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This research examined the effects of meeting leader behavior on organizational meetings. Two studies investigated whether leader behavior that satisfies the psychological needs of meeting attendees, leads to higher levels of meeting productivity and satisfaction. Study 1 used correlational methods, with regression- based mediation analysis, to assess whether satisfaction of attendee needs mediated the association between leader behavior and attendee ratings of actual meetings in a sample of 110 employees. Study 2 involved an analogue experiment with 158 employees to test the effects of leader behavior on ratings of hypothetical meeting scenarios. The studies provide correlational and experimental evidence for the positive impact of needs-focused behaviors, offering organizational leaders practical solutions for improving meetings.

This study evaluated the effects of brief training in how to lead organizational meetings. The training was based on an attendee-needs-based model of running meetings. Twelve mid-level managers completed the training. The study showed a significant pre to post increase in the number of needs-based behaviors displayed by meeting leaders and in attendee ratings of meeting satisfaction and meeting productivity. The results provide preliminary evidence that the training can lead to positive effects. The results also provide evidence in support of the needs-based model of running organizational meetings.

This study assessed the effectiveness of training leaders in behaviors that satisfy meeting attendees’ psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Three managers who regularly lead meetings with their work- groups participated in the study. The study used a research design of multiple baselines across groups and began with baselines ranging over three to five meetings. Group leaders then received a session of behavioral skills training with a role-play component, followed by post-training assessment over three to five meetings. The final assessment occurred one month later. Leaders reported the number of recommended leader behaviors they used prior to training and at subsequent meetings. Group members anonymously completed ratings of (1) the extent of their psychological need satisfaction, (2) their satisfaction with each meeting, and (3) how productive each meeting was. Meeting leaders showed significantly more use of the recommended behaviors after training than before training. Member ratings indicated a significant increase in need satisfaction, satisfaction with meetings, and meeting productivity after the training of their leader. Significant positive effects remained at a one-month follow-up. The findings show that training leaders in needs-focused behaviors to use in running meetings can be used to satisfy attendee-needs and to improve meeting satisfaction and productivity.

This study examined the relationships between emotional intelligence, locus of control, and mental boundaries. Three hundred and eighty-two county employees were sampled using a cross-sectional survey design. The results indicated internal locus of control and thin mental boundaries are positively related to emotional intelligence. A hierarchical regression revealed that internal locus of control and thin mental boundaries together explained 18% of the variance in emotional intelligence for this population. Implications and future research directions are discussed.

Product trials are an effective way to influence consumer attitudes. While research has established several factors that influence whether consumers will try a product or not, it is less understood how marketers can optimize the trial experience itself. The purpose of this paper is to explore flow as an optimal state and the factors that give rise to it during a product trail.

This research consists of three experimental studies in which people trial new music. This paper explores the ability of curiosity to optimize consumers’ flow experience during the trial and their attitudes toward the trialed product. This paper manipulates curiosity before the trial using information about the music (Study 1) and music previews (Study 3) and also demonstrates that curiosity is naturally elevated among those high in openness to experience (Study 2).

The results demonstrate that curiosity before a product trial fosters an optimal experience during the trial in the form of flow states, defined as an enjoyable state of full engagement, which in turn mediates more positive attitudes toward the trialed product. This paper demonstrates that curiosity can be evoked using product information or a preview of the content and can vary based on individual differences in openness to experience. The relationship between curiosity and flow is moderated by the valence of the information that is used to elicit curiosity, such that negative-valence information thwarts the relationship.

While the studies conducted by the authors focus on the positive influence of curiosity in the trial of music, the effects may be different for other products. These studies are also limited to two different manipulations of curiosity.

This research has implications for marketers, as it demonstrates the relevance of flow and how to enable it in product trials to optimize effectiveness. The manipulations also demonstrate how to manage the amount of information that is given to consumers before they trial a product.

This research reveals that flow states optimize the product trial experience. This research also advances the understanding of the relationship between curiosity and flow by moderating their relationship with the valence of information that elicits curiosity. The findings also broaden the relevance of curiosity and flow in marketing by demonstrating their benefits within product trials.

The purpose of this quantitative study was to assess the relationship between volunteer leadership competencies and stewardship action-taking experiences among Master Gardener (MG) and Master Watershed (MW) volunteers during the COVID-19 pandemic. We collected data from 1196 Penn State Extension MG and MW respondents. The mean summative score for the volunteer stewardship action-taking experience was 2.32 (SD = .79), and volunteer leadership competencies was 3.45 (SD = .60). The results of this study showed a significant moderate association between volunteer stewardship action-taking experiences and volunteer leader competencies (r = .34, p ≤ .001). Volunteer leadership competencies can explain approximately 11 % of the variation in volunteer stewardship action-taking experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. The new knowledge that our research brings can significantly contribute to the practice in leadership teaching and learning of Extension organizations’ volunteers. Future leadership trainings on the enhancement of the MG and MW volunteer leaders’ stewardship action-taking capacity can help contribute to the greater good in their communities in a more confident and efficient manner. Further research should focus on identifying other factors that can affect MG and MW stewardship action-taking experiences, including the impact of the demographics and motivation.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of the emotional intelligence (EI) of the person in charge of making human resource management (HRM) decisions on the adoption of high-performance human resource (HR) practices in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

This study takes evidences from 157 HR decision makers in SMEs who autonomously make the decisions in the HR area and were responsible for the HR practices in their firm. The authors used multiple linear regression analysis to test the hypotheses.

Results show that both the EI and the different EI competencies of which it is comprised affect the adoption of various HR practices. Thus, the main theoretical contribution of this work stems from the incorporation of a psychological variable (EI) as an antecedent of HRM. Managers of the SME will find guidance about which emotional competencies are the most important for them to be more successful in their roles and for improving HRM.

First, the sample of firms the authors studied is limited to a specific geographic area in one country – Spain (Canary Islands) – that will necessarily limit generalisation of the results obtained to other populations of SMEs. Researchers should replicate the current model in other geographic areas. Second, and with regard the methodology, researchers could explore other tools to measure EI and emotional competencies. It would be interesting to measure this construct using qualitative analytical techniques, with 360 – or 180 – degree tools. Finally, the current study is cross-sectional in nature, which limits our ability to draw causal inferences from the data. This cross-sectional design prevents us, for example, from analysing EI’s influence on the continued development of high-performance HR practices over time. Future research using longitudinal methodologies to study these variables could provide additional advances in this area. This work makes important contributions to both the literature and the business world. With regard to the theoretical implications, results confirm that EI as a whole, as well as in terms of its specific emotional competencies, affects the decision making related to the adoption of high-performance HR practices, which is known to contribute to the organisational performance.

With regard its practical implications, SMEs’ owners-managers and HR practitioners may find our results and conclusions interesting. Indeed, recommendations in business management have often been accompanied by new approaches in HRM (Kent, 2005), as this study proposes. In particular, managers will find evidence of how a decision-maker’s higher EI propitiates the adoption of high-performance HR practices, thus being able to improve HRM in their SMEs. Moreover, managers will obtain guidance on which emotional competencies are the most important for adopting each HR practice, and so find greater success in their HRM roles. SMEs could organise programmes to develop the HR decision-maker’s emotional competencies, as large firms do for their executives.

Thus, the main theoretical contribution of this work stems from the incorporation of a psychological variable (EI) as an antecedent of HRM. Managers of the SME will find guidance about which emotional competencies are the most important for them to be more successful in their roles and for improving HRM.