Star Performers in Twenty-First Century Organizations

Team Performance: Nature and Antecedents of Nonnormal Distributions

Team research typically assumes that team performance is normally distributed: teams cluster around average performance, performance variability is not substantial, and few teams inhabit the upper range of the distribution. Ironically, although most team research and methodological practices rely on the normality assumption, many theories actually imply nonnormality (e.g., performance spirals, team composition, team learning, punctuated equilibrium). Accordingly, we investigated the nature and antecedents of team performance distributions by relying on 274 performance distributions including 200,825 teams (e.g., sports, politics, firefighters, information technology, customer service) and more than 500,000 workers. First, regarding their overall nature, only 11% of the distributions were normal, star teams are much more prevalent than predicted by normality, the power law with an exponential cutoff is the most dominant distribution among nonnormal distributions (i.e., 73%), and incremental differentiation (i.e., differential performance trajectories across teams) is the best explanation for the emergence of these distributions. Second, this conclusion remained unchanged after examining theory-based boundary conditions (i.e., tournament versus nontournament contexts, performance as aggregation of individual-level performance versus performance as a team-level construct, performance assessed with versus without a hard left-tail zero, and more versus less sample homogeneity). Third, we used the team learning curve literature as a conceptual framework to test hypotheses and found that authority differentiation and lower temporal stability are associated with distributions with larger performance variability (i.e., a greater proportion of star teams). We discuss implications for existing theory, future research directions, and methodological practices (e.g., need to check for nonnormality, Bayesian analysis, outlier management).

Are Leaders and Followers Receiving What They Give? A Long-Term Examination of the Reciprocal Relationship Between Relative LMX and Relative OCB-Helping

Relying on social comparison theory and the norm of reciprocity perspective, the present study aims to longitudinally investigate the specific relationships between relative leader–member exchange (RLMX) and relative organizational citizenship behavior (ROCB). We examined the potentially bidirectional relationship between these two constructs using data consisting of 1,420 time-lagged observations from 725 employees surveyed at multiple time points. Our results indicate that performing more helping behaviors than the group average (ROCB) leads to a subsequent higher quality of relationship with the leader compared to the group average (RLMX), above and beyond the effect of organizational citizenship behavior on RLMX. This effect is stronger than the reverse relationship (i.e., the effect of RLMX on ROCB, above and beyond the leader–member exchange). Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Construction of Mega Individuals Competency Model in Business Environment: A Grounded Theory Approach

The purpose of this research is to explore the new practices derived from the influences of information technology among a certain group, i.e., “mega individuals”. Based on Grounded Theory and interviews from 53 companies, which consist of responses from 56 domestic and international founders, entrepreneurs, professional managers, partners and business elites, this study expounds that “mega individuals”, who constantly develop individual attainment and ability under the influence of business ecosystem evolution, have broken the traditional employment relationship. Through Grounded Theory, the following conclusion can be drawn: “mega individuals” are composed of three key traits: compound ability, collaboration ability and personal intellectual property (IP) know-hows. This research takes the initiative to create the “mega individuals competency model” (MICM) and elaborates on the dynamic capabilities theory to interpret the MICM, dedicated to enriching the dynamic capabilities theory by merging the current rapid and continuous changes in the business world from the promising and potential individual’s perspective.

Talent Management in the Banking Sector: A Systematic Literature Review

This paper conducts a systematic literature review and relates to how talent management (TM) and recruitment strategies are applied in the financial sector, and specifically in the banking sector. The goals of this paper are to provide a comprehensive analysis of TM research in the financial sector, identify and debate major research topics, and suggest future research possibilities. The study examines publications that were published between 2000 and 2021, which were obtained from the databases Web of Science and Scopus. According to the findings, academics are becoming more interested in TM in the banking sector, which appears to be linked to the severe scarcity of skilled people who possess required talents. The findings are relevant to both academia and the banking sector, as the paper provides data relating to what has already been researched in academia, while also highlighting the need for more research into how TM is understood, valued and implemented. Consequently, this paper paves the way for academics to conduct empirical research on TM and recruitment tactics in the banking sector and the financial sector as a whole. This paper is structured according to the PRISMA requirements for systematic literature reviews.

Reach for the stars: disentangling quantity and quality of inventors’ productivity in a multifaceted latent variable model

Star inventors generate superior innovation outcomes. Their capacity to invent high-quality patents might be decisive beyond mere productivity. However, the relationship between quantitative and qualitative dimensions has not been exhaustively investigated. The equal odds baseline (EOB) framework can explicitly model this relationship. This work combines a theoretical model for creative production with recent calls in the patentometrics literature for multifaceted measurement of the ability to create high-quality patents. The EOB is extended and analyzed through structural equation modeling. Specifically, we compared a multifaceted EOB model with a single latent variable for quality, and a two-dimensional model that distinguishes between technological complexity and value of invention portfolios. The two-dimensional model had better fit but weaker factor scores (for the “value” latent variable) than the unidimensional model. These findings suggest that both the uni- and the two-dimensional approaches can be directly used for extending research on star inventors, while for practical high-stakes assessments the two-dimensional model would require further improvements.

To downsize or not to downsize: when and how does corporate downsizing create long-term value?

Purpose

How does corporate downsizing contribute to a firm’s long-term value? While the extant empirical findings on this relationship are inconclusive, contradictory and equivocal, the answers to this question remain particularly important in today’s business environment. Considering that downsizing is often directed toward long-term growth and survival, the authors posit that scholars should account for the temporal nature of this strategic decision to understand its economic impact on the firm’s operations. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to provide a more rigorous empirical examination of how a firm’s decision to downsize its workforce affects that firm’s long-term value.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used Wibbens and Siggelkow’s (2020) measure of long-term investor value appropriation (LIVA) to directly observe the effects of corporate downsizing on firm long-term value and growth. Using a sample of 3,149 US publicly traded manufacturing firms that operated between 2002 and 2018, the authors tested the main effect of downsizing on LIVA and three boundary condition hypotheses.

Findings

The authors found a positive relationship between corporate downsizing and a firm’s long-term value. Interestingly, this positive relationship is stronger among firms that had high human resource slack and R&D intensity. Contrary to our expectations, the authors did not find support for the moderation effect of the proximity to bankruptcy on the relationship between corporate downsizing and a firm’s long-term value.

Originality/value

With these findings, this paper sheds light on the long-term implications of a firm’s decision to downsize its workforce.

Do star employees help or hinder department performance: the case of surgeons in South Korean hospitals

Based on strategic human capital theory, this study examines the effects of star surgeons on two different types of healthcare outcomes (i.e., number of surgical patients and length of patients’ in-hospital stay after surgery) in the surgery department. We also explore whether the relationship between star surgeons and healthcare outcomes is contingent on the expertise disparity between star and non-star surgeons. The results of an empirical analysis on colorectal cancer surgeons in 80 departments in South Korean hospitals show that the number of star surgeons increases the number of surgical patients and reduces the length of patients' stay after surgery. Moreover, the positive relationship between star surgeons and the number of surgical patients is strengthened when the expertise disparity between star and non-star surgeons is low. The implications of these findings for research and practice are also discussed.

Early predictors of successful military careers among West Point cadets

The importance of leadership to organizational performance puts a premium on identifying future leaders. Early prediction of high-potential talent enables organizations to marshal scarce developmental resources and opportunities to those who are best positioned to show distinction in elevated roles. Much of the existing literature indicates that general mental ability remains the strongest predictor of future professional performance. Using data from 13 classes of West Point graduates who stayed in the Army to be considered for at least early promotion to the rank of major (N = 5,505), regression analyses indicate that cadet military grade point average surpasses both cognitive ability and academic performance by a considerable margin in the ability to predict future professional outcomes such as selection for early promotion or battalion command. Moreover, these differences in predicting managerial career outcomes endure over 16 years. Both practical and theoretical implications are discussed.

The impact of high-performance human resource practices on the research performance and career success of academics in Saudi Arabia

Purpose

This paper explores the impact of high-performance human resource practices (HPHRPs) on the research performance and career success of academics.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey data was collected from 586 faculty members in the five largest public universities in Saudi Arabia.

Findings

The findings suggest that the HPHRPs of internal mobility and recognition had a strong impact on faculty members' career success and that these relationships were mediated by research performance. In addition, the study also found that the HPHRPs of training and recognition positively influenced research performance, while, surprisingly, the HPHRPs of participation in decision-making were found to have a negative effect on faculty members' research performance.

Originality/value

This study is original in combining research in human resource management (HRM) and career studies to develop a model that explains academic research performance and career success from the lens of HR practices. The results also provide leaders in Saudi Arabia's public higher education sector with empirical data on the impact of HPHRPs on academic research performance and career success.

Examining the Influence of Human Capital on Employees’ Innovative Work Behaviour: A Moderated Serial Mediation Model

Organisations invest in human capital to achieve favourable organisational performance. The purpose of this research is to explain how organisational human capital investments influence an individual’s human capital and innovative work behaviour (IWB). Drawing on Social Exchange Theory and its subset Affect Theory of Social Exchange, this study empirically examines how the human resource management activity of human capital investments manifests at the individual level by developing and testing a moderated serial mediation model. A total of 115 employees working in a diverse set of industries, such as service, manufacturing, information technology, consultancy and education, who had received at least one training from their current employer, participated in the survey. The participants completed five standardized, valid and reliable instruments. SPSS was employed for data analysis. Hypotheses were tested using regression analysis. Results show that both gratitude and knowledge management mediate the relationship between human capital and IWB and the moderating effects of job characteristics. This study extends current literature and integrates macro–micro human capital by exploring how and when human capital leads to the generation of micro social orders. The concept of micro social orders refers to repeated interactions (exchange frequency), emotional reactions, perceptions of cohesion and affective sentiments of a group/organisation due to social structures. This research also highlights how managers can establish positive reciprocity obligations and enhance employees’ gratitude that helps to achieve IWB.

Towards a responsible talent management model

Purpose

This study aims to critically examine talent management practices and strategies from ethical and responsible management perspectives.

Design/methodology/approach

It achieves its aim through conceptual analysis by theorising through the lenses of talent philosophies, the organisational justice theory, the stakeholder theory and extant literature.

Findings

A responsible talent management construct and mode to guide the practice of talent management in a socially responsible way is developed. It argues that inclusivity; corporate responsibility; and equity and equal employment opportunity are the key underlying principles of a responsible talent management system. This study further argues that responsible talent management practices promote achievement of multilevel sustainable outcomes such as decent work, employee well-being and organisational well-being.

Practical implications

Emphasising responsible management and ethical concerns in organisational talent strategies and practices is non-negotiable, given the current level of interest in sustainable work and employment and in the quest to achieve sustainable human and organisational outcomes through management and organisational practices.

Originality/value

The development of a responsible talent management construct and model is original and novel and is expected to shape thinking and drive new research directions in the field of talent management. It further contributes directly to knowledge and practice by demonstrating how organisations can manage their talents in a responsible way.

Best Practices in Data Collection and Preparation: Recommendations for Reviewers, Editors, and Authors

We offer best-practice recommendations for journal reviewers, editors, and authors regarding data collection and preparation. Our recommendations are applicable to research adopting different epistemological and ontological perspectives—including both quantitative and qualitative approaches—as well as research addressing micro (i.e., individuals, teams) and macro (i.e., organizations, industries) levels of analysis. Our recommendations regarding data collection address (a) type of research design, (b) control variables, (c) sampling procedures, and (d) missing data management. Our recommendations regarding data preparation address (e) outlier management, (f) use of corrections for statistical and methodological artifacts, and (g) data transformations. Our recommendations address best practices as well as transparency issues. The formal implementation of our recommendations in the manuscript review process will likely motivate authors to increase transparency because failure to disclose necessary information may lead to a manuscript rejection decision. Also, reviewers can use our recommendations for developmental purposes to highlight which particular issues should be improved in a revised version of a manuscript and in future research. Taken together, the implementation of our recommendations in the form of checklists can help address current challenges regarding results and inferential reproducibility as well as enhance the credibility, trustworthiness, and usefulness of the scholarly knowledge that is produced.

Self-Leadership: A Paradoxical Core of Organizational Behavior

This review focuses on the paradoxical concept of self-leadership—defined as a comprehensive self-influence process capturing how individuals motivate themselves to complete work that is naturally motivating or work that must be done but is not naturally motivating—as a fundamental process that challenges many traditional assumptions in organizational psychology and organizational behavior. We first present a historical review that traces the roots of self-leadership to early psychological theory and research. We next briefly summarize research related to self-leadership at both the individual and team levels of analysis. We then discuss four paradoxes associated with self-leadership: the paradox of self-leadership depletion and strengthening, the paradox of self-leadership through collaboration, the paradox of me-but-not-you self-leadership, and the paradox of needing self-leadership to improve self-leadership. We conclude with guidelines for future research and practice.

The Changing Nature of Employee and Labor-Management Relationships

This article reviews work and employment research, paying particular attention to theory and applications by scholars in organizational psychology and organizational behavior (OP/OB) and employment or industrial relations (ER), with the objective of better understanding employee and labor-management relationships. Our animating premise is that juxtaposing these two research traditions provides a stronger basis for analyzing these relationships today. OP/OB offer micro- and meso-level focuses, whereas ER focuses on organizations, collective actors, and labor markets, with an emphasis on historical context. We hope this review motivates efforts to think about and build new social and psychological contracts that are attuned to the evolving dynamics present in the economy, workforce, and society. To this end, we look to the future and propose ways of deepening, broadening, and accelerating the pace of research that might lead to useful changes in practices, institutions, and public policies.

Reviewing Work Team Design Characteristics Across Industries: Combining Meta-Analysis and Comprehensive Synthesis

This article presents a comprehensive synthesis and quantitative review of studies examining relationships between team design characteristics and team performance. Across 398 primary studies, the present study meta-analytically investigated the effects of team composition, team task design, and team leadership characteristics on team performance. The study further investigates how the effects of these team design characteristics differ according to the industry context within which the team is embedded (high technology, manufacturing, service, or student). Overall, this review emphasizes the importance of continued inquiries focusing on team design while also discussing the implications of this review for theory, practice, and future research.

Is oculofacial surgery complex … or merely complicated?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

There is confusion in all of healthcare, including oculofacial surgery, as to what is 'complex' and what is 'merely complicated'. Although in common usage, these terms tend to be interchangeable, the distinction is more than trivial. A different and somewhat unfamiliar toolset is needed to successfully navigate complex problems. This review will explore a methodology for the physician to understand what is complex in oculofacial surgery, the tools needed to optimize performance in a complex healthcare system and successfully manage patients with complex diseases.

RECENT FINDINGS

A specific understanding of complexity science in oculofacial surgery is only in its nascent beginnings at this point. Nevertheless, recent advances in closely related fields can provide concrete applications. The practice of oculofacial surgery is optimized within a healthcare network of supporting professionals. Moreover, a newer understanding of the 'complex' nature of disease common to oculofacial surgery, such as neoplasia and inflammation, will direct the physician to recognize the most appropriate therapies.

SUMMARY

Oculofacial surgery, like all of medicine, is a fluid mixture of problems that are complex and those that are merely complicated. As a different toolset is needed to deal with each, physicians need to recognize these differences and acquire those tools.

Why does performance management not perform?

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to ask why poor performance management practices persist in Portugal, in the middle of claims to increase productivity.

Design/methodology/approach

An inductive micro-practice analysis is used to understand barriers to management practice that do not require massive institutional changes.

Findings

The practice of performance management in Portugal typically displays three weaknesses: (1) insufficient planning (2) process and integrity issues, and (3) a non-meritocratic logic.

Research limitations/implications

The paper discusses the important topic of persistence of bad practices, showing how institutionalized patterns might be difficult to eradicate even they are suboptimal.

Practical implications

The authors identity key issues in the functioning of performance management, therefore helping managers in developing remedies to improve the quality of their practice.

Originality/value

The paper explains the persistence of bad management practice whose continuity hinders not only organizations’ effectiveness but also that of their members.

High research productivity in vertically undifferentiated higher education systems: Who are the top performers?

The growing scholarly interest in research top performers comes from the growing policy interest in research top performance itself. A question emerges: what makes someone a top performer? In this paper, the upper 10% of Polish academics in terms of research productivity are studied, and predictors of entering this class are sought. In the science system (and Poland follows global patterns), a small number of scholars produce most of the works and attract huge numbers of citations. Performance determines rewards, and small differences in talent translate into a disproportionate level of success, leading to inequalities in resources, research outcomes, and rewards. Top performers are studied here through a bivariate analysis of their working time distribution and their academic role orientation, as well as through a model approach. Odds ratio estimates with logistic regression of being highly productive Polish academics are presented. Consistently across major clusters of academic disciplines, the tiny minority of 10% of academics produces about half (44.7%) of all Polish publications (48.0% of publications in English and 57.2% of internationally co-authored publications). The mean research productivity of top performers across major clusters is on average 7.3 times higher than that of the other academics, and in terms of internationally co-authored publications, 12.07 times higher. High inequality was observed: the average research productivity distribution is highly skewed with a long tail on the right not only for all Polish academics but also for top performers. The class of top performers is as internally stratified as that of their lower-performing colleagues. Separate regression models for all academics, science, technology, engineering and mathematics academics, and social sciences and humanities academics are built based on a large national sample (2525 usable observations), and implications are discussed.

Transfer of Training: The Known and the Unknown

Transfer of training is one of the oldest topics of interest to industrial and organizational (I/O) psychologists. Drawing on several meta-analytic studies and recent empirical work, we first synthesize what is now reliably known with respect to the generalization and retention of learned knowledge and skills to work contexts. The second part of our review focuses on what is unknown—the significant gaps in our knowledge where we believe new directions in our research strategies are warranted. We offer three prescriptions: (a) going one step beyond most existing studies to offer greater precision in our specification and measurement of variables and interventions, (b) connecting the dots by focusing on transfer criteria and transfer trajectories, and (c) shifting the operative paradigm of research to examine contemporary learning from a problem-centered perspective. There is ample opportunity to increase the yield on enormous organizational investments in training if transfer scholars and practitioners are fully informed of what is known and prepared to systematically confront the unknown in new and innovative ways.

Political Skill and Manager Performance: Exponential and Asymptotic Relationships Due to Differing Levels of Enterprising Job Demands

Political skill, a social competence that enables individuals to achieve goals due to their understanding of and influence upon others at work, can play an important role in manager performance. We argue that the political skill–manager performance relationship varies as a nonlinear function of differing levels of enterprising job demands (i.e., working with and through people). A large number of occupations have some enterprising features, but, across occupations, management roles typically contain even greater enterprising expectations. However, relatively few studies have examined the enterprising work context (e.g., enterprising demands) of managers. Specifically, under conditions of high enterprising job demands, we argue and find that, as political skill increases, there is an associated exponential increase in enterprising performance, with growth beyond the mean of political skill resulting in outsized performance gains. Whereas, under conditions of low (relative to other managers) enterprising job demands, political skill will have an asymptotic relationship with enterprising job performance, such that the positive relationship becomes weaker as political skill grows, with increases on political skill beyond the mean resulting in minimal performance improvements. Our hypotheses are generally supported, and these findings have important implications for managers, as the performance gains in managerial roles were shown to be a joint function of manager political skill and enterprising job demands.

Citation Counts and More Citation Counts: Useful? Interesting? or Counterproductive?

In their focal article, Aguinis et al. (2017) categorized the 6,654 unique citations, summed across the six introductory industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology texts, in various ways. They then suggested how such data could be used to (a) infer the “state” of the scientist–practitioner divide; (b) document the extent of the movement of I-O psychologists to management schools; (c) evaluate the future prospects of I-O psychology as a field; and (d) provide guidance in how to define, measure, and reward “scholarly impact” (quotation marks added). This crosses the line from interesting toverycounterproductive.

Most Frequently Cited Sources, Articles, and Authors in Industrial-Organizational Psychology Textbooks: Implications for the Science–Practice Divide, Scholarly Impact, and the Future of the Field

Most future industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology practitioners and researchers initially enroll in an introductory I-O psychology course during their junior or senior year of undergraduate studies, making introductory textbooks their first in-depth exposure to the field and an important knowledge base. We reviewed and analyzed the 6,654 unique items (e.g., journal articles, book chapters) published in 1,682 unique sources (e.g., scholarly journals, edited books, popular press publications) and authored by 8,603 unique individuals cited in six popular I-O psychology textbooks. Results showed that 39% of the top-cited sources are not traditional academic peer-reviewed journals, 77% of the top-cited articles were published in cross-disciplinary journals, and 58% of the top-cited authors are affiliated with business schools and not psychology departments. These results suggest that the science–practice divide in I-O psychology may develop later—perhaps after graduates obtain employment as either practitioners or researchers. Also, results suggest I-O psychology is closer to business and management than social psychology and psychology in general. We discuss additional implications for the science–practice divide, how to define and measure scholarly impact, and the future of I-O psychology as a field, including the movement of I-O psychologists to business schools and the sustainability of I-O psychology programs in psychology departments.

The talent climate

Purpose

Navigating a dynamic global landscape, businesses must not only define talent strategy but apply it effectively in practice. By intentionally establishing consistent talent practices, discernible to employees, organisations signal priorities for talent, establishing a psychological “climate for talent” to sustain talent development over time. The strong talent system and talent climate are introduced. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the importance of organisational context to talent management.

Design/methodology/approach

A strategic climate for talent and strong talent system are theorised with “strong situation” specifications: distinctiveness, consistency, consensus and context.

Findings

A strategic climate for talent is defined. Empirical study is required to develop and validate the talent climate construct.

Practical implications

Employees’ interpretations of talent practices as signals of organisational priorities will influence the effectiveness of talent strategy implementation. This paper highlights the importance of a contextually relevant, consistently implemented talent system which signals the organisation’s invitation to employees to develop their potential in alignment with business strategy, enhancing career outcomes and supporting employees’ perceptions of inclusion and procedural fairness in talent management (TM). It supports management practice in an increasingly dynamic context to implement sufficiently distinct, consistent and contextually relevant talent practices.

Originality/value

The strategic climate for talent, perceivable by individual employees and resulting from a strong talent system, is introduced. This paper extends strategic human resources management, TM and climate literatures introducing a cross-level model of strategic organisational climate which examines proximal employee outcomes of TM practices.

The Double-Edged Sword of Big Data in Organizational and Management Research

While many disciplines embrace the possibilities that Big Data present for advancing scholarship and practice, organizational and management research has yet to realize Big Data’s potential. In an effort to chart this newfound territory, we briefly describe the principal drivers and key characteristics of Big Data. We then review a broad range of opportunities and risks that are related to the Big Data paradigm, the data itself, and the associated analytical methods. For each, we provide research ideas and recommendations on how to embrace the potentials or address the concerns. Our assessment shows that Big Data, as a paradigm, can be a double- edged sword, capable of significantly advancing our field but also causing backlash if not utilized properly. Our review seeks to inform individual research practices as well as a broader policy agenda in order to advance organizational and management research as a scientifically rigorous and professionally relevant field.

Leadership development practices and hospital financial outcomes

Affordable Care Act legislation is requiring leaders in US health systems to adapt to new and very different approaches to improving operating performance. Research from other industries suggests leadership development can be a helpful component of organizational change strategies; however, there is currently very little healthcare-specific research available to guide design and deployment. The goal of this exploratory study is to examine potential relationships between specific leadership development practices and health system financial outcomes. Results from the National Center for Healthcare Leadership survey of leadership development practices were correlated with hospital and health system financial performance data from the 2013 Medicare Cost Reports. A general linear regression model, controlling for payer mix, case-mix index, and bed size, was used to assess possible relationships between leadership practices and three financial performance metrics: operating margin, days cash on hand, and debt to capitalization. Statistically significant associations were found between hospital-level operating margins and 5 of the 11 leadership practices as well as the composite score. Relationships at the health system level, however, were not statistically significant. Results provide preliminary evidence of an association between hospital financial performance and investments made in developing their leaders.

It’s All Relative: A Team-Based Social Comparison Model for Self-Evaluations of Effectiveness

We apply social comparison theory (SCT) to the organizational context and develop a model explicating the social comparison process that occurs within organizational teams. In doing so, we highlight how individual, team, and managerial factors influence this process. First, we discuss how task-related (e.g., functional background and experience) and demographic-related (e.g., age, gender, and race) team characteristics affect social comparison target selection (i.e., the team as a whole, a subgroup, or a specific individual) and further explain the impact of metacognitive capacities on this referent selection process. Next, we explore how team norms of collaboration versus competition affect whether employees assimilate or contrast, respectively, during social comparisons. Subsequently, we highlight how managers influence the proposed social comparison process. Finally, we discuss how social comparisons can be productive or unproductive for team members’ organization-based self-esteem (OBSE). We conclude by discussing the theoretical and practical implications of our model and offering avenues for future research.

A method to the martyrdom

Employees have an enduring concern with how they appear to others, and will seek to claim certain attributions to strengthen their workplace image. In this research, a model of exemplification is presented. This model is an impression management strategy, whereby employees seek to claim the attributions of dedicated, moral, or generous by strategically displaying for audiences a willingness to do more or better than is necessary at work. This model draws from the literature on identity and impression management, and applies an interpersonal-perception framework to make predictions about exemplifying performances or the behaviors employees may act out to earn these attributions, potential audience reactions to those performances, and the influence those reactions might have on subsequent exemplifying performances.

Exploring talenting: talent management as a collective endeavour

Purpose

This paper seeks to show appreciation for the collective endeavour of work practices based on varying degrees of dependence, interdependence and mutuality between at least two people. Such dependencies have to be concerned with how talent is used and how this use is an interaction between people, a process called talenting. The aim of this paper is to provide a method to explore talenting.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper provides a brief overview of recent debates relating to talent management (TM). This paper argues that TM seldom pays attention to work practices where performance is frequently a collective endeavour. A mapping method is explained to identify work practices and obtain narrative data. This paper provides a case to explore talenting in West Yorkshire Police.

Findings

In total, 12 examples are found and 3 are presented showing the value of various forms of dependency to achieve outcomes.

Research limitations/implications

TM needs to move beyond employment practices to work practices. There is a need to close the gap between traditional TM employment practices, usually individually focused, and work practices which are most likely to require a collective endeavour.

Practical implications

There needs be ongoing appreciation of talenting to add to TM activities.

Social implications

This paper recognises a more inclusive approach to TM based on work performance.

Originality/value

This paper, to the best of the authors’s knowledge, is probably the first enquiry of its kind.

Getting Rid of Performance Ratings: Genius or Folly? A Debate

Despite years of research and practice, dissatisfaction with performance appraisal is at an all-time high. Organizations are contemplating changes to their performance management systems, the most controversial of which is whether to eliminate performance ratings. The pros and cons of retaining performance ratings were the subject of a lively, standing-room-only debate at the 2015 Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology conference in Philadelphia (Adler, 2015). Given the high interest in this topic, this article recaps the points made by the panelists who participated in the debate. The arguments for eliminating ratings include these: (a) the disappointing interventions, (b) the disagreement when multiple raters evaluate the same performance, (c) the failure to develop adequate criteria for evaluating ratings, (d) the weak relationship between the performance of ratees and the ratings they receive, (e) the conflicting purposes of performance ratings in organizations, (f) the inconsistent effects of performance feedback on subsequent performance, and (g) the weak relationship between performance rating research and practice in organizations. The arguments for retaining ratings include (a) the recognition that changing the rating process is likely to have minimal effect on the performance management process as a whole, (b) performance is always evaluated in some manner, (c) “too hard” is no excuse for industrial–organizational (I-O) psychology, (d) ratings and differentiated evaluations have many merits for improving organizations, (e) artificial tradeoffs are driving organizations to inappropriately abandon ratings, (f) the alternatives to ratings may be worse, and (g) the better questions are these: How could performance ratings be improved, and are we conducting the entire performance management process properly? The article closes with questions organizational members have found useful for driving effective performance management reform.

A Dynamic Network Model to Explain the Development of Excellent Human Performance

Across different domains, from sports to science, some individuals accomplish excellent levels of performance. For over 150 years, researchers have debated the roles of specific nature and nurture components to develop excellence. In this article, we argue that the key to excellence does not reside in specific underlying components, but rather in the ongoing interactions among the components. We propose that excellence emerges out of dynamic networks consisting of idiosyncratic mixtures of interacting components such as genetic endowment, motivation, practice, and coaching. Using computer simulations we demonstrate that the dynamic network model accurately predicts typical properties of excellence reported in the literature, such as the idiosyncratic developmental trajectories leading to excellence and the highly skewed distributions of productivity present in virtually any achievement domain. Based on this novel theoretical perspective on excellent human performance, this article concludes by suggesting policy implications and directions for future research.

Mend It or End It

Moderator variables are widely hypothesized and studied in the organizational sciences, but the empirical track record of moderator variable studies is very discouraging. These studies often lack sufficient statistical power and the type of designs and measures common in organizational research virtually guarantee that the moderator effects that are found are usually extremely small. We recommend that future attempts to identify and estimate moderator effects should be limited to situations where better measures, stronger research designs and a realistic cost-benefit assessment are available. Researchers should avoid moderator hypotheses in contexts where the measures and research designs employed do not allow them to be tested in a meaningful way, and should be cautious about interpreting the very small effects they are likely to find.