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Authors: Mary O'Kelly & Matt Strock

Abstract: One of the authors explored the scholarly literature on organizational paradox to determine patterns in how paradoxes are experienced and frame those patterns as propositions for research, while the other used adult learning theories to describe how knowledge construction happens in organizational learning. Together they built a proposed group facilitation model to leverage organizational paradox, using a recently taught graduate-level university course as a sample application of the model. The paper presented here describes an active facilitation model that moves participants experiencing organizational paradox through four stages of knowledge construction: understanding the paradox, exploring concepts and categories, confronting conceptions, and applying new knowledge. Development of a reliable model for moving paradox conversation into structured facilitated activities could give organizational leaders confidence in tackling some of the tensions and contradictions that accompany organizational paradox and also could provide pedagogical guidance for graduate instructors in organizational change leadership programs.

Conferences: 2023 Midwest Academy of Management Conference; Chicago, IL.

Authors: Sean Gaffney

Abstract: A bibliometric study of the literature on resistance to change was conducted. The research,  including keyword analysis and bibliographic co-occurrence, was used to develop a framework and topical map of the study area. The SCOPUS database was used to identify pertinent publications. Author-provided keywords were used in conjunction with the visualization of similarity technique to explore relationships between the documents, determine the literature’s structure, and identify emerging trends in the data. Relationships were mapped using VOSViewer software, and based on link strength, eight clusters were identified. In addition, the academic disciplines that have influenced the literature were explored. Resistance to change research is multidisciplinary and growing faster than the average publication rate for research overall. The impact of journals publishing resistance to change studies is above average based on CiteScore data.

Conferences: 2023 Southern Management Association Annual Meeting; St. Pete Beach, FL.

Authors: Vanessa Hills

Abstract: Employee retention is a critical concern for organizations. Retention strategies are varied and diverse, and one approach involves employee rewards. Within online culture and discussion forums such as Reddit, pizza parties are seen as a prolific yet ineffective employee reward. In recent history, pizza parties have become associated with poor management (Fagan, 2022; Sahu, 2023). This paper presents a textual analysis of comments from the online discussion site Reddit.com to explore the cultural perception of organizational pizza parties as employee rewards. By examining this relatively unexplored phenomenon, this study aims to shed light on the cultural significance of organizational pizza parties, their perceived value, and the effects of pizza party rewards on employee satisfaction and retention. 

Conferences: 2023 Midwest Academy of Management Conference; Chicago, IL.

Authors: Joanne Roehm

Abstract: Recognizing advances in women’s workforce participation and pay overtime, particularly in the last several decades, we know that before the COVID-19 pandemic several entrenched, systemic issues existed that impacted the volume of women in the workforce across all sectors and played a role in women’s career advancement and pay.  As we move out of said pandemic, what is the future of women and work?  

In this integrated literature review, recent literature (2020 to 2022) was searched using keywords that include workplace, gender, working women, workplace climate, employment, COVID-19, pandemic, gender inequality and many combinations thereof.  An overview of themes from the current body of literature around women at work and the COVID-19 pandemic and our current understanding of them will be presented and analyzed, and then end with conclusions, their implications, limitations of the current literature, and by sharing opportunities for additional future research.  

The pandemic has given us the opportunity to learn from the experiences of women leaders and this literature review synthesizes published research to date and hypothesizes specific strategies for organizations to better accommodate female leaders who are working mothers.  Specifically, we put women front and center, and address how the pandemic has disrupted the nature of work for these valuable workers.

Conferences: 83rd Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management; Boston, MA.

Authors: Vanessa Hills & Anezka Viskova-Robertson

Abstract: There exist many concerns about the implementation and acceptance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within organizations. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) partially explains this unease, but an aspect unaccounted for is the perceived impact of AI on human sociability. This paper explores the extant literature on technologies perceived to have a negative impact on human sociability and when, if at all, there was an eventual saturation point of technological acceptance. Through this analysis, the perceived impact of a new technology on human sociability is placed in a robust historical context and comparisons are drawn between AI and previous technologies that went on to be widely accepted. As a result, the perceived impact of a new technology on human sociability is found to be a moderating external variable to be factored into the Technology Acceptance Model.

Conferences: 2023 Midwest Academy of Management Conference; Chicago, IL.

Authors: Vanessa Hills

Abstract: The rise of remote work cements the need for more effective virtual Organization Development. Scholars and practitioners of Dialogic Organization Development (OD) have long preferred in-person dialogic communication, but the co-location of stakeholders is not always possible. Following an interdisciplinary discourse analysis of existing principles of virtual dialogic communication, a conceptual model is proposed for use in the remote practice of Dialogic OD. The model’s principles of (1) authentic responsiveness, (2) added value, (3) real-time updates, (4) inclusive user experience, and (5) centralized access to resources pave the way for more creative, generative discourse in the practice of computer-mediated Dialogic OD.

Conferences: 2022 Midwest Academy of Management Conference; Detroit, MI.