Carlos-María Alcover, Mariana Bargsted and Jesús Yeves
In the context of an aging workforce and uncertain labor markets, it is a priority to identify and analyze what factors influence intentions regarding motivation to continue…
Abstract
Purpose
In the context of an aging workforce and uncertain labor markets, it is a priority to identify and analyze what factors influence intentions regarding motivation to continue working, how and when to retire. From the life course perspective, this paper aims to capture the individual agency and structure perceptions to withdrawal from work early/late intentions in the mid- and late-career, identifying voluntary/involuntary factors underlying these intentions.
Design/methodology/approach
Hypotheses were tested using multiple regression analyses based on a cross-sectional design, with a representative sample of 414 Chilean workers over the age of 45.
Findings
The results depict several patterns of contextual factors operating at different levels underlying mid- and late-career-related intentions. Specifically, they identify how perceptions of individual agency and structure are significantly associated with voluntary and involuntary factors that guide intentions to stay working or retire early, as well as to prolong working life and to lean toward bridge employment.
Originality/value
This study contributes to identifying perceptions of individual agency and structure in career intentions and can help individuals and organizations clarify the voluntary and involuntary factors behind work–life intentions in their middle and final career stages. In addition, the results can contribute to international research in this field by providing information on the underrepresented Ibero-American context.
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Francisco Gil, Carlos‐María Alcover and José‐María Peiró
This introductory paper aims to provide a contextualization of recent research and applications on work team effectiveness in organizational contexts carried out in Spain and…
Abstract
Purpose
This introductory paper aims to provide a contextualization of recent research and applications on work team effectiveness in organizational contexts carried out in Spain and Portugal and to describe connections between this research and the main trends in the international scene.
Design/methodology/approach
Since the 1990s, new occupational and organizational realities have deepened scientific interest in work teams in both Spain and Portugal. A range of recently published (1992‐2004) works in this area are reviewed. The selected sources are papers published in Spanish, Portuguese and international journals.
Findings
Reviewing this work, four major trends are identified that synthesize the key concerns of researches in both countries: work teams and new information/communication technologies; intra‐ and inter‐group conflicts in organizational contexts; definition, dimensions and measurement criteria for work team effectiveness; and teams in innovation and change processes.
Originality/value
This paper fulfils a panoramic vision of this research area in both Spain and Portugal, and provides an overview of the papers included in this special issue and an outlook for the future.
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Francisco Gil, Ramón Rico, Carlos M. Alcover and Ángel Barrasa
To analyse the impact of change‐oriented leaders on group outcomes. An explanatory model is proposed, in which the team climate (in particular as it relates to innovation…
Abstract
Purpose
To analyse the impact of change‐oriented leaders on group outcomes. An explanatory model is proposed, in which the team climate (in particular as it relates to innovation) mediates between change‐oriented leadership and group outcomes, while group potency reinforces this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is designed as a correlative and cross‐level research. The sample comprises 318 health‐care professionals in 78 health‐care teams at different public hospitals throughout Spain.
Findings
Hierarchical regression analysis was used to evaluate mediating and moderating effects. Results offer considerable empirical support for the proposed model.
Research limitations/implications
It would be of interest to increase the sample, differentiate it by service, and to get samples from other sectors, as well as to carry out experimental and longitudinal research. It would also be interesting to further explore the conditions that implement change‐oriented leadership impact, analysing environment, external relations and so on, to examine the relationships between other variables and to study their effects on new forms of work organisation and on virtual teams.
Practical implications
To make more useful change‐oriented leader actions, it would be advisable to identify, modify or improve team climate, using strategies such as management by objectives, delegation and empowerment and so on. It would also be necessary to boost group potency before going ahead with change, for example, by developing the skills of team members, or by fostering the self‐confidence of the team.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to developing actual research about how change‐oriented leaders influence team outputs.
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Carlos‐María Alcover, Antonio Crego, Dina Guglielmi and Rita Chiesa
The aim of this study is to compare the Spanish and Italian early work retirement (EWR) models in a sample comprising individuals from both countries based on the level of…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to compare the Spanish and Italian early work retirement (EWR) models in a sample comprising individuals from both countries based on the level of voluntariness involved in labour market exit, psychosocial outcomes, perceived consequences, socio‐demographic variables and motivation.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used a cluster analysis approach to carry out a cross‐sectional study based on a total sample of 1,131 early retirees (605 Spaniards and 526 Italians) drawn from different industries.
Findings
In the Spanish but not in the Italian case, EWR was predominantly perceived as forced. K‐means cluster analysis identified four groups of early retirees in both countries based on perceived outcomes of EWR. Two of these clusters represent extreme positive and negative assessments of early retirement consequences, while the remaining two reflect intermediate positions.
Research limitations/implications
These results show that the involuntary Spanish EWR model is associated with a significant negative outcomes cluster, whereas voluntary early retirees in Italy are significantly grouped in the positive outcomes cluster. Variables referring to early exit motives, attitudes towards work and post‐working life and psychosocial adjustment are employed to define the clusters.
Originality/value
This study reveals the existence of significant differences in the level of voluntariness between EWR in Spain and its Italian counterpart, in line with the findings obtained by other researchers. The findings support the conclusions of studies that suggest the existence of differences in post‐employment life depending on the level of voluntariness concerned in retirement from the labour market.
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Gabriela Topa and Carlos-María Alcover
Retirement adjustment is the process by which aged workers become accustomed to the changed facts of life in the transition from work to retirement and develop psychological…
Abstract
Purpose
Retirement adjustment is the process by which aged workers become accustomed to the changed facts of life in the transition from work to retirement and develop psychological well-being in their post-working life. The purpose of this paper is to explore the psychosocial factors that significantly explain retirement intentions and retirement adjustment, using two separate empirical studies.
Design/methodology/approach
Retirement self-efficacy, low work involvement, older worker identity and relative deprivation significantly explained retirement intentions (bridge employment engagement, part-time retirement, late retirement and full retirement) of workers over 60 years (Study 1, n=157). Retirement adjustment indices (retirement satisfaction, feelings of anxiety and depression) were associated with psychosocial factors for retirees (Study 2, n=218).
Findings
The findings highlight that retirement self-efficacy and older worker identity positively and significantly explained both full retirement of aged workers and retirement satisfaction of retirees. Relative deprivation negatively significantly explained partial and late retirement intentions and retirement satisfaction of retirees.
Research limitations/implications
The implications of these studies are discussed for understanding retirement planning and counselling practice.
Practical implications
Retirement adjustment conceptualized as a process has important implications for retirement planning, and consequently can influence the project of the life course, as well as career’s decisions.
Social implications
Social contexts should consider all factors that can negatively affect self-efficacy, work involvement and identity of employees in the mid and late-career stages, and thus contribute to reinforce and strengthen personal and psychosocial resources involved in planning and adaptation to retirement, and to increase the insight into the planning and decisions older workers make to face retirement.
Originality/value
This work had two goals, pursued by two empirical studies with two samples: workers over 60 years, and retirees. The authors contend that the availability of two different sets of data increases the generalizability of the findings.
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Francisco J. Medina, Lourdes Munduate, Miguel A. Dorado, Inés Martínez and José M. Guerra
Seeks to evaluate the link between task and relationship conflict, and their influence on some employees' affective reactions such as satisfaction, wellbeing, and propensity to…
Abstract
Purpose
Seeks to evaluate the link between task and relationship conflict, and their influence on some employees' affective reactions such as satisfaction, wellbeing, and propensity to leave a job; and to analyse the mediated and moderated role of relationship conflict.
Design/methodology/approach
The study involved 169 employees from six service organizations (hotels) in Andalusia (Spain). A questionnaire was used containing different measures: task and relationship conflict, wellbeing, job satisfaction, and propensity to leave the job.
Findings
The two types of conflict have different consequences. Data show that relationship conflict is negatively associated with affective reactions, while task conflict does not relate directly to affective reactions in a predictable way; relationship conflict has a positive influence on the desire to leave the current job, while task conflict does not affect it negatively; the interactive effect of relationships and task conflict shows that this interaction contributes substantially to predict the propensity to leave the current job; and relationship conflict mediates in the link between task conflict and affective reactions.
Research limitations/implications
A high level of task conflict may backfire by boosting relationship conflict as well, thus having a negative effect on affective reactions. Thus some conclusions can be drawn with a view to improving conflict management in teams. First an attempt must be made to understand the type of conflict that is taking place. Second, managers should encourage open discussion of task‐related issues. Third, special attention should be paid to the level of each conflict because of its interactive effects on some affective outcomes. Thus, in spite of the generally beneficial effects associated with task conflict, the intensification of task‐related conflict may backfire when interacting with dysfunctional affective‐dissent.
Originality/value
Serves too analyze the mediated and moderated role of relationship conflict and to test the role of types of conflict on affective reactions such as wellbeing and propensity to leave the job.
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Amparo Osca, Begoña Urien, Genoveva González‐Camino, M. Dolores Martínez‐Pérez and Nuria Martínez‐Pérez
To analyse the influence of three different types of organisational support (supervisor's and colleagues' support, training, and acknowledgement and rewards) on the implementation…
Abstract
Purpose
To analyse the influence of three different types of organisational support (supervisor's and colleagues' support, training, and acknowledgement and rewards) on the implementation of teamwork systems.
Design/methodology/approach
Main and buffer effects of social support were tested using different subjective (job satisfaction and job involvement) and objective (production and total production management (TPM)) organisational criteria. In the longitudinal study, two sets of data were taken from a sample of workers from car‐manufacturing factories in two consecutive years.
Findings
The three dimensions of support explain 30 per cent of the variance in job satisfaction in time 1(T1) and 11 per cent in time 2 (T2). A total of 50 per cent of job involvement in T1 is due to the supervisor's and colleagues' support, whereas in T2 this influence is not apparent. Social support from supervisor's and colleagues and acknowledgment and rewards explain 10 per cent of the variance of the objective measures (production and TPM).
Research limitations/implications
The objective measures used are similar for the production line as a whole and therefore they do not consider the possible differences in performance between different production line groups.
Practical implications
The importance of social support in organisational settings, in particular in the implementation of working teams. It also emphasises the need to distinguish the different stages of support from colleagues, supervisors or the organisation.
Originality/value
This study indicates that support is an easy and inexpensive means not only to improve the social environment of an employee but also to make an important contribution towards productivity targets.
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Amparo Caballer, Francisco Gracia and José‐María Peiró
To analyze the direct and combined effects of the communication media and time pressure in group work on the affective responses of team members while performing intellective tasks
Abstract
Purpose
To analyze the direct and combined effects of the communication media and time pressure in group work on the affective responses of team members while performing intellective tasks
Design/methodology/approach
A laboratory experiment was carried out with 124 subjects working in 31 groups. The task performed by the groups was an intellective one. A 2 × 3 factorial design with three media (face‐to‐face, video‐conference, and e‐mail) and time pressure (with and without time pressure) was used to determine the direct and combined effects of these two variables on group members' satisfaction with the process and with the results, and on members' commitment with the decision.
Findings
Results show a direct effect of communication media on satisfaction with the process, which confirms the prediction of the media‐task fit model, and a negative effect of time pressure on satisfaction with group results and commitment to those results. Most interestingly, the interaction effects for the three dependent variables are significant and show that the most deleterious effects of time pressure are produced in groups working face‐to‐face, while groups mediated by video‐conference improve their affective responses under time pressure.
Research limitations/implications
Some limitations are the use of a student sample, so generalizability of the findings is limited, and the use of only one task type.
Practical implications
It can help one to know how to design work to improve satisfaction and implication of workers.
Originality/value
This paper shows some innovations as the combined effects of media and time pressure, controlling for the task type on group members' affective responses to their work and achievements.
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João Pissarra and Jorge C. Jesuino
Brainstorming is a well‐known group process for generating new ideas and stimulating creativity. Important as well as robust findings have been achieved in determining which…
Abstract
Purpose
Brainstorming is a well‐known group process for generating new ideas and stimulating creativity. Important as well as robust findings have been achieved in determining which factors contribute most to facilitating or hindering the group's ideas productivity. Research aimed at comparing face‐to‐face (FTF) with computer‐mediated communication (CMC) led to the conclusion that this latter shared with the nominal group technique the advantages of avoiding either the blocking effect or the identification of the source. More recently, attention has turned to the possible effects of group support system (GSS) in the mediating cognitive processes of generating new ideas. The present study aims to examine the effects of the type of tool and of the anonymity condition on the quality, quantity and diversity of the generated ideas, as well as on group members' satisfaction.
Design/methodology/approach
Uses a 2 × 2 factorial design combining two different GSS tools (topic commenter vs EBS) with anonymity versus non‐anonymity.
Findings
It was found that anonymity generated more satisfaction among the group members. A marginal effect on satisfaction was also found to be related with the type of tools. Contrary to expectations, the EBS tool was not found to generate greater diversity of ideas. An interesting finding not anticipated was the impact of technology on the flow of ideas and on the emergence of new conceptual categories, probably due to alternative strategies of task structuring.
Research limitations/implications
The use of students as subjects, and the running of the experimental work in a scholarly context, could have contributed to the elimination of fears and to freeing the participants from any inhibition in the anonymity conditions. Within an organisational context with higher social stratification, such anonymous procedures could have significant outcomes. Future research will have to examine whether this effect is relevant to other types of topics and other populations. Another aspect that it is important to re‐examine is the effect of anonymity on the emergence of minority ideas, which could stimulate innovation.
Practical implications
The type and characteristics of tools were shown to be a decisive factor in the participants' satisfaction, in the communication process and in the idea generation and clustering processes. Although tenuous, this set of data could mean that the characteristics of the tools interfere with the cognitive mechanisms present in the brainstorming technique.
Originality/value
Examines the effect of the technology and anonymity in ideas generation within a group context on the satisfaction of the participants.
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Ana Margarida Passos and António Caetano
The purpose of this paper is to test a model of the effects of intragroup conflict (relationship conflict, task conflict and process conflict), past performance feedback and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to test a model of the effects of intragroup conflict (relationship conflict, task conflict and process conflict), past performance feedback and perceptions of team decision‐making effectiveness on team performance and affective responses.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 183 individuals, working in 47 different teams, participated in this study. All the teams were involved in a national management challenge for a five‐week period. Three questionnaires were sent directly to team members by e‐mail at different times of the challenge period to collect data concerning demographic data (questionnaire 1), perceptions of team functioning (questionnaire 2) and perceptions of team decision‐making effectiveness as well as the affective responses (questionnaire 3). The level of analysis in this study was the group. Thus, all individual survey responses were aggregated to the team level for statistical analysis.
Findings
Results showed a full mediation effect of perceptions of team decision in the relationship between process conflict and team performance. Task and relationship conflict showed no significant relationships with team performance and satisfaction with the team. The result that effective past performance feedback directly influences team performance, in a positive way, suggests that past effective decisions may reinforce the decision‐making processes previously used by team members.
Research limitations/implications
One possible limitation of this study is the fact that measurements were taken at different times of the management challenge. In fact, while intragroup conflict was measured two weeks after the beginning of the challenge, the other variables were measured at the end of the challenge. This time measurement difference could raise some questions concerning the stability of the intragroup conflict over time in work teams. Future research should address this hypothesis. Future research should also elucidate the influence of contextual variables, such as cultural values, on the relationship between intragroup conflict and performance outcomes.
Practical implications
This study helps managers to understand how to benefit from conflict. In a highly competitive environment, disagreement among team members about “how to do it” seems to decrease decision‐making effectiveness.
Originality/value
This study fills a gap in the conflict literature concerning the impact of intragroup conflict in the team members' perceptions of decision‐making effectiveness and how it affects the overall performance. Moreover, this study also clarifies the importance of past performance to the actual team outcomes.