January 26, 2016
9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Center for Positive Organizations, 914 Hill St, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104
Please note: This event is for invited researchers only.
Research is the heart of POS, and we want to make sure that we support each other in developing high quality research. To that end, we created a forum for sharing and encouraging POS-related research ideas that are at various stages of development.
Title: How do we learn about colleagues personally and how does that impact our interactions?
Abstract: In my dissertation, I introduce the concept of personal knowledge, defined as continuously updated justified beliefs about the non-work lives of colleagues. I discuss how personal knowledge is formed, explore how it may be used, and theorize contextual factors that influence these outcomes. Though scholars have examined the effects of self-schema and relational schema on interpersonal workplace dynamics, there is a less developed understanding of how one’s conception of a colleague (other-schema) influences motivation and treatment of that colleague. I argue that through blurring the work-life boundary, colleagues gain personal knowledge about one another, which changes the way they interact in both positive and negative ways. I propose testing these ideas through three studies. First, a multi-source pilot study established a positive association between personal knowledge and responsiveness. Second, I will conduct a field survey to establish mediating mechanisms and moderating factors of this main effect. Third, I hope to conduct a field experiment to establish causality. Finally, I discuss the theoretical implications of these findings for research on work-life, interrelating at work, and knowledge sharing. During my incubator talk, I hope to overview my main theory and a proposed field study design. I look forward to getting everyone’s feedback on how I ground my theory and plan to test it!
Bio: I am currently completing my PhD in Management & Organizations at the University of Michigan’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business, where I study the relational embedding of work behavior, examining processes including compassion, respectful engagement, and cooperation. I am also an active member of the CompassionLab, a small group of researchers creating a new vision of organizations as sites for the development and expression of compassion in response to suffering. Feel free to download my complete CV to learn more.