the Journal of Behavioral and Applied Management

Summer/Fall, 2002                                                                    Vol. 4  No. 1

Article Abstracts

The Role of Storytelling in Affecting Organizational Reality
in the Strategic Management Process
John W. O’Neill
The Pennsylvania State University

 ABSTRACT

This article analyzes the role of stories and storytelling in organizations, and in particular, develops propositions regarding how different types of stories might affect socially constructed reality in different ways, and thus may have different types and levels of utility in influencing the strategic management process.  In analyzing stories, this paper develops a comprehensive model describing the different story types and their roles in impacting social reality in organizations.  The story typology is developed based on time (i.e. story memorability and longevity), the level of story color, and the level of employee need fulfillment met by the story, and stories are categorized as descriptive, anecdotal, script, and epic. Go To Article

Performance Feedback in a Virtual Team Setting
Linda S. Hartenian
 University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
 Laura L. Koppes
Eastern Kentucky University
E. Alan Hartman
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh

ABSTRACT

Just as organizations begin to appreciate the synergistic effect that teams can have on productivity, problem solving, and creativity, the concept “team” is taking on a new face. Virtual teams are the latest wave of structural innovations in organizations. While opportunities exist for teams to explore new horizons, virtual teams may present challenges to traditional methods of selecting, training, and evaluating team members. This exploratory study examines how virtual team members react to traditional forms of performance feedback. Drawing from research findings on cognitive processes and feedback processes, hypotheses were developed for recall accuracy and attributions of performance feedback in a virtual team setting. Go To Article

Identifying the Sources of Motivation in the Post-Game Press Conference:
An Exercise for Applying an Integrative Taxonomy of Motivation
John E. Barbuto, Jr.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln

ABSTRACT

This exercise provides an interesting application of an integrative taxonomy of motivation.  Students are allenged to identify the sources of motivation driving the behaviors and comments of several individuals associated with a high school league championship game.  Students completing this exercise enhance critical thinking skills and demonstrate their understanding of the construct. Go To Article

The Influence of Inclusion in Influential Networks: Perceptions of
 Ability and Personality Traits on Promotions Within Management
Gita De Souza
Penn State University

 ABSTRACT

Promotions rank among some of the most powerful forms of incentive and reward systems that organizations can offer their employees.  This study examined the influence of inclusion in influential networks, perceptions of managerial ability and the personality traits of extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, emotional stability and openness to experience on the number of promotions awarded to managers.  However, results from a field survey showed that inclusion in influential organizational networks, perceptions of managerial ability and the personality trait of introversion were significantly related to the number of promotions gained within management.  Implications of the findings are discussed in terms of individual differences, trust and distrust, and team dynamics in organizations that are viewed as social systems.  Go To Article

Is Reciprocity Necessary for Co-opetition? Some Experimental Evidence
James A. Sundali
University of Nevada, Reno
Darryl A. Seale
University of Nevada Las Vegas

ABSTRACT 

Cooperative strategy is increasingly being accepted as a legitimate construct in strategic management.  In this paper we argue that in order to use cooperative strategy in concert with competitive strategy, what some have called co-opetition, an environment of reciprocity is required.  This paper reviews the theoretical roots of co-opetive behavior and reciprocity, describes a two-stage game designed to test competing hypotheses of co-opetive behavior, then reports the results of two experiments where subjects played the co-opetition game under differing conditions.  Our results show that game-theoretic predictions of co-opetive behavior are not supported.  Most subjects elect to cooperate in the first stage of the game, thereby increasing the size of the “pie” but potentially weakening their role in the second stage of the game.  Further, subjects do not make large demands in the ultimatum bargaining (second) stage of the game and frequently reject positive offers.  The results show that giving subjects an opportunity for reciprocal interaction improves overall rates of cooperation and lowers the likelihood of rejected demands.  Go To Article