Reference paper:
Morrison, E. W., & Phelps, C. C. (1999). Taking charge at work: Extrarole efforts to initiate workplace change. Academy of management Journal, 403–419.Abstract:
(A 50-word quick summary from my understanding)
The study investigated taking charge behavior - a discretionary and change-oriented behavior intending to effect organizationally functional change. The results showed that taking charge is related to perceptions of top management openness, self-efficacy and felt responsibility. Group norm and expert power were unrelated to taking charge. Quick Notes/queries:
(For my further delving)
Deciding to take charge- How is 'perceived need for change' assessed? What individual and contextual factors affect this perception?
- What individual and contextual factors influence the 'assessment of likely success' when deciding to take charge? For example - are certain individuals more predisposed to increased likelihoods of success? Are certain situations (such as high perceived threats) more likely to color perceived likelihood of success?
- What individual and contextual factors influence the 'assessment of likely consequences' when deciding to take charge? For example - are certain individuals more predisposed to higher degrees of perceived negative consequences? Are certain situations more likely to color perceived consequences?
- How does choice set of behaviors impact the decision to take charge? What alternative behaviors (such as voice, silence, issue selling, etc.) are considered when deciding to take charge? Are the likely success and consequences of each alternative behavior evaluated relative to that of taking charge?
- What implicit theories, stereotypes, prejudices and biases affect this decision making?
- How do 'assessment of likely success' and 'assessment of likely consequences' interplay with each other to affect the decision to take charge? How does the decision maker arrive at relative weightages to each of these judgments? How do individual and contextual factors affect this weightage? For example - in a threat situation, is it likely that decision maker assigns less weightage to likely success and more weightage to positive consequences? Similarly when the decision involves significant, upfront and irreversible resource investments, is the likelihood of success given more weightage?
Individual Factors
- How do dispositional and demographic factors relate to taking charge?
- How do employee attitudes relate to taking charge?
- How do role perceptions relate to taking charge?
- How does felt accountability relate to taking charge?
- How does indifference to rewards relate to taking charge?
- What are the relevant forms of power (apart from expert power) of the employee that positively relate to his/her taking charge?
Feedback loop
- How does past success of taking charge behavior influence the future behavior? How does this success of past efforts change the independent variables that affect the taking charge behavior?
Leadership characteristics
- How does leadership characteristics affect taking charge behavior of the followers?
Group characteristics
- What group characteristics (apart from group norms such as group cohesiveness) affect taking charge?
Execution context
- How does context of execution (job, work unit or organization) affect taking charge behavior?
- How do task characteristics affect taking charge behavior?
Effortfullness
- Can the challenge oriented extra-role behaviors be categorized on the continuum of required effortfullness? How do perceived consequences and perceived efficacy relate to degree of effortfullness?
- Since taking charge is 'effortful' form of discretionary behavior, does the focal employee adopt certain tactics (such as influencing other members) to decrease the perceived cost or to enhance the perceived efficacy?
Success and consequences
- What is perceived as success by individual taking charge (such as positive implications at individual/collective/organizational level)? Does the individual evaluate the perceived success from self and/or stakeholder perspective?
- How is perceived leadership qualities of an employee affected by his/her taking charge behavior?
- What are perceived as negative consequences (such as threatening) by individual taking charge?
- Who do decision makers consider as reference points (self, supervisor, group, organization) when assessing likely consequences?
- Do individuals involve others when assessing the likely success and/or likely consequences?
- Under what conditions does taking charge harm rather than help organizations?
Others
- How distinct are nomolgical networks of taking charge as compared to those of other change-oriented behaviors (such as voice)?