Tag Archives: Ehrhardt

Anchoring Relationships at Work: High-Quality Mentors and Other Supportive Work Relationships as Buffers to Ambient Racial Discrimination

Belle Rose Ragins, Kyle Ehrhardt, Karen S. Lyness, Dianne D. Murphy, and John F. Capman
Personnel Psychology, Vol. 70, Issue 1, Spring 2017, Pages 211–256

Applying a unifying theoretical framework of high-quality work relationships, we conducted a set of 3 complementary studies that examined whether high-quality mentoring relationships can buffer employees from the negative effects of ambient discrimination at work. Integrating relational mentoring with relational systems theory, we first examined whether the presence of a high-quality mentoring relationship buffers employees in a sample of 3,813 workers. In support of the “mentors-as-buffers” hypothesis, we found that employees who witnessed or were aware of racial discrimination at work had lower organizational commitment than those not exposed, but employees with high-quality mentoring relationships experienced less loss of commitment than those lacking mentors. We then examined the specific buffering behaviors used by mentors in high-quality relationships and whether these behaviors were effective for other work relationships and outcomes. Applying Kahn’s typology, we developed and validated a measure of high-quality relational holding behaviors in a sample of 262 workers. Using this measure in a third sample of 557 workers, we found that mentors buffer by providing holding behaviors, but we did not find this buffering effect when supervisors or coworkers provided holding behaviors. This potent mentor buffering effect held across a range of outcomes, including organizational commitment, physical symptoms of stress, insomnia, and stress-related absenteeism. These studies suggest that mentoring may be a singularly effective relationship that offers a safe harbor for employees faced with ambient discrimination at work.

An Examination of the Relationship Between the Work–School Interface, Job Satisfaction, and Job Performance

Rebecca Wyland, Scott W. Lester, Kyle Ehrhardt and Rhetta Standifer
Journal of Business and Psychology, Vol. 31, Issue 2, Pages. 187–203

Purpose: This study provides a comprehensive examination of how the work–school interface relates to work outcomes such as task performance and job satisfaction. Additionally, this study builds upon past research by examining a range of work- and school-related resources and demands that collectively influence the work–school interface.

Design/Methodology/Approach: Data were obtained from 170 working undergraduate students at multiple time points over the course of a semester, as well as from participants’ supervisors at the organizations in which the students work.

Findings: The strongest antecedent of job satisfaction, interpersonal facilitation, and job performance was work–school facilitation. Demands in one role create pressures in the other. Contrary to expectations, job demands positively related to work–school facilitation, while school demands positively related to school–work facilitation.

Implications: For practitioners, this study highlights the need to better understand the interplay between school and work roles for employees at a time when continuing education is emphasized. Employers benefit from the performance gains and positive attitudinal shifts that stem from experiences of facilitation between roles. From a theoretical perspective, this study reveals a unique pattern of results that adds to our understanding of the dynamics involved in the integrated work–school routines of working students.

Originality/Value: This is one of the first studies to investigate the relationships between four bi-directional forms of the work–school interface and subsequent multi-source assessments of organizational outcomes. As such, it offers an examination of how conflict and facilitation from both the work and school domains relate to work outcomes.

Examining project commitment in cross-functional teams: Antecedents and relationship with team performance

Kyle Ehrhardt, Janice S. Miller, Sarah J. Freeman, and Peter W. Hom
Journal of Business and Psychology, Volume 29, Issue 3, pp 443–461

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to test a model positing both antecedents and consequences of project commitment for members of cross-functional teams. Signaling theory and previous research guided study hypotheses.

Design/Methodology/Approach: We collected primary data from 142 team members and 31 team leaders across 24 cross-functional product development teams nested within six manufacturing organizations in the US and Canada.

Findings: Findings suggest that project commitment among team members is an important driver of team performance as rated by the team leader. In addition, several factors contribute toward shaping project commitment among cross-functional team members, including team leaders’ encouragement of self-expectation, as well as team members’ perceptions of an organization’s support for the team project.

Implications: Cross-functional teams are often charged with completing projects critical to the profitability, growth, and even survival of a firm. Especially as we show that members’ project commitment is a meaningful predictor of team performance, managers may draw insight from study results as to what actions may be taken to promote the development of this important psychological state among members of cross-functional teams.

Originality/Value: Use of cross-functional teams for accomplishing a wide variety of firm objectives is becoming commonplace in organizations. Although theorized as an important construct in cross-functional team settings, empirical examinations of the nature and implications of project commitment have been limited. By examining both antecedents and potential team performance consequences of project commitment in multiple organizations, we contribute toward filling this gap.

Women entrepreneurs and business venture growth: an examination of the influence of human and social capital resources in an Indian context

V. Kanti Prasad , G. M. Naidu , B. Kinnera Murthy , Doan E. Winkel and Kyle Ehrhardt
Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development,Vol. 26, Issue 4, Pages 341-364

Current understanding of women entrepreneurs, and in particular those within emerging economies, remains limited. This is despite the fact that the prevalence of women entrepreneurs across emerging economies has grown. Consequently, using India as a research context, the purpose of this study was to identify specific human and social capital factors that may contribute to venture growth for women entrepreneurs in emerging economies. Results suggest that both human and social capital factors play a role in determining business growth for Indian women entrepreneurs. Specifically, human capital factors related to industry experience as well as prior entrepreneurial experience were significant contributors, as were social capital factors related to the size of individuals’ business networks and the support received from family members. However, education, parental business ownership, and network composition characteristics relative to kinship ties were not significant predictors of venture growth in an Indian context.
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Crossing the threshold: The spillover of community racial diversity and diversity climate to the workplace

Belle Rose Ragins, Jorge A. Gonzalez, Kyle Ehrhardt, and Romila Singh
Personnel Psychology,Vol. 65, Issue 4, Winter 2012, Pages 755-787

We examined the spillover of community diversity to the workplace using a sample of 2,045 professionals living in communities across the U.S. Spillover effects were examined using 2 measures of community diversity: the degree to which employees were racially or ethnically similar to others in their community and perceptions of their community’s diversity climate. Aligned with theories of group threat and racial segregation, Whites who were racially dissimilar to their communities expressed stronger intentions to leave their communities, and ultimately their workplaces, than those living in primarily White communities. However, community diversity climate offset these relationships; Whites who lived in communities that were racially dissimilar to them, but experienced the climate as inclusive, had lower moving intentions than those in communities that were experienced as racially intolerant. In contrast, for people of color, community diversity climate, rather than racial similarity to the community, predicted moving intentions. For both groups, the diversity climate in the community predicted moving intentions, which in turn predicted work turnover intentions, job search behaviors, and physical symptoms of stress at work. These findings suggest that the intention to leave one’s community, and ultimately one’s workplace, is influenced by community experiences and the community’s perceived diversity climate.
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“National” identity, perceived fairness, and organizational commitment in a Hong Kong context: A test of mediation effects

Kyle Ehrhardt , Margaret Shaffer , Warren C.K. Chiu and Dora M. Luk
International Journal of Human Resource Management,Vol. 23, Issue 19, Pages 4166-4191

This paper builds on research exploring antecedents of organizational commitment in non-Western contexts. Using identity theory as a foundation, we develop a model which posits that the relationship between the strength of one’s ‘national’ identity and affective and normative commitment is mediated by justice perceptions. Using a sample of indigenous Hong Kong employees, we found that perceptions of distributive, procedural and interactional justice mediated the relationship between the strength of one’s Hong Kong ‘national’ identity and normative commitment; while perceptions of distributive and interactional justice mediated the relationship between the strength of one’s Hong Kong ‘national’ identity and affective commitment.
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An examination of the relationship between training comprehensiveness and organizational commitment: Further exploration of training perceptions and employee attitudes

Kyle Ehrhardt, Janice S. Miller, Sarah J. Freeman, and Peter W. Hom
Human Resource Development Quarterly,Vol. 22, Issue 4, Pages 459-489

For organizations, the value of employing highly committed individuals is well documented. Accordingly, scholars have endeavored to identify factors that may influence employees’ organizational commitment. One factor that has received growing attention in this regard is individuals’ perceptions of training offered by an organization. However, despite increased scrutiny over the past decade, the precise nature of the relationship between employee training perceptions and organizational commitment remains unclear. Consequently, in this study we use social exchange theory as a foundation to examine the relationship between perceptions of training comprehensiveness and organizational commitment among individuals serving on cross-functional product development teams within numerous large manufacturing firms. Results of a multilevel regression analysis support a direct relationship between perceived training comprehensiveness and organizational commitment. Additionally, whether individuals specifically chose to participate on a product development team moderated this relationship, but not in the expected direction. We discuss implications of study findings for both research and practice.
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Exploring entrepreneurial fulfillment for women in India: An empirical study

V. Kanti Prasad , G. M. Naidu , Kyle Ehrhardt , Doan E. Winkel and B. Kinnera Murthy
Journal of Enterprising Culture,Vol. 19, Issue 03, pp. 287-314

Drawing on social feminist theory, Indian cultural precepts, and previous research, we explore factors which may influence entrepreneurial fulfillment for women entrepreneurs in India. Results of a hierarchical regression analysis suggest that numerous network characteristics, as well as perceptions of family support, each contribute to a sense of entrepreneurial fulfillment for Indian women entrepreneurs. These factors furthermore each contributed to entrepreneurial fulfillment beyond the influence of the financial performance of the venture. Implications for understanding women entrepreneurs in emerging economies are discussed, as are practical implications for both women entrepreneurs and policy makers. We additionally present directions for future research.
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