importance of organizational psychology essay

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Organizational Psychology, Essay Example

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In current dynamic environment, every company is facing challenges from the rivals and competitors. Everyday most of the company is closing their businesses as they are unable to meet the changing requirements of their consumers. Due to unscrupulous practices followed by other companies it is becoming difficult for companies to survive as they seek to take any unfair advantage. This also causes the downfall of even Giant companies. Due to the unpredictable environment there has been much focus on improving the workplace in the business. The companies must ensure that they have the staff with required capabilities and a culture established in the workplace in order to achieve success of the business. Here comes the role of the organizational psychology. The organizational psychology is mostly concerned with Informal culture prevailed inside the organization which affects the workforce productivity and hence success of organizations. However it is similar in some respect to Industrial psychology. Organizational psychology includes scientific methodology in which emphasis is given on Individual’s behavior towards the organization.

Organizational psychology helps organizations to perform efficiently and effectively. This can be achieved through higher quality services and higher productivity. Organizational psychology will also consider the rights of the Human resource in the organization as it considers the skills of the Human resource as an Intangible asset of the organization. This would consider the Job securities for the employees through which employees will be motivated and it will lead to producing higher quality services. Organizational psychology will also play part in the recruitment phase of companies when a Job vacancy arises and a post has to be filled. This would also help in the Job Analysis, Job Description, training and Appraisal phase of the employees.

Role of Research and Statistics in Organizational Psychology

Statistics and research are considered to be the most important part in the field of psychology according to the perceptions of scientists and practitioner.  Exercising practices which are based on proofs and evidences came into the panel of integrity for correctly using methods and techniques in order of collecting and gathering data along with analyzing all the gathered information in an evocative way. Beside this leadership interventions, employee stress and job performances are all based upon the validity and reliability of the measurements which are constructed on the basis of research and all the performed calculations of statistics.

Statistics and research plays a vital role in this field of psychology as research and stats are called as the heart of psychology and no one can live or survive without heart. Hence without the use of research and stats psychology will not be in existence as a science. Moreover the research used to help psychology in proving or disproving different theories and hypothesis. Hence all the things which we know relating to the brain and human behavior are just because of the research and experiments. And on the other hand Stats is implemented on all the psychological researches and helps in the verification that whether the findings based on the research are right or not. This determination of findings that they are valid or not will be attain on the basis of probabilities.

Moreover stats also provide help to the researcher in determining the variables on which their analysis of data will be based. By the use of statistical applications central dispersions and tendencies could be determined easily.

Beside this recently Meta-analysis has become so necessary from the past few years in the organizational psychology which includes quantitative analysis of all the findings of the research which is also done via statistics tools e.g: Arithmetic mean, ANOVA, Coefficient of correlation and VIF, etc.

The Role of Organizational Psychology in Organizations

The Organizational psychology is used to order the measure the employee’s performance as expected and then investigate the reasons for any deviations. This would determine whether the employee should be rewarded if the performance is up to the standard, rewards would be assigned in terms of Bonuses and salary increase. Performance Appraisals would also be carried out in order to investigate any deviations found in the employee’s performance from the target.

Organizational psychology will provide following benefits to the organization:

• I will perform detailed Job analysis and help in hiring the employees.
• It will provide help in order to make effective use of technology and explore the new ideas and thinking skills of employees.
• It will ensure that the Employee’s knowledge is shared by others and explicit knowledge is captured in the organization
• It will help in selecting the future leaders by grooming the existing employees.
• It will explore the factors through which the dissatisfaction level of employees increases and what impact it creates on the staff turnover and Absenteeism level.
• It will also analyze the employee’s behavior towards Group tasks and why someone is not performing well in the group tasks. It will also judge the employees intention towards the company and their seniors by having Informal Gossips outside the workplace.

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1 The Nature of Organizational Psychology

Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

• Published: 18 September 2012
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Organizational psychology is the science of psychology applied to work and organizations . This field of inquiry spans more than a century and covers an increasingly diverse range of topics as the nature of work and organizations continue to evolve. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a concise overview of organizational psychology as a field of inquiry and the topics covered in this handbook, which endeavors to encapsulate key topics of research and application, summarize important research findings, and identify innovative directions for research and practice. The chapter is organized around four sections. First, it begins with a brief overview of the evolution of the concept of work and the changing career model to provide a backdrop to our examination of the psychology of organizations. Second, it describes several dialectic tensions—industrial and organizational psychology, employee well-being and organizational effectiveness, basic and applied science, science and practice activities, and individual and organizational levels—that characterize organizational psychology as an applied, translational science. The tensions are a source of challenges that require a dynamic balance, but they also create important synergies for the field. Third, I highlight important trends over the last 35 years in the evolution of the field—it is increasingly multilevel, encompassing teams, studying dynamic phenomena, and expanding its breadth of coverage—that are shaping the field, as well as its future. Finally, I close with a tour of the structure of the volume and the topics that illustrate the breadth and diversity of this field that studies the science of psychology applied to work and organizations.

“Work is the inescapable starting point for all social inquiry.” —( Heilbroner , 1985 , p. 9)

The Centrality of Work and Organizations

Organizations are ubiquitous.

People working together in organizations are the primary means by which contemporary societies accomplish the ordinary, mundane, but very important basics of everyday life which include providing food, water, clothing, shelter, and safety; managing the engines of economics, commerce, and trade; linking us via media for communication, entertainment, and enrichment; moving us by far-flung air transportation systems; and pushing the boundaries of the extraordinary by cracking the atom, putting men on the moon, and planning missions to more distal heavenly bodies. Work is central to modern culture, to the societies in which we live, and to the well-being of the people who comprise global cultures and societies. Those of you reading this chapter spent a substantial portion of your lives preparing for a career and have spent or will spend an even greater portion of your life building that career. Most people develop their careers by filling a series of roles in a single organization or across a set of different organizations. As they gain experience and enhanced competence, they seek to progress to roles with greater responsibility and concomitant material rewards. Other people depart from this typical pattern and define their own roles, and even their own organizations, as entrepreneurs. However, whether we work in an organization or create our own, we will interact with and accomplish many of our life goals in and through organized institutions. Organizations are ubiquitous in our world and in our lives.

Work Is Central to Life

Aside from the many material benefits provided by work and organizations, work is also an important source of identity and psychological well-being. Work structures time and activity, it provides opportunities for social interaction and exchange, and it is a foundation for self-identity and self-esteem (Jahoda, 1988 ). We invest on the order of 20 to 25 years in educational preparation in elementary school and high school, and occupational pre-socialization in college and post-graduate study. Work is a vehicle for career striving for the pursuit of achievement, power, and material rewards as well as a means to satisfy psychological needs. In contemporary society, a career trajectory will span roughly 40 or more years. By retirement, nearly half of one's waking life will have been spent preparing for and engaging in work, career, and organizational life. When work and careers are satisfying, they enhance our sense of well-being and are a major source of fulfillment. When our work life is troubled, or when it conflicts with other important life roles, it becomes a major source of tension, stress, and psychological and even physical dysfunction. Thus, the effects of work extend well beyond the bounds of the organizations in which work is embedded; work is central to adult fulfillment and well-being in most societies.

This chapter is designed to provide a broad overview of the field of organizational psychology—the psychology of human cognition, affect, behavior, and performance applied to work and organizations. Understanding the nature of organizational psychology necessitates an understanding of work as a fact of life, its cultural juxtaposition, and its evolution from ancient to modern times. An important aspect of this evolution is the shift from work as basic subsistence for maintaining existence to modern forms of work in organizations where the meaning of work is more abstract and where the outcomes—money, power, status—go beyond mere subsistence. Another purpose for tracing the evolution of work is to make salient the fact that work and organizations are not fixed “givens”; rather, they are socially constructed concepts, and they change and evolve as the societies and cultures around them advance. Hence, factors that are important research foci in different historical epochs change as society changes and the nature of work and organizations evolve (Koppes-Bryan & Vinchur, chapter 2 of this handbook).

This introductory chapter is structured into four sections. First, I begin with a concise tracing of the evolution of work . Work has been a central fact of human history, but its existential meaning has changed over time, and our modern conceptions, which are also in flux, are no more fixed or “real” than were ancient views of work. With continued advances in technology and culture, our conceptions of work and organizations will continue to evolve. Second, I consider several core dialectic tensions that underlie industrial and organizational (I/O) 1 psychology: industrial and organizational psychology, employee well-being and organizational effectiveness, basic and applied science, science and practice activities, and individual and organizational levels. I discuss how a dynamic balance among the contrasting poles of these tensions creates positive synergies for the field. Third, I describe what I view as four important evolutionary trends in organizational psychology over the last 35 years: (1) the rise of multilevel theory and research that encompass the individual, group, and organizational levels; (2) the surge of interest in team effectiveness, with teams at the juncture of the individual and organizational levels; (3) the nascent interest in dynamic processes; and (4) the expanding breadth of topics covered by the field. The fourth section, which provides an overview of the organization, structure, and coverage of the handbook, illustrates this latter trend.

In designing the structure of this handbook, I was careful to represent the foundation and the core of the field, but I also attended to areas that are expanding and to areas where organizational psychology needs to build stronger linkages. Authors of the chapters in this handbook are top scholars in each of their respective topic areas. You will find each of their contributions to provide a solid overview of the topic, a deep summary of key findings, and insightful directions for future research progress.

The Evolution of Work

Work, ancient and modern.

Any effort to briefly sketch the etiology of work over the course of human history is doomed to oversimplify and gloss over complexities in a rich and varied tapestry. However, this risk is offset by the value in realizing that conceptions of work have evolved considerably and, hence, future conceptions of work are likely to be quite different from the current views we take for granted. For those interested in a deeper treatment of this evolution, Applebaum's Concept of Work (1992)—on which this brief sketch is based—is highly recommended.

“Work is basic to the human condition, to the creation of the human environment, and to the context of human relationships” (Applebaum, 1992 , p. ix). Although one can certainly trace back further in time, work in ancient Greece and Rome was woven into the fabric of life and community. In Greece, the aristocratic oikos was a household that comprised an extended family group, with a landed estate and considerable accumulated wealth (primarily from plunder and gifts). These large estates needed “workers” in the form of slaves, hired help, and craftsmen. Even with the strong class distinctions of that time, based on wealth, power, and one's type of work, everyone engaged in different forms of productive activity.

Of course, those differences could be pretty big. As Applebaum ( 1992 ) noted, Aristotle distinguished praxis , activity that has no purpose other than its intrinsic enjoyment, and poiesis , activity for a specific end state or product. The latter was viewed as a form of dependence that was not fit for a free man, who should not be burdened with labor in order to engage in a more contemplative and rewarding intellectual life. The nature of work conferred social status. Does this sound familiar? This distinction is still viewed as important in motivational terms. Heckhausen & Kuhl ( 1985 ) describe activity for its own sake as action goals that are intrinsically motivating, whereas activity in the service of outcomes is described as consequence goals that motivate extrinsically.

The human necessity to work was part of the religious myths and philosophies of the ancient world. Just as in the Old Testament, Adam and Eve were thrust out of the garden of bliss for the sin of eating the apple, so in the Greek myths, Zeus punished mankind for the sins of Prometheus. 2 In both cases, the result was that mankind had to earn its living through work. He could no longer attain the wherewithal for life for free or without cost. The products of nature would henceforth yield themselves up to humankind only in pure form. They would be unusable unless welded to the fire of work, unformed unless molded into new shapes through the use of tools, and unconsumable unless they were cooked with fire. (Applebaum, 1992 , p. 168)

During the Middle Ages, more than 90% of the European population lived in small villages and worked the land. Before the relentless invasions began, peasants owned or rented the land. Later, they needed protection, which was exchanged for social obligations. They were obliged to work the land for the king or lord and to exchange labor or products. Work was communal and, although entailing more complex social structures, was still closely connected to the rhythm of daily life. In addition, craft guilds and the apprenticeship system developed, serving as a source of both social organization and social mobility.

And, essentially, so it went for hundreds of years. The rise of market-based economies and the use of currency begin to separate work from its intimacy with the fabric of life. The basic activities of growing food, raising animals for food and clothing, potting, and so on, are all related to agricultural-based economies. Separating work from direct sustenance made it more of an abstraction: the exchange of effort in return for compensation.

The Protestant attitude toward work is the beginning of the modern concept of work, and it is convenient to locate this great change with the ideas of Luther. This new attitude toward work has also been merged with the notion that Protestantism and its perspectives on work were also the ideological precursors for capitalism and its work ethic. This latter notion was created by Max Weber in his seminal essay on the Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1950). (Applebaum, 1992 , p. 321) This view was, and remains, controversial.

The revolutionary aspect of Luther (he did not support commerce, since it was not real work, or profit, since the purpose of work was just maintenance) was the notion that one should work within one's social niche (the trade, profession, or station into which one was born) doing best that which one was “called” to do, with no desire to advance in the social hierarchy. The revolutionary part was that it rejected the “three orders” and the notion that the lower orders had to “work for the benefit of the higher orders, nobles, and clerics who were to have leisure to pursue the contemplative and spiritual life” (Applebaum, 1992 , p. 322). (The roots of this notion go back to Aristotle, as noted previously.) It rejected the “… double standard of the higher and lower callings and it also shifted the concept of calling or work—from the… emphasis on the penal quality of work, especially in its manual aspects, to the positive and creatively enjoyable aspects of work” (Applebaum, 1992 , p. 323).

With Calvinism came a new view toward work. All must work, even the rich. Hard work stems from religious conviction. Idleness, luxury, anything soft is to be shunned. Hard work to cleanse the soul is taken as a religious duty. “Puritanism—which developed from Calvinism—goes further, teaching that it is one's duty to extract the greatest possible gain from work. Success, which is proven by profit, is the certain indication that the chosen profession is pleasing to God” (Applebaum, 1992 , p. 325). Calvin also taught that it was one's duty to strive for social advancement. The view of work was one as “mobile, fluid, man-made rather than God-given, and rationalized… If this sounds very modern, it is. It is also possibly the first ideological wind of the modern spirit of entrepreneurship and profit-seeking” (Applebaum, 1992 , p. 325). Subsequent reformation efforts by the Puritans coupled their ethics with the principles of modern capitalism. And so we marry up with more contemporary views of work prevalent in the latter half of the twentieth century.

Recent Views of Work and Careers

In many ways, contemporary views of work and careers and their relationship to organizations are bound within this historical perspective. The evolution of work provides the base, but our conception is largely rooted in recent history that has unfolded over the last half century or so. Following the destruction wrought by World War II, developed societies, including those devastated by the conflict, embarked on a period of economic expansion unparalleled in human history. In exchange for their effort, loyalty, and hard work, people were rewarded with material benefits and career opportunities as companies grew. This has contributed to a “traditional” view of work in which work roles, career progression, and the nature of organizations have conformed to a set of assumptions that were largely taken for granted for many years: A person prepared for a single job or career (the person here was typically a white male—this was the normative model), worked for a single company (or at least very few companies), and got ahead by working hard in his chosen specialty (people were rewarded for their individual merit). There have been, to be sure, some incremental changes in this traditional perspective as historically disenfranchised groups of people sought, and continue to seek, more inclusion in this model. The basic nature of the exchange relationship between individuals and organizations, however, remained intact from post–World War II up to the mid-1980s and 1990s. That traditional model, if it ever was truly descriptive of career development, is now in the midst of dramatic revision.

A revolution is taking place in the world of work in which this traditional model is unlikely to survive. There are a multitude of environmental forces operating to change organizations in ways that will upend the traditional views of work as well. Organizations are increasingly multinational, cutting across what used to be impenetrable cultural, political, and economic system barriers. Indeed, the political and economic barriers between capitalism and Marxism erected in the aftermath of World War II have mostly fallen by the wayside. Competition is increasingly global, creating pressures for firms to meet higher standards of efficiency, quality, and flexibility. Technological innovation in both product (what is made) and process (how it is made) continues to accelerate rapidly, contributing to the obsolescence of work skills, technical knowledge, and jobs, and even to the decline of companies and entire industries.

Organizations attempt to respond to these forces in a number of different ways. They merge or acquire other organizations in an effort to eliminate competitors or to purchase specific kinds of expertise that they need to compete effectively. They reorganize their structure in an effort to enhance responsiveness, flexibility, and efficiency. They shut down obsolete manufacturing plants and invest in advanced manufacturing technologies to improve product quality and consistency. They may even move jobs to other parts of the world where labor costs are low. These efforts to respond oftentimes result in workforce reductions as organizations close manufacturing plants, reduce layers of management, and lay off surplus personnel. Many companies reduce their workforces as part of a general retrenchment process in response to poor economic performance. As a consequence of these different organizational responses, organizational downsizing became a common phenomenon, beginning in the 1980s, accelerating in the 1990s, and continuing into the new millennium (Cascio & Wynn, 2004 ). These economic disruptions, as growth in the developed world has slowed and expansion in the developing world has gained momentum, continue in the present day. The recent economic dislocation has exacerbated these effects.

These organizational changes have begun to affect the traditional career and work model. First, the career model is changing. It is less and less likely that individuals will be able to develop satisfying careers in a single organization. Not only will advancement opportunities be more restricted as organizations reduce layers of management, but the continuing threat of downsizing will tend to undercut loyalty to any one organization. People will tend to exhibit more mobility as they move from company to company to enhance or protect their careers. Moreover, it is less and less likely that individuals will be able to pursue a single career path. Technological obsolescence may require people to prepare for significant career shifts throughout their productive work lives. At the very least, most people will have to continually update their knowledge and skills through continuing, lifelong education and training just to keep up with advances in knowledge (London, chapter 35 of this handbook; Molloy & Noe, 2010 ). People will need to be increasingly flexible in career management.

Second, the model of work is also changing. As organizations streamline to enhance innovation and agility, job responsibilities expand. With fewer levels of management, decision making moves lower in the organization to put decisions closer to the work. In addition, broad-based skills become more important because jobs have to be more dynamic and flexible; they are likely to be revised and redesigned more frequently. Emphasis on product quality and customer service fosters attention to continuous improvement in product and process. This requires continuous improvements in worker skills and knowledge (London, chapter 35 of this handbook). It also places a premium on teamwork as organizations worldwide have shifted their work designs from individual to team-based systems over the last two decades (Devine, Clayton, Phillips, Dunford, & Melner, 1999 ).

Finally, workers are changing as well. The traditional models of work and careers are also a product of the culture, societal values, and the people that comprise the society. The traditional models are linked to a time when work and careers were predominantly the province of men, and family lifestyles were more uniform. As the culture changes, however, so does the view of work. In our culture, lifestyles have become far more diverse than they were in the immediate postwar era. In addition, over the next several decades, our society will experience a variety of demographic changes that will affect the nature of the workforce. There will be more women in the workforce, particularly at the higher decision-making levels of corporations ( http://www.dol.gov/wb/stats/main.htm ). There will be more “minorities” and fewer white males as a percentage of the workforce. Indeed, white males will constitute a “minority” group in the latter half of the twenty-first century (Lee & Mather, 2008 ). 3 And there will be greater distinctions between well-educated and highly skilled workers and those who are lacking education, work skills, or basic literacy. This diversity of the workforce, combined with the changes in organizations and careers, will revolutionize the nature of work and how we think about it.

Although it is easy to be pessimistic about change—and, indeed, change is often resisted—I am optimistic about the future. The changes in careers, work, and cultural values create challenges for government, for organizations, and for all of us. At the same time, they provide an opportunity to redefine work and careers so that they are more fulfilling for more people. This is the province and the challenge of organizational psychology: to understand the psychology of organizations and people, and to apply that basic psychological science to help people become more fulfilled and to help organizations become more effective.

Foci of Organizational Psychology

Dialectic tensions.

The abbreviated definition of organizational psychology highlighted above is characterized by an underlying set of core dialectic tensions illustrated in Figure 1.1 : industrial and organizational psychology, employee well-being and organizational effectiveness, basic and applied science, science and practice activities, and individual and organizational levels. I do not mean to describe these foci as forces in strong opposition or conflict, but they do tug the field in different directions, creating tension and flux between the poles, and necessitating a dynamic balance among the tugs and pulls. The tensions are sometimes, perhaps often, viewed as problems that are bifurcating I/O psychology and that have the potential to cleave it at its joints. However, I think that is an extreme and pessimistic viewpoint. Rather, I think that the tensions are endemic in the origin, nature, and evolution of the field, and that the dialectic flux is healthy so long as we actively endeavor to maintain a dynamic balance between the poles and among the collective tensions. In the sections that follow, I will briefly highlight the nature of these tensions and the value that the field of organizational psychology gains by maintaining a dynamic balance.

Dialectical Tensions of Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Note: Orientation of the axes is arbitrary and not intended to be meaningful.

Industrial and Organizational

The industrial and organizational foci represent domains of research and application that have evolved historically and that together span the richness of human characteristics, behavior, and performance in organizations. The earliest principles and tools of psychology applied to work and organizations centered on individual differences, assessments and tests that captured them, and applied that technology to selecting employees. In addition, there were applications to job design, employee performance assessment, and training. For example, Galton and Cattell contributed to the development of differential psychology and the assessment of individual differences in abilities; Münsterberg used work samples and early forms of work simulations for selection and training; and World War I stimulated the application of ability testing to large-scale selection and classification by the army. Testing, selection, and training were obviously also applicable to industry, and the techniques quickly diffused for application in organizations. These applications were primarily focused on enabling basic human resource management (HRM) functions and, consistent with terminology of the era, characterized an “industrial” psychology. Subsequent development of research interest on worker attitudes and productivity from the Hawthorne Studies in the 1920s and 1930s; the post–World War II focus on leadership and motivation; and the rise of organizational systems theory with its focus on organizational development, change, and effectiveness led to a characterization of an “organizational” psychology, which was added to the industrial psychology label in 1973 (Koppes-Bryan & Vinchur, chapter 2 of this handbook).

Although the distinction between the “I” “slash” “O” is sometimes viewed as a fracture, the field firmly remains I and O. It is not bifurcated, it is connected. This is noteworthy because in management, human resources management (HRM; a.k.a. industrial psychology) and organizational behavior (OB; a.k.a. organizational psychology) are treated as distinct sub-specialties. Contemporary interest in strategic HRM necessitates spanning I and O psychology, HRM and OB, and leveraging synergies across the micro-macro divide to understand how organizational strategy shapes worker requirements and how the emergence of human capital shapes organizational strategy, capabilities, and effectiveness (Ployhart, chapter 8 of this handbook; Snow & Snell, chapter 30 of this handbook).

Employee Well-being and Organizational Effectiveness

From its earliest inception, organizational psychology has been concerned with the application of psychological principles to improving the experience and well-being of workers and the effectiveness of organizations. There is a tension between these two foci such that improving organizational effectiveness could come at the expense of employee well-being, or that improvements in employee well-being are costly to the organization. For example, an organizational restructuring and streamlining that also downsized the workforce could prompt feelings of guilt and increased work stress for surviving employees (Kozlowski, Chao, Smith, & Hedlund, 1993 ). Conversely, a lavish organizational benefits package might be viewed as detrimental to the bottom line or the creation of shareholder value by some observers. Google, for example, offers a very favorable employee benefits package:

The goal is to strip away everything that gets in our employees’ way. We provide a standard package of fringe benefits, but on top of that are first-class dining facilities, gyms, laundry rooms, massage rooms, haircuts, carwashes, dry cleaning, commuting buses—just about anything a hardworking employee might want. Let's face it: programmers want to program, they don't want to do their laundry. So we make it easy for them to do both. (Eric Schmidt, CEO Google) 4

As inherent in the Google example, the goal is to manage the tension so as to achieve mutual benefit to all parties. Indeed, the mission statement for the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) states in part: “The Society's mission is to enhance human well-being and performance in organizational and work settings by promoting the science, practice, and teaching of industrial-organizational psychology.” 5

Basic and Applied Science

Psychological science studies a wide range of basic phenomena. For example, cognitive neuroscience maps brain function to psychological phenomena such as decision making, mood, and disorders. Developmental psychology examines psychological functioning across the life span—child, adolescent, and adult development. Social psychologists study basic personality, attitudes, values, and interpersonal interactions. Basic psychological science seeks to discover generalizable principles of human behavior that cut across a wide range of situations.

What makes organizational psychology somewhat unique is that it is focused on psychological functioning in a particular context, the workplace—a context that entails some very potent motivators, including achievement, power, and money. “Work is like the spine which structures the way people live, how they make contact with material and social reality, and how they achieve status and self-esteem” (Applebaum, 1992 , p. ix). The work context grounds organizational psychology and the phenomena of interest. The context constrains the range of behavior to focus primarily on the functioning of normal adults. The context also limits the range of potential situational or environmental influences that are of interest to factors such as organizational features, leadership, and group processes and behavioral outcomes such as job performance, attitudes, and other reactions. The context allows organizational psychologists to examine psychological phenomena within a more tightly focused range, with better grounding, and greater precision. The intent is to apply basic science to the work setting.

Basic and applied sciences are often depicted as opposite poles conceptually similar to Aristotle's praxis (basic) and poiesis (applied): basic discovery of knowledge for its own sake versus application of knowledge to achieve a specific purpose. However, basic and applied sciences are not necessarily opposite ends of a continuum. In his seminal book, Pasteur's Quadrant , Donald Stokes ( 1997 ) juxtaposes the quest for fundamental understanding and considerations of use as orthogonal dimensions that create four quadrants characterizing three meaningful classes of research. A quest for fundamental understanding with no consideration of use is pure basic research, as exemplified by the physics of Niels Bohr or Albert Einstein. A focus on use with no consideration for fundamental understanding is pure applied research, as exemplified by the inventions of Thomas Edison. The quest for fundamental understanding and consideration is use-inspired basic research: Pasteur's Quadrant. The remaining quadrant – no consideration for understanding or use—is null. Rigorous and relevant organizational psychological research targets Pasteur's Quadrant: it seeks to generate basic scientific knowledge that can be applied to solve important problems in organizations.

Science and Practice

As in the previous discussion of Pasteur's Quadrant, I/O psychological science is targeted on fundamental understanding that has implications for solving applied problems. The tools of our science include the development of meta-theories that help explain important phenomena; systematic research to investigate more specific models drawn from these theories; research summaries and meta-analyses that help to codify knowledge and provide a basis for validated principles for understanding important classes of work behavior; and the development of “tools” to influence, shape, and enhance human performance.

In the science-practice model, practitioners draw on scientific theories, principles, and tools, but tailor them with sensitivity to the local context and conditions of the organization. Theory and research-based principles at a higher level of generality cannot encompass every important contingency that operates in a given organizational setting. The art and experience of seasoned practitioners are necessary components of the translation of applied science to effective application.

The science-practice model is important because it merges the content areas of OB and HR, and distinguishes the practice of I/O psychology from related disciplines in management. Anyone with any disciplinary background whatsoever can be a consultant to organizations. What distinguishes the practice of I/O psychology from other disciplines is that it is fundamentally based in the science of psychology applied to organizations. Maintaining a tight coupling between science and practice is increasingly a challenge as the unique aspects of each role tug science and practice in different directions (Rynes, chapter 13 of this handbook). However, in I/O psychology, the linkage between science and evidence-based practice is critical if we are to remain rigorous and relevant.

Individual and Organizational

The roots of organizational psychology go to the role of individual differences in ability, personality, and other characteristics in predicting human behavior in the workplace. The formative history of the field was firmly focused on individuals as the level of primary interest and the appropriate level of explanation. The primary focus on the individual characterized the field for much of its development, although the Hawthorne studies conducted in the 1920s and 1930s began to spark nascent interest in characteristics of groups and settings in the workplace (Koppes-Bryan & Vinochur, chapter 2 of this handbook). Post–World War II interests in the nature and effects of leadership, the role of organizational climate as a representation of organization contextual factors like technology and structure, and systems theory which viewed elements of the organization as linked together in complex and dynamic patterns of ongoing influence brought more attention to the characteristics of the context—the organization—and their effects on individuals (Katz & Kahn, 1978 ). Subsequent development of multilevel theory (MLT) pushed the level of explanation beyond the individual to encompass the group and organizational levels, to consider the interplay across levels, and to appreciate the ways in which higher level—group and organizational—phenomena emerge from individuals interacting over time in a work setting (Kozlowski & Klein, 2000 ; Rousseau, 1985 ). The levels of explanation are individual, group, and organizational; micro, meso, and macro; I and O.

Evolutionary Trends in Organizational Psychology

Complexities and challenges.

The dialectics undergirding organizational psychology are merely reflective of the complexities and challenges of studying organizations and the behavior that occurs within them. Complexities, and the theoretical and research challenges that they create, force a field of study to evolve as it seeks to better capture and explain complex phenomena. Some of the evolution of the field since its inception is inherent in the dialectics described previously. The evolution of organizational psychology, more generally, is captured in its history and development (Koppes Bryan & Vinochur, chapter 2 of this handbook). However, there are, I think, some key developments that have occurred during the last 35 years that are having a substantial influence on the evolution of the field. These trends include: (a) the rise of multilevel theory, research, and methods; (b) the related surge of theory and research focused on team effectiveness; (c) nascent interest in developmental processes and the dynamics of behavior; and (d) increased breadth of research encompassed by organizational psychology as represented in the topics covered by this handbook (wider, deeper, more multidisciplinary).

This is, not coincidentally, a strongly personal perspective. I began graduate studies in I/O psychology shortly after publication of the first Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology (Dunnette, 1976 ). As a graduate student, I was exposed to that Handbook and it serves as my point of entry to the field and my benchmark for new developments and the evolution of I/O psychology. I do not mean to imply that these are the only important trends in the field. It is simply that I see their influence as pervasive and growing. I will highlight the first three related trends—multilevel theory, the rise of work teams, and dynamics—in this section. Breadth of the field is addressed in the next section, which lays out the organization, structure, and topics covered in this handbook.

Organizations Are Multilevel Systems

Organizations are socially constructed systems. They are abstract, rather than concrete, systems in that their strategy, design, structure, and processes are enacted by the people who compose them (Katz & Kahn, 1978 ). They are embedded in a shifting and often unpredictable environment. Organizations are in exchange with the external environment, importing resources, transforming them, and exporting something “value added” that enables continued energy importation. As environments shift, organizations change, evolve, and adapt—or die. This view of organizations as systems of interacting elements, in exchange with a changing external environment, and adapting dynamically to maintain homeostasis, has been a dominant theoretical framework for understanding organizational behavior for over 70 years; it is traceable back to the Hawthorne Studies (Roethlisburger & Dickson, 1939 ). It is a very useful perspective, but it has limitations.

The problem has been that it is more of a metaphor than a theory, it has not been useful for developing testable propositions, and it has not advanced research. To accomplish those aims, one needs a set of theoretical principles that can be used to meaningfully decompose “holistic” systems phenomena, measurement principles to specify constructs that can represent different levels of phenomena, and analytical tools that can deal with phenomena that unfold over time and at multiple levels (Kozlowski & Klein, 2000 ). The advent of multilevel theory, coupled with the development of multilevel analytical systems, has provided the means to resolve these issues.

For much of its history, I/O psychology was primarily focused on individuals. Even during the 1950s and 1960s, when systems theory was taking hold and there was growing interest in the effects of organizational factors on human behavior, the level of explanation stayed fixed on the individual. This individual-centric focus began to change in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Although there are many formative influences, the publication of a book entitled Building an Interdisciplinary Science of Organizations (Roberts, Hulin, & Rousseau, 1978 ) signaled the beginning of a shift in the field that would ultimately result in a more balanced theoretical, research, and application focus on individuals, groups, and organizations as integrated—rather than distinct—levels of explanation. A key observation made by Roberts and colleagues ( 1978 ) is that the disciplines comprising organizational science had sliced the organizational system into distinct layers. They selected four exemplar paradigms, or four worlds of organizational science: I/O psychology (the individual), human factors (tasks), social psychology (groups), and sociology (organization)—to make their point.

In the years that followed, many scholars highlighted the ways in which a more integrated perspective that encompassed the multiple, nested levels of the organizational system could push the field forward (Klein, Dansereau, & Hall, 1994 ; Mossholder & Bedeian, 1983 ; Rousseau, 1985 ). However, the challenges were many. Researchers routinely misunderstood the implications of data aggregation (Robinson, 1950 ; Thorndike, 1939 ). Researchers routinely evoked theoretical explanations that spanned levels, but failed to measure, appropriately represent, or analyze them at commensurate levels (Klein et al., 1994 ). There were controversies surrounding the justification for aggregating data (James, Demaree, & Wolf, 1984 , 1993 ; Kozlowski & Hattrup, 1992 ; Schmidt & Hunter, 1989 ) and conducting multilevel analyses (George, 1990 ; George & James, 1993 ; Yammarino & Markham, 1992 ). There was interest in multilevel research, but the complexities were many and the persistent controversies over theory and method sowed confusion and wariness. Multilevel and cross-level research was rare.

In 2000, Klein and Kozlowski produced an edited book for the SIOP Frontiers Series, Multilevel Theory, Research, and Methods in Organizations: Foundations, Extensions, and New Directions , that was intended to bring order to this chaos and to advance multilevel theory and research. The opening chapter (Kozlowski & Klein, 2000 ) synthesized a set of theoretical principles for developing multilevel models; 6 formulated methodological principles and a measurement framework for aligning the levels of constructs and data; and developed a theoretically based typology of emergence to help researchers appropriately represent higher level phenomena that emerge from individual cognition, affect, behavior, and other person characteristics. Chapters were commissioned to apply multilevel theory to topics that had traditionally been rooted solely at the individual level—selection, performance appraisal, and training—or largely at more macro levels—culture, HRM strategy, and inter-organizational relations. Finally, there were thorough treatments of the issues of aggregation and non-independence, analytic systems (i.e., cross-level operator approaches, within and between analysis [WABA], and hierarchical linear modeling [HLM]), and—importantly—a direct comparison among the analytic techniques analyzing a common data set. The book was largely successful in its goals of providing a solid theoretical foundation for multilevel research, clarifying measurement and analytic issues, and pointing toward the many potential areas where multilevel theory could extend research effectiveness.

In addition, during the 1990s and especially since the turn of the century, there have been substantial developments in multilevel modeling techniques. Multilevel random coefficient modeling has clearly established superiority over alternative analysis methods (i.e., analysis of variance and covariance [ANOVA, ANCOVA], ordinary least squares regression, and within and between analysis [WABA]), and it has become widely available in a variety of statistical software analysis packages. Publication of multilevel research—better integrating across levels in the organizational system—has increased significantly in volume in the major organizational psychology, HRM, and OB journals. Multilevel research has moved from the periphery of organizational research to its center. Since the turn of the century, multilevel research has flourished.

The Rise of Work Teams

One area of scholarly activity that well illustrates this ongoing evolution of multilevel research is the growth of work on team effectiveness in organizational psychology. As I noted previously, for much of its history I/O psychology has been centered on the individual as its focal level. However, competitive pressures on organizations to be more adaptive, to push decision making closer to the source of problems, and to harness diverse expertise sparked a worldwide shift from individual-based work structures to team-based work systems in organizations during the late 1980s and 1990s (Devine et al., 1999 ). Since at least the 1930s, research on small group behavior has been the province of social psychology, but the evolution in work structure prompted a change in the locus of research focused on small groups and work teams. As Kozlowski and Bell ( 2003 , p. 333) noted:

Over the last 15 years… group and team research has become increasingly centered in the fields of organizational psychology and organizational behavior. Indeed, Levine and Moreland ( 1990 ) in their extensive review of small group research concluded that, “Groups are alive and well, but living elsewhere… The torch has been passed to (or, more accurately, picked up by) colleagues in other disciplines, particularly organizational psychology.” (p. 620)

As go organizations, so goes I/O psychology. The increasing interest in teams, teamwork, and team effectiveness was concurrent with the evolving interest in multilevel theory, methods, and analyses. Teams are at the juncture of the person and the broader organizational system. The person is micro . The organizational system is macro . Work teams are meso . They provide the most proximal social context for the experiences that impinge on employees—experiences that are frustrating, fulfilling, or enervating. They are also the unit that most proximally captures the synergies of good teamwork, collaboration, and coordination that emerge to influence higher level performance. Teams are the juncture that links layers of the organization—top-down and bottom-up—together into an integrated system. Teams increasingly represent an important focus for organizational psychology theory and research (Bell, Kozlowski, & Blawath, chapter 26 of this handbook; Chen & Tesluk, chapter 24 of this handbook; Hollenbeck & Spitzmuller, chapter 23 of this handbook; Kirkman, Gibson, & Kim, chapter 25 of this handbook; Kozlowski & Ilgen, 2006 ; Mathieu & Gilson, chapter 27 of this handbook).

Whether increasing interest in the dynamics of human cognition, affect, and behavior in organizations is a clear trend is debatable, but—whether it is a trend or not—it should be represented in our theory, research, and practice. In the 100+ year history of the field, we have learned much about work and behavior in organizations; much of that knowledge is captured in this handbook. However, it is also the case that the vast majority of our evidence and knowledge are based on relationships observed in static correlational designs—results from cross-sectional data collections in the field—or in lab studies that can establish causal relations, but within limited time frames and often with little or no attention to process dynamics. We need to do better.

There are, nonetheless, several areas of inquiry where the influence of dynamic processes unfolding over time as developmental progression, growth, or the persistence of a phenomenon; processes characterized by cycles or episodes; or phenomena that exhibit intra- or inter-individual (or higher level units) variance are receiving theoretical and research attention. This is an important nascent trend since virtually every phenomenon of interest has at its core a psychological process which, by definition, is dynamic. This list is by no means intended to be a comprehensive sampling, but just a simple illustration to demonstrate that there is a lot more research that entails temporal dynamics than you might think at first blush. For example, socialization researchers began conducting longitudinal studies in the late 1980s and early 1990s, which led to major advances in that topic area (Chao, chapter 18 of this handbook). In the 1990s, researchers in the area of learning and skill acquisition began examining cycles of learning and self-regulation processes and their linkages to knowledge, performance, and adaptation outcomes (Salas, Weaver, & Shuffler, chapter 11 of this handbook). During the early part of the twenty-first century, researchers stimulated by affective events theory (Weiss & Cropanzano, 1996 ) began using experience sampling methods to examine variability in mood, emotions, and affect over days and weeks (Judge, Hulin, & Dalal, chapter 15 of this handbook).

Moreover, more complex dynamics are explicitly addressed in several chapters in this handbook. For example, Hanges and Wang (chapter 3 of this handbook) discuss how treating organizations as complex adaptive systems necessitates a focus on dynamics in research design. DeShon (chapter 4 of this handbook) characterizes the increasing interest in dynamic phenomena, the complex longitudinal data structures needed to represent these processes, and the sophisticated analytical techniques required to model them. Ryan and Sackett (chapter 5 of this handbook) consider intra- and interindividual variability on individual difference characteristics and their implications for making predictive inferences. Sonnentag and Frese (chapter 17 of this handbook) review the research on job performance as a dynamic process and develop a taxonomy to advance understanding of performance dynamics. Bell, Kozlowski, and Blawath (chapter 26 of this handbook) examine theory and research on team learning, specifically treating team learning as a process that is distinct from team knowledge outcomes. They describe several models of team learning that incorporate cyclical process dynamics. Mathieu and Gilson (chapter 27 of this handbook) close their chapter with a discussion of four temporal phenomena that can be harnessed to advance research on team effectiveness. There are other examples as well, sprinkled throughout the handbook. Serious interest in the dynamics of phenomena is beginning to emerge in organizational psychology theory and research.

Organization, Structure, and Coverage of the Handbook

This handbook joins several others that have characterized and summarized I/O psychology. Dunnette ( 1976 ) produced the first such handbook, a single volume with 37 chapters covering basic topics to emerging trends—many that are still relevant today. Dunnette and Hough ( 1990 ) updated that first effort with a comprehensive four-volume revision that is characterized by its greatly expanded coverage. Borman, Ilgen, and Klimoski ( 2003 ) developed the next iteration of an I/O handbook as volume 12 of a compendium designed to capture of the entire domain of psychology. Their topic coverage was more in line with Dunnette ( 1976 ), although it included updates to capture the evolution of the field. That iteration is currently under revision with new editors (Schmitt and Highhouse). The American Psychological Association is also producing a multivolume handbook edited by Zedeck ( 2010 ). This handbook is a volume of the Library of Psychology series published by Oxford University Press. It is at the top level of an organizational psychology handbook hierarchy; more narrowly focused second- and third-tier handbooks, designed to expand topic areas in more depth, are under development.

It is challenging to represent the field of organizational psychology in a handbook. A single volume cannot be as expansive as a multivolume work and thus must be more selective about the topics that are covered. There is a need to represent the foundation and core of the field, but to also capture the breadth of the field and those topic areas that are ascendant. Ultimately, the handbook is organized around my perspective of the field of organizational psychology and where it is heading; my sincere apologies for those topics that I was not able to incorporate.

Part I: An Introduction to Organizational Psychology

The handbook begins with, well, this chapter, “The Nature of Organizational Psychology”, which provides an overview of the field. My intent is to convey a sense of the evolution of the concept of work to provide a backdrop for our study of the psychology of the workplace, characterize key dialectic tensions that permeate I/O psychology as an applied science, and highlight trends in its evolution and breadth of its coverage.

The next chapter in this part, “A History of Organizational Psychology,” by Koppes-Bryan and Vinchur, provides sweeping coverage of the history of the field's development. Beginning with its inception in the late nineteenth century to its current breadth and diversity, Koppes-Bryan and Vinchur interweave the context of the historical era with developments in the field. The chapter illustrates well how the evolution of the nature of organizations and the human problems they encounter in different epochs has shaped the development of I/O psychology.

Part II: The Foundation

With the background in place, the next part focuses on what I regard as foundational aspects of the field: strong grounding in rigorous research methods, use of sophisticated data analytic systems, central focus on individual differences, and concerted and systematic efforts to characterize important job behaviors and job performance. This is the core of organizational psychology.

The first chapter in this part, “Seeking the Holy Grail in Organizational Science: Establishing Causality Through Research Design,” by Hanges and Wang, surveys the research design challenges that have to be resolved to establish causal relations. As a science that has a strong field research component, organizational psychology faces many impediments in its effort to go beyond descriptive, correlational relations and to build a scientific foundation based on causal relations. Hanges and Wang consider different perspectives for establishing causality (i.e., Campbell Causal Model, Rubin Causal Model) and, in particular, several quasi-experimental designs (e.g., regression discontinuity, longitudinal designs) that can be used to help map causal linkages in organizational psychology research.

The second chapter in this part, “Multivariate Dynamics in Organizational Science,” by DeShon, highlights the increased research interest in dynamic phenomena, complex multivariate data structures needed to capture the dynamics, and sophisticated data analytic techniques necessary to model the dynamics of behavior. He describes data structures, techniques, and examples appropriate for linear dynamic systems (e.g., leadership, dynamic mediation, loosely coupled systems, and motivational feedback) and stochastic linear dynamic systems (e.g., self-efficacy and performance).

The next chapter, “Individual Differences: Challenging Our Assumptions,” by Ryan and Sackett, shifts to a core content focus in organizational psychology. Differential psychology makes strong assumptions about the stability of individual difference characteristics (e.g., abilities, personality traits, and interests)—assumptions that are critical to measurement, prediction, and explanation. Ryan and Sackett examine evidence for variability between and within individuals on these characteristics in the work setting, challenge some of the assumptions, and highlight important implications for science and practice.

The primary “criterion” in I/O psychology is typically a set of job behaviors that underlie job performance that is of value to the organization. The last chapter in this part, “Behavior, Performance, and Effectiveness in the Twenty-first Century,” by Campbell, examines the conceptual convergence in the latent structure of job performance that has developed in the field over the last quarter century. He concludes that the structure of the job performance construct is invariant across occupations, organizational levels, contexts, and time. Given the overarching concern with the “criterion problem” (James, 1973 ) in the 1960s, this is an important achievement for the field.

Part III: Aligning Person and Job Characteristics

Whereas the prior part focused on the core of our methods, analytics, and substantive focus, the next part of the handbook focuses on core applications concerned with aligning person characteristics and the job setting. At a broad conceptual level it is useful to recognize that some person characteristics are fixed and others are malleable and, by the same token, some job setting characteristics are essentially fixed while others can be adapted to the person. The core logic of most I/O and HRM applications is achieving a good “fit” between person characteristics and job requirements, and the range of techniques available provide several options for achieving a good fit. Topics covered in this part are functional in the HRM sense, addressing recruitment, selection, work design, performance management, training, and conceptions of “fit,” as well as some challenging gaps between science and practice in the use of these applications.

The first chapter in this part, “Recruitment and Competitive Advantage: A Brand Equity Perspective,” by Yu and Cable, applies a strategic perspective to recruitment practices in organizations. Applying a resource-based view, their premise is that carefully designed recruitment practices can differentially attract a workforce that can build sustained competitive advantage for a firm.

Once desirable applicants are attracted, hiring decisions have to be made that maximize the talent pool for the organization. The next chapter by Ployhart, “Personnel Selection: Ensuring Sustainable Organizational Effectiveness Through the Acquisition of Human Capital,” also adopts an RBV to craft a vision regarding the future of personnel selection. From his perspective, selection has to re-orient from an emphasis on individually focused person-job fit to acquiring human capital to ensure sustained organizational effectiveness. Realizing this vision necessitates shifts in the focal level—from the individual to higher units—and consideration of time—from single point estimates to longitudinal—in personnel selection theory and research.

Once workers are hired, it is important to have jobs and roles that are designed to engage employee motivation and commitment. In the next chapter, “Work Design: Creating Jobs and Roles That Promote Individual Effectiveness,” Cordery and Parker consider recent evolution in the nature of job tasks and work roles. They address the ways in which this evolution is broadening perspectives on work design, going beyond the traditional focus on task features to encompass social considerations, to enlarge the traditional focus on individual jobs to teamwork, and to consider a broader set of relevant psychological processes that engage employee motivation and engagement.

Once employees are fit to a position that is motivating, the focus shifts to managing their performance so as to continually improve their effectiveness. The next chapter, “Performance Management,” by Smither, focuses on the core elements of this process: setting goals, providing feedback, developing employee skills, evaluating performance, and providing rewards. Performance management as an active process is distinguished from the more traditional and narrow focus of performance appraisal, which focuses primarily on the measurement and evaluation of job performance.

Learning and development, both formal and informal, are a critical aspect of building an effective workforce, and continuous knowledge and skill improvement is an important part of maintaining good employee fit. In their chapter on “Learning, Training, and Development in Organizations,” Salas, Weaver, and Shuffler take a broad perspective on classic, formal training techniques, but also review the many forms of informal development that help maintain a continuously improving workforce.

All these prior chapters, albeit indirectly, are concerned with applications that address the broad concept of fit—fitting employees to the job and context. The next chapter, “Person-Environment Fit in Organizational Settings,” by Ostroff, addresses notions of fit directly. Although the concept of fit is simple, pervasive, and intuitively appealing, it is actually quite diverse (i.e., there are many different perspectives of fit), conceptually complex (i.e., different levels of fit, different reference points), and in some areas it is ambiguous and muddled (i.e., misfit). Ostroff provides a comprehensive review, framework, and points the way forward.

Finally, in “The Research-Practice Gap in I/O Psychology and Related Fields: Challenges and Potential Solutions,” Rynes examines the gap between the applied science and practice of I/O psychology, HRM, and OB on the one side and the consumers of our science—HRM professionals and practicing managers—on the other. This is different from the dialectic tension between science and practice within the discipline. Rather, it is about the failure to apply the science because of lack of awareness, disbelief, or faith in intuitive knowledge. A strong case is made for the importance of promoting and facilitating evidence-based practice in management and organizational behavior.

Part IV: Motivation, Job Attitudes and Affect, and Performance

The prior part of the handbook explicated core applications for fitting people to the workplace. This part shifts focus to the core processes of work motivation, job attitudes and affect, and performance that underlie behavior at work. Motivation sets the direction and magnitude of effort invested at work, job attitudes and affect are appraisals of different work foci and support (or detract from) motivation, and performance is a desired outcome of motivation and supportive appraisals. I describe these psychological processes as core because they underlie virtually all other topics to some extent or another. Motivation, attitudes and affect, and performance thread through nearly everything!

In “Work Motivation: Theory, Practice, and Future Directions,” Kanfer characterizes the broad sweep and substantial progress in this basic line of inquiry. Her chapter is organized into four sections. The first section examines basic constructs, processes, and content underlying the study of work motivation. The second section describes the substantial research progress that has been accomplished and highlights new conceptualizations that have the potential to enhance our understanding of behavior and performance at work. The third section considers key determinants of motivation structured around content (person), context (situation), and change (time); and the final section closes with knowledge gaps, practical issues, and promising research directions.

The next chapter, “Job Satisfaction and Job Affect,” by Judge, Hulin, and Dalal, reviews the broad sweep of research on job satisfaction, considers its affective nature, and develops an integrative theoretical model of job attitudes. Their review places particular emphasis on distinguishing research on job satisfaction, which has tended to focus on cognitive appraisals, from research on social attitudes that entail cognitive, affective, and behavioral foci. The emerging emphasis on affect in organizational psychology necessitates changes to the treatment of job satisfaction. Newer approaches that touch on engagement, affective events, personality, and satisfaction as a unit-level construct are considered. In addition, the authors present a multilevel model of core self-evaluations.

We then shift focus a bit to consider research on “Organizational Justice” by Colquitt. This topic, which can be regarded as a specific type of motivation, has emerged to become an active and pervasive area of research activity over the last quarter century. Colquitt organizes his review around three themes—differentiation (justice dimensions), cognition (justice calculations), and exogeneity (justice as an antecedent)—and argues that future progress can be gained by relaxing or reversing these themes to focus on combining justice concepts, incorporating affects, and surfacing antecedents of justice perceptions.

Finally, the last chapter in this part focuses on job performance. Unlike most traditional treatments that focus on the dimensionality underlying job performance, in “Dynamic Performance,” Sonnentag and Frese consider theory and research that are focused on performance change and variability over time. This is consistent with the more process-oriented perspectives emerging in the motivation arena, and is one of the evolutionary themes in the field. The authors develop a taxonomy of dynamic performance processes and map a research agenda for future progress.

Part V: Informal Learning, Meaning Creation, and Social Influence

With core processes in place, the next part of the handbook addresses several phenomena that informally assimilate, shape, and develop employees (socialization and mentoring); influence sense-making and meaning creation (culture and climate); and capture the ways in which social interconnections, key contextual factors, and leaders (networks and leadership) shape behavior in organizations.

In the first chapter of this part, “Organizational Socialization: Background, Basics, and a Blueprint for Adjustment at Work,” Chao examines socialization as a learning and adjustment process that helps to align the individual and the organization in a mutual process of fit. Chao takes a broad perspective, first reviewing basic theoretical foundations for socialization (i.e., uncertainty reduction theory, the need to belong, social exchange theory, and social identity theory), then examining the basic components of organizational socialization (i.e., processes, content, and outcomes), and finally closing with a “blueprint” for future research that calls for a more balanced perspective that integrates organizational and individual orientations.

Whereas socialization assimilates newcomers and role changers, mentoring considers the longer term, career-enhancing effects of having a seasoned, well-placed insider guide a younger protégé on the path to career success. In “Workplace Mentoring: Past, Present, and Future Perspectives,” Eby examines factors that influence this special relationship, its positive and negative aspects, and the role of the organizational context in shaping the relationship. The chapter closes with attention to methodological challenges and important directions for research.

Next, in “Organizational Culture and Climate,” Zohar and Hofmann reconcile and integrate two distinctive constructs and literatures used to understand how employees “make sense” of the organization. They provide a state-of-the-art review, dissect the similarities and differences, and develop an integration of culture and climate that has the potential to substantially influence research that will pull these central, important, yet distinctive construct domains together.

Shifting to processes of social influence, Brass applies “A Social Network Perspective on Organizational Psychology.” Unlike the individual differences perspective that is at the core of I/O psychology, social networks focus on relationships that link actors together in a social structure that provides both opportunities and constraints on action. The chapter introduces network concepts, reviews antecedents and consequences of networks, and applies the framework to topics of recruitment and selection, performance, power, and leadership.

Finally, this part closes with a chapter by Day on “Leadership.” Leaders are arguably at the core of social influence processes in organizations, responsible for shaping and harnessing individual efforts to accomplish goals at multiple levels of the system. Leadership as a topic is broad, diverse, and multifaceted. It encompasses multiple levels, sources of origin, and distinctive outcomes such as leader emergence and leader effectiveness. Day organizes the diverse array of theories and research findings and identifies promising directions for future work to expand our understanding of this important topic.

Part VI: Work Teams in Organizations

As I described previously in this chapter, teams have emerged as an important theoretical and research focus in organizational psychology over the last couple of decades, supplementing the field's primary focus on the individual level. This shift has largely been driven by the push from organizations to restructure work around team workflows rather than individual jobs. With the explosion of research on work teams, this part is designed to highlight key factors including team structure, participation and empowerment, distributed or “virtual teams,” team learning, and team effectiveness.

One of the key challenges in studying teams is addressing the duality of individuals as meaningful psychological entities and the team as a collective unit with its own distinct identity. Hollenbeck and Spitzmuller characterize this as a figure-ground paradox, which they examine in “Team Structure: Tight Versus Loose Coupling in Task-Oriented Groups.” They develop a four-dimensional framework of structural interdependence to help unravel this paradox. Whereas structural interdependence is a “hard” mechanism for linking team members, they are also linked by more psychological and behavioral attributes.

The next chapter, “Team Participation and Empowerment: A Multilevel Perspective,” by Chen and Tesluk, develops a multilevel model that integrates participation—a concept long examined in the literature—with the more recent concept of work engagement. Their conceptualization treats engagement as an overarching concept, with participation oriented toward its psychological aspects and empowerment oriented toward its behavioral aspects. Their model incorporates individual-, team-, and organizational-level antecedents and outcomes and provides a road map for extending our knowledge of how to engage teams and their members.

One key reason that organizations use teams is that it gives them the ability to leverage diverse expertise. Increasingly, those experts are distributed in space and time, making their teams virtual rather than face-to-face social entities. Kirkman, Gibson, and Kim, in “Across Borders and Technologies: Advancements in Virtual Teams Research,” review the voluminous research on this emerging form of global teamwork. Their detailed review captures eleven meaningful areas of research and they highlight five themes—virtuality, team development, leadership, levels of analysis, and multidisciplinarity—as overarching themes for future research on virtual teams.

Teams are often used to perform complex, cognitively demanding tasks that individuals cannot perform on their own. An important aspect of team effectiveness is how teams—not just individual members—learn, create knowledge, and apply their capabilities to accomplish goals, make decisions, and solve complex problems. In “Team Learning: A Theoretical Integration and Review,” Bell, Kozlowski, and Blawath examine this large but diverse and messy literature with the goal of developing an integrated conceptualization. They emphasize three theoretical foci for their examination of team learning, treating it as multilevel (individual and team, not individual or team), dynamic (iterative and progressive; a process , not an outcome ), and emergent (outcomes of team learning can manifest in different ways over time). Their review framework distinguishes team learning process theories, supporting emergent states, team knowledge representations, and respective influences on team performance and effectiveness.

Finally, this part on teams closes with “Criteria Issues and Team Effectiveness,” by Mathieu and Gilson. Team effectiveness is what theory and research seek to understand, but as the authors note, the conceptualization and measurement of team effectiveness has received relatively little attention. They distinguish two general classes of effectiveness criteria: tangible outputs (i.e., productivity, efficiency, and quality) and member reactions (i.e., individual attitudes, reactions, behaviors, and person development; team emergent states). Importantly, they consider assessment approaches for the different criteria and close with a focus on how an understanding of temporal factors applied to these criteria can enhance our understanding of team effectiveness.

Part VII: Organizational Learning, Development, and Adaptation

In this part, we continue our move upward across levels of the organizational system to consider learning, development, and strategic adaptation as macro-level phenomena. In “Organizational Learning and Knowledge Management,” Argote examines the research in these topic areas that has accumulated over the last two decades and summarizes primary findings about the creation, retention, and transfer of organizational knowledge. She highlights gaps in our research knowledge and identifies directions for future research to advance theory and practice.

The next chapter, “Organizational Development and Change: Linking Research from the Profit, Nonprofit, and Public Sectors,” by Ford and Foster-Fishman, examines factors that influence the success or failure of organizational change interventions. Drawing from organizational psychology, community psychology, and organizational behavior literatures, they review the history of the field, key change theories, and empirical findings. The chapter highlights conceptual and methodological advances and concludes with targets for future research.

Finally, Snow and Snell conclude this part with their chapter on “Strategic Human Resource Management” (SHRM), which forms the underpinnings for organizational adaptation. They distinguish two perspectives on SHRM. The systemic fit perspective focuses on ensuring an adaptive fit of the organization to its external environment, aligning the system internally, and fitting human resources to accomplish organizational strategy; strategy drives SHRM. The strategic resources and capability perspective is future oriented, with the goal of harnessing unique human resource capabilities to achieve competitive advantage through organizational learning and innovation; SHRM “propels” strategy formulation and gives the organization a range of adaptive options.

Part VIII: Managing Differences Within and Across Organizations

The next part of the handbook shifts perspective to examine the challenges of managing differences within and across organizations, covering the topics of diversity, discrimination, and cross-cultural psychology. In the previous section of this chapter that reviewed the evolution of work and organizations, I observed that the dominant career model for much of the twentieth century was one dominated by white males in Western societies. That model has changed as workforces have become more diverse and global.

This part begins with a chapter by Roberson on “Managing Diversity,” which, while seemingly straightforward, is actually a complex and complicated research literature. Her review encompasses conceptualizations of diversity, theoretical views on its effects examined across levels of analysis, and the evolution of diversity management. Research gaps are identified, and profitable directions for research are highlighted.

The next chapter, by Colella, McKay, Daniels, and Signal, examines the voluminous literature on “Employment Discrimination,” which has been an important aspect of HRM research and practice across the latter half of the twentieth century and into the new millennium. Their review is truly comprehensive and focuses on targets, causes, forms, and the impact of employment discrimination. The chapter identifies future research that cuts across levels of analysis, disciplines, and science/practice.

Finally, this part concludes with a chapter on “Cross-Cultural Organizational Psychology.” As the history chapter documents, the development of organizational psychology was largely based on North American and, to some extent, European interests in work psychology. However, with the globalization of organizations, interest in cross-cultural organizational psychology burgeoned in the latter part of the twentieth century. Aycan and Gelfand provide a comprehensive review on the key substantive topics (i.e., recruitment and selection, performance criteria, motivation, attitudes, teamwork, leadership, and conflict and negotiation), discuss methodological challenges, and map future research directions based on a “historical projection” of the evolution of this field of inquiry. Since work is global and cross-cultural, so too should be I/O psychology research.

Part IX: The Interface of Work and Life

The opening to this introductory chapter highlighted the centrality of work to identity, esteem, and well-being in modern society, and the extraordinary amount of time and effort devoted toward preparation, socialization, and striving across a career or series of careers. Work is quite simply an important part of modern life—so much so that work spills over to influence the quality and nature of our non-work lives. Allen, in “The Work and Family Interface,” takes a broad perspective to consider the intersection of work and family life, examining research from individual, family, organization, and global perspectives. An agenda for future research is presented.

In addition to work being central, it is also the case that contemporary careers necessitate continuous learning and updating of skills. In “Lifelong Learning,” London examines the workplace trends that push the importance of continuous learning across the span of a career, considering theories of learning, factors that influence it, organizational supports, and technological advances. He concludes with an agenda for advancing research and practices for lifelong learning.

Work can be an important source of well-being. The other side of this, of course, is that work can be a source of stress, accidents, and injuries that undermine health and well-being. Tetrick and Peiró, in “Occupational Safety and Health,” review research on workplace safety, focusing on safety training, regulatory focus, safety climate, leadership, and job design. They also examine occupational health, with a strong focus on stress, and consider the implications of psychological contracts, climate for sexual harassment, collective burnout, recovery, and programs for organizational wellness. Finally, they document interventions designed to enhance employee safety, health, and well-being.

One occupational trend in the twenty-first century is that we live longer and work longer. In addition, older workers often have developed valuable knowledge and skills that are difficult for organizations to easily replicate, making it desirable to retain, maintain, or attract older workers. On the other hand, there are well-documented cognitive declines with aging, so there are also challenges for managing and accommodating older workers. In “Work and Aging,” Hedge and Borman adopt individual, organizational, and societal perspectives to examine aging and the workforce. They conduct a comprehensive review and develop an ambitious agenda for research and practice on this topic of emerging importance. We are all getting older!

Part X: Technology, System Design, and Human Performance

The Industrial Revolution was driven by machines, and one could argue that technology is at the core of work psychology. The increasing penetration of technology systems into all aspects of work, the powerful influence of technology on the nature of work and work processes, and the way that technology systems can transcend organizational boundaries to create large-scale, complex, and critical systems (e.g., NextGen Air Traffic Control, digitized medicine, home health care) make the intersection of disciplines that study the interface of technology and human cognition, behavior, and performance—human factors (HF) psychology, cognitive engineering, human-systems integration (HSI), computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW), and naturalistic decision making (NDM)—with organizational psychology much more important that it has been in the past. The perspectives and methods of these disciplines focused on technology in the workplace provide opportunities for complementarities and synergies with organizational psychology.

In the opening chapter, “An Overview of Human Factors Psychology,” Kirlik presents the origins, core research foci, methodologies, and cutting-edge research on three technology-driven topics that intersect with I/O psychology, including human-automation interaction; situation awareness; and distraction, multitasking, and interruption. He closes the chapter by highlighting the forces pushing HF and I/O together and discussing the potential for a stronger symbiotic relationship between our fields.

The next chapter, “Cognition and Technology: Interdisciplinarity and the Impact of Cognitive Engineering Research on Organizational Productivity,” by Fiore, examines the development and evolution of cognitive engineering, a field of inquiry at the intersection of cognition and human-technology interaction. He defines cognitive engineering as a holistic approach that combines concepts and methodologies drawn from cognitive psychology, computer science, and engineering. The chapter closes with a vision for the future that stresses the importance of harmonizing basic and applied science to advance organizational performance.

Another interdisciplinary area of inquiry, CSCW, has focused specifically on computer-based technology and its influence on facilitating human interaction and collaboration. In “Taxonomy and Theory in Computer-Supported Cooperative Work” (CSCW), Grudin and Poltrock trace the development and evolution of this area of inquiry, which blends social scientists and technologists. One of the challenges of CSCW is that the technology has been, and continues to be, a moving target, making it somewhat difficult for the science to flourish. Grudin and Poltrock survey the applications of theory and taxonomies drawn from social science that have been used to facilitate an understanding of this important topic.

Finally, this part closes with “Decision Making in Naturalistic Environments,” by Salas, Rosen, and DiazGranados. NDM is about decision making in real-world settings. It often involves critical tasks and high stakes, time pressure, uncertainty, individuals and teams, and is usually technology enabled. Research on NDM encompasses the topics covered in this part. Salas and his colleagues define the domain, highlight key theories, sketch methodologies, summarize findings, discuss applications to improve NDM, and map future research opportunities.

Postscript: On the Horizon

Having toured the breadth, depth, and diversity of organizational psychology—and related disciplines with shared interests—the handbook closes with some of my parting thoughts about emerging challenges and opportunities for organizational psychology in the twenty-first century. I advocate four desirable evolutionary trends that I believe will enhance the potential, relevance, and impact of the field: it should strengthen its scientific foundation, increase its multi- and interdisciplinary linkages, focus on multilevel system dynamics as core capabilities, and improve the translation of I/O psychological science into evidence-based practice.

And, now, without further ado—delve into the handbook! I think you will find it informative, intellectually stimulating, and valuable for outlining the future directions of the field of organizational psychology—the science of psychology applied to work and organizations.

Acknowledgment

I would like to express my appreciation to Bradford S. Bell, Chu-Hsiang (Daisy) Chang, and Georgia T. Chao for their helpful comments on drafts of this chapter. I also gratefully acknowledge the Office of Naval Research (ONR), Command Decision Making Program (N00014-09-1-0519, S. W. J. Kozlowski and G. T. Chao, Principal Investigators) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA, NNX09AK47G, S. W. J. Kozlowski, Principal Investigator) for support that, in part, assisted the composition of this chapter. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of ONR or NASA.

It is important to acknowledge that the historical label for the field is “industrial and organizational” psychology. However, I am among many who think “organizational psychology” is shorter, sweeter, and superior. I will use the labels interchangeably, but with a decided preference for “organizational psychology” as the name for our field.

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Organizational psychology: A work-focused psychologist may be your next culture win

Investing in organizational psychology can benefit your business—and culture as a whole—in foundational ways. Is it time to bring a psychologist into the organization?

Employee Experience - Employee Wellbeing

Updated content: Apr 27, 2023

Modern psychologists are more than tweed-jacketed shrinks with whom you discuss your struggles while lying on a comfortable leather couch. In fact, they can serve a purpose in corporate settings, and even impact the bottom line.

What is organizational psychology?

Organizational psychology aligns the interests of the company with the needs of its employees. It aims to improve the quality of life and work conditions of employees to achieve greater performance and boost company efficiency.

What benefits can companies get from organizational psychology?  

Organizational psychology takes into account the interests of the company and its employees, suggesting a win-win scenario for both parties. An organizational psychologist (aka someone who studies and practices organizational psychology) can serve as an intermediary between upper management and the workforce, understanding and respecting the goals, perspectives, and motivations of both sides. 

The main goal for organizational psychologists is to propose strategies to build an organizational culture that encourages a healthy environment, which generates a greater increase in productivity, engagement, and thus profitability.

It’s not all for amusement. Many studies report employee commitment and job fulfillment impact company success; high employee engagement has been proven to reduce absenteeism and turnover while increasing company sales and profitability.

And turnover is particularly costly for companies as recruiting and hiring costs skyrocket to three to four times the position’s salary, according to data from Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) . Investing in tried-and-true ways of retaining talent just makes sense. 

Psychology-backed Insights in Real Time

Get real-time workforce insights based on organizational psychology so you can empower a happier, more productive workforce.

How does organizational psychology benefit employees?

Erudit’s research team speaks to many executives who have highlighted the challenge of truly understanding the needs, goals, and motivations of their employees. This struggle only scales with business growth—the more staff members, the greater the challenge. An organizational psychologist bridges the communication gap between managers and employees to help boost the employee experience.

Organizational psychologists focus on understanding the preferences of each employee, address topical issues, and suggest preventive and curative measures and programs for management to implement. They can also train executives to hone soft skills within the workplace. 

The overall goal of the organizational psychologist is to empower every staff member, encouraging well-being at work and home , all while strengthening relationships within the company. Common business impact include:

• Recruitment: Provide the company with the candidates that are the best fit for the company's needs—an increasingly topical challenge for every business, considering the cost of recruitment, training, and retention. 
• Conflict: Act as a mediator between employees, facilitating negotiation and settlement by providing direction and encouragement to both parties. They aim to find the middle ground between the disputing parties and reach a fair resolution of the conflict that not only protects the company's interests but also preserves the integrity of individuals. 
• Professional development and personal growth: Motivate team members and encourage them to be result-oriented in order to facilitate employee development and personal growth.

>> Progressive organizations are using artificial intelligence (AI) in their organizational psychology efforts. Soon, it will be the norm for a high-performing workforce. Read more:  How is AI being used in organizational psychology? Findings from Erudit’s latest literature review

How can the organizational psychologist motivate employees? 

There are several techniques that organizational psychologists apply to achieve the goal of creating a happy, successful business and workforce. Some of the common approaches are the following:

• ‍Group activities : Designed to improve work relationships and strengthen the connection between the organization and its human capital.‍‍
• Training programs: Ensure that everyone in the company, from interns to executives, is constantly upgrading their skills and striving to reach their full potential.‍‍
• Promotion programs: Provide stability and security for employees as they appreciate the recognition of their hard work and effort, allowing them to think long-term and be truly invested in contributing to the success of the company.

Organizational psychology plays a crucial role in business, serving the company and its best asset—people. Investing in effective organizational psychology within the company could pay off tenfold, improving your employees’ quality of life and your bottom line.

Get the latest HR trends, event invites, and AI news for people-first leaders.

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Organizational Behavior pp 1–19 Cite as

Introduction to Organizational Behavior

• Josiah Kwia 4  
• First Online: 02 August 2023

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Organizational behavior (OB) takes a systematic approach to understand how individuals and groups behave in organizations as well as the relationship between people and organizations. This chapter examines organizational behavior from the viewpoints of professionals and researchers. First, a case is presented describing individuals’ behavior in difficult circumstances, and then a brief definition of organizational behavior follows. Next, we will analyze how organizational behavior differs from human resources. Then we will proceed to OB during the pandemic. We will also review why we study OB: from Taylor’s Principles of Scientific Management to Mayo and Roethlisberger’s Human Relations Theory (Hawthorne Effect), to understand the history of organizational behavior. The following is a synopsis of all the topics that will be discussed in the book. Last, we look at organizational behavior research. This section provides an explanation of why and how we conduct OB research, as well as breaks down various study designs and measurement issues.

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Henri Fayol developed an approach to managing businesses that have come to be known as Fayolism during his career as a mining engineer, executive, author, and director. The development of modern management is generally attributed to Henri Fayol (Fayol, 1949 ). Over the course of the twentieth century, his management theories influenced industrial management practices in a significant way. The ideas of Fayol were developed independently of other theories that were prevalent at the time, such as those of Elton Mayo and Human Relations. Fayol outlined the skills needed for effective management in his 14 Principles of Management. Fayol’s management theories are still used today. Besides the Principles, Fayol identified five basic management functions. Among the management functions are planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating, and controlling. Fayol emphasized that managerial skills are different from technical skills. Moreover, Fayol recognized that management is a field requiring research, teaching, and development. Fayol proposed 14 principles and five functions that form the basis of Administrative Theory. A variety of nonacademics shared their experiences and contributed to its progress. Fayol’s Five Functions of Management originated the planning-organizing-leading-controlling framework that remains an influential management framework throughout the world today.

Abbreviations

Captain Chengquan

Human Resources

Human Relations Theory

National Football Association

National Hockey League

Organizational Behavior

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Article contents

Human resource management and organizational psychology.

• David E. Guest David E. Guest School of Management and Business, King's College London
• https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190236557.013.14
• Published online: 29 March 2017

Human resources (HR) management addresses those policies, practices, and activities concerned with the management of people in organizations. Although it is typically considered at multiple levels of analysis, it provides an important context for the application of work and organizational psychology. Core research questions address the determinants of HR strategy and practices adopted by organizations and how these are linked to outcomes including in particular organizational performance and employee wellbeing. Much research explores this linkage process including how far HR practices are able to ensure employee abilities, motivation, and opportunities to contribute; the distinctive role of human capital; how employees react to these practices; and the steps management can take to ensure their effective implementation. Most research confirms an association between the adoption of a greater number of what are typically termed “high performance” or “high involvement” HR practices and higher organizational performance and employee wellbeing. However, doubts remain about the causal direction of the association. Continuing research challenges include how best to measure HR practices, understanding more about contextual influences, and incorporating more fully the role of employee attitudes and behavior including employee attributions about the motives of management in their use of HR practices.

• human resources management
• organizational performance
• employee wellbeing
• human capital

Introduction

Human resources management (HRM) can be broadly defined as “all those activities associated with the management of work and people in organizations” (Boxall & Purcell, 2011 ). It serves as a focus of study but also as an occupation for specialists and a day-to-day component of the work of line managers. HRM is a relatively new area of study, but research has burgeoned in recent years, and this article will examine some of the central research debates and research findings.

HRM may not at first sight appear to be an obvious candidate for inclusion under the banner of work and organizational psychology. It is, after all, a multidisciplinary area of research, often conducted at the organizational rather than the individual level of analysis. But it also incorporates many of the core activities typically associated with work and organizational (W/O) psychology ranging from topics such as selection and training to outcomes such as wellbeing, absenteeism, and labor turnover. It therefore serves as an integrative context within which to consider the work of W/O psychologists. At the same time, HRM has emerged as a major field of theorizing and research in its own right, with several specialist academic journals and large numbers of practitioners who label themselves as HR professionals, and it offers the promise of some integration across disciplines and across levels of analysis.

The article starts with a brief overview of influences on the emergence of HRM, emphasizing those disciplinary perspectives that lie beyond the usual territory of W/O psychology. Subsequent sections examine the nature of HRM, the kind of outcomes it is expected to influence, and the processes whereby HRM and outcomes might be related. Each of these is a continuing focus of theorizing and research. In each section, conceptual and empirical issues and evidence will be reviewed.

Disciplinary Influences

Three broad disciplinary perspectives have been particularly influential in informing the development of HRM theory and research. The first, reflecting the historical traditions of the application of HRM, is the sub-discipline of industrial relations. The second is the influence of business strategy, reflecting the location of some researchers in business schools and the potentially important role of effective HRM for business performance. The third influence is W/O psychology and the overlapping field of organizational behavior.

The practice of what we now describe as HRM emerged in the early decades of the 20th century . Those working in the field were initially described as welfare officers and then personnel managers. When there was a need to address industrial conflict, the role of the industrial relations manager increasingly came to the fore. In the 1930s, the study of industrial relations and, more broadly, relations at work began to emerge within universities. Well-known examples over the decades include the Hawthorne studies (Roethlisberger & Dickson, 1939 ), the work of Whyte ( 1955 ) and others on the role of pay and restriction of output, and Walton and McKersie’s ( 1965 ) behavioral theory of labor negotiation. Those engaged in this type of research typically had backgrounds in sociology, economics, or psychology, providing an early multidisciplinary perspective. Topics for research included forms of industrial conflict ranging from strikes to absenteeism, systems for alleviating or preventing conflict such as collective bargaining, systems for workers’ participation and the influence of pay on behavior. By the 1970s, there were flourishing departments of industrial relations in universities in many countries, undertaking research and providing education to those seeking to pursue a career in industrial relations or personnel management. By the 1980s, patterns of industrial conflict began to change and eventually diminish, and academic industrial relations departments entered a slow decline, though several prominent journals remained. A number of researchers who once worked in these departments switched their research focus to HRM, often providing some of the most trenchant critical analysis of the field (see, e.g., Godard, 2004 ).

The influence of business strategy on HRM began to emerge in the 1980s. A major factor in this was the growth of teaching and research in the business schools, particularly in the U.S. The initial argument, proposed in general normative terms, most notably by Porter ( 1985 ), but applied to HRM by, for example, Miles and Snow ( 1984 ) was that organizations had strategic choices about how to compete, and this should influence the approach organizations adopt to HRM. The most obvious distinction was whether to compete on the basis of cost minimization or some combination of quality and innovation. Each required rather different ways of managing people at work. A clear exposition of this was outlined by Schuler and Jackson ( 1987 ) who set out five steps. First, an organization has to clarify its mission and values. Second, and building on this, it has to determine its competitive strategy. Third, it needs to determine the kinds of employees and the sorts of behavior that will enable the strategy to be achieved. Fourth, the organization needs to determine the HR policies and practices that will help to ensure that the right employees are performing appropriately. Finally, organizations should check that employee behavior is actually aligned with the strategic goals.

Further interest in HRM from a strategic perspective was provided by advocacy of the resource-based view of the firm (Barney, 1991 ). This argued that to compete effectively, organizations needed to acquire and utilize resources that are rare, expensive, hard to replace, and not easily replicable. Part of the analysis, developed further by Barney and Wright ( 1998 ), was that human resources fitted these criteria better than other resources such as finance or machinery, which could more easily be copied. This boosted the idea of employees as “human resources,” a term that causes distaste in some quarters.

The resource-based view of HRM placed considerable emphasis on the economic concept of human capital (Nyberg & Wright, 2015 ). For example, Lepak and Snell ( 1999 ), argued that organizations need to invest heavily in attracting, retaining, and utilizing “human capital” that is highly unique to the firm and highly valuable. In contrast, human capital that is valuable but plentiful is best acquired, perhaps by being brought in. Where human capital is unique but of low strategic value, it might be best to form an alliance. Finally, human capital that is low in value and uniqueness is perhaps best contracted in. This might appear to be a cost-effective strategy, and research has shown the benefits of a selective approach (Lepak & Snell, 2002 ). However, Peel and Boxall ( 2005 ) found that seeking to classify human capital is far from straightforward and likely to vary from firm to firm. We return to the topic of human capital later in the article.

The third major source of influence on HRM comes from work and organizational psychology and (OB) organizational behavior (hereafter just W/O psychology). The reason for this is straightforward; HR practices such as selection, training, appraisal, and reward are the bread and butter of the research and practice of W/O psychologists. HR practitioners are constantly on the lookout for the best practices to apply, and it is the W/O psychologists who undertake the research that provides them. Although the picture is mixed, many W/O psychologists and most of those who use the OB label now work in business schools and, with an interest in effective management, this makes the field of HRM a natural context for their research and consultancy. At the same time, W/O psychology has a particular focus on individual and group behavior and associated outcomes. This has helped to promote a more employee-centered, micro-level focus to HRM.

A distinctive feature of HRM is its ability to integrate features of the macro strategic perspective with the more micro-level perspective typically adopted by psychologists. Indeed, writers such as Wright and Boswell ( 2002 ) have argued that some integration of macro and micro areas is essential for the field to develop. A feature of an integrated perspective, and a key argument of advocates of HRM (see, e.g., Becker & Huselid, 1998 ; Jackson, Schuler, & Jiang, 2014 ), is that HRM should be viewed as a system. What this implies is that it is not enough to focus on selection, training, rewards, or job design; it is necessary to view the whole range of HR practices as an integrated whole and to ensure that they are aligned to provide “internal fit.” If this approach succeeds, there should be a kind of gestalt whereby the sum is more than the parts.

The dominant research topic has been the relationship between HRM and outcomes, and in particular, organizational performance. However, researchers are increasingly exploring the relationship with employee wellbeing and the feasibility of mutual gains (Van de Voorde, Paauwe, & van Veldhoven, 2012 ). Some years ago, Guest ( 1997 ) noted that if research on HRM is to progress, there needs to be clearer theory and research concerning the nature and measurement of HRM, of outcomes and the nature of the relationships among them. Since then, either directly or indirectly, much of the research has addressed these three core issues. In the following sections, we consider each of these in turn.

The Nature of HRM

A major and continuing challenge for research has been how to conceptualize and operationalize HRM. There are several interrelated issues that need to be addressed. What HR practices should be included in the general field of HRM? What is the underlying rationale for including specific practices? How much detail is required about each practice? Can and should practices be combined in any kind of bundles? Who should provide information about them? And what kinds of response categories are appropriate? All these questions have provided the focus for extensive conceptual and empirical work.

Diversity in Conceptualizations of HRM

In several earlier articles on HRM, it was conventional to identify four broad topics that reflected the field. These were recruitment and selection, training and development, performance appraisal, and rewards (see, e.g., Fombrun, Tichy, & Devanna, 1984 ). However, this list omitted a range of issues concerning the employment relationship, such as job security, communication, and flexible work arrangements. Writing for general managers at Harvard, Beer, Spector, Lawrence, Quinn Mills, and Walton ( 1985 ) suggested that broad core topics that needed to be addressed included employee influence, human resource flows, reward systems, and work systems. These two differing approaches highlight the scope for diversity when studying HRM. It is therefore perhaps not surprising that when Becker and Gerhart ( 1996 ) reviewed the existing studies, they found a wide variety of practices being measured. Indeed, no one practice appeared in every study they reviewed. Several years and many studies later, two extensive reviews (Boselie, Dietz, & Boon, 2005 ; Combs, Liu, Hall, & Ketchen, 2006 ) found that little had changed with respect to the variety of practices used in studies. There was also considerable difference in the number of practices used; indeed, Combs et al. found that the number ranged between 2 and 13 with an average of 6.2. The variety of practices used to measure HRM makes comparison across studies highly problematic. This has not stopped such comparisons being made, notably in meta-analyses.

Alternative Rationales for Determining the Content of HRM

There has clearly been a need to find some underlying rationale to determine which practices should be included in any study. One approach has been to focus on external and internal fit. In the case of external fit, as Porter ( 1985 ) and Schuler and Jackson ( 1987 ) have argued, the starting point is to determine the mission, values, and core goals of the organization and then determine its competitive strategy. Since the main goal of most private-sector organizations is to maximize financial performance, it is those HR practices that help to achieve this that should be included. As researchers have accepted this logic, one consequence has been a change in language, so that many studies now don’t refer to HR practices, but rather to high-performance work practices (HPWPs).

In public sector organizations, the mission and values may be rather different, and the concept of competitive strategy may be inappropriate. Furthermore, as Paauwe ( 2004 ) and others have pointed out, in Europe, with its focus on social partnership, legislation at European and national levels requires the application of a range of HR practices to promote issues such as health and safety at work, equal opportunities, and flexible working. Partly reflecting this perspective, and acknowledging the roots of HRM in the industrial relations tradition, scholars have outlined alternative bases for determining appropriate HR practices. In the U.S., Walton ( 1985 ) argued that effective management of the contemporary workforce requires a shift from policies and practices seeking control to those that promote employee commitment. This has led to advocacy of what is termed high commitment (Wood & Albanese, 1995 ) or high-involvement HRM (Boxall & Macky, 2009 ). These terms suggest a rather different approach, reflected in the writing of Beer et al. ( 1985 ) that recognized the legitimacy of outcomes of concern to employees and other stakeholders.

One problem with an approach to HRM that starts from mission, values, and stakeholder interests is that it still leaves open the choice of practices and it does not clearly specify how those practices should be deployed. Therefore, though there can be agreement about the need to include practices such as selection and training, the specific features of such practices can remain unclear. For example, selection can be measured through the use of certain types of psychometric tests or the use of assessment centers. Alternatively, it can be measured in relation to its aims, such as by hiring those who demonstrate immediate competence in a specified job or those with a positive attitude toward learning. The complexities and choices in measuring these variables are familiar to W/O psychologists. The problem in measuring them in the context of HRM is that each practice is just one among several. As a result, it is not surprising that researchers have measured a wide and varied range of practices, and have done so in often rather different ways.

Internal Fit and the Role of HR Bundles

The aim of internal fit is to identify sets of HR practices (sometimes described as bundles) that will complement each other. The most frequently cited approach to achieve this is the so-called AMO model. This draws on Lawler’s ( 1971 ) expanded version of expectancy theory. While expectancy theory proposes that motivation is a function of the perceived links among effort, performance, and rewards, Lawler extended this to propose that effective performance also depends on individuals having the appropriate ability and role. Applying this to HRM (Becker, Huselid, Pickus, & Spratt, 1997 ; Guest, 1997 ) it is suggested that the immediate goals of an HR system designed explicitly to ensure high performance are to ensure that employees have the ability (A), motivation (M), and opportunity (O) to contribute effectively. HR practices required to achieve these goals can then be clustered together in three broad bundles. For example, ability or competence may be generated through appropriate selection, training, and development practices. The quality of these practices can be greatly enhanced by building on the evidence base developed by W/O psychologists. However, this approach is not without its challenges. For example, there are potential substitution effects—should the focus be on selection of competence or the training of competence? Furthermore, some practices, including those linked to job design, can have an impact on both motivation and opportunity to contribute, thereby blurring the bundles.

The concept of bundles can also present a challenge for psychologists who have typically developed expertise in specific practices, since the argument concerning internal fit suggests that it is not enough to focus on practices that develop one of these outcomes because they are all important. For example, it is not helpful to have highly motivated but incompetent employees or to have highly competent employees who have no opportunity to use their knowledge and skills. So the notion of internal fit within an HR system implies that there need to be HR practices present that can contribute to each element of the AMO model.

Meta-analyses by Jiang, Lepak, Hu, and Baer ( 2012 ) and Subramony ( 2009 ) tested models based on the three AMO bundles of practices and also tested a single integrated measure of HRM. They found a better fit with the three bundles. Furthermore, each was associated with somewhat different outcomes. This is further support for the view that all three bundles need to be present to have a full impact. Subramony found that opportunity to contribute and motivation had a stronger impact than human capital, which on its own was non-significant. On the other hand, Jiang et al. found that each bundle on its own had a modest but significant impact on financial outcomes. Reflecting this, subsequent research has shown that human capital on its own can improve employee behavior and organizational performance (Crook, Todd, Combs, Woehr, & Ketchen, 2011 ). But the impact is not as great as the application of the three bundles. This is somewhat akin to research on the impact of selection and training effects that has consistently shown that high-quality application of both practices can enhance and benefit individual performance. When this is aggregated to the unit or organizational level, we might expect an impact on organizational performance (see, e.g., Aguinis & Kraiger, 2009 ; Schmidt & Hunter, 1998 ). Nevertheless, Subramony ( 2009 ) also showed that each bundle made a stronger contribution than any individual practice. Given these competing results, further research needs to establish the relative importance of individual HR practices, bundles of practices, and an aggregated measure.

Human Capital

Recent theorizing and research have given considerable prominence to the concept of human capital and the specific bundle of HR practices associated with it. As originally conceived by Becker ( 1964 ), the concept was quite wide-ranging and covered the knowledge and skills of individuals and also their information, ideas, and health. Ployhart and Moliterno ( 2011 ) have distinguished between cognitive abilities and other individual characteristics like personality, interests, and values, all of which, as they acknowledge, are typically considered at the individual level. However, they outline enabling factors such as task complexity and interdependencies that create conditions where these types of capital can be aggregated to the unit level and analyzed with respect to their impact on unit performance. Researchers have begun to consider human capital at the unit level as a collective set of capacities for management to utilize (see, e.g., Ployhart, Nyberg, Reilly, & Maltarich, 2014 ) and Nyberg and Wright ( 2015 ) argue that it offers an opportunity for multidisciplinary as well as multilevel research. Although interest in human capital is generating a large body of research, it is potentially limited by its focus on one element, the A within the AMO model.

Levels of Detail about HR Practices

After a decision about which HR practices to include in any study, there remains the issue of how much detail to seek. For example, it is possible with respect to training to ask about the presence of a training policy, hours of training provided, off-the-job versus on-the-job training, and so on. Indeed, the amount of formal training provision is one of the most frequently included items in studies of HRM. However, this is not without problems since it might refer to a goal to provide specified hours, it might refer to off-the-job formal training but ignore informal and incidental learning, and it may apply to only some of the employees. In short, even if the relevant HR practices can be identified, there are unresolved research questions about the level of detail and how far this should be standardized across practices.

Sources of Information about HR Practices

A further and increasingly widely researched question is who should provide information about HR practices. Researchers have noted a gap between intended and implemented practices (Khilji & Wang, 2006 ), and among those concerned with the impact of HRM on outcomes, it is argued that effective implementation is more important than the presence of a policy or practice (Bowen & Ostroff, 2004 ). Senior managers in HR departments may report that a practice such as universal annual appraisal is a firm company policy. However, employees will be in a better position to report whether they have actually received an appraisal in the past year or whether they have perceived and are actually aware of specific policies and practices even if they have not directly experienced them. An example might be policies and practices related to bullying and harassment. Therefore, while much of the research on HR practices has obtained information from senior managers, there is a strong case for collecting information from employees. This may not only increase accuracy, but also enhance reliability. However, the attractions of collecting data from senior managers include the ability to compare across many organizations and to collect data swiftly at an organizational level to permit assessment against organizational-level outcomes. While it is possible to aggregate employee data, collecting such data across many organizations is a complex and time-consuming activity. An alternative is to focus on an important category of employees and ask about the HR practices that apply to this group. This can offer some advantages in accuracy over asking about the workforce as a whole, but it risks ignoring the HR practices applied to the remainder of the workforce.

Response Categories for HR Practices

Researchers need to give consideration to the choice of response categories when collecting information about HR practices. Once again, the published research displays a wide range of approaches. In many cases, the logical response categories will be a straightforward “Yes/No” as in responses to questions such as “Have you received an appraisal in the past 12 months?” An alternative is to turn these questions into statements and use a Likert scale, typically from “strongly agree to strongly disagree,” which permits a factor analysis of the responses, but also invites potentially inaccurate responses to categorical items. When the questions are directed to managers, an alternative to asking for categorical answers is to ask about the percentage of workers who are likely to have experienced a particular practice. This permits a more flexible response, although the accuracy of such responses is open to question and they present potential problems of aggregation, particularly if different practices apply to different categories of employees. There are therefore choices concerning the approach to adopt for response categories, with no consensus in sight.

Aggregating HR Practices

A final issue concerns how to aggregate practices. This issue was first addressed some years ago by Delery and Doty ( 1996 ) who tested competing theories and different ways of combining data to address both external fit, through a contingency approach linking practices to strategy, and internal fit, based on a simple count of practices in place and a configurational model that examined interactions between bundles of practices. It was found that there was no clear advantage to a configurational model. Subramony ( 2009 ) and Jiang et al. ( 2012 ) also found no consistent evidence that one bundle in the AMO model or that any combination of A, M, and O is superior in terms of its impact. Interestingly, this is similar to the findings in a meta-analysis of expectancy theory (van Eerde & Thierry, 1996 ). The most widely used approach over the years has been to provide a count of the practices that are reported to be present on the grounds that a greater number of practices indicates the strength of the HR system and therefore increases the likelihood that they will have an impact. Although this is a plausible argument, it ignores the likelihood that certain practices will be more important than others. It also supports a universalist model that holds that the same broad set of practices applies, irrespective of the context and strategy, a view that is not well supported by the research and that supporters of contingency theory find inherently implausible.

Identifying and Measuring HR Practices: A Summary

This brief overview has shown that there are major problems in conceptualizing and operationalizing the presence and application of the HR practices that constitute the HRM system. Much of the difficulty can be attributed to the complexities that arise from the lack of clear definitions of the content and boundaries of any HRM system, from the variety of perceived goals of the system and therefore the practices that deserve priority, and from the various levels of analysis at which the research is undertaken. These challenges are of a different order than those faced by W/O psychologists who have typically focused more narrowly on a specific practice at the individual or group level. However, the lesson of HRM for W/O psychology is that this type of detailed focus needs to be understood in its wider context, recognizing the risk that a specific practice can act as a proxy for a wider set of practices unless some way can be found of controlling for their influence. Researchers need to be clear about the underlying rationale for the kind of HRM they are exploring and be explicit about the reasons certain HR practices are included and what assumptions are being made about aggregation. Too many studies have lacked a theory or even an explanation for their choices of practices. It is also worth noting that the research, with its focus on HR practices likely to enhance performance, omits a number of important topics that are likely to be of interest to employees and have been the focus of extensive research by W/O psychologists, such as the role of careers and career management, equal opportunities, and work-life balance. Despite all the problems of identifying and measuring HR practices, and the unreliability that the diversity of practice indicates, the large body of research, reflected in the various meta-analyses (see, e.g., Combs et al., 2006 ; Jiang et al., 2012 ) consistently reveals a positive association at the organizational level between the use of more HR practices and financial outcomes.

The Outcomes of HRM

Most of the early research was concerned with the relationship between HRM and organizational performance and was conducted at the level of the organization. For example, in the early seminal study by Huselid ( 1995 ) who surveyed leading U.S. companies, outcomes included aggregated labor turnover and productivity, but the main focus was on various financial indicators, including market value of shareholder equity. In Jiang et al.’s ( 2012 ) meta-analysis, the main dependent variable was financial performance reflected in a variety of measures, including return on assets, return on equity, and a general measure of overall financial performance. The problem with the use of financial indicators is that they are subject to a wide variety of influences, including the vagaries of the economic system. Therefore, as a distal outcome, the size of the association with HRM is always likely to be quite weak. An alternative is to utilize more proximal measures that are organizationally relevant in the sense that they could have a financial impact but are more likely to be influenced by HRM. In other words, they can provide a test of mediation. This has led to the use of outcomes like labor turnover, productivity, and service quality. Two early studies in strip steel mills (Arthur, 1994 ; Ichniowski, Shaw, & Prennushi, 1997 ) explored the link between HRM and productivity. However, productivity has proved particularly challenging to measure, especially in the service sector, and in their meta-analysis, Combs et al. ( 2006 ) found that there was a stronger association between HRM and financial performance than between HRM and productivity. What this perhaps illustrates is that there are questions concerning both the reliability and validity of these outcome measures.

Identifying outcome measures can become greater at the unit level rather than the organizational level. One way of addressing this has been to obtain subjective assessments of outcomes from managers. This is the approach that has been adopted over the years by the British Workplace Employment Relations surveys that collect data from about 2000 workplaces (see van Wanrooy et al., 2013 ). They ask managers to rate their performance on a variety of criteria against competitors they know about in the same sector. Analyses of the results where it is possible to compare against independent financial reports (e.g., in single unit organizations) show that there is a modest positive association between the subjective and more objective indicators (Forth & McNabb, 2008 ; see also Wall et al., 2004 ). However, in their meta-analysis, Combs et al. ( 2006 ) reported higher associations between HRM and performance where subjective rather than objective indicators of performance are used. There are some sectors where unit-level comparisons are feasible, including retail and banking, because organizations have a large number of more-or-less identical branches. Similar arguments are increasingly made about public-sector organizations such as hospitals and local authorities, and benchmarking has become popular based on assumptions about the validity of such comparisons. For relevant research on hospitals, see Givan, Avgar, and Liu, ( 2010 ) and West, Guthrie, Dawson, Borrill, and Carter ( 2006 ), and for local authorities, see Messersmith, Patel, Lepak, and Gould-Williams ( 2011 ).

Psychologists have been more interested in employee outcomes, and a growing number of studies explore the relationship between HRM and employee attitudes, behavior, and wellbeing. The choice of measure depends on whether the primary interest lies in organizational performance or employee wellbeing. In the case of the former, it can include individual-level performance, organizational citizenship behavior, absence, and labor turnover. When the main interest is in wellbeing, outcome measures include psychological contract fulfillment, perceptions of employment security, and perceived organizational support, as well as measures of stress, burnout, and engagement, and standard measures of job satisfaction and wellbeing (for a review, see Clinton & van Veldhoven, 2013 ). Almost all the research shows a positive association between the presence of more HR practices and more positive employee responses (see Clinton & van Veldhoven, 2013 ). However, a small minority of studies have revealed increases in levels of stress (see, e.g., Ramsay, Scholarios, & Harley, 2000 ). This has led critics such as Godard ( 2004 ) to argue that HRM is bad for workers because it is likely to result in work intensification and the consequent stress.

Although the evidence of negative consequences for employees is weak, the topic has generated interest in the extent to which HRM is associated with both higher organizational performance and improved employee wellbeing. The relatively few reported studies in which both have been measured have been reviewed by van de Voorde, Paauwe, and van Veldhoven ( 2012 ) and Peccei, van de Voorde, and van Veldhoven ( 2013 ). They find that the presence of more HR practices is associated with both higher performance and higher job satisfaction and organizational commitment. However, the evidence from the very few studies that have included health-related wellbeing measures, mainly indications of stress, is somewhat more equivocal, revealing a mix of positive, neutral, and negative outcomes for employees. It is unclear whether the studies with more negative results were utilizing high-performance work systems to enhance performance or high-commitment/high-involvement approaches that give higher priority to employee roles and outcomes. Future research exploring this issue will need to be clearer about the HRM strategy that underpins the type of practices adopted.

In summary, the research on HRM has predominantly explored outcomes that reflect organizational and managerial interests associated with performance. These have often been quite distal measures, such as financial performance, and have usually been collected at the organizational level. A smaller stream of research has explored employee outcomes like job satisfaction and wellbeing. As more proximal measures, these might be expected to reveal a stronger association with HRM. Relatively few studies have explored both organizational and employee outcomes. Those that have done so tend to show mutual benefits, but the results are somewhat inconsistent and seem to depend in part on the type of employee outcome under investigation. This is an area that would benefit from further research.

Understanding the Relationship between HRM and Outcomes

The early research was primarily concerned with establishing a relationship between HRM and organizational performance, but much of the focus shifted to seek explanations for how or why there appears to be an association. The relatively limited body of research exploring the role of external fit of HR practices with the business strategy has failed to show any consistent impact on outcomes (Jackson, Schuler, & Jiang, 2014 ). Instead, most subsequent research has been based on internal fit and development and testing of linkage models. These typically propose that HR practices influence employee perceptions that in turn affect employee attitudes and behavior and subsequently employee performance. This can then be aggregated to proximal (e.g., productivity, service quality) and distal (e.g., financial) organizational performance. Elements and sometimes a complete linkage model have been tested, and research has typically reported support for the expected associations indicating full or partial mediation. The AMO model has been the most extensively tested, and the meta-analysis by Jiang et al. ( 2012 ) provides a good example of this. They linked measures of the HR bundles to indicators of human capital and motivation, and linked those in turn to labor turnover and internal measures of performance, and finally linked both of those to financial performance. They reported good evidence for these linkages and for partial mediation.

The AMO model suggests that HR practices succeed by leveraging employee behavior. Alternative models based on high-commitment or high-involvement rather than high-performance HRM utilize social exchange theory (Gong, Chang, & Cheun, 2010 ; Piening, Baluch, & Salge, 2013 ). The core argument is that if HR practices are used to enhance the commitment and involvement of employees and to ensure a positive employment relationship, this will in turn be positively perceived by employees at both an individual and collective level. It might, for example, be perceived in terms of fulfillment of the psychological contract (Rousseau & Greller, 1994 ) or in the form of perceived organizational support (Eisenberger, Cummings, Armeli, & Lynch, 1997 ). Based on the norm of reciprocity (Gouldner, 1960 ), employees can be expected to respond with positive attitudes and behavior. Research supports these linkages and shows an association with organizational commitment, organizational citizenship behavior, higher individual performance, and a lower propensity to quit the organization or be voluntarily absent (e.g., Kehoe & Wright, 2013 ; Takeuchi, Chen, & Lepak, 2009 ). Overall, therefore, there is consistent support for a linkage model. More research is needed to test competing explanations for these linkages and to understand why the strength of the association varies. Some issues, to which we now turn, offer possible explanations.

The Role of Employee Attributions

As the role of employees takes center stage in the analysis of the impact of HRM, it is recognized that to understand the effect of HRM on attitudes and behavior, it is first necessary to consider how employees perceive HR practices. Researchers have begun to use a form of attribution theory to explore how employees interpret management motives for adopting certain HR practices and to examine how their interpretation affects their attitudes and behavior. Nishii, Lepak, and Schneider ( 2008 ) researched attributions among employees in a large Japanese retail chain. They hypothesized that if employees attributed management’s use of HR practices to a desire to enhance quality of service or employee wellbeing, then the response would be positive and would, in turn, have a positive effect on customer service. In contrast, if they were attributed to management’s desire to enhance control over employees or to intensify work, then these negative attributions would feed through into less enthusiastic employee behaviors that would be reflected in customer evaluation of service quality in the branches. Their findings supported these hypotheses. Subsequent research by van de Voorde & Beijer ( 2015 ) tested the impact of wellbeing and performance attributions on individual employee outcomes and found that, as predicted, wellbeing attributions had a positive impact on commitment to the organization and on employee wellbeing, reflected in lower levels of job strain, whereas performance attributions resulted in higher levels of job strain. Both studies confirm the importance of understanding employee attributions in any model seeking to explain the links between HRM and outcomes.

Research on employee attributions highlights the potential role of signaling theory (Connelly, Certo, Ireland, & Reutzel, 2011 ), a variation on communication theory. To put it at its simplest, what do HR practices, singly or in combination, signal to employees? Rousseau and Greller ( 1994 ) used signaling theory to explain how HR practices communicated to workers the content of the psychological contract. Signaling theory formed the basis for an influential conceptual article by Bowen and Ostroff ( 2004 ) concerning the implementation of HRM. They support the view that it is not sufficient to have good HR practices in place; implementation is only likely to be effective if management can clearly signal the intentions behind the HR practices. They argue that this is more likely to be achieved when there is what they call a “strong” HR system. They hypothesize that this will entail three features that need to be clearly signaled: high consensus, implying agreement among the relevant stakeholders about the viability and fairness of the HR practices; high distinctiveness, implying that HR practices should be visible, understandable, and relevant; and high consistency, implying that HR practices complement each other and are seen as aiding goal achievement. Bowen and Ostroff’s approach suggests that strong leadership signaling support from the top of the organization is required to ensure a strong HR system and therefore an increased likelihood of effective implementation of HR practices.

Researchers have begun to test Bowen and Ostroff’s propositions. A first step has been to develop measures of the three core components and the sub-elements that Bowen and Ostroff outline (see, e.g., Delmotte, De Winne, & Sels, 2012 ; Coelho, Cunha, Gomes, & Correia, 2015 ). A second step has been to test the validity of the model by studying the association of the dimensions with performance outcomes (see, e.g., Sanders, Dorenbosch, & De Reuver, 2008 ; Li, Frenkel, & Sanders, 2011 ; Pereira & Gomes, 2012 ). The results of these studies highlight the complexity of the model, suggesting that it would benefit from some simplification. Secondly, they indicate that the distinctiveness dimension appears to be more important than the other dimensions, and that the relative importance of the three dimensions of HRM system strength seems to vary across studies and perhaps across national cultures. Despite the enthusiasm with which some researchers have been exploring the Bowen and Ostroff model, there may be a case for revisiting some of the underlying dimensions.

The HR Implementation Process and Actors

Research on attribution theory, signaling theory, and the strength of the HR system is concerned with HR implementation. It is based on recognition that the presence of HR practices is not enough to ensure that they have an impact. A related stream of research has explored the process of HR implementation by focusing more directly on the roles of the main actors. Guest and Bos-Nehles ( 2013 ) have outlined a descriptive framework that implicated several parties in the implementation process. Top management and senior HR managers have responsibility for deciding whether certain practices should be present. HR managers, perhaps with outside help from consultants and W/O psychologists, shape the quality of the practices. Line managers, with support from local HR managers, have to implement practices on a day-to-day basis, and in addition they need to be motivated to ensure that they are implemented in a high-quality rather than a ritualistic way. Finally, their impact depends on employees’ perceptions of and attributions about the practices. There has been some concern that line managers may be a weak link in this process. Case studies led Hope Hailey, Farndale, and Truss ( 2005 ) to conclude that in the U.K., line managers were neither willing nor able to accept their HR implementation role. In contrast, Bos-Nehles ( 2010 ) found that Dutch managers were motivated to ensure effective implementation of HR but often lacked the time to do so (Bos-Nehles, 2010 ). A study of the implementation of policy and practice to address bullying and harassment in healthcare (Woodrow & Guest, 2014 ) found that although best HR practices were in place, they were invariably poorly implemented due mainly to lack of senior management support, but also to employees’ perceptions that the HR systems were ineffective in helping to resolve incidents of bullying and harassment. This would appear to support Bowen and Ostroff’s argument about the need for a strong HR system with top-level support.

The interest in HRM implementation has increased the focus on the role of HR specialists. There has been a longstanding stream of research on the role of HR managers reflecting concerns about their lack of power and influence (see, e.g., Legge, 1978 ; Ritzer & Trice, 1969 ; Guest & King, 2004 ). In a highly influential attempt to boost the role, Ulrich has presented a stream of writing and research outlining evolving ideas about the HR department structure, the various HR roles, and HR competencies required for effective performance by HR professionals (see Ulrich, 1997 ; Ulrich & Brockbank, 2005 : Ulrich, Younger, Brockbank, & Ulrich, 2013 ). Underpinning his research was a desire to see the HR function contributing to effective HR implementation or, as he expressed it, moving from “doing” to “delivering.”

Ulrich’s ideas generated considerable excitement among HR professionals in several countries, resulting in a rush to implement them. However, they have also been the subject of extensive conceptual critiques (see, e.g., Caldwell, 2008 ) and empirical research (see, e.g., Buyens & De Vos, 2001 ; Wright, 2008 ), raising serious questions about the feasibility of implementing them beyond the context of large, predominantly U.S. private-sector organizations, something Ulrich himself recognized. Nevertheless, his work is important in highlighting the role of HR professionals who often serve as gatekeepers for the application of the research of W/O psychologists in organizations.

The Role of Individual Differences

As psychologists have become more interested in HRM, attention has begun to focus on individual differences. One illustration of this has been a broadening of the conceptualization of the characteristics that constitute human capital, reflected in the work of Ployhart and Moliterno ( 2011 ), including the role of personality and values as human capital. Another stream of research has been considering age and the question of whether specific HR practices or bundles of practices have a greater impact at different ages. The rationale for expecting that this might be the case draws on selection, optimization, and compensation (SOC) theory (Baltes, Staudinger, & Lindenberger, 1999 ). For example, Bal, Kooij, and De Jong ( 2013 ) and Kooij et al. ( 2013 ) have shown how developmental HR practices among younger workers and accommodative HR practices among older workers can enhance commitment and wellbeing. There would appear to be room to extend this approach to consider other individual differences such as gender and education, but also variations in employment circumstances like temporary employment and other forms of employment flexibility. For example, what sort of HR practices are most suitable for long-distance workers including those working from home?

The Use of Multilevel Analysis

Bowen and Ostroff’s ( 2004 ) model builds on previous work by Ostroff and Bowen ( 2000 ) in arguing for a multilevel approach for understanding HRM processes and their impact. Ployhart and Moliterno ( 2011 ) make a similar point with respect to the aggregation of human capital. There is a strong case for multilevel analysis when employee attitudes and behavior form part of the study but the primary concern is with organizational performance, something that has become relatively common in recent research (see, e.g., Liao et al., 2009 ; Messersmith et al., 2011 ; Piening, Baluch, & Salge, 2013 ). Another context is when moderating variables are hypothesized to affect outcomes, requiring the use of moderated mediation. The kinds of moderating variables that have attracted most research attention are organizational climate and leadership, but there is room to extend this type of research to consider a potentially wide range of moderating variables, including exogenous factors like business sector and market conditions.

Comparative HRM

HRM is potentially a very broad field, and its extensive scope can be illustrated through the large body of research and writing on comparative HR systems. While most multilevel analysis uses the organization as the highest level of analysis, a distinct body of research has explored HRM at the country level. This research studies comparative HR systems and the impact of national institutions and cultural factors in shaping the kind of HR practices that are likely to be acceptable and have impact. European countries typically have a stronger institutional framework, including legislation that requires certain practices to be in place. In a country such as the U.S., organizations have fewer constraints on the HR practices they can choose whether or not to apply. Along with the major comparative studies of national cultures and leadership, the Cranet project (see, e.g., Mayehofer & Brewster, 2005 ) has for years been conducting standard surveys in many countries collecting data on HR practices, the structure of the HR function, and perceptions of impact. Rabl, Jayasinghe, Gerhart, and Kuhlmann ( 2014 ) have analyzed country differences in the strength of the HRM-performance relationship across studies reported in 29 countries. Although in all cases, the associations were positive, there were wide country differences in the average strength of the association, and their hypotheses about the influence of two dimensions of national culture, namely tight-loose properties and degree of flexibility, were not supported.

In policy terms, research on comparative HRM is particularly relevant for international organizations sending managers on overseas assignments. Schuler, Dowling, and De Cieri ( 1993 ) have provided an integrative framework within which to consider international HRM, including overseas assignments. Black and Mendenhall ( 1990 ) have explored issues in selection and more particularly cross-cultural training methods, while Black, Mendenhall, and Oddou ( 1991 ) have outlined the steps necessary for effective adjustment to an overseas assignment. Doherty, Dickmann, and Mills ( 2011 ) have explored motives among company-initiated and self-initiated overseas assignments, while Bolino ( 2007 ) has analyzed the implications of such assignments for career success. Comparative HRM therefore provides a good example of how HRM research can be considered at different levels of analysis, from different disciplinary perspectives, and from both conceptual and applied perspectives.

The Importance of Longitudinal Research

Much of the reported research linking HRM and outcomes has been cross-sectional, raising questions about causality and leading to calls for longitudinal studies. Researchers have begun to answer this call. Birdi et al. ( 2008 ) examined the impact of three HR practices (training, teamwork, and empowerment) and four operational practices (total quality management, just-in-time, supply chain management, and advanced manufacturing techniques) on productivity in a large sample of manufacturing firms over a 22-year period. They found a positive impact of HR practices but not operational practices, and they also found no interaction between them. They reported a lengthy time lag of several years before any impact was significant. In contrast, Piening, Baluch, and Salge ( 2013 ), in a longitudinal study in healthcare, found support for a causal chain from employee perceptions to changes in job satisfaction to changes in patient satisfaction. However, they found that the impact was greatest in the first year and diminished thereafter. The longitudinal study in healthcare by West et al. ( 2006 ) reported a more direct association between the presence of more HR practices and mortality rates after controlling for a range of other potential influences.

Longitudinal studies have generally supported a causal ordering whereby HR practices affect outcomes. However, they have rarely considered the possibility of reverse causality. The potential for reverse causality is based on the assumption that high performance and, in particular, high financial performance create room for investment, including investment in human resources. There is also the possibility that working for a successful organization is a source of satisfaction that in turn further enhances performance, a conclusion that might be drawn from the longitudinal study of company-level performance and job satisfaction over a number of years reported by Schneider, Hanges, Smith, and Salvaggio ( 2003 ). In the context of HRM, Guest, Michie, Conway, and Sheehan ( 2003 ) reported an association between HRM and subsequent financial performance. However, when they controlled for prior performance, this association disappeared, raising questions about the causal ordering. It also raises wider questions about the size of impact of HRM, since few studies have taken into account prior financial performance. This point is strongly reinforced in a study by Shin and Konrad ( 2016 ) that used a longitudinal Canadian company-level dataset to explore the relation over time between HRM and productivity. After controlling for past performance and past HRM, they found a modest positive two-way causal link between the variables, with each having an influence on the other over three two-year time lags. The study by Piening, Baluch, and Salge ( 2013 ) found support for a cyclical process whereby HRM affected outcomes and these in turn affected HR practices. But Van de Voorde, Paauwe, and van Veldhoven ( 2010 ), in a cross-lagged study, found that an “HR-indexed” measure of organizational climate had an impact on organizational performance, though there was no evidence of performance influencing climate.

These studies help to highlight the challenges of establishing the causal direction in the HRM-outcomes relationship and challenge the size of the associations reported in cross-sectional studies. When the outcome is financial performance, one of the problems is that it tends to be very stable from year to year, leaving only a small amount of variance to explain. The same may be the case for HR practices. There are also major challenges in controlling for other endogenous and exogenous variables. What may be needed are naturally occurring quasi-experimental studies, possibly at branch levels. At a micro level, W/O psychologists have been more successful in demonstrating causality with respect, for example, to interventions for improving selection, training, or job design. Since the distinctive feature of HRM is that it needs to be considered as a system of practices and is more typically explored at the unit or organizational level, this presents distinctive challenges of access over time and interpretation of results when other factors are hard to control for. Understanding the dynamics of changes in the use of HR practices may require in-depth longitudinal, qualitative studies along with the dominant quantitative research.

HRM provides an important context for research in W/O psychology. It incorporates the core practices and activities that constitute W/O psychologists’ areas of expertise. HR departments often act as gatekeepers for W/O psychologists from outside the organization or as hosts for those working within it. HRM extends the traditional domain of W/O psychologists by incorporating strategic issues, and it raises ethical issues in terms of the “utilization” of employees that can sometimes spill over into “exploitation.” It is therefore important that research on outcomes addresses the impact of employee wellbeing while at the same time recognizing the pragmatic political requirement to explore those contexts, conditions, policies, and practices that offer the potential for both high performance and high wellbeing. HRM is a broad topic that has attracted an extensive and growing body of research. It also raises a lot of challenging research questions. Its multilevel, multidisciplinary characteristics pose additional challenges for W/O psychologists. But it is an important applied subject with room to link theory, research, and application, and it is one to which W/O psychology is making an increasingly significant contribution.

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REVIEW article

The organizational commitment in the company and its relationship with the psychological contract.

• Department of Economics and Business Administration, Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, Spain

Business organizations in their work environment, aspire to create a high level of performance and low levels of absenteeism and turnover. Organizational commitment is considered a key factor in achieving this objective, however, it can be conditioned by several factors, among which is the psychological contract. The literature has related the organizational commitment with the fulfillment of the psychological contract framing it as one of the explanatory variables. This work aims to investigate research trends on psychological contract and organizational commitment. For this purpose, bibliometric techniques and the software SciMAT have been used. 220 journal articles indexed in Web of Science (WoS) were analyzed. The findings indicate that the theme chosen for this review is valid. Based on the relationship between the two concepts, as the most recurrent themes, issues such as the sense of justice and the consequences of the violation of the psychological contract, normative commitment, HR management or job insecurity are addressed. However, in the last period analyzed (2015–2018), publications related to more sensitive topics to the present time emerge, such as the employability or the impact of these two concepts in the new generations (millennial and generation-Y) or the retention of talent. On the other hand, shortcomings are detected in the research on the ideologically charged psychological contract, the analysis of the organizational context or cultural and demographic factors in relation to both theoretical constructs. The contribution of this work lies in giving visibility to scientific results, which will serve business organizations as instruments for decision making in their labor management and, for the scientific community, as knowledge of the research spaces to explore.

Introduction

In the current business context, a change toward an efficiency model based on organizational commitment is required. Business organizations need to form teams that are highly committed to their strategic objectives, oriented toward organization and work. Human resource management is positioned as one of the main functions within the organization where working conditions, worker welfare and job satisfaction are valued, which helps to maintain high levels of organizational commitment ( Tiwari and Singh, 2014 ; Kurtessis et al., 2017 ). The formation of organizational commitment is related to the inputs that the worker receives from the organization and is intimately linked to the results of the relationship between both parties, as well as to the emotional bond between the goals and values of the organization and the employee ( Buchanan, 1974 ). This exchange relationship between worker and company can affect work performance, absenteeism and job rotation ( Betanzos and Paz, 2007 ). The literature in many works has related the organizational commitment to the fulfillment of the psychological contract, that is, the degree of compliance with the promises made by the organization ( Rousseau and Parks, 1993 ), framing it as an explanatory and determining variable of the organizational commitment ( Guest, 1998 ; Zaragoza and Solanes Puchol, 2013 ). The following provides a review of these two concepts; psychological contract and organizational commitment, as well as the relationship between them.

Psychological Contract

Rousseau (1995) defined the psychological contract as the set of individual beliefs of a person in relation to the reciprocal obligations and benefits established in a relationship of exchange. The result of the exchange conditions the behavior of both the organization and the employees. However, Rousseau emphasizes in her definition the unipersonal and subjective nature of the employees’ interpretation of the psychological contract, which could lead to different views on the terms of the psychological contract between employer and employee ( Morrison and Robinson, 1997 ).

The theory of the psychological contract shows as a key factor the perceived adequate performance of the contract between two parties involved, where subjectively one of the parties considers that the other has not adequately performed the obligations promised ( Robinson, 1996 ). In reality, this comparison has consequences that go beyond the mere violation of the expected rewards. Its influence extends to the image that the person acquires about the organization, affects trust in the employer and the perception of fairness in the employment relationship ( Cantisano et al., 2008 ).

In the exchange relationship between the organization and the employee two main dimensions can be distinguished, the relational contracts and the transactional contracts ( MacNeil, 1985 ). The relational are characterized by an emotional exchange of social-emotional resources in the long term, in this case, the employee perceives that in exchange for his loyalty he will receive possible promotions to develop his career in the organization and/or security to remain in his job. The transactional contracts are mainly focused on an economic exchange ( Rousseau, 1995 ). The breach of the psychological contract and its consequences have been widely addressed by researchers, where it has been demonstrated in many empirical studies how this fact is positioned as a key aspect in the field of labor relations and influences negatively the attitudes and behavior of employees ( Coyle-Shapiro et al., 2019 ). The validity or degree of compliance with the psychological contract has different interpretations depending on whether the employee is involved ( Robinson, 1996 ), the employer ( Coyle-Shapiro and Kessler, 2002 ) or both ( Dabos and Rousseau, 2004 ). A distinction must be made between breach and violation of the psychological contract. While the assessment of compliance or breach of the psychological contract starts from the individual’s own analysis based on his or her judgment, the violation of the psychological contract is a possible consequence of the breach, where the subject reacts in an emotional way, with greater resentment and indignation ( Coyle-Shapiro et al., 2019 ).

The consequences associated with the breach of the psychological contract can be numerous and depend on a variety of factors that would be related to both the organization and the employee. Some of these consequences have been widely addressed by researchers; employees’ job performance ( Gracia et al., 2006 ); intention to leave work ( Lester et al., 2002 ); job satisfaction and organizational commitment ( Porter et al., 1998 ; Cassar, 2001 ; Coyle-Shapiro and Kessler, 2002 ; Topa and Morales, 2005 ); and/or decreased trust ( Robinson, 1996 ; Zhao et al., 2007 ), among others. The difference between the promises made and their fulfillment will generate different effects depending on the characteristics of the labor relationship, the age of the employee, the professional category, the organizational culture (individualistic or collective) and other demographic variables ( Rousseau, 1995 ; Turnley and Feldman, 1999 ; Costa et al., 2017 ). As for the emerging and developing themes on the psychological contract, Coyle-Shapiro et al. (2019) point out that they focus mainly on (a) those who investigate an expansion of psychological contracts beyond social exchange, the so-called psychological contracts with a strong ideological charge and their relation to organizational commitment, the presence of this type of contract in the public sector, or its repercussion on the organizational citizen behavior of employees, (b) those who analyze the antecedents of the breach of the psychological contract, such as the restructuring and downsizing of organizations, causing a decrease in the capacity to fulfill their part of the exchange, or those who investigate the impact of the employee’s perception of job insecurity, and how it affects the breach of psychological contract, and finally, (c) those who have extended the explanations of the relationship between the rupture and the result, focusing on the analysis of psychological contracts as dynamic processes.

Organizational Commitment

There are various definitions of organizational commitment one been as the desire on the part of the employee to make high efforts for the good of the institution, longing to remain in it and accept its main objectives and values ( Porter and Lawer, 1965 ). Another widely accepted definition is that of Greenberg and Baron (2008) who define organizational commitment as the degree to which employees identify with the organization where they work, the degree of commitment they show and whether they are willing to leave it. In research related to organizational engagement, three different perspectives can be distinguished. The first one is born from the perspective of social exchange, where the commitment of the individual to the organization is the result of the small investments that he or she has made over time and that would stop his or her voluntary disengagement from the organization ( Becker, 1960 ). This perspective was later developed by Meyer and Allen (1991 , 1997) where it was called Commitment to Continuity (CC). The second model, Affective Commitment (CA), leans toward a psychological perspective, where emphasis is placed on the binding force between the person and the organization. It is characterized by the employee’s desire to remain a member of the organization, accepting values and goals from the organization in exchange for certain psychological rewards, such as support or recognition ( Mowday et al., 1979 ; Mathieu and Zajac, 1990 ). The third perspective, or Normative Commitment (NC) developed by Meyer and Allen (1991) is focuses on the work ethic and the responsibility that the worker acquires, which drives him/her to do his/her job well in any circumstance. This normative commitment has been the source of multiple interpretations regarding its independence as an element of study ( Varona, 1993 ; Ko et al., 1997 ; Bergman, 2006 ; González and Guillén, 2008 ). On the other hand, organizations have assimilated that employees represent their most important asset ( Glen, 2006 ; Fulmer and Ployhart, 2014 ; Millar et al., 2017 ). Job satisfaction and job motivation, among other factors, become key aspects for the company’s success. Several attempts have been made at an integrated theory for analyzing motivation at work, covering most approaches and factors involved in employee motivation and expectations ( Donovan, 2001 ; Locke and Latham, 2004 ), although no complete consensus has been reached. As for organizational commitment, it is closely linked to job satisfaction. This satisfaction depends on many factors, but most are related to what the organization brings to the employee. Some studies indicate that job satisfaction precedes the level of organizational commitment ( Meyer et al., 2002 ; Morrow, 2011 ), in contrast, other research defends the idea that it is organizational commitment that is a predecessor to job satisfaction ( Price and Mueller, 1981 ; Curry et al., 1986 ). Organizational engagement of employees has been addressed in remarkable research where one can distinguish between so-called individual theories and process theories. Individual theories are based on the individual, the needs of the individual, and his or her motivation to act in one way or another. In this section we could cite: the Theory of Motivation ( Maslow, 1943 ); the Theory of Hierarchy ( Alderfer, 1969 ); or the Theory of Motivation-Hygiene ( Herzberg, 2005 ). The process theories also include the characteristics of the job or work environment, where other factors surrounding the individual are taken into account and are focused on analyzing why people have different behaviors in relation to the commitment to their organization. Among these process theories are, The Theory of Work and Motivation ( Vroom, 1964 ), Goal Setting Theory ( Locke, 1968 ) and the Theory of Equity ( Adams, 1963 ) (see Culibrk et al., 2018 ).

Psychological Contract and Organizational Commitment

At present, there is no generally accepted categorization that encompasses the connection between psychological contract and organizational commitment. However, the literature has strongly related the link between both theoretical constructs, analyzing it from different perspectives, and giving it special relevance in terms of its influence in the field of organizational behavior ( Meyer and Allen, 1997 ; Bunderson, 2001 ; Lester et al., 2002 ; Sels et al., 2004 ; McInnis et al., 2009 ; Meyer and Parfyonova, 2010 ; Coyle-Shapiro et al., 2019 ). Organizational commitment, within the organizational approach, is among the most analyzed consequences in the literature, when explaining the results of the breach of psychological contracts, as opposed to other approaches such as factors oriented to internal third parties (supervisors or co-workers), external third parties (unions or clients) or health ( Coyle-Shapiro et al., 2019 ). On the other hand, research has been carried out that seeks to analyze the relationship of the psychological contract and its variants (relational and transactional psychological contract) with the different types of organizational commitment. In this sense, Meyer and Parfyonova (2010) , in their attempt to explain the differentiation between CA and NC, and to reinforce the conceptualization of the latter, point out the importance of this distinction to better understand the processes by which the psychological contract influences employee behaviors. Meyer and Allen (1997) ; Bunderson (2001) , Lester et al. (2002) , Sels et al. (2004) , and McInnis et al. (2009) point out that psychological contracts have been more related to the CA, however, it is more relevant to relate it to the NC. In addition, Meyer and Parfyonova (2010) , suggest that the conception of the type of contract in which the employee is (transactional or relational contract) may have implications on the way in which the employee experiences CK. In this line, they highlight that it is likely that employees with a relational contract experience a sense of moral duty, aligning themselves with the interests of the organization, even at the cost of sacrificing their own objectives. However, employees with a transactional contract, experience their obligation within the reciprocity of a social exchange relationship, consequently, they can respond out of necessity instead of desire and restrict their contributions to what is strictly necessary.

Another connection of the psychological contract with organizational commitment has to do with the most recent conceptualization of the psychological contract, which goes beyond the theory of social interchange; the so-called ideologically charged psychological contracts. This concept is based on the proposal of Thompson and Bunderson (2003) , which has been supported by many other authors such as Bingham (2005) ; El Bedoui et al. (2011) or Vantilborgh et al. (2014) , in relation to employee behavior inspired by ideology. This approach suggests that the employee recognizes his or her contribution to the achievement of a greater good aligned with the company’s objectives, for which he or she would be willing to make some sacrifices. In this sense, the employee understands that the achievement itself provides him/her with an intrinsic motivation and this encourages him/her to continue cooperating with the organization in the belief that it is the right thing to do. Under this prism, the behavior that exceeds the psychological contract based on social exchange, is explained from the conception of the commitment with moral objectives that can promote satisfaction, even in the absence of an economic relationship ( Shamir, 1990 ; Aguilera et al., 2007 ). In this line, Meyer and Parfyonova (2010) try to relate the ideological psychological contract with the affective and normative commitment when; (a) there are ethical foundations, (b) they are transformative and charismatic leaders, or (c) they are employed with collectivist cultures.

Justification, Objectives, and Practical Implications

It is noted that there is a strong link in the literature between psychological contract and organizational commitment. It is also confirmed that new lines of research continue to appear, such as that which analyzes the relationship between the typologies of psychological contracts and the different types of organizational commitment. Hence, there is an incipient interest in ideologically charged psychological contracts and their close relationship with the CA/NC, -some authors suggest that the investigation of ideologically charged psychological contracts is in an initial phase and invite further research ( Coyle-Shapiro et al., 2019 ). For this reason, a broader approach is necessary, with the purpose of knowing more about the literature around these two great theoretical axes, which explain to a great extent the organizational behavior and the consequences that derive from them. Therefore, the objective of this work is to give visibility to scientific results that provide knowledge of the nexus between psychological contract and organizational commitment, putting the focus on explaining the relationship between them and with other theoretical elements within the area of human resources, as well as identifying the spaces of research that remain to be explored. Hence, in its practical implication, this research can serve business organizations to better focus decision-making on the management of organizational behavior, in an attempt to find greater efficiency and sustainability of human capital. To achieve this objective, this work carries out a review of the research literature that analyzes these two theoretical constructs together. To this end, bibliometric analysis techniques will be used to present a detailed study of the evolution of research and authors who have addressed this issue. The adopted approaches and the incorporation of numerous empirical studies have provided a remarkable sustained literary wealth, which goes from the first works published in the nineties of the past century, to the proliferation of publications that take place in the beginning of the twenty first century.

The Web of Science (WoS) database has been used as a source in the search of scientific publications and SciMat as software for the generation and visualization of maps. A total of 220 articles related to the topic at hand have been used as a starting point. The analysis carried out is divided into two stages; firstly, an attempt to evaluate from a quantitative and qualitative orientation the production by countries, authors and journals, and secondly by means of longitudinal and strategic maps, which show the intensity of the relationships between the topics and their evolution in time, therefore giving an idea of which are the most developed and where future research can be directed.

Materials and Methods

This work aims to know the trends in the scientific production of psychological contract and organizational commitment . This research is based on a bibliometric analysis of the scientific literature. A bibliometric analysis examines bibliographic material from an objective and quantitative perspective that is useful for organizing information within a field specification ( Albort-Morant and Ribeiro-Soriano, 2016 ); Therefore, a metric analysis of the bibliography allows us to analyze the details of the main research topics within a domain and the relationships at the micro level, generating useful information for researchers who evaluate scientific activity ( Chen and Xiao, 2016 ; Rey-Martí et al., 2016 ).

In order to carry out our analysis, two clearly differentiated sets will be described in detail; relationship indicators and activity indicators. The review of the articles in our sample will reveal the evolution of the research related to psychological contract and organizational commitment. Other data that is analyzed correspond to the year of publication of the manuscripts, authors, place of origin, number of citations, impact indices and other characteristics related to scientific production. This approach will provide researchers with a complete vision of what scientific production in this field has meant.

The database used to extract the sample has been Web of Science, where the search was carried out in February 2019. To meet the objectives set out in this research, the location of articles in this database was configured with the following expressions: “psychological contract” and “organizational commitment.” The year of publication was not limited and was restricted to the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED) and Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI). Thus, those documents whose title, abstract or keywords include the expressions “psychological contract” and “organizational commitment” are extracted. To further refine the search for the selected items, the search is restricted to the categories “Management,” “Phychology applied,” “Business,” and “Sociology.” This configuration provided a total of 220 items in this source. Usually, in reviews that use bibliometric techniques, those articles that have received a greater number of citations are selected. In this review, all articles that meet the above parameters are included, so that those manuscripts that have not yet reached their highest impact rate are not excluded.

In a first step for a global perspective, we will carry out a descriptive statistical analysis, where the indicators of activity in the literature are detailed. In a second step, where the temporal evolution of these topics will be appreciated, we will make longitudinal, strategic and thematic network maps. In this way, those topics that have had a greater transcendence throughout time will flourish, as well as those that have a lesser current impact, or those that are currently positioning themselves as topics of greater interest in relation to our purpose.

SciMAT has been used for the construction of longitudinal maps, strategic maps and thematic networks. This allows us to see chronologically what the thematic evolution of the literature under study has been. This software has been developed by SECABA, a research group from the University of Granada, Spain ( Cobo et al., 2012 ).

The following configuration of SciMAT has been carried out for the analysis: the author’s keywords and those coming from the source represent the thematic unit. The equivalence index acts as a measure of similarity to normalize the networks, as well as to create the scientific map of topics and the networks that compose it. The single center clustering algorithm was used.

In order to more clearly expose the focus of this research, Figure 1 shows schematically the procedure that has been performed. The longitudinal map ( Figure 1 , Left) indicates the evolution of literature associated to a particular theme. In this map each period represents by means of spheres the main themes concentrated in a certain number of articles of that period. The evolution from period to period is reflected by connecting lines between the represented items.

Figure 1. Example of longitudinal map, strategic map and thematic network. Prepared by the authors base in Cobo (2011) .

A strategic diagram is divided into four quadrants ( Figure 1 , Center). Motor themes are in the upper right quadrant, peripheral themes in the upper left, emerging themes are in the lower left quadrant, and basic themes are in the lower right quadrant ( Cobo et al., 2012 ). With respect to the first ( Figure 1 , Center Circle “A”), they indicate that subjects are the motors of the specialty, they have a high density and pronounced centrality, they are very developed and important subjects for the composition of the scientific field, they also have notable relations with concepts applicable to other subjects. The circle “D” ( Figure 1 , Center), identifies the position that the peripheral themes would occupy, although their importance in the scientific field being analyzed is not very high, if they have very developed internal links and are characterized by being very specialized. The circle “C” ( Figure 1 , Center) indicates the position that emerging or decadent themes would occupy. Both their density and their centrality are very low, so their development has not been very notable, although they may evolve toward more transcendental themes in the future. The basic themes are represented by the circle “D” ( Figure 1 , Center). Although they are not sufficiently developed, they are transversal and generic, and therefore represent the basic themes of a scientific field. The third dimension in the strategic map is included through the spheres of the themes, where their volume may represent different bibliometric indicators, such as the number of documents associated with a theme, the number of citations received by the documents associated with each theme, or the H-Index of the theme ( Cobo, 2011 ).

Together with the global network of interconnected themes and keywords, a second thematic network is created, based on the documents associated with each theme. Each thematic network ( Figure 1 , Right) is assigned the documents that share some keywords with the network, being able to consider two types of networks: main documents and secondary documents. A main document will be one that contains at least two keywords of the thematic network, and those documents that have at least one keyword associated to the thematic network will be called secondary document. In this way, both primary and secondary documents can belong to more than one thematic network ( Cobo, 2011 ). The quantitative and qualitative analysis developed in this research has been based on the network of primary documents.

Indicators of Activity in the Literature on Psychological Contract and Commitment

The evolution of the number of publications per year has experienced a notable increase. The sample analyzed consists of 220 articles, the first of which appears in 1994, “Expatriate Managers and the Psychological Contract” published by Guzzo, RA, Noonan, KA and Elron, E. in Journal of Applied Psychology . This journal is one of the pioneers and remains one of the most productive in this field, although its contribution does not keep a constant pace.

Up to and including the year 2000, the number of investigations published within the chosen sample was only 14 units (6%). Between 2001 and 2010 this number rises to 88 articles, and from 2011 to the present a total of 118 works have been published in these sources. The years between 2005 and 2015 are shown as the most productive with a total of 149 (68%) articles with respect to this sample. Bearing in mind that the current decade (2011–2020) still has a few months of production to go and that the articles cited gain prominence in the years following their publication, it is worth noting that there has been a considerable increase in the pace of publication on this subject.

The Figure 2 shows how from 2005 onwards the growth of publications is very high, maintaining an average rhythm of 17 articles per year until 2013, where a pronounced fall can be seen. Until 2005, researchers from the United States of America published on this subject in a significant way with 31 articles, the American country has the largest representation with a total of 58 articles between 1994 and 2018. From 2006 to 2018, researchers from England (24), Holland (16), Australia (15), Canada (15), China (14), and Germany (11) have more than 10 publications. The rest of the documents are distributed among other countries that have not reached 10 in the last 15 years; Spain (5), Taiwan (5), France (4), Greece (4) or India (4) are the most numerous examples. In this phase before the turn of the century, the research carried out by Guzzo, Noonan and Elron entitled “Expatriate managers and the psychological contract” (1994) stands out and becomes a reference for later works.

Figure 2. Number of articles by year of publication. Prepared by the authors on the basis of WoS data.

The authors who have published the greatest number of articles in the database consulted are shown in Table 1 . The Hirsch Index, or H-index, of each author is also added, which relates the number of publications and citations received.

Table 1. Authors who have published three or more articles on psychological contract and organizational commitment (1994–2018).

It is necessary to comment as the author with more publications (10), De Witte, H, only appears as first author in an article of the ten where he participates. On the other hand, De Cuyper, Bal, Ng, and others, are authors who usually appear as the first researcher in the articles in which they participate. The most cited authors per article are not represented in the above list, as their production in this field has not been as numerous. The most cited article of all those analyzed is by Zhao, Wayne, Glibkowski and Bravo who in 2007 published “The impact of psychological contract breach on work-related outcomes: A meta-analysis” with 517 citations from other researchers. Another article to be highlighted is the manuscript published by Coyle-Shapiro et al. (2019) , “Psychological Contracts: Past, Present and Future,” which despite its novelty already has more than 37 citations from other authors and represents a broad systematic review on this subject.

With respect to the journals with the greatest presence in research on Psychological Contract and Organizational Commitment, it can be indicated that the set of 220 articles studied in this work from 1994 to 2018 are distributed in 82 different publications, highlighting the most representative with 19 and 17 research edited. As with research production in this field, the most active journals have appeared in this field since 2005, almost continuously publishing a significant number of articles each year.

The journals with the greatest presence of this sample and its impact factor are indicated in Table 2 . Most of them are located in the first or second quartile (Q1–Q2–Q3–Q4) of this theme according to JCR Category. In the cases where a publication is cataloged in more than one category, the one belonging to the area of knowledge according to this research has been chosen.

Table 2. Journals on psychological contract and organizational commitment.

The International Journal of Human Resource Management , volume 1 of which appeared in 1990, is the most active in this field, with 19 articles since 2003, and continuous production to date. The second publication with 17 articles, Journal of Vocational Behavior appears in 1971, and like the previous one from the beginning of the twenty first century it gathers a series of researches on the subject we are concerned with, although as it happens in the general computation it shows more activity from 2008 onwards. In Table 3 , the 19 journals listed in Table 2 , which indicates the number of articles related to Psychological Contract and Organizational Commitment that have been published each year, are shown.

Table 3. Annual journal activity in articles on psychological contract and organizational commitment. number of articles per year.

As can be seen, except for the International Journal of Human Resource Management , no journal represents more than 8% of the published articles, which indicates that few journals have specialized specifically in this matter. It also gives an idea of how this subject is represented from multidisciplinary approaches, which although having limited the search in certain areas of knowledge, the study of the Psychological Contract and the Organizational Commitment admits points of view from various disciplines.

Content Analysis

Evolution of keywords.

In order to analyze the conceptual and thematic evolution of the literature related to organizational commitment and psychological contract, we first analyze how the keywords have evolved, their overlapping, continuity and discontinuity chronologically. For this purpose, 4 periods are established (1994–2004/2005–2009/2010–2014/2015–2018). The criterion of creating blocks with a certain similarity in their amplitude and number of documents has been followed. It was estimated that 5 years periods would favor analysis. For the first block, due to the low level of literary production, it was thought convenient to extend from 5 to 10 years the breadth of the period, even so, it contains the least number of publications with a total of 32 documents. The second and third blocks, both have an amplitude of 5 years and 55 and 78 manuscripts, respectively. In the case of the fourth block, it comprises the last 4 years of the total period under study, and has a total of 55 publications.

In the analysis of the evolution of keywords in the area, the methodology of Price and Gürsey (1975) has been used ( Figure 3 ). Each circle represents a chosen period, the figure inside it indicating the number of different keywords in that period. The horizontal arrows that join the circles represent the keywords shared that pass from one period to the next, so they remain between the two periods. The figure in parentheses indicates the stability index or overlapping fraction (between period 1 and 2, the stability index was 49%, which decreased between period 2 and 3, and between period 3 and 4. This indicates the growth of keywords that have been associated with this theme. This indicates the growth of keywords that have been associated to this theme. An arrow appears at the top of each period to inform us of how many keywords no longer appear in the following period. At the opposite point, the arrow that enters diagonally in the circle indicates the number of new keywords that have been incorporated during this period. As you can see in Figure 3 , in each period new keywords are added and others are no longer used with respect to adjacent periods. A large number of keywords is observed, which gives an idea of the diversity of topics adjacent to those dealt with by the central core object of this study. As for the analysis of periods, the number of keywords is closely related to the number of publications, so the third (2010–2014) is where more keywords have coexisted with a total of 501. The stability index has remained between 0.49 and 0.37 which, although decreasing, shows a high strengthening of the vocabulary by the scientific community when describing the published documents ( Cobo et al., 2012 ).

Figure 3. Keywords shared between periods. Prepared by the authors on the basis of SciMAT data.

Longitudinal Analysis of the Theme

Once the evolution of keywords has been analyzed, the study would focus on how the subject has evolved. In order to do this, we rely on Figure 4 , where the relations of the themes are represented by periods according to the volume of primary documents. In the case of Psychological Contract and Organizational Commitment, there is continuity in each of the periods. In the first period, the subject revolves more around the Psychological Contract, giving way to Organizational Commitment in the following periods. However, in the central blocks (2005–2009 and 2010–2014), the issues are closely related. In the case of the subject that has to do with the violation of the psychological contract, it evolves in all periods toward the conception of obligations and toward social exchange in the last period. Job insecurity remains in force in all periods, resulting in the second with health and in the last two with performance or social exchange. In the last period (2014–2018) there are themes that are not related to those of previous periods, such as personality , turnover , millennials, employability or moderating-role and that, due to their density, are themes with certain possibilities of becoming driving themes in the near future.

Figure 4. Evolution of the theme of organizational commitment and psychological contract. primary documents. Prepared by the authors on the basis of SciMAT data.

Thematic Analysis Through Strategic Diagrams

Period 1994–2004.

The strategic diagram in Figure 5 represents an image of the situation of the theme in the first decade in which the central themes of this study, Psychological Contract and Organizational Commitment, began to be jointly researched. The main driving themes are psychological contract and justice . The first one has a high level of centrality and density ( Table 4 ) which makes it the main asset of the subject, at the same time it stands out from the others, both in the quantitative plane with 28 documents, and in the qualitative plane with an H-index of 24, in the case of the second, justice , with an H-index of 3, it only has 4 documents related to satisfaction, the behavior of citizens or trust. As basic topics are those related to behavior or violation of the psychological contract. As for emerging or decadent issues, there is organizational support , which has a high density, although the centrality is relatively low. In the upper left quadrant, in which peripheral themes are visualized, it is represented by performance or job insecurity , both considerably developed, although with little production and low H-index.

Figure 5. Strategic map 1994–2004. Prepared by the authors on the basis of SciMAT data.

Table 4. Cluster period 1994–2004.

With the intention of knowing which literary activity makes up the main driving theme, which in this first period is a psychological contract , it would be interesting to analyze its thematic network ( Figure 5 ). The study of psychological contracts is intimately related to organizational commitment , but it is also closely related to the analysis of performance , job satisfaction , rotation , antecedents and the consequences of the same (both topics that in turn maintain an important intensity in their relationships), as well as with other topics with less intensity such as professional commitment, models, human resources management or social exchange .

The five publications with the greatest impact of this network between 1994 and 2004 were, (i) Whitener (2001) , “High Commitment” Human Resource Practices Affect Employee Commitment? (times cited: 443); (ii) Raja et al. (2004) , The Impact Of Personality On Psychological Contracts (times cited: 308); (iii) Guzzo et al. (1994) , Expatriate Managers And The Psychological Contract (times cited: 304); (iv) Scandura and Lankau (1997) , Relationships Of Gender, Family Responsibility And Flexible Work Hours To Organizational Commitment And Job Satisfaction (times cited: 236), and (v); Meyer and Smith (2000) , Hrm Practices And Organizational Commitment: Test Of A Mediation Model (times cited: 210).

Period 2005–2009

In the second block (2005–2009), in the association Psychological Contract—Organizational Commitment as a driving theme, there is a change of leadership ( Figure 6 ). The number of documents and the quality (H-index) increased in this second period, from 28 to 51 and from 24 to 30, respectively ( Tables 4 , 5 ). As the second driving theme, obligations appear, with 7 publications related to perceptions, violation and the rupture of the psychological contract. In this period there is a peculiarity in which two clusters are generated on the topics health and turnover-intention. The first is at the border of the quadrant of emerging themes with the basic themes that, as has been commented ( Figure 4 ), was an evolution—from the previous period—of the job-insecurity theme and evolved, in the following period, toward themes such as job-insecurity or performance. In the case of the latter, it lies between the quadrant of emerging or decadent themes and peripheral themes, as seen earlier created in this period, but evolves in the following one toward normative-commitment. Both topics have few documents, between 5 and 3, respectively, and in the qualitative aspect an H-index of 5 and 3 equally ( Table 5 ).

Figure 6. Strategic map 2005–2009. Prepared by the authors on the basis of SciMAT data.

Table 5. Cluster period 2005–2009.

The thematic network of organizational commitment , for this period, as main driving theme ( Figure 6 ) is constituted, in the first place, by psychological contract and closely, by antecedents and consequences —al as well as in period anterior—, and job-satisfaction . On the other hand, there are two issues that are closely related to organizational engagement, such as social-exchange and employment-relationship. During this period there is a great deal of interest in knowing about the literature on this subject, with 12 publications on the subject of meta-analysis.

With respect to the five publications with the greatest impact between 2005 and 2009, the following can be found; (i) Zhao et al. (2007) , The Impact Of Psychological Contract Breach On Work-related Outcomes: A Meta-analysis (times cited: 538); (ii) Cheng and Chan (2008) Who Suffers More From Job Insecurity? A Meta-analytic Review (times cited: 335); (iii) Bentein et al. (2005) , The Role Of Change In The Relationship Between Commitment And Turnover: A Latent Growth Modeling Approach (times cited: 198); (iv) De Cuyper and De Witte (2006) , The Impact Of Job Insecurity And Contract Type On Attitudes, Well-being And Behavioural Reports: A Psychological Contract Perspective (times cited: 183); and (v) Bal et al., 2008 ), Psychological Contract Breach And Job Attitudes: A Meta-analysis Of Age As A Moderator (times cited: 160).

Period 2010–2014

The third block (2010–2014) continues its organizational commitment as the main driving theme ( Figure 7 ), which although it is present in more publications, 74 as opposed to 51 in the previous period, from a qualitative point of view has worsened, going from a 30 to a 23 H-index ( Tables 5 , 6 ). At the frontiers of the driving themes there are two themes that could belong to this classification. The first is in the line that divides the peripheral themes of the emerging or decadent, normative-commitment 1 , which is an evolution, as we could see, of turnover-intention and that has experienced a greater centrality between its publications—goes from 3.3 to 26.83—, giving rise to the potential necessary to become a driving theme, with a notable increase in its H-index, which goes from 3 to 10. The second, violation , is at the frontier of peripheral issues. In this period it is again configured as a driving theme with violation , but with a lower density and centrality and, in quantitative and qualitative terms, fewer documents and lower H-index. In the basic and peripheral themes, there are job-insecurity and performance , themes that have evolved from health of the previous period, to transform the first into a peripheral theme, with a notable density and centrality and the second into a basic theme, little developed, with low centrality and density, however both have the same H-index (4). As an emergent or decadent theme appears work , which with an H-index of 6, has an acceptable density, but a very low centrality ( Table 6 ).

Figure 7. Strategic map 2010–2014. Prepared by the authors on the basis of SciMAT data.

Table 6. Cluster period 2010–2014.

In the period 2010–2014, the thematic network of organizational commitment ( Figure 7 ), as the main driving theme, has its densest relationship with psychological contract , followed by meta-analysis , which is again present with some consistency, on the other hand, other themes such as job-satisfaction, consequences, psychological-contract-breach or social-exchange are related to each other and strongly related to organizational commitment.

The five publications with the greatest impact between 2010 and 2014 were; (i) Ng et al. (2010) Psychological Contract Breaches, Organizational Commitment, And Innovation-related Behaviors: A Latent Growth Modeling Approach (times cited: 94); (ii) Tremblay et al. (2010) , The Role Of Hrm Practices, Procedural Justice, Organizational Support And Trust In Organizational Commitment And In-role And Extra-role Performance , (times cited: 83); (iii) Direnzo and Greenhaus (2011) , Job Search And Voluntary Turnover In A Boundaryless World: A Control Theory Perspective (times cited: 82); (iv) Lub et al. (2012) ; Different Or Alike? Exploring The Psychological Contract And Commitment Of Different Generations Of Hospitality Workers (times cited: 79); and (v) Deconinck (2011) , The Effects Of Ethical Climate On Organizational Identification, Supervisory Trust, And Turnover Among Salespeople (times cited: 69).

Period 2015–2018

The last period (2015–2018) is characterized by the proliferation of themes, fundamentally in publications classified as peripheral and basic and as a consequence, by a lower density in the works related to the main driving theme, organizational commitment ( Figure 8 ). As in the previous period, there are motor themes that are right in the line that divides this quadrant with the basic themes or with the peripheral themes. At the border with the basic issues is a social-exchange , which is an evolution of normative-commitment , a theme inherited from the previous period, which retains virtually its range of density and centrality. With respect to its thematic network, it is interesting to highlight that, due to its evolution, it constitutes a line of research that seems to be consolidating, in addition to the normative commitment, toward issues related to the affective-organizational commitment and the importance of the perception of the organizational support, the role of the leader or the organizational trust, the professional commitment or the behavior of the citizenship. On the other hand, human-resource-management appears for the first time and does it as a work evolution,—in the previous period it was considered as a emerging topic — with topics about the management and retention of talent. With respect to the basic issues, consequences , turnover and breach appear, the first comes from the previous period as an evolution of job-insecurity , located among the peripheral issues. In the quadrant of the basic themes there are three clusters that appear for the first time and that have no link with themes in previous periods; personality , millennials and employability , have a considerable density and could become future driving themes that point to lines of research related to work attitudes, self-esteem, organizational commitment and the perspective of the psychological contract in the new generations, the exchange of knowledge or work opportunities. Finally, with respect to emerging issues ( Table 7 ), moderating-role appears for the first time, with publications analyzing the importance of organizational support in job insecurity and in performance or the role of cultural values in the psychological contract.

Figure 8. Strategic map 2015–2018. Prepared by the authors on the basis of SciMAT data.

Table 7. Cluster period 2015–2018.

In the thematic network of organizational-commitment as the main driving theme ( Figure 8 ), it maintains the most intense relationship with the psychological-contract , on the other hand, there is an important connection between both themes and job-satisfaction. Other subjects among which it is related with certain intensity are psychological-contract-breach, performance, work, citizenship-behavior, turnover-intention or meta-analysis —than also appears in this period.

The five publications with the most impact between 2015 and 2018 are; (i) Deery and Jago (2015) , Revisiting Talent Management, Work-life Balance And Retention Strategies , (times cited: 45); (ii) Ng (2015) , The Incremental Validity Of Organizational Commitment, Organizational Trust, And Organizational Identification , (times cited: 29); (iii) Choi et al. (2015) , Understanding Organizational Commitment: A Meta-analytic Examination Of The Roles Of The Five-factor Model Of Personality And Culture , (times cited: 27); (iv) Vander Elst et al. (2016) , Perceived Control And Psychological Contract Breach As Explanations Of The Relationships Between Job Insecurity, Job Strain And Coping Reactions: Towards A Theoretical Integration , (times cited: 24); (v) Solinger et al. (2016) , Bouncing Back From Psychological Contract Breach: How Commitment Recovers Over Time , (times cited: 23).

We start from the idea that this work does not intend to carry out a revision of the literature in a deep and systematic way. The methodology used leads us to make visible, in a longitudinal and relational way, how the topics related to psychological contract and organizational commitment have been developed throughout time, and to detect which topics have been leading the literature. This work provides a new perspective on the nexus of these two theoretical constructs related to organizational behavior and sheds light on the issues that have occupied more central positions and which have had a greater density, also providing information on the levels of quality of research (h-index), authors and journals that have been interested in the subject and what level of specialization they have had. This methodological approach also makes it possible to know the state of the subject, in terms of the degree of maturity or saturation, where the research is headed and what spaces have not yet been addressed.

With respect to the findings found in the sample analyzed, it is confirmed that there are key aspects within the axis of psychological contract and organizational commitment that the literature has studied extensively, such as normative commitment, social interchange, violation of the psychological contract, job satisfaction, justice, job insecurity, organizational citizen behavior, performance, or the intention to leave work ( Porter et al., 1998 ; Cassar, 2001 ; Coyle-Shapiro and Kessler, 2002 ; Topa and Morales, 2005 ; Betanzos and Paz, 2007 ; Coyle-Shapiro et al., 2019 ). However, there are other themes that, although they may have sufficient entity in the research of either construct independently (psychological contract and organizational commitment), have not been developed from the perspective of the relationship between the two, lacking sufficient centrality and density to represent a cluster and, as a consequence, to position itself as a driving theme and set a trend. Therefore, it is considered that they have not yet been developed or are in an embryonic phase. Hence, we find research such as the analysis of psychological contracts with a strong ideological charge and their relationship with the public sector; the analysis of the organizational context in aspects such as the restructuring and reduction of organizations; how factors oriented to internal third parties (supervisors or colleagues) or external third parties (unions or clients) affect them; analysis of how intercultural differences or horizontal-individualist or vertical-collectivist cultures may affect the perception of the breach of psychological contract; or analysis of demographic variables such as employment status, professional category, age, or gender ( Rousseau, 1995 ; Turnley and Feldman, 1999 ; Costa et al., 2017 ; Coyle-Shapiro et al., 2019 ).

The literature related to psychological contract and organizational commitment has been producing work independently, providing valuable knowledge in order to better address efficiency within the organizational context. The objective of this work was to know more about the literature of these concepts, that is, to give visibility to the lines of research that try to explain, from all possible perspectives and approaches, what effects the psychological contract has on organizational commitment and both on HR management in organizations.

From the results of this work, it can be inferred that there is indeed an important scientific production that relates the concepts of psychological contract and organizational commitment. This begins at the beginning of the nineties of the last century, in an insignificant way and it is not until 2005 when interest in this subject really takes hold. The most fruitful years in terms of the number of works were between 2006 and 2016, where 72% of the entire sample was concentrated. It should be noted that the publications analyzed belong mostly to journals of the first and second quartile of Social Science Citation Index ( SSCI ) and Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED) , which gives the subject a certain level of relevance, however, none of the journals represents more than 10% of published articles, which shows that there is no specialization of the subject by any of them. In terms of production by country, researchers from the United States of America with 58 documents and England with 24 represent more than 37% of the published works.

The results suggest that the basis of research on psychological contract and organizational commitment has been developed, and that, in recent years, issues have emerged that are beginning to consolidate as lines that focus on more current needs or sensitivities. However, there are research trends in psychological contract and organizational engagement that, although they are likely to begin to obtain results independently, in the field of study between the two constructs (see section “Discussion”), they are not relevant.

From the longitudinal perspective, between 1994 and 2004, psychological contract is positioned as a topic with greater density and centrality, however, from 2005, organizational commitment takes over with strength and distance progressively. At the same time, they have survived over time with different issues such as the sense of justice, the perception of obligations within the framework of the psychological contract and its violation, the normative commitment or the management of human resources. Job insecurity, sometimes as a peripheral issue and sometimes as a basic issue, has been part of the focus of the central theme. With some distance, it has also happened to the study of performance or behavior. In the last period, works oriented toward a more current social demand emerge, such as employability or the study of new generations (millennials and generation-Y) focused on organizational commitment, satisfaction or the retention of talent which, due to their density, are well developed and which could end up being driving themes in the future; however, the development of other themes, which are currently also especially sensitive, such as the management of diversity and gender equality, is missed.

It must be recognized that this work is not without its limitations. The 220 articles selected for this analysis come only from the Web of Science (WoS) database. This fact may unintentionally exclude important contributions that have been made in other sources, however, the results obtained indicate that the sample used has been sufficiently large. Neither have those studies published in non-academic journals or books been included in the analysis carried out, although they have been taken into account in the introduction and approach to the research.

Future Research

Future publications should be oriented toward the development of works that continue the investigation of topics that have emerged in recent years and that are related to current socio-economic change, such as new generations and the retention of talent, and among other topics. It would also be necessary to delve into certain topics that have not shown a significant presence and that we consider important as sensitive issues, such as the management of diversity or gender equality in relation to the psychological contract and organizational commitment, as well as the development of the psychological contract with a strong ideological charge and its relationship with the normative commitment, or the transversal analysis of how aspects such as certain demographic factors, interculturality or the organizational context affect and/or moderate both theoretical constructs.

Author Contributions

JH and CHR designed, performed, analyzed the research, wrote the manuscript, searched literature, analyzed, and verified the data of this article. Both authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments

We recognize the support of the University of Málaga, Spain.

• ^ The theme that preceded normative-commitment in the period 2004–2009 was turnover-intention, it was at the border between emerging or decadent themes (lower left quadrant) and peripheral themes (upper left quadrant).

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Keywords : psychological contract, organizational commitment, HR management, job insecurity, bibliometric, SciMAT

Citation: Herrera J and De Las Heras-Rosas C (2021) The Organizational Commitment in the Company and Its Relationship With the Psychological Contract. Front. Psychol. 11:609211. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.609211

Received: 22 September 2020; Accepted: 21 December 2020; Published: 14 January 2021.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2021 Herrera and De Las Heras-Rosas. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Juan Herrera, [email protected] ; Carlos De Las Heras-Rosas, [email protected]

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Psychology of Work & Organisation and Personality Essay

Theoretical background, theories about personality and intelligence, behavior and performance at work.

The quality of work in organizations may be predetermined by a variety of factors. Despite the existing options, knowledge, and resources, human resources remain one of the most critical aspects of work engagement and results. Therefore, much attention is usually paid to such a field as the psychology of work and organizations that aims at analyzing labor practices, improving working conditions, and evaluating human relationships. To succeed in organizational psychology, one should properly define all the necessary terms.

According to Leutner and Chamorro-Premuzic (2018), personality and intelligence are concepts with a long history, starting from the emergence of industrial-organizational psychology and following recent technological and social changes. In this paper, employee behaviors and performance at work will be discussed through the prism of the existing theories of intelligence and personality and other important aspects of organizational psychology. Modern companies get access to different resources and experiences within the global framework to achieve positive organizational outcomes and success. Work engagement, personality traits, and the level of intelligence are the elements of workplace behavior that determine the potential progress and organizational development, and good leaders must apply these concepts properly.

Intelligence Definition

Individual differences play an important role in career building, and psychologists offer using personality and intelligence as the concepts for consideration. Intelligence is one of such differences in human resource management and organizational psychology (Scherbaum & Goldstein, 2015). The investigation by Burton (2018) shows that there is no common definition of intelligence in organizational psychology. Intelligence may be interpreted as the ability or a range of cognitive skills to learn and understand things, find reasons, or recognize and solve problems (Burton, 2018; Leutner & Chamorro-Premuzic, 2018; Scherbaum & Goldstein, 2015). When this term was frequently applied in the workplace and psychology, more work was done, and new alternatives were introduced, focusing on personal priorities and values. For example, in the 1990s, emotional intelligence was coined as a term to explain the company’s success as a result of thoroughly developed personal qualities, self-control, and cooperation (DeLeon, 2015). It is also known as intelligence quotient (IQ) or emotional quotient (EQ), and high rates and qualifications are frequently appreciated to keep employees motivated and promote growth. Nowadays, people are free to improve their skills and knowledge, and their personal beliefs influence workplace behavior.

Personality Definition

Personality is another psychological factor with the help of which managers are understood, trained, and selected. According to Leutner and Chamorro-Premuzic (2018), personality is one of the major determinants of employability and an indicator of effectiveness in the workplace. As a rule, several people with different views, interests, and skills have to work within the same team and demonstrate multiple approaches to come to a commonly required conclusion. It is not enough to manage the work of people but also to recognize their personalities and react properly. The promotion of positive emotions, employees’ enthusiasm, and effective leadership are based on personality types and characteristics (Cooper & Robertson, 2018). Besides, personality tests are applied to training and cooperation and developed to identify the type of a person and his or her predisposition to a certain type of work (Lundgren, Kroon, & Poell, 2017). There is a strong relationship between emotional intelligence and personality traits, as well as their impact on job satisfaction and cognitive abilities (Miao, Humphrey, & Qian, 2016). This connection cannot be ignored and has to be evaluated from different perspectives.

Some many theories and models develop and contrast arguments about intelligence and personality. For example, the conservation of resources (COR) theory states that people find it necessary to invest in personal resources, predict potential problems, and enlarge their gain (Akhtar, Boustani, Tsivrikos, & Chamorro-Premuzic, 2015). This theory proves the importance of personality traits and intelligence for organizational success. The workplace behavior can be predetermined by personality, and Big Five trait theory is one of the best options to identify the required traits as innate dispositions (Stajkovic, Bandura, Locke, Lee, & Sergent, 2018). According to this psychological model, five main behavioral clusters, including “conscientiousness, agreeableness, extroversion/introversion, openness to experience, and emotional stability”, should be assessed (Stajkovic et al., 2018, p. 238). It turns out to be a strong framework where weaknesses, strengths, and opportunities for a company, as well as every employee, are observed. Finally, the social-cognitive approach to personality assessment emphasizes the significance of cognitive processes in personality development (Stajkovic et al., 2018). The chosen theories prove the connection between intelligence and personality as psychological factors and traits that may be either inherent or obtained.

In any workplace, the choice of processes, the number of decisions, and the level of professionalism depend on people and their readiness to communicate and cooperate. When one person does a huge amount of work just because of his or her knowledge or experience, such leadership can hardly be effective. Therefore, workplace behaviors must be related to personality tests and intelligence levels. Personality determines human behaviors, and Big Five traits influence workplace relationships (Stajkovic et al., 2018). For example, when conscientiousness is inherent to or properly developed in a person, self-discipline and readiness to work are promoted in a company, and individual behaviors do not become a problem anymore. When such a factor as agreeableness is identified as a critical personality trait, a leader can involve as many employees as possible, increase consistency, and motivate people. The same theory enhances openness and emotional stability as the factors of organizational behavior (Stajkovic et al., 2018). People would like to work and achieve good results when they know each other and understand at least their basic duties.

Another important aspect of workplace behavior is the assessment of people and their participation in organizational improvement through tests. An effective understanding of personality should contribute to organizational life and the identification of successful development initiatives (Lundgren et al., 2017). Self-evaluations help to measure personal qualities and choose the direction that corresponds to the expected career-related outcomes (Leutner & Chamorro-Premuzic, 2018). People have enough knowledge about their skills and the skills of other colleagues, so they can focus on their tasks, duties, and clients. As a result, job performance is improved, collaboration is promoted, and benefits are achieved.

Being a complex and ambiguously defined psychological concept, intelligence remains an influential factor in organizational development. Intelligence never presupposes the presence or absence of one or several qualities but includes a combination of multiple skills that enhance job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover ratings (Miao et al., 2016). On the one hand, it is expected that intelligent employees know how to regulate their emotions, share their knowledge, and control their behaviors. On the other hand, intelligent people understand the causes and outcomes of their actions and do not find it necessary to leave organizations without any serious reason. Therefore, the level of unnecessary and harmful turnover and frequently changed cultures and visions may be predicted and avoided.

Satisfied and properly educated employees, regular clients, and a high-quality exchange of information are the signs of a well-developed organization. These indicators can be achieved when a team is correctly led and guided. However, there are also situations when people do not possess the required number of skills or need additional training and support. Social cognition shows how a person may become intelligent by implementing new tactics and learning from experts (Stajkovic et al., 2018). Taking into consideration the possibility of various approaches, performance at work is a changeable variable, and several approved ways may be chosen for analysis. It is possible to learn and gain new knowledge or focus on the obtained skills and succeed in self-improvement. Still, individuals’ behaviors are determined not only by the personality and intelligence of employees, but also by the quality of leadership, awards, organizational culture, and other factors. The psychology of work and organization is a complex concept with multiple alternatives and options.

Organizational psychologists tend to present new principles and measurements to identify and solve problems, understand the worth of development, and manage employees. In this paper, personality and intelligence were the concepts to predict the level of job performance and frame a working process. An understanding of habitual behaviors is closely related to theoretical frameworks presented by different researchers, philosophers, and psychologists. Many qualities need to be developed in people either from their birth (inherent skills) or with time (gained skills). Today, employers are interested in the improvement of employees’ knowledge and abilities to find more new clients, decrease turnover ratings, or improve collaboration within an organization. In this paper, three major theories (Big Five traits, social cognition, and the conservation of resources) were identified as a part of the framework in terms of which teams learn what they can do to succeed in job performance. Sometimes, it is difficult to assess personal skills and comprehend what work should be done. Therefore, recommendations usually include both self-assessment and mutual evaluations that determine and explain human behaviors in the workplace.

Akhtar, R., Boustani, L., Tsivrikos, D., & Chamorro-Premuzic, T. (2015). The engageable personality: Personality and trait EI as predictors of work engagement. Personality and Individual Differences, 73 , 44-49. Web.

Burton, N. (2018). What is intelligence? Psychology Today. Web.

Cooper, C., & Robertson, I. (2018). Your personality type and how your boss speaks to you are more valuable than perks for workplace happiness. Independent . Web.

DeLeon, M. (2015). The importance of emotional intelligence at work. Entrepreneur. Web.

Leutner, F., & Chamorro-Premuzic, T. (2018). Stronger together: Personality, intelligence and the assessment of career potential. Journal of Intelligence, 6 (4). Web.

Lundgren, H., Kroon, B., & Poell, R. F. (2017). Personality testing and workplace training. European Journal of Training and Development, 41 (3), 198–221. Web.

Miao, C., Humphrey, R. H., & Qian, S. (2016). A meta-analysis of emotional intelligence and work attitudes. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 90 (2), 177–202. Web.

Scherbaum, C. A., & Goldstein, H. W. (2015). Intelligence and the modern world of work. Human Resource Management Review, 25 (1), 1–3. Web.

Stajkovic, A. D., Bandura, A., Locke, E. A., Lee, D., & Sergent, K. (2018). Test of three conceptual models of influence of the big five personality traits and self-efficacy on academic performance: A meta-analytic path-analysis. Personality and Individual Differences, 120 , 238-245.

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10 Industrial, Work, and Organisational Psychology

Peter Macqueen and Tony Machin

Introduction

‘Psychology is a science and a profession’ (O’Gorman, 2007, p. 1). And thus begins John O’Gorman’s book titled Psychology as a Profession in Australia . In presenting subsequently as a panellist at QUT in Brisbane during Psychology Week 2011, O’Gorman expanded on this by observing that ‘Psychology is about people’. He also reminded the audience – which included school students – that mental health is only one small, albeit important, part of psychology’s relationship with human existence. On the other hand, work is an integral part of life for nearly all people, extending over many decades. Industrial, work, and organisational psychology (IWOP) plays an important role in understanding the interplay between people and organisations, and even society, through the lens of work. It helps us understand the impact of work – beyond the economic component – and with designing appropriate systems and interventions. IWOP strives to enhance organisational effectiveness while keeping the wellbeing of the individual clearly in focus. The following sections will describe some of the different areas where industrial, work, and organisational psychology can be applied, and outline the role of professional organisations. We also highlight the wide range of work contexts where people can apply their expertise in IWOP, and suggest some suitable career pathways into this profession.

The discipline and profession of industrial, work, and organisational psychology

While the term ‘organisational psychology’ is used mainly in Australia, as well as in New Zealand/Aotearoa, there are several alternative designations in use elsewhere. North America, Singapore, Japan, and South Africa use ‘industrial and organizational psychology’, whereas Europe and Brazil use the label ‘work and organizational psychology’. In the UK, ‘occupational psychology’ is the term most frequently used, while in Germany, there is a section of the German Psychological Society (DGPs) called ‘Work, Organizational, and Business Psychology’. Finally, Chile has a ‘Society of Psychology and Organizational Behavior’. It might seem confusing to students, employers, profession regulators, and to elected members of the government that there are so many different terms used to describe this profession. We recognise that this confusion may have contributed to an ongoing struggle to demonstrate its impact.

It seems timely for a new, overarching term to emerge: industrial, work, and organisational psychology (IWOP). [1] In early 2021, a draft of the IWOP Declaration of Identity (Kożusznik & Glazer, 2021) was released following consultation with various participants and bodies over several years. The introduction to this Declaration states that ‘The IWOP profession is concerned with both individual work-related wellbeing and effective performance’.  It also claims that IWOP is now considered a profession, and that professions affect societies. The introduction to the Declaration continues with ‘IWOP has a responsibility as a profession to support difficult decisions at the societal, organizational and group level, so as to always ensure that workers and worker-eligible people are reaping benefits rather than harm, by their work engagements’.

The IWOP Declaration of Identity is expanded through the inclusion of ten draft statements organised around four major themes: communication, contextualisation, dissemination, and integration. There are various elements within each of these statements, but the key components include the following:

• We value wellbeing and human welfare.
• We bridge organisational science and practice.
• We ideate and innovate in all working situations and environments.
• We balance individual needs with organisational goals.
• We strive to employ ethical, evidence-based influence on decision-makers.
• We ask rigorous and relevant questions to address critical issues.
• We communicate broadly and are active partners in social dialogues.

The declaration makes a strong case for the IWOP profession to be recognised as contributing to all areas of work, whether from an employee, organisational, or governance perspective.

The development of the IWOP Declaration of Identity involves many organisations, and reflects the desire for global cooperation that is a very positive feature of IWOP. The Alliance for Organizational Psychology is a ‘federation of Work, Industrial, & Organizational psychologies from around the world’. The main members are four organisations: the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP), the European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology (EAWOP), the International Association for Applied Psychology (IAAP) Division 1 – Work and Organizational Psychology, and the Canadian Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (CSIOP).  In early 2020, the Alliance created a new global partnership called the ‘Big Tent’, and many IWOP societies around the globe have now joined the Big Tent, including the New Zealand Institute of Organisational Psychology, part of the New Zealand Psychological Society (NZPsS).

As of April 2022, there are sixteen network partners in the Alliance. Currently, Australia is represented only by the Society for Industrial and Organisational Psychology Australia (SIOPA). Formed in 2016, it’s an autonomous Western Australia-based body which is not part of the Australian Psychological Society (APS) and is not affiliated formally with SIOP in the USA. However, at the time of preparing this chapter, the College of Organisational Psychology (COP) – one of the colleges within the peak professional body, the APS – was not part of the Alliance Big Tent. Given the challenges and opportunities facing IWOP in Australia, as well as globally, we (the authors) believe it’s important for mainstream organisational psychology in Australia to make every effort to join the Alliance as a matter of priority,  initially via the Alliance ‘Big Tent’.

The final organisation we want to highlight in this section is a relatively new organisation: the Asian-Australian Organisational Psychology Inc (AAOP). This organisation aims to enhance the Asian-Australian organisational psychology identity and to promote cultural equality for Asian-Australians. This reflects a more specific focus than the other industrial, work, and organisational psychology bodies we have reviewed.

What does an IWO psychologist do and where do they work?

You can learn more about becoming an IWO psychologist by:

• talking with IWO psychologists – perhaps by attending a local meeting
• searching for information online
• talking with a psychology academic or careers advisor
• perusing texts (particularly handbooks – we particularly like the three-volume The SAGE Handbook of Industrial, Work and Organizational Psychology 2nd ed.) which provide material reflecting the breadth, depth, and growth of IWOP globally. The astute student will strive to secure insights from local as well as North American, UK and European publications, and even beyond.
• joining or following a LinkedIn group such as Organisational Psychology in Australia or SIOP
• reading the eight career profiles towards the end of this chapter.

Another useful source is O*NET OnLine . Not only is this a very useful online tool for career exploration, but it’s also considered an essential starting point for any work or job analysis. See the text box on Using O*NET OnLine below for some suggestions about how to use this site. While you’re researching this field, it’s important to note that IWOPs work under many different job titles. You’ll see some examples of reported job titles in the report.

Using O*NET OnLine

• Go online to www.onetonline.org
• Enter “organisational psychologist” in the Occupation Search box
• Click on ‘Industrial-Organizational Psychologists’ and read carefully, noting that this is all-encompassing, and that an organisational psychologist is very unlikely to be engaged in all of the tasks listed (there are 24 in total)
• Complete the O*NET Interest Profiler by going to https://www.mynextmove.org
• Click the ‘Start’ button under ‘I’m not really sure’
• You’ll see results that align with the well-known Holland’s hexagon model of vocational choice (RIASEC) and be able to explore recommended vocational choices based on your levels of education, training, and experience

The APS COP website (2021) lists the following areas of practice where IWO psychologists can demonstrate their expert skills and knowledge:

• workforce planning and role definition
• recruitment and selection (including psychological testing and assessment)
• learning and development
• coaching, mentoring, and career development
• workplace advice and advocacy
• change management
• organisational development
• measuring employee opinions and other workplace research
• performance management
• wellbeing, stress, and work-life balance
• occupational health and safety
• human resources program evaluation
• consumer behaviour and marketing.

IWO psychologists work in a variety of settings. While some are employed in government departments, the Australian Defence Force (see Chapter 15 ), or large commercial enterprises, many also work in academia and as consultants. Such consultancies can be small (such as sole traders) or much larger and comprised of fellow consultants from human resources, industrial relations, and business in general. Recent technological advances in fields such as personnel assessment and selection mean IWO psychologists may now be working with software engineers or data scientists. Research and consulting centres incorporated as part of a university are increasing in number. One of the examples later in this chapter  is from Sharon Parker, Director of The Centre for Transformative Work Design at Curtin University in Western Australia. The field of work design can be added to the COP list above and represents an additional area of opportunity for IWOPs.

This raises an important issue: the publicised impact of some of our IWO psychology scholars. On November 10 2021, The Australian released its Research Magazine 2021 containing a list of  40 ‘superstars of research’. Two of the five lifetime achievers in research nominated for the Business, Economics & Management category, Neal Ashkanasy and Sharon Parker – both IWO psychology scholars – share their stories later in this chapter.

Another key area missing from the COP list is human factors. The University of Adelaide offers a Master of Psychology (Organisational and Human Factors) , and several Australian IWO psychologists work as human factors specialists within the aviation industry and road traffic and safety authorities. One such a psychologist, Allison McDonald, the Managing Director of SystemiQ, shares her story later in this chapter. Human factors are also referred to as ‘engineering psychology’ (Rogelberg, 2007) or ‘human engineering’ (Landy & Conte, 2004). In essence, the field of human factors endeavours to align the demands of the work environment with the characteristics and requirements of individuals. This can be accomplished via knowledge of human capabilities in designing effective processes, system linkages, and training initiatives. The addition of tools and techniques to enhance performance also forms part of the overall approach to human factors or ergonomics. Furthermore, we (the authors) are confident that IWOPs will make an important contribution to the growing field of cyberpsychology. Dalal et al. (2021) outline how organisational researchers could contribute to the important area of cybersecurity, as well as how this could represent a new and challenging area of professional practice.

The discipline of human factors highlights key issues such as human decision-making and error management, and stresses that these are a critical part of system design. When we consider human factors, it’s important to examine how the person and the environment (or system) can interact to influence human behaviour. Kurt Lewin’s famous field theory (1951) summarised this approach in an equation B=f (PxE), where behaviour is described as a function of the person and their environment. The P-E perspective is also discussed in Chapter 2 of this book. The notion of ‘fit’ between person and environment underpins one of the traditional mainstays of IWO psychologists: personnel selection – a topic addressed later in this chapter. Further, several large global organisations adapt this approach through the mantra of ‘systems shape behaviour’, and some of these organisations are focused on the design and implementation of comprehensive behaviourally-oriented leadership and management systems (e.g., Macdonald, Burke & Stewart, 2006).

The history of IWO Psychology: with an Australian focus

Kelloway (2019) claims the first two books in IWO psychology were Increasing Human Efficiency in Business (Scott, 1911) and Psychology and Industrial Efficiency (Münsterberg, 1913). In the early 1900s, economic and social trends resulted in a glorification of industrialisation and progress (Viteles, 1932). Any field that claimed to advance the interests and tenets of capitalism was widely accepted. We suggest that anyone wanting to understand the history of IWO psychology consult:

Koppes Bryan, L. L. (Ed.). (2021). Historical perspectives in industrial and organizational psychology (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429052644

Vinchur, A. J. (2018). The early years of industrial and organizational psychology. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781107588608

Koppes, L. L. (Ed.). (2007). Historical perspectives in industrial and organizational psychology. Routledge.

Vinchur (2018) provides a good deal of information beyond the USA, while Koppes (2007) and Koppes Bryan (2021) are very US–centric. The contributors to the 2021 edition are solely North American, as are the five testimonials in the book. Students can also consider the European perspective provided by Chmiel, Fraccaroli and Sverke (2017) in An Introduction to Work and Organizational Psychology: An International Perspective (3rd ed.). Similarly, a useful book with many well-known UK authors is Organizational Effectiveness: The Role of Psychology (Robertson, Callinan & Bartram, 2002).

Zickar and Gibby (2021) have developed four themes which they claim differentiated IWO psychology in the USA from other countries and cultures, while also distinguishing it from other disciplines such as industrial sociology, labour economics, and industrial engineering. These four themes are:

• an emphasis on productivity and efficiency
• an emphasis on quantification (and quantitative versus qualitative methodologies)
• a focus on selection and differential psychology
• the interplay between science and practice (this issue is addressed later in this chapter).

When reflecting on his highly productive career, Sackett (2021) noted the increasing tendency to focus on ‘organizational’ psychology rather than ‘industrial’ psychology. Industrial psychology often examines individual performance or agency and is more likely to use sophisticated measurement and quantitative methodologies. Personnel selection is a good example of ‘industrial’ psychology. Further, Luthans (2017), albeit an organisational behaviour scholar (i.e., an ‘O’ person), called for ‘dropping the outdated term “industrial” from I-O’ (p. 579). Thus, Zickar and Gibby (2021) needs to be evaluated against this background.

Feitosa and Sim (2021) provide a perspective on IWOP beyond the USA, but include very limited information on Australian history, and are incorrect in citing a 2006 publication stating psychologists have to register with the Psychology Board of Australia. This Board was only established in 2009. A more substantial discussion of Australian IWOP is provided by Hesketh, Neal and Griffin (2018). Bordow (1971), using a survey completed by 94 respondents, contributed an interesting snapshot of the state of the ‘industrial psychologist’ in Australia fifty years ago in terms of education, employment, and job functions. However, for a relatively recently published history of psychology in Australia, Buchanan (2012) provides a good starting point.

Vinchur (2018) claims Bernard Muscio was Australia’s leading early proponent of improving efficiency through use of industrial psychology. In 1916, Muscio ‘delivered a series of talks on industrial psychology in Sydney, which later appeared in print as Lectures in Industrial Psychology (1917)’ (Vinchur, 2018, p.163). O’Neil (1977; 1987) previously had elevated Muscio to pioneer status in Australian psychology. A Sydney graduate, Muscio undertook further studies in mental philosophy at Cambridge and then commenced pioneering work in industrial psychology in the UK with the First World War Industrial Fatigue Research Board (later the Industrial Health Research Board). Returning to Australia in the early 1920s, he delivered a series of lectures to the Worker’s Educational Association in Sydney, with the publication of these lectures being viewed as groundbreaking, globally (O’Neil, 1977). Vinchur (2018) noted that Muscio had once been an advocate of scientific management (Taylor, 1911), but had come to reject the analogy of the worker as a machine. Blackburn (1998), a lecturer in history, has provided a detailed account of the rise of industrial psychology in Australia in the period immediately following World War I, until the Depression era.  He noted that Muscio focused on the then drive for ‘industrial efficiency’ in Australia, and founded the Australasian Journal of Psychology and Philosophy. This journal promoted ‘using industrial psychology to promote efficiency’(p. 122).

The earliest formal structure for IWOP in Australia was probably the Australian Institute of Industrial Psychology, established in 1927 in Sydney by A.H. Martin (Clark, 1958; Hesketh et al., 2018). It appeared to be modelled on the UK’s National Institute of Industrial Psychology (which suspended its operations in August 1973 and finally closed in 1977). This genesis reflects the strong influence the UK (and subsequently the USA) has had on the development of psychology in Australia. Until 1965, the APS was a Branch of the British Psychological Society (BPS).

World War II acted as a catalyst for progress in applied psychology in fields such as selection and assessment, training, human factors (or ergonomics), and career planning (Hesketh et al., 2018). However, it wasn’t until more recent decades that there was substantial growth in the field of IWO psychology. Commencing in Melbourne and Sydney, management consultancies started providing IWOP services from the postwar years (Young, 1977) – particularly from the late 1950s onwards.  However, Hesketh et al. (2018) attributes much of the growth in IWOP to the reciprocity between Australian and overseas research units, and the cross-fertilisation of the knowledge and skills which subsequently flowed through to students studying IWOP in universities. Historically, psychology has differentiated itself from other professions such as law through its strong university and scholar base (O’Gorman, 2007), although this distinction is not as clear in more recent times.

While psychology has not always been at the forefront of changes in society, during COVID -19 there has been much greater emphasis on psychological matters. However, this attention has typically been focused on mental health issues, rather than broader behavioural and social science implications. A major activity  near the end of this chapter invites students to explore how pandemics may be better managed by decision-makers making more informed use of IWO psychology and related fields.

Through this brief review of the developments associated with IWOP in Australia, it’s possible to see that multiple factors influenced the growth of IWOP. The early trend for IWOP to develop in tandem with international trends seems to continue and may even be accelerating. Nevertheless, there’s one historical element we believe requires closer attention.

The Role of Fred Emery in Shaping IWOP in Australia

Fred Emery – regarded as one of Australia’s greatest social scientists – secured a significant reputation globally for his work on socio-technical systems (STS) and semi-autonomous work groups (e.g., Emery & Trist, 1965). Emery (1969; 1981) was a pioneer in applying behavioural and systems perspectives to the emerging field of organisation development, and he was the inaugural recipient of the APS COP Elton Mayo Award in 1988. Elton Mayo was another famous Australian psychologist and was associated with the classic Hawthorne studies (see Muldoon, 2012). The British Library provides a nice summary of Mayo’s life and these studies . Hesketh et al. (2018), in citing O’Driscoll (2007), speculated that Emery’s ideas may well account for the relatively large focus on teams and groups in Australian IWOP Conferences. These events – launched in Sydney by Beryl Hesketh in 1995 – have typically featured the most prominent international IWO psychologists and contributed to the growth of IWO psychology in Australia.

Pasmore, Winby, Mohrman and Vanasse (2019) observed that socio-technical thinking (STS) is likely to re-emerge given the advancement in new technologies (see Self-Reflection Exercise 10.1 ). The rapid rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning is likely to pose challenges unforeseen even just a few years ago. Further, the emergence of the global pandemic subsequent to the release of their 2019 article is likely to provide further support for refinement in STS theory and its application given the global disruption and the impact at all levels of society.

Socio-Technical Systems Design ( Self-Reflection Exercise 10.1)

STS emerged as a means of addressing issues in the British coal industry.

• Access the following article:

Pasmore et al. (2019). Reflections: Sociotechnical systems design and organization change. Journal of Change Management , 19 (2), 67–85. https://doi.org/10.1080/14697017.2018.1553761

• Look at Table 1. and the classic STS design principles – do these still apply now more than 65 years later?
• What about the STS design for the future (pp. 77–79)?
• Does the O*NET OnLine platform and content need to be updated to reflect significant technological change over recent years?
• Do you think the design and conduct of the STAR Lab is appropriate?
• Look at Figure 3. on p. 78 and note the design elements and the three levels of outcomes. This mirrors the tripod on which stands IWOP: 3 levels of analysis in terms of individual, group and organisation, but is extended to societal considerations.

Finally, consider Career Story : Making Work Better Through Evidence and Practice later in this chapter.

Is IWOP a Friend or Foe to the Employee?

Carey (1976) provided a critical perspective on how industrial psychology and sociology have misused the evidence from a range of studies, including the Hawthorne studies. He stated that ‘Mayo and the Hawthorne researchers had been frankly paternalistic toward workers’ (Carey, 1976, p. 233). He also challenged the work of Herzberg and his model which downplayed the importance of pay as a motivator for employees. However, Carey is not the only person to have questioned the Hawthorne studies, or the interpretation of the data. Highhouse (2021) – a US scholar critical of the use of intuition at the expense of objectivity in decision-making – revisited what is known as the ‘ Hawthorne Effect ‘.  In explaining the enhanced productivity of the workers in the original study, Highhouse offered alternative possibilities involving human relations and group dynamics, or even being observed as a research participant.

Zickar (2004) analysed the apparent indifference towards labour unions by IWO psychologists in the USA. In doing so, he investigated the history of sociology and economics, and concluded that the neglect of labour union issues by psychologists may be attributed to the lack of early, ‘pro-union’ psychologists, and a hesitancy in appreciating the existence of conflict between employers and employees. He also noted that his analysis would be enhanced by reference to research and trends outside of the USA. Kevin Murphy, a former editor of the Journal of Applied Psychology , acknowledged the increasing focus of IWO psychology on work-family relationships, but was still concerned by the narrow focus on the concerns of managers and shareholders, rather than utilising ‘a broader set of perspectives’ (Murphy, 2007, p. 22).

Perhaps a more positive picture is emerging in recent times. In a keynote address delivered during the 28th International Congress of Applied Psychology in Paris in 2014, Emeritus Professor of Organizational Psychology and Human Resource Management at King’s Business School David Guest presented a perspective which supported the view that contemporary human resource practices have enhanced both organisational performance and employee wellbeing. He concluded by noting that human resource management had provided a great opportunity for IWO psychologists to have a positive influence on policy and practice in the workplace. Nevertheless, in response to an article in the European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology , Guest and Grote (2018) remarked that they were concerned about undue emphasis being placed on individual agency in recent IWOP research. They argued for the need to, for example, look beyond analysis of the individual and focus more on job and organisational design for a diverse workforce. And, in another acknowledgment of the need to look beyond one’s immediate boundaries, they emphasised the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and how this could connect ‘organisational measures with regional, national and international approaches’ (p. 555).

Highhouse and Schmitt (2013) provide another perspective on the discipline of IWOP. They identified the discontent that has been percolating in SIOP for many years, particularly with the somewhat outdated name ‘industrial – organizational psychology’. They then proceed to comment on the various tensions that appear to exist in the field, namely: ‘I’ versus ‘O’, psychology (departments) versus business (schools), and science versus practice. However, these two ‘I’-oriented psychologists observed that tensions are not always bad, referencing Lewin (1951, p. 3) in noting that tension may be required for positive change. Nevertheless, the potential for tension between subgroups in work settings (for example, between management and employees), and the associated impact on IWO psychologists, reinforces the need for clear ethical guidelines. This is discussed in the next section.

Ethical Practice: a key competence in IWOP

In a session at the 28th International Congress of Applied Psychology in Paris in 2014, the incoming president of the IAAP, Janel Gauthier (Canada), remarked that the only element the various sub-disciplines of psychology across nations globally had in common was ethical behaviour. This information and discussion session was part of a lengthy project under the guidance of Sverre Nielsen (Norway), culminating in the International Declaration on Core Competences in Professional Psychology (2016). This document has been adopted by the two main international professional psychology bodies: IAAP, and the International Union of Psychological Sciences (IUPsyS). It has also been adopted by many national societies, including the APS. The Work Group – including two psychology professionals from New Zealand/Aotearoa – behind this important project continues its efforts, and an international conference is being planned for July 2022 in Slovenia. Representations and presentations from a broad cross-section of psychology sub-disciplines, and countries, are likely.

Key ethics resources for psychology students (and all psychologists) include the APS Code of Ethics (2007) and ancillary documents such as practice guides which provide valuable information and guidance even for experienced practitioners and scholars. As of April 2022, the Psychology Board of Australia (PsyBA) is developing a Code of Conduct to replace the current use of the 2007 APS Code of Ethics (AHPRA, 2020). In addition, the reader is encouraged to consult Chapter 4 of this publication. However, ethical practice should not be viewed as a self-contained segment within a course on psychology. Instead, it should permeate everything that we do.

In the area of IWOP, students, practitioners, and even scholars, can gain great value from The Ethical Practice of Psychology in Organizations (2006), edited by Rodney Lowman. Although it’s aimed at IWO psychologists in the USA, Lowman’s case study approach provides explicit guidance on how ethical principles can be applied in different settings. It’s very relevant to IWO psychologists in Australia. For example, in Case Study 10, he cited the example of a US psychologist who moved to Paris and failed to provide feedback to an individual client following an assessment centre involving psychological testing. This reluctance by the psychologist didn’t mirror the cultural norms in Europe and the UK – and for that matter, Australia. In reviewing this case against the APA Ethics Code standards, Lowman (2006) acknowledged the competence and ethical practice of the psychologist from a psychometric perspective, but this psychologist did not adapt their approach when working in a different culture.

We consider this issue further in Self-Reflection Exercise 10.2 below, which is well-suited as a group or class exercise.

Ethical Issues for IWO Psychologists (Self-Reflection Exercise 10.2)

Read Chapter 4   of this book, ‘The Essence of Ethics for Psychologists and Aspiring Psychologists’, by Tanya Machin and Charlotte Brownlow.  You may also wish to dive into Allan and Love’s Ethical Practice in Psychology (2010 ) , which provides some background on the development of the APS guidelines.

• How do these ethical principles align with Lowman?

Consider Lowman’s case studies (cited above), as well as Lowman (2018) in The SAGE handbook of industrial, work and organizational psychology : Personnel psychology and employee performance  (2nd ed., Vol. 1, pp. 39–51). http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781473914940.n3

The September 2021 issue of Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice also includes a focal article by Joel Lefkowitz on ethical dilemmas, as well as 11 subsequent commentaries.

Evidence-Based Practice and the Scientist–Practitioner Model

Gary Latham is a proud Canadian who has been actively involved in international IWO psychology for many years, particularly through IAAP’s Division 1 (Work and Organizational Psychology). Further, he has functioned as a director of the large US-based Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), with over 250,000 members. He is a co-developer of a highly influential theory of goal setting (Locke & Latham, 2002). In Latham (2019), he describes himself as a ‘practitioner-scientist’. In his 2009 book Becoming the Evidence-based Manager: Making the Science of Management Work for You , Latham demonstrated how the principles of IWO psychology can be applied by managers in organisations. One particular case study he mentioned concerned a workforce with 1,600 people which was not performing well across a number of dimensions according to the views of their employees. A new vice-president instigated a series of ‘measurable action steps’, which included:

• developing a vision statement
• conducting a job analysis (sometimes called a ‘work analysis’ or a similar name)
• selecting high performing employees based on job requirements (using structured, situational interviews)
• building behavioural appraisals based on the job analysis
• coaching employees based on the behavioural appraisals
• increasing employee motivation through goal setting.

In another section of this book, Latham expanded on the above and included commentary on job simulations, the realistic job preview (RJP), and the effective use of cognitive ability and personality tests (or ‘questionnaires’ – a term preferred by some psychologists) in personnel selection. All of the above initiatives are examples of evidence-based practice. These activities are typically grounded in solid meta-analytic evidence (mentioned briefly in the next section), with relevant research appearing in respected peer-reviewed publications.

This raises the question: To what extent do IWO psychologists operate in an evidence-based manner? British scholar Rob Briner is well known for challenging IWO practitioners to engage in practices which are substantiated by accepted evidence. Although most of his presentations and publications (including podcasts) appear to be related to evidence-based practice for management, he is also focused on evidence-based practice for the profession of IWO psychology. For example, you can watch his presentation at the BPS Division of Occupational Psychology (DOP) annual conference in Glasgow in January 2015 below ( Video 10.1 ).

Video 10.1: Why Isn’t Organizational Psychology More Evidence-Based?

Evidence-based practice can be considered alongside what’s known as the scientist-practitioner model. There are various perspectives on this model, but it has been discussed globally over the decades.

O’Gorman (2001) outlined the history of the scientist-practitioner model and positioned the origin of this model at a conference held in Boulder, Colorado in 1949. With a focus on training programs for clinical psychologists, it appears the representatives at this conference were almost unanimous in the view that ‘the training of clinical psychologists should lay equal emphasis on research and practice’ (p. 164).  It’s beyond the scope of this chapter to delve more into how the then views of science have evolved, but you can see Popper (2002) and also Chalmers (2013) for more information. O’Gorman outlined a further criticism when noting that supporters of the model in its purest form were dismissive of tacit knowledge (Eysenck, 1953; Kanfer, 1990).

Apart from identifying that practitioners rarely conduct research, O’Gorman (2001, p. 168) highlighted an underlying tension that has existed in psychology for many years – one based on observation, measurement, and experimentation (psychology’s ‘laboratory’ base), and the other ‘based on holism and humanism’. Psychology emerged out of natural philosophy, with its emphasis on observation. Grayling (2019), in the Introduction to his book The History of Philosophy , mentions the rise of science and the birth of psychology. He continues with a brief commentary on artificial intelligence, cognitive science, neuroscience, and neuropsychology, observing that contributions are continuing.

Thus, it’s perhaps no surprise that the scientist-practitioner model and evidence-based practice can be viewed and applied in different ways within disciplines, and across time and cultures.

The perceived existence of a scientist-practitioner ‘divide’ is an important issue that was alluded to earlier in the history section of this chapter when citing Zickar and Gibby (2021). This divide challenges various psychological societies (including SIOP), and this matter can emerge when designing national and international psychology conferences. How to balance the needs of scholars or researchers against the needs of practitioners? The potential for different perspectives is also evidenced in recent survey results (n = 557) of SIOP members on the topic of the rated prestige and relevance of IWOP and management journals (Highhouse, Zickar & Melick, 2020). One-third of the qualitative comments from respondents were directed towards just two classifications: ‘research – practice gap’ and ‘over – abundance of theory’. These recent representative comments (see p. 287) suggest there’s still some way to go to close the gap. Islam and Schmidt (2019) called for IWO psychologists to be less focused on theory per se, and more focused on addressing the applications of IWO psychology relevant to business practice. In essence, challenging fads and acting as ‘debunkers and testers of business practice’.

Should the scientist-practitioner model continue to be the basis of professional training in Australia, and is it an appropriate model for developing our professional competencies? In taking the views of Lapierre et al (2018) a step further, perhaps the establishment of a better-structured, coordinated, and active process for research partnerships between academics and practitioners and organisations would assist with ‘closing the gap’. This could produce valuable results for all stakeholders over time – and for IWOP. This issue is addressed in the text box on Evidence-Based Practice and the Scientist-Practitioner Model below.

Evidence-Based Practice and the Scientist-Practitioner Model

This is not an easy topic to examine, but it is important.  This exercise is probably best-suited to students who have completed at least two years of undergraduate psychology studies. It’s well suited to class discussions, with the structuring of the topic not necessarily having to be on an adversarial basis.

Try to access some of the resources mentioned above, and in particular:

Latham, G. P. (2009). Becoming the evidence-based manager: Making the science of management work for you. Davies-Black.

• Briner (2015) ( Video 10.1)   (You can also Google ‘Briner AND evidence-based practice’)

O’Gorman, J. G. (2001). The scientist-practitioner model and its critics. Australian Psychologist, 36 (2), 164–169. https://doi.org/10.1080/00050060108259649

Anderson, N., Herriot, P., & Hodgkinson, G. P. (2001). The practitioner-researcher divide in industrial, work and organizational (IWO) psychology: Where are we now, and where do we go from here? Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 74 (4), 391–411.  https://doi.org/10.1348/096317901167451

Search online for other materials via SIOP , BPS Division of Occupational Psychology (DOP), and EAWOP .  This should provide a range of perspectives.

• What are your thoughts regarding evidence-based practice and the scientist-practitioner model?
• Is this ‘tension’ necessarily ‘bad’?  (Consider Lewin’s comments.)
• Reflect: How have you tackled this potential divide?

Scientific Enquiry and Research Methods in IWOP

We now turn to the issue of how we generate new knowledge in IWOP. First of all, consider this question: Is your work experience a good predictor of your future job performance? Most people would say ‘yes’, and the more years the better. However, this isn’t supported by the meta-analytic evidence (e.g., Van Iddekinge, Arnold, Frieder & Roth, 2019). These authors found that typical measures of pre-hire experience are, statistically, poor predictors of future job performance and turnover. Accordingly, hiring managers are strongly encouraged to use alternative or additional measures when making personnel selection decisions. This is a practical example of the importance of research. Please refer to Chapter 3 of this book for more about the research process.

Earlier material in this chapter described how psychology emerged from natural philosophy, and with it, an emphasis on observation and measurement. Taking this further, Austin, Scherbaum, and Mahlman (2002) outline the history of research methods in IWOP. Although their entry could be critiqued for being too focused on the USA, and the publication of articles appearing in the Journal of Applied Psychology , it nevertheless provides an insight into the changes and increasing sophistication of the methods used across three key domains – namely, measurement, design, and analysis. In discussing a century of progress in the field of IWOP, Salas et al. (2017) reinforced the centrality of these three components to the field.

These developments have been enhanced greatly by advances in technology and computing power, and more recently through artificial intelligence and machine learning. New fields or terms have emerged, such as ‘computational psychometrics’ (von Davier, Deononic, Yudelson, Polyak & Woo, 2019). Advances in statistical techniques include the alignment method (Asparouhov & Muthén, 2014), which can assist in streamlining the process of revealing differences between large groups – including countries – on constructs of interest such as personal values.

Stone-Romero (2011, p. 39) identified three general purposes for conducting research. The following list represents a slight adaptation of his material:

• to assess relationships between (and among) unobservable constructs using manipulations or measures of variables that serve to operationally define the constructs – for example, establishing the relationship between general cognitive ability and job performance
• to determine the effects of various types of manipulations of unobservable constructs on criterion constructs – for example, the impact of RJPs on subsequent employee turnover (recall, Latham (2009) discussed the RJP in his evidence-based manager book)
• to determine whether causal or non-causal relationships between (and among) variables that are found in a study with a given set of units, treatments and observations generalise across other types of units, treatments and observations – for example, is a stress reduction intervention as effective for police officers in a child protection police unit as it is for surgeons in a trauma centre?

The claims of scientific enquiry can only be established when there is confirming evidence using new data. That is, the findings of the original study can be replicated. Nosek and Errington (2019), in examining the social and behavioural sciences, stated that across six replication efforts, only 47 per cent of the 190 claims replicated successfully. In 2020, SIOP established a Replication Task Force, with the brief to consider the establishment of an online publication devoted to publishing replications. Putting aside whether the replication is a direct or conceptual replication, it’s evident that this is an issue, particularly within social psychology:

The replication of findings is one of the defining hallmarks of science.  Scientists must be able to replicate the results of studies or their findings do not become part of scientific knowledge.  Replication protects against false positives (seeing a result that is not really there) and also increases confidence that the result actually exists (Diener & Biswas-Diener, 2020).

Where replication is in question it should not be assumed that an original study is faulty and that the latest replication attempt is better because of its modernity. Perhaps findings from the original study are not as generalisable as thought initially, but the original study was still sound. Has the data from the studies been analysed accurately, and within the bounds of the assumptions or limits underpinning the measurement model that is being used?  For example, when scaling data using what is known as item response theory (IRT), with its ‘strong assumptions’ about the nature of the data being analysed, it’s important that the variable under consideration is relatively homogenous – or internally consistent. This can be problematic when using powerful IRT-based techniques – for example, to evaluate between country differences on Openness (to experience), one of the dimensions in the widely accepted Five Factor Model (FFM) of personality.

On a related theme, Ioannidis, Salholz-Hillel, Boyack and Baas (2021) published an article which included over 200,000 publications in their analysis of COVID-19-related papers. Of the top fifteen sub-fields with the highest rates of authors, there are zero entries from the behavioural or social sciences. Although Ionnadis et al. (2021) generally welcomed the proliferation of published articles, they did offer clear warnings in terms of:

• ‘…the consistent finding of the high prevalence of low-quality studies across very different types of study designs suggests that a large portion (perhaps even the large majority) of the immense and rapidly growing COVID-19 literature may be of low quality’ (p. 11)
• ‘Such fundamentally flawed research may then even pass peer-review, since the same people populate also the ranks of peer-reviewers. Flaws go beyond retractions, which account for less than 0.1% of published COVID-19 work’ (pp. 11–12).

It appears concerns over false claims in social media about COVID-19 are not necessarily dispelled when consulting ‘scientific’ papers produced during a period of rampant publishing.

Putting this massive – and at times hurried – influx of studies to the side, scholars and practitioners can usually gain increased surety by making effective use of meta-analytic findings. Oh (2020), in citing Schmidt and Hunter (2015), describes the primary purpose of meta-analysis, a technique which is fundamental in much of modern research in psychology. With this analytical technique, existing research findings from primary studies can be quantitatively evaluated by reviewing correlation coefficients or other bivariate effect sizes. The opening paragraph of this 2020 publication took this further with the secondary use of meta-analytic data (SUMAD), citing Schmidt and Hunter’s (1998) classic review paper which curated, summarised, and tabulated eighty-five years of meta-analytic research findings on the validity (both operational and incremental) of many selection procedures. All researchers, students, and practitioners with an interest in personnel selection should be aware of this 1998 study and an important update by Schmidt et al. (2016) [2] . The study cited above (van Iddekinge et al., 2019) was based on a meta-analysis involving 44 independent samples with combined case numbers (N) of nearly 12,000.

Validity and reliability are essential concepts in quantitative research – and subsequent practice – in IWO psychology. For a useful summary of the concept of validity, and the process of validation, see Sackett, Putka and McCloy (2012) in The Oxford Handbook of Personnel Assessment and Selection , edited by the prolific Neal Schmitt, an early mentor of many current top tier scholars.

The above discussion is focussed on quantitative methods. However qualitative methods also are used in IWO research, particularly within business and management schools. Pratt and Bonaccio (2016) provided data indicating that 18 per cent of articles in the highly-regarded Academy of Management Journal contained studies that involved qualitative methods, at least in part. On the other hand, APA’s Journal of Applied Psychology published less than 1 per cent of such articles, reflecting its strong focus on research with a deductive approach encapsulating theory and empiricism (see Spector et al., 2014, discussed later in this section). Administrative Science Quarterly and Organization Science both had solid representation (over 20 per cent) of studies with a qualitative element.

Qualitative methods are an important part of psychology. Locke and Golden-Biddell (2002) presented a useful matrix comparing the modernist, interpretivist, and postmodernist paradigms. It’s not practical to discuss the history and philosophy of qualitative research here, but the following three qualitative methods, drawn in main part from Locke and Golden-Biddle (2002), are relevant:

• Action Research – This grew out of Kurt Lewin’s (1951) field theory and the conceptualisation of planned organisational change. The Tavistock Institute of Human Relations (TIHR) is a good source of examples of Action Research.
• Ethnography –  Informed by cultural theory, ethnographists can take a very personalised approach, using participant observation and unstructured interviewing as the prime data gathering techniques. Archival documents and various records can also be used, with technology and computer-aided interpretive textual analysis greatly assisting in recent years. One of the criticisms of the personalised approach is how the presence of an observer may change the fundamental dynamics of a situation. A ‘hidden’ observer raises clear ethical concerns, however. Margaret Mead’s (1928) Coming of Age in Samoa is a prime example of the ethnographic approach. Despite being strong supporters of applied measurement theory and empirical approaches, Zickar and Carter (2010) advocated a ‘reconnection with the spirit of ethnography’ in organisational research.
• Grounded Theory – With its association with sociology, grounded theory is very much involved with the study of life at work. Instead of developing theories prior to data gathering, known as ‘a priori’ theorising, models or theories are generated using an inductive process. From the ‘ground up’, in effect. Locke and Golden-Biddell (2002) cited a well-known grounded theory study aimed at exploring perceptions and interactions involving medical staff, dying patients, and families within a hospital setting.

It shouldn’t be assumed that inductive research precludes the use of quantitative or empirical methods – in fact, it can be quite data–driven. Spector et al. (2014) highlighted the shift from exploratory and empirical approaches to one which can be called ‘deductive theory-based hypothesis confirmation’.  In this special inductive research issue of the Journal of Business Psychology , Spector et al. (2014, p. 499) noted that ‘the field needs more inductive research to serve as the basis for theory’. These five highly regarded authors expressed a desire to see the pendulum swing back from the undue focus on deductive approaches – with a priori theorising – to a position where exploratory approaches are once again employed. In doing so, the development of new theories or models is likely to be advanced, and with it an enhanced understanding of behavioural phenomena. However, the focal article by Pratt and Bonaccio (2016) painted a picture of little change, with still limited qualitative research appearing in the top IWO psychology journals.

Other qualitative methods are discussed in Gephart (2013) and Wilhelmy and Kohler (2021). In a special issue of the European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology ( December 2000 ), the repertory grid technique is featured – a moderately popular methodology used in the UK. Based on the personal construct theory of Kelly (1955), one of this chapter’s authors (Peter Macqueen) has used this technique to supplement psychometric and standard interview approaches in vocational and career assessment. This 2000 publication also contained an article describing a semi-structured co-research model, with the two authors affiliated with either a local government centre or a business school (Hartley & Benington, 2000).

Generational Differences and Cross-Sectional Design

• Before reading the reference below, discuss in small groups whether you think there are differences in values between the generations: Baby Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y, and Gen Z. Discuss whether you think there are/are not differences, and why.
• Putting on your IWOP hat, how would you go about evaluating the nature and extent of possible differences?
• What are some of the issues you would need to consider in conducting this research?
• Now, read the following chapter:

Gentile, B., Wood, L. A., Twenge, J. M., Hoffman, B. J., & Campbell, W. K. (2015). The problem of generational change: Why cross-sectional designs are inadequate for investigating generational differences. In C. E. Lance & R. J. Vandenberg (Eds.), More statistical and methodological myths and urban legends : Doctrine, verity and fable in organizational and social sciences (pp. 100–111). Routledge.

• Does this change your views? Do you need to consult the literature further? Does it change your approach to drawing conclusions which are based primarily on personal experience? Is terminology also an issue here?
• Engaging in a potential research project? Third- and fourth-year students, and postgraduates, are encouraged to consult not only the above book by Lance & Vandenberg, but also their original 2009 publication, Statistical and Methodological Myths and Urban Legends.

Educational Requirements for IWO Psychologists: necessary? and sufficient?

Hesketh et al. (2018) concluded their chapter with a discussion of matters pertinent to the education and registration of psychologists who have pursued postgraduate training in their niche field, known as an Area of Practice Endorsement (AoPE) for registration purposes via the PsyBA . In Australia, there are currently nine such AoPEs, including organisational psychology, whereas there are only four vocational Scopes of Practice in New Zealand/Aotearoa : clinical, counselling, educational, and more recently, neuropsychology.

Hesketh et al. (2018) make a strong case for students to look beyond the core subjects as stipulated by the body which controls educational standards for psychology in Australia, the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC). It’s appointed as an external accreditation entity for the psychology profession in Australia under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act 2009 . On the APAC website, you can click on the ‘Students’ tab, then go down to ‘Pathways to registration’ to view a schematic illustrating the different pathway options. A great deal of other information is available on this website, including a listing of the current accreditation status of educational providers of psychology programs in Australia. Hesketh et al. (2018), and the chapter you’re currently reading, bring to light the changing scene in Australia. The profession is becoming much more health-oriented in this country, but this may also be a global phenomenon according to senior IWO psychologists overseas. However, it’s our understanding that other jurisdictions such as New Zealand/Aotearoa and the UK have less onerous or restrictive systems, while still providing adequate protection for the public. We agree with Hesketh et al. (2018) that this argument needs to be advanced.

It’s beyond the scope of this chapter to discuss the European educational system for psychologists. However, Lunt, Peiró, Poortinga and Roe (2015, Appendix 5, p. 213) outline the development and requirements of the European Certificate in Psychology – commonly referred to as the ‘EuroPsy’ – which is aimed at least at a bachelor level. Apart from the usual array of course content in the domain of ‘knowledge’, the EuroPsy framework for first phase, as it is known, includes (knowledge of) non-psychology theories from epistemology, philosophy, sociology, and anthropology.

Our conclusion provides a recommendation for Australian psychology undergraduates to study at least some of these subjects.

The standard of psychological science training in Australia is well-regarded.  Nevertheless, we recommend you consider the following:

• Where do you want to channel your talents? What are your interests, and even values?
• Is it important for you to call yourself a ‘psychologist’, or become an endorsed ‘organisational psychologist’?
• Plan to enrich your educational experience by pursuing non-psychology subjects.
• Secure some relevant work experience to assist your decision-making.
• Discuss your thoughts with a range of people, including those in quality business schools. But keep in mind that that some (endorsed) psychologists, after much effort and some early sacrifices, may be vulnerable to a cognitive bias related to the ‘sunk cost fallacy’ (Thaler, 1980; Kahneman, 2011).

For most professionals, postgraduate qualifications will be increasingly expected, and this trend is likely to continue. This is something to keep in mind, although it doesn’t mean you need to pursue the six years of fulltime equivalent study as a psychology student, followed by a period being supervised as a provisional registrant, unless you want to be eligible to be registered and have the endorsed area of practice of ‘organisational psychologist’. Alternative postgraduate pathways may be available, as outlined by Hesketh et al. (2018), although this is likely to compromise your ability to use the title of ‘psychologist’ or ‘organisational psychologist’.

But some employers can place more weight on the qualities of the psychology trained applicant rather than their qualifications or registration status.

For example: A leading psychology student at a top-tier Australian university moved to Sydney after completing his fourth year of studies just a few years ago. Now in his late twenties, he is a senior analyst in London, working with an information technology and services company with over 2,000 employees. During his undergraduate studies he had demonstrated outstanding academic ability as well as initiative, entrepreneurship, and good interpersonal skills. The Sydney consultancy recognised his talents and potential, even though he had completed only four years of university education.

The Richness of IWOP including Australian examples

Given that IWO psychology addresses issues at the individual, group and organisational levels – and even at a societal level – it’s no surprise that this is reflected in the vast array of publications available to those interested in IWO psychology. SIOP has been prolific in its publication efforts, particularly with respect to a range of books published via Jossey-Bass and Routledge. In Figure 10.1 below, 56 SIOP books are displayed on bookshelf, from Organizational Climate and Culture (1990) in the top right, through to Social Networks at Work (2020) in the bottom left. We recommend that all students start a similar library and build their collection of resources across their career.

Look closely at Figure 10.1 – you’ll notice an extensive array of topics, with books from more recent years reflecting the increasing importance and impact of big data and technology. All books are edited, with chapters from various authors addressing different but related themes, and perhaps adopting different approaches or methodologies.

Look at topics which may be considered non-traditional. These topics are revealed in titles such as The Psychology of Entrepreneurship (2007), Errors in Organizations (2011), and more recently, Using Industrial/Organizational Psychology for the Greater Good: Helping Those Who Help Others (2013).

In Using Industrial/Organizational Psychology for the Greater Good , there’s a chapter co-authored by Michael Frese, a former president of IAAP. He’s a also co-editor of the other two books mentioned, and is a good example of an IWOP scholar who has worked successfully at various levels with organisations and across countries. With joint appointments from Singapore and Germany, he has researched matters such as personal initiative, training, and learning from errors and experiences. In particular he has focussed on the development of entrepreneurship and poverty reduction programs in emerging economies, taking a scientist-practitioner perspective and an action theory approach .

In Using Industrial/Organizational Psychology for the Greater Good , there is a chapter co-authored by Stuart Carr, Professor of Psychology at Massey University, Aotearoa/New Zealand, globally renowned for his use of IWOP for humanitarian purposes. Another chapter is co-authored by Michael Gielnik and Michael Frese, addressing entrepreneurship and poverty reduction, and the application of IWO psychology in developing countries. Back in Australia, there is the work of Charmine Härtel. As part of her inclusive entrepreneurship program, Härtel recently released some fascinating and relevant findings in the fourth most influential journal in the field of management, the Journal of Business Venturing. This study (Mafico, Krzeminska, Härtel, & Keller, 2021) – conducted with one of her PhD students and his other supervisors – has shown how different intellectual experiences of migrants show up in the way they organise their enterprises. For example, immigrants who had early experiences of inclusion tended to balance social and commercial goals and staff enterprises with individuals from their host and heritage cultures. In contrast, immigrants who had early experiences of exclusion tended to focus on social goals directed at their heritage country and to staff their enterprises with individuals from their heritage culture. It also found that the cultural gender expectations immigrant women grew up with influenced the degree to which they pursued social and gender normative organisational goals. Härtel and her colleagues are now seeking to leverage their findings to help migrants successfully start up and run businesses.

Stories From Australian IWO Psychologists

The section above highlights some of Härtel’s recent work, with implications for migrants and business. The following reveals some of her background and professional journey, as well as that of seven other Australian IWO psychologists: four practitioners and four scholars in total (represented in Figure 10.2 ), although at times the lines are blurred.

Career Story: Emotions at Work

Neal M. Ashkanasy OAM, PhD  

My journey began many years ago when I first set eyes on a construction site. I knew then that my career would be in civil engineering. I loved maths and science at school and could not wait to begin my chosen career. I studied at Monash University because it was a new and exciting institution at the time, and I was not disappointed. My major interest was in water resources engineering, so upon graduation in 1966, I enrolled in the water engineering master’s program at the University of New South Wales, and soon had a job with the Queensland State Water Authority. My first job, however, was not what I expected. I was given a crew of 180 men (yes, all men in those days) and told to go out into the bush and build a town to accommodate 1,500 workers and their families! [1] That was how I first learnt that the main requirement for an engineering career was not technical, but people skills.

After 18 years in my engineering career, I managed to achieve some level of success, [2] but I became concerned that engineers – while good at the technical side of their work – were paradoxically all too often failing in the (all important) people management side. To try to understand this paradox, I enrolled in the psychology program at the University of Queensland, eventually graduating with a PhD in social and organisational psychology. [3] I also made up my mind that I would move to an academic research career to study how organisational leaders could improve their performance as people managers. I soon came to realise, however, that cognitive and behavioural theories of leadership failed to explain organisational leaders’ performance failings, and that this was because leadership researchers had ignored the importance of emotions in leadership and decision-making. After coming to that realisation, I decided to devote my research career to studying the role emotions play in organisations and especially in organisational leadership. Over my 35-year career as an organisational psychology researcher, I have managed to publish over 750 books and scientific papers. I like to believe that I have accomplished at least a little of what I set out to do, and that my work has been recognised by my peers, including the 2011 Elton Mayo Award for Distinguished Research and Teaching. [4] I am especially proud that my work has helped organisational leaders to understand that improving their emotional intelligence is an essential key to success.

Ashkanasy, N. M., & Dorris, A. D. (2017). Emotions in the workplace.  Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 4 , 67–90. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-032516-113231

[1] The town was the construction township for Fairbairn Dam, located near Emerald in Queensland’s Central Highlands.

[2] Chair of the Institution of Engineers’ National Committee on Hydrology and Water Resources.

[3] My thesis topic was Supervisors’ responses to subordinate performance .

[4] See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neal_Ashkanasy .

Career Story: Behavioural Economics

Phil Slade , Co-Founder of Decida

Following a relatively successful professional career in the arts as a composer for film and theatre, I transitioned to psychology in my early thirties. I was always curious about how music, sound, lighting, and story-telling influence people’s emotions and perceptions, and figured that this was a natural step in pursuing that curiosity. The role that emotion, cognitive bias, and awareness has on decision-making was the focus of my thesis during my Master of Organisational Psychology program, and I have never looked back since.

Working in the field of judgement and decision-making means my organisational psychological journey has had to cover areas such as emotion, behavioural economics, individual differences, social psychology, politics, and traditional economics. There are many fantastic books that can help you to start exploring this space, and my top recommendations appear bellow.

This mix of expertise has led to working with a raft of major institutions (most notably Westpac, NAB, Suncorp, Queensland Health, SunSuper, ASIC, APRA, The World Bank, Queensland Treasury, and the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority) to help assess and develop products and services that lead to better financial decision for customers.

My work is mostly a combination of presentations to boards and executive leadership teams, leadership and emotional intelligence workshops, developing and delivering ethical assessments of financial products and services, coaching for influential decision-makers, overseeing and helping deliver large scale change and innovation initiatives, and playing the role of lead negotiator in sensitive negotiations.

This work has also graciously led to many opportunities to write and publish. This has included two books – Behavioural Economics for Business (2016) and Going Ape S#!t (2020) – a regular column for Money Magazine , many podcast interviews, and being a regular commentator in the media generally regarding the psychology of financial decision-making and emotional reactivity. This part of my work is particularly satisfying because I believe it helps demystify key psychological concepts and helps make our society better decision-makers collectively and individually.

Through our work with digital innovation and transformation, we were able to develop products (both digital and physical products) that improve mental health and emotional intelligence. This has led to experimentation with artificial intelligence, big data, digital user experiences, and wearable tech applications. One of the most exciting developments is a check in and emotional ‘switch’ app that is being used in schools and workplaces to track and improve mental health and wellbeing and increase emotional intelligence. Bridging the gap between psychological insights and embedded behaviour change is immensely satisfying, and it all started with organisational psychology.

Recommended Reading

• Thinking Fast and Slow (Daniel Kahneman, 2001)
• Going Ape S#!t   (Phil Slade, 2020)
• Looking For Spinoza (Antonio Domasio, 2003)
• Freakonomics (Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, 2005)
• The Ethics of Influence (Cass Sunstein, 2016)

Dr Doug MacKie, CSA Consulting 

In my final year as an undergraduate studying psychology (in the UK), we got the opportunity to learn about the applied domains from practitioners in the field. Clinical appealed to me as I came from a medical family so the territory was familiar, and it offered significant job security due to the high barriers of entry and almost unlimited demand. Being accepted into the postgraduate training program in clinical psychology was highly competitive and required experience which I obtained as a research assistant on a project on the neuropsychology of Alzheimer’s disease. I was fortunate to be successful with my first application and completed the two-year Master of Science (MSc) at Manchester University in the UK. What really engaged me about the course was the applied component – we would literally be taught a subject one day and be applying it in a clinical setting the next.

There was no shortage of jobs available on graduation so I took the opportunity to travel for a year and undertook a locum in a psychiatric hospital in Brisbane as part of my trip. On return to the UK, I specialised in adult mental health and general medicine and moved relatively quickly up the career structure within the public sector in the UK. I was several years into my clinical career before I felt the dissatisfaction creeping in. Clinical training had provided a rarefied and protected environment in which to practice, but full-time work exposed me to the politics and turf wars that had been largely hidden. This combined with the limited vision of success – clients were discharged on symptom remission which to me seemed like the time to increase engagement, not remove it. Positive psychology held a strong ideological and increasing empirical pull for me, and organisational psychology offered the opportunity to work with those already high functioning to see if I could add value in that setting. The final issue that completed my disillusionment with the clinical pathway was the realisation that the over-reliance on clinical skills had not prepared me in any way for the organisational, political, and leadership demands of senior clinical roles. Levelised leadership had been completely overlooked in clinical training.

After retraining in organisational psychology, and enduring the obligatory time in a consultancy practice, I opened my own business in Brisbane. The erratic income and uncertainty of business development was more than compensated for by the autonomy and sense of personal responsibility that comes from both designing and delivering a bespoke solution to the client’s needs. It took me a while to realise the importance of purpose in my work, and helping organisations flourish and deal responsibly with the emerging climate crisis has sustained me for the last twenty years. Coming from an academic family, research has always played a significant role in my work. Driven by a desire to enhance the evidence-base in workplace and leadership coaching, I initiated a doctorate in strength-based leadership, really sharpening my appreciation of the literature and credibility in the field.

When I first considered my transition from clinical to organisational psychology (to which I have added health and coaching along the way), a number of senior organisational practitioners advised me against it, telling me that it was destined to fail. This was poor advice. There is significant variety within the domain of applied psychology and transitions are easier than you think. Modular training programs and specialist titles and registrations tend to emphasise the differences rather than similarities in the various areas of applied psychology. Taking a step back and down in terms of experience and expertise was challenging but ultimately worth it.

My final advice is to really reflect on and understand the costs and benefits of different employment models and match them to your career stage. Very few individuals have the business acumen to go immediately from university into private practice. Most will want and need to hone and develop their skills in the context of a supportive and nurturing environment that provides the essentials like access to clients and peer support. Do not underestimate the value of these opportunities in your own development. I am convinced that my own experience within the clinical domain – that gave me insights into the public sector as well as a deep and profound insight into human motivation, resistance to change, behavioural and cognition models of mood, cognitive bias, and human development – has made me a far more effective practitioner that would otherwise be the case. As I consider my next transition to environmental and climate change psychology, the confidence acquired in previous domains undoubtedly underpins the optimism I feel that it will be a successful and engaging one.

Career Story: Human Factors and Safety

Allison McDonald, Managing Director, SystemiQ  

Human Factors is a multidisciplinary field, drawing upon a range of professional disciplines such as psychology, biomechanics, anthropometrics, and systems engineering.  It is an exciting and rewarding career pathway, closely linked with both organisational psychology and cognitive psychology. I first encountered the field of human factors when working on a project with a mining research organisation for my Master of Organisational of Psychology thesis. I immediately enjoyed the applied research focus, and the opportunity to work with people and technology in complex and fascinating industries. Since then, my human factors specialisation has enabled me to work at an operational and strategic level with organisations such as Queensland Rail and Qantas in Australia, and Etihad Airways in the Middle East. It has also more recently provided incredible opportunities to travel and work with many different airlines across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East in a consulting role.

Human factors applies an understanding of the human sciences – including psychology – to optimise the design and operation of systems. It uses structured methods to understand the way in which people interact with equipment, their surroundings, information, and other elements of systems to perform their tasks. This understanding of human-system interaction is used to help designers to consider the needs, abilities, and limitations of people who will use the systems. The integration of human factors in design (often referred to as ‘human-centred design’) aims to make systems safe, effective, and comfortable for human use.

Human factors professionals work in a wide range of contexts, from the design of products and built environments that we use in everyday life, to the design and operation of complex high-reliability systems in industries such as aviation, rail, health care, energy, or process industries. Human factors involves working closely with the people who perform safety-critical work in these complex systems and environments to understand their tasks and the context in which the tasks are performed.

In addition to being involved in design processes, human factors professionals may work in operational settings focused on safety management. In this context, they help organisations to understand the factors that affect human performance – both in understanding what keeps operations safe and effective, and in identifying the factors contributing to incidents and adverse outcomes. Integrating human factors into safety and risk management contributes to safer outcomes by identifying improvements required to equipment, procedures, job design, training, and other performance-shaping factors within the organisational system.

Human factors is a growing field of practice, and as technology continues to advance rapidly, the focus on how people interact with complex systems will only continue to increase in importance. Human factors is a rewarding field of work which directly contributes to systems that better support the people who interact with them.

  Useful Resources:

Video: ‘ What is human factors science ?’

International Standards Organisation (ISO). (2019). Ergonomics of human-system interaction – Part 201: Human-centred design for interactive systems.  ISO 9241-210:2019(E). Geneva: ISO.

Wickens, C. D., Lee, J., Liu, Y., & Gordon-Becker, S. (2014). An introduction to Human factors engineering (2nd ed). Pearson Education.

Wilson, J. R., & Sharples, S. (2015). Evaluation of Human Work (4th Ed.). CRC Press.

Charmine E. J. Härtel , Distinguished Professor of Management, Inclusive Employment and Entrepreneurship 

I come from a blue-collar background, growing up first on isolated islands and a native community in Alaska, and later a small country town in Montana. My early experiences were of a collectivist society where I was a valued child of the community and oblivious to notions of race or exclusion, i.e., I did not know I was white nor did it affect my belongingness. When I left that small Alaskan community, I ventured to parts of the world where I was confronted with acts of racism and exclusion. It was bewildering to me to see how unkind people could be when I knew from the community of my childhood how embracing of diversity humans could be. This fuelled in me a strong desire to do work that encouraged the best of humanity to shine through. I decided to do this through obtaining a PhD in I/O psychology after vocational interest inventories I took revealed to me my interest in research and science, and that pursuing a PhD would be a good path for me to achieve meaningful work for myself. I/O psychology provided the ideal grounding to pursue my passion for supporting the employment and entrepreneurship of disadvantaged groups, as it coupled a deep scientific understanding of human behaviour with rigorous methods for studying it and developing practical actionable solutions.

Fast forward to now, and I’m proud to say I am a recipient of the Australian Psychological Society’s prestigious Elton Mayo Award for scholarly excellence, a Fellow of the (U.S.) Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP), and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA)  amongst other recognitions. The two research streams I have established have had both academic and practical impact.

The first of these – my inclusive employment program – has identified the features of positive work environments inclusive of all individuals (Härtel & Ashkanasy, 2011), introduced the construct of diversity/dissimilarity openness/closeness (Härtel, 2004; Härtel, Douthitt, Härtel & Douthitt, 1999), developed a human wellbeing-centred approach to HRM (Härtel & Fujimoto, 2014) developed a positive work environment toolkit (McKeown, Härtel, Bryant, Hanley, Kirk-Brown & Howell, 2010), developed a workgroup emotional climate (WEC) scale (Liu, Härtel & Sun, 2014), advanced understanding and practices of disability inclusive workplaces (Härtel, Krzeminska & Carrero, 2020) and Aboriginal peoples (Härtel, Appo & Hart, 2013), amongst a host of other things. Now, I am currently working on solutions to embracing neurodiversity in the workplace. Most recently, I co-published with a colleague and two of our research students a widely-publicised industry report on the findings of a global survey on autism employment. You can read our findings , many of which are myth busting.

References  

Härtel, C. E. J. (2004). Towards a multicultural world: Identifying work systems, practices and employee attitudes that embrace diversity. The Australian Journal of Management , 29 (2), 189–200. https://doi.org/10.1177/031289620402900203

Härtel, C. E. J., Appo, D., & Hart, B. (2013).  Inclusion at societal fault lines: Aboriginal Peoples of Australia.  In B. M. Ferdman & B.R. Deane. (Eds.), Diversity at work: The practice of inclusion (pp. 520–545). Jossey-Bass Publishers, SIOP Professional Practice Series.

Härtel, C. E. J., & Ashkanasy, N. M. (2011).  Healthy human cultures as positive work environments. In N. M. Ashkanasy, C. P. M. Wilderom and M. F. Peterson (Eds.), The handbook of organizational culture and climate (2nd ed., pp. 85–100). Sage Publications, Inc.

Härtel, C. E. J., Douthitt, S. S., Härtel, G. F. & Douthitt, S. Y. (1999). Equally qualified but unequally perceived:  Openness to perceived dissimilarity as a predictor of race and sex discrimination in performance judgments. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 10 (1), 79–89.

Härtel, C. E. J. & Fujimoto, Y. (2014). Human resource management (3rd edition). Pearson Education Australia.

Härtel, C. E. J., Krzeminska, A., & Carrero, J. (2020). Disabled persons in the workplace. In J. Syed & M. Özbilgin (Eds.), Managing diversity and inclusion: An international perspective (2nd ed., pp. 220-260). Sage.

Krzeminska, A., Härtel, C. E. J, Carrero, J., & Samayoa Herrera, X. (2020). Autism @ work: New insights on effective autism employment practices from a world-first global study . Final Report. Autism CRC. https://www.autismcrc.com.au/sites/default/files/reports/3-054RI_New-insights-on-effective-employment-practices_Final-Report_2021.pdf?v=29A0321

Liu, X., Härtel, C. E. J., & Sun, J. J. (2014). The workgroup emotional climate scale: Theoretical development, empirical validation and relationship with workgroup effectiveness. Group & Organization Management , 39 (6), 626–663. https://doi.org/10.1177/1059601114554453

Mafico, N., Krzeminska, A., Härtel, C. E. J., & Keller, J. (2021, May). The Mirroring of Intercultural and Hybridity Experiences: A Study of African Immigrant Social Entrepreneurs. Journal of Business Venturing , 36 (3). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2021.106093

McKeown, J. T., Härtel, C. E. J., Bryant, M., Hanley, G., Kirk-Brown, A., & Howell, A. (2010). How positive is your work environment: The positive work environment toolkit. Commissioned research and report awarded through competitive tender for Victorian Public Sector Commission. https://vpsc.vic.gov.au/resources/how-positive-is-your-work-environment/

Career Story: Resilience at Work

Kathryn McEwen , Global Lead Working With Resilience

After a career that has involved most facets of organisational psychology, I now specialise in workplace resilience.

Around a decade ago I started to notice an increase in the number of people struggling at work. Change, work pressures, and having to do more with less were the main sources. I became curious about how people could sustain performance and wellbeing in challenging work environments.

I started by searching the literature for work resilience assessments and found nothing that seemed fit for purpose. This started a journey of developing my own! I have since published three books on the topic and led the research and development of the Resilience at Work (R@W) Toolkit . This includes measures of personal, team, and leader resilience. It’s been an exciting journey to take my expertise as a practitioner and use it to inform research.

Now, a typical week focuses on training and supporting a global network of more than 500 practitioners who use my work. I continue to develop new resources for them and hold webinars and community of practices where we come together to share ideas and experiences. In five countries I have regional leads who work with me in supporting and growing our R@W Community.

To keep my perspectives and skills fresh and relevant, I continue to coach leaders, mediate workplace conflict, facilitate workshops, and work with teams in trouble. With constant workplace change, it’s important to continue to experience firsthand the challenges on the ground.

As a practitioner, it is humbling that my work is also being used in more than 12O university studies internationally. Resilience is very topical so there is a lot of scope for research – especially post-pandemic. In psychology we emphasise the science-practitioner approach and I have been privileged to bridge these spaces.

Organisational consulting involves marketing. It’s been an interesting parallel journey for me understanding brands, being active on social media, producing videos and developing websites and assessment platforms.  I’ve also had to learn all aspects of running an international business.

My latest venture – which I would never have imagined would have been part of my career – is developing the R@W Team app and dashboard. It’s been exciting partnering with technical experts to deliver a product that promotes team productivity and wellbeing.

Our work as organisational psychologists continues to evolve and we will never be quite sure of the surprises ahead…

McEwen, K., & Boyd, C. M. (2018). A measure of team resilience: Developing the resilience at work team scale. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine , 60 (3), 258–272. https://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0000000000001223

McEwen, K. (2016). Building team resilience . Mindset Publications.

McEwen, K. (2016). Building your resilience: How to thrive in a challenging job . Mindset Publications.

McEwen, K. (2011). Building resilience at work . Australian Academic Press.

Winwood, P. C., Colon, R., & McEwen, K. (2013). A practical measure of workplace resilience: Developing the resilience at work scale. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine , 55 (10), 1205–1212. https://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0b013e3182a2a60a

Career Story: Personnel Selection and Assessment

• Patrick Dunlop

I completed my masters and PhD in industrial and organisational psychology at the University of Western Australia (UWA), and prior to that, I worked for a small consultancy that specialised in assessing candidates for jobs. Since then, I’ve been working in teaching and research roles at UWA and Curtin University.

My research is focused on the psychology of talent acquisition. This area is sometimes called ‘personnel psychology’.  I am interested in understanding the processes involved with attracting talent to an organisation, identifying the most important characteristics in candidates, and working out how to measure those characteristics, and in making selection decisions. Sitting over these processes includes how the rapid adoption of technology is changing recruitment and assessment process, the experience of an application process from candidates’ perspectives (Woods et al., 2019), and how organisations can manage and improve diversity through better recruitment, assessment, and selection practices.

Most recently, I have been focused on how technology has changed the interviewing process. Over the last eight or so years, organisations have been embracing the ‘asynchronous video interview’ (AVI), which is where a candidate logs into an online platform using a device with a camera and microphone, and provides video-recorded responses to interview questions. The adoption of this technology was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which triggered a need for social distancing practices. It also offers many benefits to employers including giving reach to candidates from all parts of the world, and scalability. While AVIs do allow candidates to complete their assessments at times and places of their choosing, there are concerns that this technology does not provide a positive candidate experience overall, because the AVIs are highly impersonal, awkward for candidates, do not allow candidates to ask questions, and are seen as creepy or invasive by some (Likacik et al., 2021). Candidates are also concerned about how these interviews are evaluated, with many proprietors claiming to be able to use ‘AI’ or ‘machine learning’ to analyse video interview responses, giving rise to multiple ethical concerns (Tippins et al. 2021). In my research, along with several colleagues, I am working with an AVI provider to identify ways that employers can improve the experience of completing AVIs.

While this is just one example of where I am focused now, it is my hope that the research we do will help build an evidence-base for improving selection practices across the world.

Lukacik, E.-R., Bourdage, J. S., & Roulin, N. (2021). Into the void: A conceptual model and research agenda for the design and use of asynchronous video interviews. Human Resource Management Review , Article 100789. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2020.100789

Tippins, N. T., Oswald, F. L., & McPhail, S. M. (2021). Scientific, legal, and ethical concerns about AI-based personnel selection tools: A call to action. Personnel Assessment and Decisions, 7 (2 ). https://doi.org/10.25035/pad.2021.02.001

Woods, S. A., Ahmed, S., Nikolaou, I., Costa, A. C., & Anderson, N. R. (2019). Personnel selection in the digital age: a review of validity and applicant reactions, and future research challenges. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology , 29 (1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2019.1681401

Sharon K. Parker 

Much of my career as a researcher in organisational psychology has been dedicated to the creation of work that is intrinsically meaningful. This is ironic since various extrinsically-motivated choices led me to this career. Upon graduating with a bachelor’s degree in psychology at UWA, I took a research assistant job at Curtin University (which happened to be on work design) with John Cordery because its location was conveniently close to where I was living and the job met my salary criteria. Then, inspired primarily by the opportunity for overseas travel, I decided to pursue a PhD in occupational psychology at the University of Sheffield, UK, with Toby Wall.

It was in Sheffield I really fell in love with work design. Working with an electronics company in Leicester in which self-managing teams were introduced, I was astounded by the transformation I saw in the workers. To this point, I had observed that the work design literature had a heavy focus on outcomes like job satisfaction and organisational commitment, but this fell short of capturing the ways in which workers changed with good work. When the workers of this company became more autonomous in their work, they became more active and energised, more engaged and thoughtful. One of the people I talked to told me, ‘We’ve grown up, we’ve become more adult in our workplace’. I became a convert to the transformational power of work design, and I remain so to this day.

The importance of work design has heightened in recent years. Today, the global workforce faces many challenges, including a crisis of poor mental health (often due to excessively demanding work) and advances in digital technologies which can undermine the nature and quality of many jobs (Parker & Grote, 2020). These challenges represent an opportunity to create work that is optimal for human flourishing. This is the fundamental question of work design, concerned with the ‘content and organisation of one’s tasks, relationships, and responsibilities’ (Parker, 2014, p. 662).

Unfortunately, work design often does not receive the attention that it deserves among organisations and professionals. When things go wrong – like impaired productivity or job stress – most people do not ‘naturally’ think about work design as a cause. I see work design as ‘under the iceberg’ – a very powerful, yet unseen, force that influences the visible behaviours of job performance, absence, and turnover, for example (Parker & Jorritsma, 2021). My mission has been to bring work design to the surface, and this is starting to happen, helped by our SMART work design model we created to summarise the research.

SMART work is stimulating, mastery-oriented, agentic, relational, and has tolerable demands. I hope you get SMART work in your career.

Parker, S. K. (2014). Beyond motivation: Job and work design for development, health, ambidexterity, and more.  Annual Review of Psychology ,  65 , 661–691. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010213-115208

Parker, S. K., & Grote, G. (2020). Automation, algorithms, and beyond: Why work design matters more than ever in a digital world. Applied Psychology . https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12241

Parker, S. K., & Jorritsma, K. (2021). Good work design for all: Multiple pathways to making a difference.  European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology ,  30 (3), 456–468. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2020.1860121

Challenges and Opportunities for IWO Psychologists

  The following provide a mix of clear challenges (such as the regulatory environment confronted by Australian IWOP), as well as topics providing a blend of challenge and opportunity (such as with artificial intelligence). The fourth and fifth topics introduce the tough questions: How can IWOP assist, locally and globally, in dealing with major environmental concerns, or pandemics?

The first two topics have been chosen deliberately to lead the way in this section, given:

(a) Registration of psychologists – its significant impact on course curricula, and the whole IWOP profession.

(b) Test adaptation – it provides an opportunity which can be grasped by psychology, and relatively quickly, thus securing early ‘runs on the board’. It ties in with the International Declaration on Core Competences in Professional Psychology, as discussed earlier, societal change, and even with the Closing the Gap initiative of the Australian Government.

The National Registration and Accreditation Scheme for Health Practitioners (NRAS)

Over the years, the issue of the licensing (or registration) of IWO psychologists has arisen several times as a topic for discussion. In 2017, a special issue of Industrial Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice (a publication of SIOP) included a focal article on this topic, with associated commentaries from various authors.  O’Gorman and Macqueen (2017) provided a summary of some of the issues from an Australian perspective and supported the view that a dual register system for psychologists in Australia would likely reduce some of the negative impacts resulting from a ‘one size fits all’ approach to registration. A dual register system would be consistent with that proposed by the APA in its 2010 model of licensing. The two registers or classifications under the broad banner of ‘applied psychologist’ are general applied psychologist (GAP) and health service provider (HSP). An IWO psychologist who sees themself also as a health service provider should be able to register with the HSP classification as well as GAP. These two registers could have different requirements and restrictions, with implications, for example, for the use of testimonials in advertising or social media, or for course accreditation and curricula requirements, and even aspects of professional supervision for registration purposes.

It’s worth noting the views of IWO psychologists in countries similar to Australia. In discussing the licensing views of IWO psychologists in Canada, Zugec and Michela (2017) reported that a survey of members of CSIOP resulted in over 89 per cent rejecting mandatory licensing. Further, 21 out of 22 past CSIOP Chairs were also against mandatory licensing. [3]

Feitosa and Sim (2021) referred to the ‘identity crisis faced by many I-O psychologists in other parts of the world’ (p. 73), specifically identifying the rigorous standards for registration and psychology course accreditation in Australia. Some could well argue that these standards are not only ‘rigorous’, but also unduly ‘restrictive’ and inappropriate in part when applied to a discipline which is very much connected to the social sciences and other fields. The positioning of IWOP in the world of science and knowledge will be touched on further in the conclusion to this chapter.

In foreshadowing changes to IWOP programs, Hesketh et al. (2018) surmised that with ongoing adherence to the current NRAS system, introduced in 2009, future programs are likely to produce graduates with blended skills including clinical and counselling psychology. While not stated, such inclusion must lead to a dilution of IWOP content. The changes in the regulatory and course accreditation requirements for psychologists have acted as a catalyst for the development of university programs producing graduates having business-oriented IWO psychology skills. However, such a development, as Hesketh et al. (2018) observed, is likely to dilute the link between IWO psychology and the core disciplines of psychology. Certainly, as traditional postgraduate programs in organisational psychology decline in numbers in Australia, the number of business psychology programs is likely to expand. However, in Australia graduates from such programs are unlikely to be able to call themselves a psychologist, let alone an organisational psychologist. Unfortunately, this trend is probably too advanced now to be reversed.

Psychological Testing: Test Adaptation and Effective Use of Tests

A theme of increasing importance for psychologists in Australia in general (and not just IWO psychologists) is the need for a better approach to the use of psychological tests, particularly where the principles of test adaptation should be employed (International Test Commission [ITC], 2017; Iliescu, 2017; Oakland, 2016). Psychological testing is undertaken across many domains (work, education, health, forensic and so forth).  However, this testing has often included tests (and at times norms or comparative standards) which have been transported directly from the source country (for example the UK or USA), but without appropriate adaptation, and with inappropriate or unsubstantiated assumptions about what is really being measured – that is, the constructs. A rigorous approach to test adaptation entails more than just use of forward and backward translation techniques. It also requires an investigation into the construct equivalence and measurement or scalar equivalence between the source and target tests.

The need for good test adaptation is particularly true in assessing First Nations people, but language and cultural appropriateness can also be questioned when working within various ethnic communities, and where English is not the first language of the test taker. Furthermore, the test itself is only one part of the assessment process. Using a model (after Bartram, 2010) corresponding to that used in project management and human factors, an effective approach to psychological testing has three connected elements which need to be addressed, namely: Product (the quality of a fit for purpose test), People (the competence of the test user – often a psychologist), and Process (the systems and context associated with the test use). For testing with First Nations people all three are critical. The importance of ‘community’ and the cultural competence of the test user should not be underestimated. But as Byrne et al. (2009) observed, typically psychometricians are poor cross-cultural psychologists, and vice versa.

To raise standards in psychological testing globally, and to supplement university and subsequent training, the International Test Commission (ITC) has recently launched a four+ module online self-paced program.

For a summary of the history of psychological testing in Oceania, the keen reader is referred to O’Gorman, St George and Macqueen (2022). The need for much greater cultural awareness and accommodation by mainstream psychology is an important issue. The necessary development of cultural competence for IWOP practitioners and scholars started to be addressed a few years ago in New Zealand/Aotearoa (e.g., Bryson & Hosken, 2005), but there has been very limited movement in Australian IWOP.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Technology: An Increasingly Key Issue

Given recent strides in technology and computing power, it’s not surprising to witness the development of, for example, automated job interview systems, use of facial recognition algorithms to predict personality or other characteristics, game-based assessments (GBAs), automated essay scoring, and multimedia simulations to name just a few. Further, with the rapid growth in artificial intelligence, there is clear scope for digital footprints – such as a person’s ‘likes’ on Facebook – to be used to evaluate someone, particularly in employment settings. Rust, Kosinski and Stillwell (2021) devoted one chapter to this topic, namely ‘Employing digital footprints in psychometrics’ (pp. 129–151). The next and final chapter in this small publication is titled ‘Psychometrics in the era of the intelligent machine’ (pp. 152–171). The authors went on to call for legislation to be enacted to control the inappropriate use of AI. (Note: The authors are, or were, closely associated with the Cambridge Psychometrics Centre , and the early work of Stillwell and Kosinski was used in the 2016 Cambridge Analytica saga . However, they quickly dissociated themselves from any involvement in this nefarious affair.)

Technological advances raise key concerns around ethical practice, as well as ‘transparency’ and what is called ‘explainability’. With advanced AI – such as deep machine learning – it’s not clear how an AI system may produce certain results, given the ‘neural network’ at its core. The initial algorithm is transformed by the ‘intelligent machine’, but the initial training data may be biased through human error. You can read a short white paper on artificial intelligence on the Compass Consulting website (Macqueen, 2021).

This is a rapidly moving field, but the people and ethical issues highlighted in several comprehensive reports on artificial intelligence published in Australia and globally during 2019 are still very pertinent. We will come back to this topic in the conclusion to this chapter.

Environmental Sustainability

The issue of climate change is frequently discussed in the media and in popular scientific publications such as New Scientist,  leading to polarised positions. Some large superannuation funds are now critically evaluating their portfolio, with climate change viewed from the perspective of risk management, if not a potential ethical issue. This risk assessment includes the risk of litigation by individuals. The case of a 25-year-old Australian man successfully suing the then $57 billion Retail Employee Superannuation Trust (Rest) (which has over 1.8 million members) for not disclosing how it was managing the risks climate change poses to its investments is a good example.

Globally, psychology’s professional societies are supporting behaviourally-oriented programs to address climate change. A meeting in Lisbon, Portugal in November 2019 was attended by leaders from over 40 psychological societies, resulting in a signed proclamation in support of action .

Ones, Dilchert, Wiernik and Klein (2018) provide a taxonomy of employee green behaviour (ECB), referring to the ‘green five’. Further, the authors present a table (Table 16.2) summarising the meta-analytic relationships between individual differences and pro-environmental behaviours. Psychology’s connection with environmental matters is not new. The Essential Psychology series by Methuen included the publication Psychology and the Environment (Lee, 1976), although its focus was on the built environment. A more modern take on this is perhaps the emerging field of environmental neuroscience (e.g., Berman, Stier & Akeelik, 2019).

One of the practitioner stories above ( A Consulting Journey – Dr Doug MacKie, CSA Consulting ) describes a  psychologist’s transition from clinical and IWO psychology to environmental and climate change psychology.

Pandemics and IWO Psychology

COVID-19 has had significant effects on the world beyond that of a potentially dangerous virus invading human bodies. Various publications (since mid-2020) and the media continue to be awash with the behavioural impact on many aspects of life including, but not limited to, mental health and anxiety, increased substance abuse, working from home, and the effect of remote learning – particularly for school children and their parents or guardians and teachers. This is separate from the economic and political issues. Furthermore, various concerns have emerged in relation to the efficacy and fairness of lockdowns (state, regional, or local government area). Contrasting perspectives on ‘science’, the ‘collective good’, and ‘individual freedom’ have added to the occasionally heated discussion.

In a special issue of Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice , a focal article (Rudolph et al., 2021) was accompanied by sixty commentaries providing diverse perspectives. Some commentaries took the approach of examining the issue via a particular profession (such as nursing), while other commentaries viewed COVID-19 as an opportunity for introducing positive change during the pandemic, or to research the theme of leadership during a crisis, for example. An Australian contribution by Luksyte et al. (2021) approached the issue in terms of the potential to disrupt volunteering during the pandemic. (It’s not uncommon for ‘volunteers’ and smaller organisations to be overlooked in IWOP research.) The prestigious Journal of Applied Psychology has regularly published similar articles since edition 105 (8) in August 2020. Clustered in a sub section titled “Understanding Work and Employment in the COVID-19 Pandemic”, the articles typically reflect a deductive methodology and an a priori theorising approach .  It also appears that collaborative research with other disciplines is missing in the above submissions.

Ironically, a relevant publication appeared in late 2019, just prior to the onset of the pandemic. Steven Taylor, a UK clinical psychologist, considered the role of psychology in dealing with pandemics. Taylor delved into emotional and psychosocial elements, as well as conspiracy theories and vaccination hesitancy. However, the index to the publication doesn’t include terms such as culture, stereotyping (although ‘stigma’ is listed), work, behavioural economics, nudging, and decision-making.

A book edited by the renowned Cary Cooper (2021), Psychological Insights for Understanding COVID-19 and Work , has provided models relevant to the world of work (such as the Job Demands-Resources Model of Burnout). Several of the articles had been published previously. Nevertheless, with contributions from authors from several countries – including Australia – it appears to be a publication well worth reviewing in addressing some of the questions below. A parallel publication is titled Psychological Insights for Understanding COVID-19 and Society (Haslam, 2021). Alex Haslam, from the University of Queensland, is a global authority on social identity theory (SIT). This particular publication includes chapters related to leadership, politics, trust, exclusion, and a range of community or societal issues.

Two Global Issues: What Can IWOP Contribute?

This is a challenging final activity, designed for relatively advanced students most likely, and as a group activity.

Before commencing, read the conclusion of this chapter and review prior material including the eight career stories from Australian IWOP scholars and practitioners.

The two topics above (environmental sustainability and pandemics) are both underpinned, generally, by ‘hard science’.  (Although it’s acknowledged that some individuals believe some of the claims within these debates are overstated.)

Psychology has a role to play in how we deal with both issues, although it seems that the medical science field, and politicians, firmly control the COVID-19 agenda. The key questions for group discussion and research are as follows:

• Where are the ‘gaps’ between the current situation and the (realistic) future ‘ideal’ situation for both issues?
• What are the key forces at play – either enabling or constraining satisfactory resolution of these issues?
• How is IWO psychology currently contributing to dealing with these issues?
• How can IWO psychology contribute further in closing the gap mentioned above?
• Are there any models – such as Lewin’s B=f (PxE) – that would assist in some way? What about suggesting or designing a relevant research project?
• Do you see a role for inclusion of a Behavioural and Social Sciences Unit – with a seat at the top table – advising National Cabinet in Australia on COVID-19? Your reasons? (HINT: see www.sbst.gov . In 2015 President Obama established a similar body to assist US federal government and federal agencies.)
• And if so, what should be its Terms of Reference? What would be the structure, member composition and size of this unit? How would you establish the selection criteria for members of this this unit?  What would these selection criteria look like? And how would you select people meeting or exceeding these criteria?
• Would you have an ‘onboarding’ process of some form for the members?
• What resources should be allocated to develop and assist this unit?
• Anything else to consider?

(HINT: this webpage from the World Health Organization may assist, in part, in addressing these questions.)

Employment Prospects for IWO Psychologists in Australia

The employment data and prospects for IWO psychologists are not clear in Australia, with any relevant data collected by the Department of Health (or collected by Health Workforce Australia prior to 2014) overshadowed by the dominance of, and focus on, health-oriented psychologists.Workforce planning by the department probably doesn’t include IWO psychologists. In the USA, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics , just prior to COVID-19, had estimated good employment growth for IWO psychologists over the following decade, but the latest US projection is for only average growth. Health and school-oriented psychologists, however, are likely to be in great demand for a period.

Reliable data from the UK and Europe appear difficult to obtain without further research. And in the case of at least the UK, it’s difficult to determine the employment trends of IWO psychologists. As in Australia, there are numerous IWOP-trained individuals in the UK who may not be registered as occupational psychologists, but who perform a similar function.

The PsyBA publishes useful quarterly registration statistics , with tables in both MS Word and PDF formats. It’s difficult to draw firm conclusions from the data, particularly as COVID-19 appears to have produced a change in the mix of registrants. However, in reviewing the June 30 tables from June 2016 to June 2021 for those on the ‘general’ register (but excluding those provisionally registered or non-practising), the following statistics emerge:

• As of June 30 2021, there were 33,556 general registrants, 603 of whom were endorsed as organisational psychologists. This represented 4.1 per cent of the total number of endorsements. [4]
• In 2016, organisational psychologists represented 4.4 per cent of total endorsements, and this has fluctuated as follows over subsequent years: 4.3 per cent (2017), 4.2 per cent (2018), 4.15 per cent (2019), 4.2 per cent (2020).
• In broad terms, endorsed organisational psychologists represent about 1.8 per cent of the total number of psychologists on the ‘general’ register.

A clearer picture of registration trends for psychologists should emerge over the next two years.

However, it shouldn’t be assumed that the current endorsement structure will be retained, nor the current college system within the APS, which was mirrored by the PsyBA when considering endorsed areas of practice.

Regardless, an important point made by Hesketh et al. (2018), and with which we agree, is the not insignificant number of non-endorsed ‘organisational psychologists’ who are well-qualified, successful professionals who operate as behavioural experts, management consultants, human factors specialists, organisation development specialists, talent management or human resource executives, and so forth. Some are registered as psychologists but missed an opportunity to take advantage of the endorsement grandparenting window in 2010, and/or see little need to undertake a relatively time-consuming and expensive supervisory process – particularly if they’re already highly regarded by their clients, employer, or colleagues. The limited number of accredited supervisors with solid or relevant experience also limits the appeal for individuals who already are highly functioning psychology professionals.

Others may have completed an advanced or accredited postgraduate psychology program in the field of organisational psychology, but have not registered even as a psychologist, seeing little need in terms of their prospective career progression. And others may have completed a non-APAC accredited Master of Business Psychology which doesn’t allow them to register as a psychologist, but which can provide skills very relevant to the business world. Discussion of comparisons with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) or similar is best left to another forum.

IWOP and its future direction: Innovation rather than ‘tension’

  In updating the discussion about professional identity (Ryan & Ford, 2010), Zickar and Highhouse (2017) expressed concern about the increasing disconnect between IWO psychology (in business schools) and mainstream psychology, particularly about the reduced influence of (a) the experimental tradition, and (b) psychology’s strong focus on individual differences and their measurement. Other submissions in this December 2017 issue of Industrial and Organizational Psychology : Perspectives on Science and Practice questioned the positioning of IWO psychology in the future, noting the increasingly strong link between IWO psychology offered in business schools with organisational behaviour, and systems theory approaches. Consistent with observations by Hesketh et al. (2018), such developments have the potential to loosen the solid association of IWOP with not only traditional psychology programs, but also with newer fields such as the cognitive sciences.

However, it’s important to highlight what a well-trained IWO psychologist has to offer. We have what might be called a ‘unique value proposition’ with our focus at three levels: individual, group, and organisation. In taking a broader perspective, we can also consider domains such as industry, community/society, and country/region. Thus, IWOP has a strong connection with cross-cultural psychology, with the GLOBE leadership project providing a good example of such.

Assessment (or diagnosis) and intervention initiatives can be mapped against these three levels, as shown in the example below (after Lowman, 2016).

• Career assessment (assessment focused)
• Coaching (intervention)
• Role analysis (assessment focused)
• Tavistock groups [5] (intervention)

Organisational

• Culture assessment (assessment focused)
• Scanlon Plan [6] (intervention)

Accordingly, an effective approach could involve drawing on the offerings from traditional experimentation, individual differences, organisational behaviour, and systems theory, with perhaps more inductive research. This is likely to require much better collaboration between IWO professionals and other professionals, as well as application of Avolio (2017)’s call for a balance between rigour and relevance rather than seeking a seamless approach between science and practice. Such a call also brings into play the question: Are there benefits to having a moderate level of ‘tension’, as has been discussed througout this chapter? After all, such a dynamic may well lead to innovation and improvements in outcomes for individuals and organisations – the objective of IWOP.

COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of agility, adaptability, and innovation for individuals, groups, and organisations. While technology, artificial intelligence, and big data provide challenges and opportunities for IWOP (e.g., see Landers, 2019), the ‘people factor’ will still be vital. Further, we suspect a multilevel perspective will be increasingly required. Accordingly, the keen student, practitioner, or scholar would benefit from considering such an approach by reading a timely book out of SIOP: Creativity and Innovation in Organizations (2020), edited by Mumford and Todd.

Conclusion 

Regardless of the future of traditional IWO psychology programs in Australia – and the question about whether IWO psychology should continue to be affiliated as a subordinate body within the peak Australian member-based psychology organisation (the APS) – it’s important to look more broadly, especially globally.

It’s evident that IWO psychologists with the best employment prospects and career choices will be those with sound research and data analytic skills to accompany good critical thinking skills and well-honed interpersonal and communication skills – both written and oral. For those working primarily in research roles – including in a commercial enterprise – data analytic and research skills will be critical. Knowledge of cognitive sciences will also be useful not only in human factors, but also in emerging fields such as robotics and autonomous vehicle technology. Thus, an IWO psychologist may be working with computer scientists and software engineers, and König et al. (2020) provides advice to psychologists who may be considering such a work assignment. Taking this further, it appears commercial organisations are leading the way in introducing novel approaches in fields such as talent identification and employee selection by adapting emerging technologies (e.g., see Rotolo et al., 2018).

However, in a paper cited by Perth-based Patrick Dunlop (in the career story Personnel Selection and Assessment featured above), Tippins et al. (2021) raise clear scientific, legal, and ethical concerns about (at least some) such technology-based developments. This, in part, echoes an earlier call by Gonzales et al. (2019) for IWO psychologists to take a collaborative approach in working with computer scientists, legal scholars, and other professions. Responding to a need perceived by many, a lengthy joint project between the ITC and the Association of Test Publishers (ATP) has resulted in the early 2022 release of a 150+ page draft of their Guidelines for Technology-Based Assessment* for public review and comment.

Increasingly, we are likely to see IWO psychologists working in non-HR roles within government or regulatory bodies, as behavioural interventions are implemented to supplement the traditional legal and economic approaches. For example, in 2019, the Australian Financial Review published a series of relatively prominent articles reporting and commenting on the then actions of the financial regulator, Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC). ASIC had appointed an external ‘organisational psychologist’ to sit in the boardrooms of some top Australian companies, with article headings, unfortunately, including terms such as ‘shrinks’ and ‘board whisperer’. Based largely on a Dutch model, the aim was to improve the culture within the boards of such companies, and thus enhance investment integrity and safeguard the interests of all stakeholders, including the community. Travelling forward to October 2021, ASIC appointed a psychologist to work alongside economists and others, rather than (just) working in an OD or HR role. The appointment reflected the increased appreciation of the skill set an IWO psychologist brings in terms of research rigour, and knowledge of theories and frameworks to inform consumer-based interventions and policy. This  psychologist completed her dual Master of Organisational Psychology and PhD in Australia, gaining a range of supervised practice experiences before working for a period in research roles with a consultancy focused on safety culture assessment and change.

The US Department of Homeland Security also recognises IWOP as a STEM discipline (see Industrial and Organizational Psychology in the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List at Federal Register :: Update to the Department of Homeland Security STEM Designated Degree Program List ) highlighting the use of data-driven research and analysis to address individual and organisational issues that impact on organisational effectiveness and employee engagement.

Boyack, Klavans and Börner (2005), in providing a visual representation of the field of science, identified social psychology and clinical psychology as two related but distinct hubs. Employing a sophisticated approach to evaluating numerous citations in science-oriented publications, the authors noted the strong alignment between the social sciences and psychology, while also recognising psychology’s link to medicine through the field of neurology.

It can also be fruitful to identify those fields which are considered to be our ‘competitors’. In his presidential address at ICAP 2006 in Athens, Michael Frese nominated economists as ‘our’ major competitor. During his keynote address at IOP 2011 in Brisbane, Tim Judge – a prolific author in the Journal of Applied Psychology – also identified economists as our major competitor. In between these two presentations, Borghans, Duckworth, Heckman and ter Weel (2008) published a significant paper addressing economics, psychology and personality. Three of the authors had a solid affiliation with the prestigious Chicago School of Economics, with James Heckman notable as a 2000 Nobel Laureate.

Accordingly, a budding well-rounded IWO psychologist is encouraged to study a range of non-psychology subjects during their undergraduate years. Such subjects could include anthropology, sociology, economics, and business management. Those with a strong leaning towards mathematics or statistics may also want to consider these subjects, as well as data and computing sciences in general. In fact, mathematics is regarded as having at least an indirect or partial link within many fields of endeavour. Moreover, the use of data visualisation skills would be well appreciated in a broad range of settings, as a means of effectively presenting data to a non-technical audience. Consider also the future environment you may want to operate in – keeping in mind that several of our eight Australian IWOP examples have revealed relatively significant changes over their working life. And of course, your education – both formal and informal – shouldn’t end when you complete your initial undergraduate degree. Further, you’re encouraged to engage with conferences (local, national, and international). Physical attendence of international conferences can enhance not only your content knowledge, but also connection with people and perspectives from other countries and cultures.

There are many avenues one can traverse as an IWO psychologist. There is much choice available. The richness within IWOP is revealed in the eight narratives that have been provided in this chapter, from Emotions at Work (Neal M. Ashkanasy, in Brisbane) to Work Design (Sharon Parker, in Perth). In effect ‘people’ and ‘work’ are intertwined. And this is just a sample of where practitioners and scholars can contribute to the dual objectives of enhancing organisational effectiveness and individual wellbeing.

IWO psychologists with a strong set of relevant professional competencies, and an enquiring mind, will have much to contribute, and enjoy.

* This document is class leading in terms of its overview and rigour.  However, it is likely that bodies such as the APS Tests and Testing Expert Group will draw on this and adapt for local and more functional use by practicing psychologists, particularly where small scale testing is involved: as is often the case in Australia.

This chapter has been written by Peter Macqueen, Compass Consulting and Griffith University and Tony Machin, School of Psychology and Counselling, University of Southern Queensland.

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Copyright note : Permission has been granted by the Alliance for Organizational Psychology, and the International Association of Applied Psychology to use their content. No further reproduction of this content is permitted without prior permission from the copyright holder. Permission has been granted for the use of career stories from:

• Neal M. Ashkanasy
• Doug MacKie
• Allison McDonald
• Charmine E. J. Härtel
• Kathryn McEwen
• Sharon K. Parker

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Please reference this chapter as:

Macqueen, P., & Machin, T. (2022). Industrial, work and organisational psychology. In T. Machin, T. Machin, C. Jeffries & N. Hoare (Eds.), The Australian handbook for careers in psychological science . University of Southern Queensland. https://usq.pressbooks.pub/psychologycareers/chapter/industrial-organisational/

• Although the term 'IWO psychology' has been used previously (e.g., Anderson, Herriot & Hodgkinson, 2001), this is the first time a coherent and globally accepted term – 'IWOP' – has been publicised by a professional body. ↵
• Sackett et al. (2021) published a significant paper in December 2021 in the highly rated Journal of Applied Psychology. This paper challenges the corrections used in establishing predictor-criterion relationships in personnel selection. The authors conclude that current selection procedures are still useful, but relationships are not as strong as previously thought. Expect to see more publications on this matter during 2022 and beyond. (Note: Frank Schmidt died August 2021). Sackett, P. R., Zhang, C., Berry, C. M., & Lievens, F. (2021, December 30). Revisiting Meta-Analytic Estimates of Validity in Personnel Selection: Addressing Systematic Overcorrection for Restriction of Range. Journal of Applied Psychology. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/apl0000994 ↵
• This article by Zugec & Michela (2017) was published in the SIOP newsletter (TIP), but a nearly identical article by these two authors appeared in the 2017 licensing issue of Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice . It sits alongside the Australian commentary by O’Gorman & Macqueen. TIP is a valuable resource and recommended. ↵
• The figures in the endorsement tables published by PsyBA show the total number of psychology area of practice endorsements recorded on the National Register of Practitioners. Psychologists who hold more than one endorsement are counted for each endorsement they hold. Currently, about 93 per cent of endorsed psychologists hold just one endorsement, and this figure is increasing slowly as the effect of ‘grandparenting’ arrangements from 2010 is diluted with retirements, or as individuals decide to focus on just one area of practice endorsement. ↵
• Tavistock group (conferences) are likely to take a psychodynamic approach to working in groups, incorporating a range of immersive activities exploring both conscious and unconscious elements within and between people. ↵
• Scanlon plans embrace a multi-faceted approach to sharing and gaining of information and resources for the benefit of both management and employees, with high involvement and engagement. ↵

Industrial, Work, and Organisational Psychology Copyright © 2022 by Peter Macqueen and Tony Machin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Workplace Dynamics

What is organizational culture and why is it important, here's how to transform your workplace culture to skyrocket performance..

Posted December 9, 2023 | Reviewed by Ray Parker

• Organizational culture is the collective mindsets and behaviors of a company.
• A positive workplace culture increases employee engagement, motivation, and retention.
• The seven strategies for creating a positive culture include celebrating achievements to boost morale.

Organizational culture is like the personality of an organization. It's about how everyone, from leaders to the newest hires, thinks and acts. It shapes how work gets done and how people treat each other.

Organizational culture includes the unwritten rules and shared beliefs that guide people's behavior. For instance, a company that values open communication might have meetings where everyone is encouraged to speak their mind, leading to better ideas and stronger performance.

Alternatively, if an organization has a culture where only the most senior employees' ideas are welcomed in meetings, it might lead to frustration and apathy for everyone else because others may feel their voice doesn't matter.

Culture: The Unique DNA of Every Organization

Culture is the underlying DNA of every organization—it's what makes employees feel connected and invested in their jobs. When a company has a strong, positive culture, it can foster greater engagement, which means people care more about their work and go the extra mile. Positive cultures boost motivation , leading people to do their best and be happier in their jobs. Such feelings of connection and satisfaction can lead them to stay longer with the company, reducing turnover and building a strong, experienced team.

When a culture encourages new ideas and open-mindedness, employees are more likely to come up with the kind of breakthroughs that can change the game for a business. In such an environment, teams work better together, share more ideas, and push each other to be the best they can be, which often leads to greater success for the whole organization.

Seven Strategies for Creating Positive Organizational Cultures

There are many ways to foster a positive business culture. Managers and leaders can focus on the following:

Vision and Mission Clarity : A compelling vision and mission statement act as the psychological contract with employees, offering a clear narrative about what the company stands for and its aspirations. When a company like Google pledges to "organize the world's information," it sends a powerful message about its purpose, aligning the workforce towards a common goal. Leaders can facilitate workshops and discussions to ensure these statements resonate deeply with every team member, thereby internalizing these guiding principles.

Values in Action: Core values are the psychological pillars of an organization's culture. When the online retailer Zappos emphasizes "delivering WOW through service," it's not just a statement but a call to action that employees live by so they deliver exceptional service. Leaders can make these values tangible by embedding them into performance reviews, hiring criteria, and daily operations, ensuring they're not just words on a wall but principles that drive decision-making and behavior. It's also important that leaders themselves act in a way that's consistent with the values they want to see enacted more broadly.

Habitual Practices: The power of culture is often expressed in the small, repeated actions that become habitual. For example, Pixar's practice of holding candid "braintrust" meetings where creative ideas are dissected and debated creates an environment where innovation is routine. Leaders can create rituals or regular meetings that reinforce openness and collaboration , turning them into powerful symbols that reinforce the organization's culture.

Learning and Development: Cultures that prioritize learning communicate to employees that growth is both expected and supported. Amazon's " Career Choice" program is a testament to its investment in employee development, covering tuition for in-demand fields. Leaders can foster a culture of learning by actively investing in employee development and creating clear pathways for career advancement.

Psychological Safety: At the heart of a thriving culture is the sense of psychological safety, a term coined by Harvard University professor Amy Edmondson, which describes an environment where individuals feel comfortable expressing themselves without fear of retribution. Google, for example, found that its teams with high psychological safety were more successful than those with lower psychological safety. Leaders can cultivate this by modeling vulnerability, encouraging open dialogue, and celebrating learning from failures.

Recognition and Rewards: A culture that celebrates achievements—both big and small—can significantly boost morale and productivity . Salesforce, through its "Ohana Culture," has created a sense of community and belonging where recognition is part of the everyday experience. Leaders can implement recognition programs that allow peers to acknowledge each other's contributions, making recognition a regular part of the organizational rhythm.

Agility and Resilience : The most adaptable cultures are those that embrace change. Leaders can promote agility by encouraging a mindset of continuous learning and by designing systems that are flexible and responsive to feedback, ensuring the organization can navigate and thrive amidst disruptive change.

Creating a High-Performance Culture

Creating a culture that promotes high performance requires a deep psychological understanding of human behavior within a business context. By carefully crafting and nurturing the elements that constitute culture, leaders can foster an environment that not only drives innovation and high performance but also leads to a sense of purpose and belonging among its members. Building a cohesive community focused on achieving purposeful goals is a critical imperative for making organizations and the world a better place.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/28/magazine/what-google-learned-from-it…

Edmondson, Amy and Lei, Zhike (2014). Psychological Safety: The History, Renaissance, and Future of an Interpersonal Construct, Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, Vol. 1:23-43.

Kaplan, S. (2017). The invisible advantage: How to create a culture of innovation . Greenleaf Book Group Press.

Soren Kaplan, Ph.D. , is an author, keynote speaker, leadership development consultant, and affiliate at the Center for Effective Organizations at the University of Southern California.

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