positively affect organizational performance (Combs, Liu, Hall, & Ketchen, 2006). However, this research has scarcely considered absenteeism as a focal outcome of interest. Drawing upon social exchange theory (Blau, 1964) and the literature on positive social interact...

Das Verständnis von Führung in Unternehmen ist im Wandel begriffen. Führungskräfte stehen jeden Tag vor neuen Herausforderungen und müssen in kürzester Zeit Veränderungen bewältigen und Chancen ergreifen können. Dabei wird erwartet, dass sie Höchstleistungen erbringen, Innovationen vorantreiben, Kunden begeistern und die Potenziale von Mitarbeitere...

Recent studies at the dyadic- and team-levels of analyses indicate that asymmetries in task dependence among organizational members can negatively affect work relationships and hinder team learning and team performance. This study takes the abovementioned findings to the next level by investigating whether task dependence asymmetries also negativel...

This study investigates the situations in which productive organizational energy (POE) and organizational performance increase through customer passion, that is, perceived customers' affective commitment and customers' positive word-of-mouth behavior. We integrate research on POE with research on customer influences on employees. Based on emotional...

Purpose ‐ In light of the increasingly aging workforce, it is interesting from both a theoretical and practical perspective to investigate empirically the commonly held stereotype that older workers are more resistant to change (RTC). Thus, the main purpose of this paper is to investigate the age/RTC relationship, considering tenure and occupationa...

This study investigates the emergence and the performance effects of an age-diversity climate at the organizational level of analysis. Building upon Kopelman and colleagues’ (Kopelman, Brief, & Guzzo, ) climate model of firm productivity as well as Cox's () interactional model of cultural diversity, we hypothesize a positive influence of age-inclus...

This paper seeks to advance the diversity literature by investigating organizational performance consequences of age diversity. Drawing from social‐identity and social‐categorization theory, we theoretically argue that, in age‐diverse companies, age‐based subgrouping processes occur, favouring a shared perception of a negative age‐discrimination cl...

The authors of the preceding chapters have outlined the major factors for success in strategic HR development. We will conclude with a new and innovative look at HR development. This final chapter will look at how cutting-edge HR development can benefit substantially from considering the phenomenon of organisational energy.

This article explores whether a top management team’s (TMT) behavioural integration relates to the work outcomes of employees. We first discuss likely theoretical mechanisms for such a relationship by integrating the literature on top management team behavioural integration with the literature on organizational climate, productive energy and employ...

We introduce the notion that the energy of individuals can manifest as a higher-level, collective construct. To this end, we conducted four independent studies to investigate the viability and importance of the collective energy construct as assessed by a new survey instrument—the productive energy measure (PEM). Study 1 (n = 2208) included explora...

Transformational leadership (TFL) climate describes the degree to which leaders throughout an organization engage in TFL behaviors. In this study, we investigate performance linkages, mechanisms, and boundary conditions of TFL climate at the organizational level of analysis. In a sample of 158 independent organizations, 18,094 employees provided da...

We sought to establish whether mean level within-team assessments of a leader's transformational behavior and the extent of perceived variability (i.e., consensus) among team members’ ratings around this mean level are separate yet related indicators of leader quality. To this end, using data from 108 work teams in a multinational field setting, we...

This paper deals with the emergence of perceived age discrimination climate on the company level and its performance consequences. In this new approach to the field of diversity research, we investigated (a) the effect of organizational-level age diversity on collective perceptions of age discrimination climate that (b) in turn should influence the...

The successful management of demographic change in German companies will mostly depend on their executives’ leadership capabilities. Based on the implicit leadership theory of effective leader-subordinate relationships, the perceived leadership behaviour must match individual subordinates’ leadership prototypes. As research in sociology and social...

This article empirically investigates the role of organizational structure in the transformational leadership (TFL) process. We examine organizational centralization, formalization, and size as antecedents of an organization's TFL climate, and as moderators of the relationship between TFL climate and productive organizational energy (POE). Hypothes...

Die Thematik des demographischen Wandels gerät angesichts zyklischer Krisen und Rezessionen wie der momentan vorherrschenden Wirtschaftskrise mitunter in den Hintergrund der öffentlichen Wahrnehmung. Über die nächsten Jahrzehnte betrachtet ergeben sich aus dem demographischen Wandel jedoch vielfältige Chancen und Herausforderungen, die das Topmanag...

This paper addresses the role of age-based faultlines in relation to the perceived productive energy of work teams, and transformational leadership as a potential moderator of this relationship. Based on social identity and social categorization theory-teams that have strong age-based faultline, defined as age subgroup formation that is reinforced...

Common age stereotypes suggest that older employees are more resistant to change. Contrary to this stereotype, we found age to be negatively related to resistance to change in a sample of 2,981 employees from diverse companies. Furthermore, tenure and occupational status (blue collar or white collar) were identified as prominent boundary conditions...

Contextual ambidexterity has been proposed to be crucial for company performance. Yet, only little is known about how contextual ambidexterity impacts firm performance. Based on prior research, we propose contextual ambidexterity to drive productive organizational energy toward the organizational overarching goals which in turn will positively impa...

Heike BruchSumantra GhoshalIn the Autumn 2004 issue of Business Strategy Review we published one of the final articles by . With characteristic intellectual brio, Ghoshal and his co-author argue that effective execution lies at the heart of achieving superior business performance and that purposeful action-taking by managers — both individually and...

Die vorangegangenen Kapitel des vorliegenden Buches haben entscheidende Erfolgsfaktoren der strategischen Personalentwicklung dargelegt. Dieser abschließende Beitrag fügt dem Thema Personalentwicklung eine neue innovative Perspektive hinzu: Im Folgenden wird aufgezeigt, wie moderne Personalentwicklung vom Einbezug des Phänomens der Organisationalen...

„Wir stehen vor einem beispiellosen demographischen Wandel, der sich massiv auf die gesamte Gesellschaft auswirken wird. … Die Entwicklung wird fast alle Bereiche unseres Lebens betreffen, beispielsweise die Geschäftsabläufe und die Arbeitsorganisation, die Stadtplanung, das Wahlverhalten und die gesamten sozialen Sicherungssysteme. Alle Altersgrup...

Nach Betrachtung der Chancen und Herausforderungen sowie der notwendigen Handlungsfelder auf der individuellen sowie der Teamebene, sollen abschließend die Gesamtunternehmensebene analysiert und spezifische Aktivitäten zur Bewältigung des demographischen Wandels abgeleitet werden.

Was bedeutet eigentlich der individuelle Alterungsprozess für die Leistungsfähigkeit und Produktivität der einzelnen Mitarbeitenden eines Unternehmens und was können die einzelnen Mitarbeitenden tun, um seine Leistungsfähigkeit möglichst lange aufrecht zu erhalten? Das sind die Hauptfragen mit der sich dieses Kapitel beschäftigen wird.

Betrachtet man die möglichen Auswirkungen des demographischen Wandels auf die Unternehmenswelt im Hinblick auf Folgen für Führung und Zusammenarbeit fällt zunächst eine mögliche veränderte Vorgesetzten-Mitarbeitenden-Beziehung ins Auge. Mit Mitarbeitenden von bis zu fünf unterschiedlichen Generationen gleichzeitig in ihrer täglichen Arbeit umzugehe...

Am 23. Mai 2007 gewann der AC Mailand mit einem 2:1 Sieg gegen den FC Liverpool das Finale der europäischen Champions League. Vor 63.000 Zuschauern im ausverkauften Olympiastadion von Athen wurde so zum siebten Mal die europäische Fußballkrone errungen. Gleichzeitig gelang die Revanche für die bittere Niederlage im Finale von 2005, in welcher der A...

In den vorangehenden Kapiteln haben wir versucht, die Herausforderungen des demographischen Wandels für Wirtschaft und Unternehmen aus ganz unterschiedlichen Perspektiven zu beleuchten. Die Haupterkenntnisse und wichtigsten Schlussfolgerungen werden in diesem abschließenden Kapitel nochmals kurz zusammengefasst. Außerdem unternehmen wir den Versuch...

Der demographische Wandel ist in aller Munde. Kaum ein Tag vergeht, an welchem in den Medien und der Politik nicht über die anstehende demographische Veränderung unserer Gesellschaft diskutiert wird. Seit 2004, als nach einer Forsa-Umfrage lediglich 53% der deutschen Bevölkerung den Begriff demographischer Wandel jemals gehört hatten1, hat ein rasa...

This paper deals with the emergence of perceived age discrimination climate on the company level and its performance consequences. In this new approach to the field of diversity research, we investigated (a) the effect of organizational-level age diversity on collective perceptions of age discrimination climate that (b) in turn should influence the...

Die Autoren beschreiben die Auswirkungen des demographischen Wandels auf Unternehmen und geben Handlungsempfehlungen für Personalmanager und Führungskräfte. Dabei werden die Konsequenzen dieses Wandels in Bezug auf verschiedene Ebenen des Unternehmens - individuelle, Team- und Organisationsebene - thematisiert. Alterungsprozesse sowie insbesondere...

Although research has long focused on the consequences of leaders' charismatic behavior, the antecedents of such leadership are increasingly gaining scholarly attention. Nevertheless, the antecedent-oriented literature on charismatic leadership has been fragmented to date and lacks theoretical integration. Also, important gaps remain within this de...

Following recent interest in contextual factors and how they might influence the effects of transformational leadership, we consider the social distance between leaders and followers as a cross-level moderator of the relationships between senior level managers’ transformational leadership and individual-level outcomes. Our sample comprised 268 indi...

The article presents the results of research on the relationship between age diversity in the workplace and corporate performance. It focuses on perceptions of ageism in the workplace. An overview of related previous studies is provided, along with details of the research protocol, which involved a survey of over 18,000 employees and executives. It...

In this chapter, we extend existing models of individual and collective emotional intelligence to the organizational level and provide an empirical study on the performance impact of organizational emotional intelligence. We propose that organizational emotional intelligence is composed of the average level of individual emotional intelligence of o...

BEST PRACTICE: Der Liechtensteiner Hilti-Konzern, bekannt für seine Bohrhämmer und Befestigungssysteme, wurde stark durch die Gründerfamilie gepägt. Dennoch klappte der Wechsel zu jüngeren familienfremden Managergenerationen an der Unternehmensspitze bereits mehrmals reibungslos. Die Gründe: der Teamgeist in der Führung, eine mitreissende Vision un...

The present study examines the association between dysfunctional team behavior and team performance. Data included measures of teams' dysfunctional behavior and negative affective tone as well as supervisors' ratings of teams' (nonverbal) negative emotional expressivity and performance. Utilizing a field sample of 61 work teams, the authors tested...

This conceptual paper seeks to clarify the process of the emergence of positive collective affect. Specifically, it develops a dynamic model of the emergence of positive affective similarity in work groups. It is suggested that positive group affective similarity and with-in-group relationship quality are reciprocally interrelated in the form of a...

Der vorliegende Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit der Führung von „Hoch-Energie-Teams“ im Unternehmenskontext. Hierbei wird zunächst der Frage nachgegangen, was Hoch-Energie-Teams sind, was sie ausmacht und was sie von anderen Teams unterscheidet. In einem zweiten Schritt werden Führungsstrategien zur Mobilisierung von Energie in Teams vorgestellt. Absc...