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This article is a response to the two articles about our chapter (Cohen & Doveh, this volume). The first article was written by Viechtbauer and Budescu and the second written by Hanges and Lyon (both in this volume). The main contribution in the first article relates to the statistical methodology, while in the second article the authors introduce further applications to our method and discuss the interpretability of intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC). We concur with most of the ideas expressed in these articles and elaborate on some of the points raised in them.

Purpose – We build a theoretical lens that draws on an emerging theory of positive work relationships to examine whether constructive emotional expressions in work relationships influence changes in individuals' affective commitment to their organization.

Design/methodology/approach – Using longitudinal data collected from full-time employees, we employed a latent-difference-score (LDS) approach to examine whether changes in emotional carrying capacity could account for changes in organizational commitment.

Findings – The findings support this hypothesis and suggest a new perspective on the ways in which a change in relationship capacity may create changes in people's commitment to an organization.

Research limitations – The main limitation concerns the use of self-report, albeit time-lagged, data.

Practical implications – Developing higher levels of employee affective commitment is a key challenge for many organizations. Our study can help managers in recognizing the importance of building a relational space in which employees are able to express emotions frequently and openly, as well as engaging with other employees in listening to their emotional experiences and responding in a constructive manner.

Originality/value – This study contributes to an emergent body of literature that adopts a positive psychology lens to the study of employee experiences at work, by investigating the capacity to express emotions in general and its influence on people's affective commitment to the organization.

Most multi-level studies are cross-sectional and focus on a certain point in time, though various changes within levels may occur over time. This chapter presents a statistical method for assessing whether the degree of interdependency within a group has changed over time, using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) as an indicator of the degree of homogeneity within the groups. It then shows how to apply this method using the SAS MIXED procedure. The problem was motivated by a study in which 120 subjects were divided into 40 groups of three. In a portion of the study, collective efficacy was the dependent variable measured for each subject under four different conditions (two levels of task interdependence at two points in time). ICC was used as a measure of group homogeneity with respect to collective efficacy, and the problem was how to compare the dependent ICCs associated with the different conditions.

1. INNOVATION IN ORGANIZATIONS: A MULTI-LEVEL PERSPECTIVE ON CREATIVITY

Jay Barney is a Professor of Management and holds the Bank One Chair for Excellence in Corporate Strategy at the Max M. Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University. He received his undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University, and his master's and doctorate from Yale University. He taught at the Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA and Texas A&M University before joining the faculty at Ohio State in 1994, where Professor Barney teaches organizational strategy and policy to MBA and Ph.D. students.