Learning from mistakes climate scale: Development and validation

Learning from mistakes plays an important role in employee development; however, such a learning scale has not yet been developed. The objective of this study was to develop and examine the psychometric properties of the Learning from Mistakes Climate Scale (LMCS) in Malaysia. A pool of items was first developed based on the literature, with an expert panel then convened to select items that met the definition of learning from mistake climate in the workplace, specifically in Malaysia. The experts agreed on 23 items to be rated. In total, 554 working adults with a mean age of 32.28 were then recruited for this study. The LMCS was administered at baseline and 10–14 days later as a retest: 468 participants took part in the retest study, a dropout rate of 15.52%. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the LMCS is a 17-item one-factor model. Validity, in its various forms, was supported, namely convergent validity, criterion validity, and predictive validity. Analysis also showed significant reliability, that is, test–retest reliability and in all intra-class correlations. The LMCS was found to be a valid and reliable instrument to assess the learning from mistake climate in Malaysia. This is the first scale in the organizational learning climate literature to integrate the mistake tolerance aspect. This instrument can assist in creating a psychologically safe work environment that helps to facilitate learning, especially in a highly hierarchical, collectivistic culture that is high in power distance.

Cohesion as a cardinal antecedent in virtual team performance: a meta-analysis

Purpose

Advances in information technology have revolutionised the working environment. The concept of working in virtual teams was in existence in the developed part of the globe since 1960s. In developing economies, it emerged in the recent decades and gained impetus during the ongoing pandemic. This paper aims to propose examining the relationship between team cohesion and virtual team performance with the help of meta-analysis.

Design/methodology/approach

On published research, combined random effect meta-analysis and moderator analysis were done with the aid of Meta-essential 1.5 software. The preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses was designed for systematic meta-analysis.

Findings

The meta-analysis shows significant effect of cohesion on virtual team performance (r = 0.40, p < 0.000). Study outcomes indicate a positive relationship between team cohesion and virtual team performance. High heterogeneity was found and moderator analysis was performed to examine the heterogeneity.

Research limitations/implications

According to the findings, the performance of teams of different sizes, tenure and occupation should not be viewed as equivalent. Results of the study can be generalised to business (employees), education (students) and online gaming teams.

Practical implications

Managers should be aware of cohesion concerns in work process because they may foreshadow future performance challenges or reflect other organisational issues affecting virtual team performance. The relationship between team cohesion and team performance is predicted by team occupation, size and time.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this work is a first attempt to undertake meta-analysis to study the relationship between team cohesion and virtual team performance.

Confidant Network and Interpersonal Communication Associations with Depression in Older Adulthood

Social networks contribute to the well-being and longevity of older adults, yet very little research to date has attempted to identify communicative mechanisms that explain the link between social networks and health. This study identified and tested two communicative mechanisms, openness and criticism, as mediators between confidant network size, confidant network density, and depression in a sample of 2,249 Americans over the age of 60. The data suggest that openness with friends and family mediate the relationship between network factors (size and density) and depression, while criticism from friends and family also mediate the relationship between network properties (size and density) and depression but less consistently (e.g., friend criticism only mediated the relationship with density). In general, network size appears to increase exposure to the positive outcomes of openness but also increase the negative outcomes of criticism; the role of network density is more complicated. The varied direction of the mediation associations are discussed along with implications for network and communication theorists and those who work with older adults.

The “virtual team player”

In spite of the increasing demand for virtual cooperation, still relatively little is known about the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs) individuals need for virtual teamwork. Thus, the current paper aims at synthesizing the existing literature into a comprehensive model of virtual teamwork KSAOs. To this end, we review (a) existing frameworks of KSAO requirements for virtual teamwork, (b) challenges posed by different facets of virtuality, and (c) KSAOs particularly relevant for meeting the identified challenges. The results of this review are integrated into a holistic model of virtual teamwork KSAOs with distal characteristics (personality, experience) and more proximal qualities (knowledge, skills, and motivation). Research gaps as well as avenues for future research will be outlined and applications for virtual team staffing and training will be discussed.

The Impact of On-Line Consumer Reviews on Value Perception

This study combines the dual-process theory (DPT) and the uncertainty reduction theory (URT) to examine how on-line consumer reviews affect consumer uncertainty reduction and value perceptions in order to understand whether consumer attitudes will be influenced by on-line consumer reviews and if relationships are built between consumers and companies as a result. The results indicated that argument quality, recommendation sidedness, source credibility, confirmation of prior beliefs, and recommendation ratings have a positive effect on the uncertainty reduction of consumers towards the businesses under consideration. Since uncertainty reduction has an effect on value perception, this study suggests that companies provide on-line consumer reviews on their websites to increase consumer uncertainty reduction and to improve consumer value perception of their companies.