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WorkTies

The Science of Relationships at Work

The Research

On this page you will find our research and some "classic" readings on high quality connections in organizations.

HQC Classics

Aron, A., Aron, E. N., Tudor, M., & Nelson, G. 1991. Close relationships as including other in the self. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60: 241-253.
 

Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. 1995. The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117: 497–529.

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Borgatti, S. P., & Foster, P. C. 2003. The network paradigm in organizational research: A review and typology. Journal of Management, 29: 991-1013.


Bradbury, H. & Lichtenstein, B. M. B. 2000. Relationality in organizational research: Exploring the space between. Organization Science, 11: 551-564.

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Dutton, J. E., & Heaphy, E. D. 2003. The power of high quality connections at work. In K. Cameron, J. Dutton, & R. Quinn (Eds.), Positive organizational scholarship: Foundations of a new discipline: 263-278. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.
 

Dutton, J.E., & Ragins, B.R. (Eds.) 2007. Exploring positive relationships at work:  Building a theoretical and research foundation: 91-116. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

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Kram, K. E. 1985. Mentoring at work: Developmental relationships in organizational life. Glenview, IL: Scott Foresman.

Classics
HQC - General
Culture

Culture

Barsade, S.G. & O’Neill, O.A. 2014. What’s love got to do with it? A longitudinal study of the culture of
companionate love and employee and client outcomes in the long-term care setting. Administrative Science
Quarterly, 59 (4): 1-40.

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Barsade, S.G. & O’Neill, O.A. 2016, January/February issue. Manage your emotional culture. Harvard
Business Review.

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Murphy, W.M. & Kram, K.E. 2017. How can Leaders Foster a Developmental Culture? HRM Asia, January/February.

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Murphy, W.M. & Kram, K.E. 2014. How to Develop Talent through Relationships. Inside HR Australia, July 3. 

 

O’Neill, O.A. & Rothbard, N.P. 2017. Is love all you need? The effects of emotional culture,suppression, and work-family conflict on firefighter risk taking and health. Academy of Management Journal,60 (1): 1-31.

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Thomas, N.*, Sugiyama, K.*, Rochford, K.*, Stephens, J.P.* & Kanov, J. (2018). Experiential organizing: Pursuing relational and bureaucratic goals through symbolically and experientially oriented work. Academy of Management Review, 43(4), 749-771.  
* denotes shared first authorship

Identity

Identity

Chrobot-Mason, D., Gerbasi, A. &  Cullen-Lester, K. 2016. “Predicting leadership relationships: The importance of collective identity”. The Leadership Quarterly, 27, 298-311.

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Creary, S.J., Caza, B.B., & Roberts, L.M. 2015. Out of the Box? How Managing a Subordinate’s Multiple Identities Affects the Quality of a Manager-Subordinate Relationship. Academy of Management Review, 40(4): 538-562.

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Dobrow, S. R. & Higgins, M. C. 2005. “Developmental networks and professional identity: A longitudinal study.” Career Development International, 10(6/7): 567-583.

 

Humberd, B. K. & Rouse, E. D. 2016.  Seeing You in Me and Me in You: Personal Identification in the Phases of Mentoring Relationships.  Academy of Management Review, 41(3): 435-455.

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Humberd, B. K. & Rouse, E. D. 2016. Building high-quality mentoring relationships at work through personal identification, written for: Work in Progress: Sociology on the economy, work and inequality, a public sociology blog of the American Sociological Association (ASA).

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Methot, J. R., Rosado-Solomon, E., & Allen, D. 2018. The network architecture of human capital: A relational identity perspective. Academy of Management Review, 43(4), 723-748

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Rockmann, K.W. & Ballinger, G.A. 2017. Intrinsic motivation and organizational identification among On-Demand workers. Journal of Applied Psychology, 102: 1305-1316.

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Volpe, E.H. & Murphy, W.M. 2011. Married professional women’s career exit: Integrating identity and social networks. Gender in Management: An International Journal, 26(1): 57-83.

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Teams

Teams / Coordination

Carmeli, Abraham, Jane E. Dutton and Ashley E. Hardin. Respect as an Engine for New Ideas: Linking Respectful Engagement, Relational Information Processing and Creativity Among Employees and Teams. Human Relations, Jan 2015.

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Quinn, R. and J. Dutton.  Coordination as Energy-in-Conversation: A Process Theory of Organizing. Academy of Management Review, Vol. 30, No. 1, 38-57, 2005.

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Rockmann, K.W. & Northcraft, G.B. 2018. The dilemma portfolio: A strategy to advance the study of social dilemmas in organizations. Academy of Management Annals, 12(2): 494-509.  

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Rockmann, K.W. & Northcraft, G.B. 2008. To be or not to be trusted: The influence of media richness on defection and deception. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 107: 106-122.

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Stephens, J.P. How the show goes on: Using the aesthetic experience of collective performance to adapt while coordinating (Conditionally-accepted at Administrative Science Quarterly).

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Stephens, J.P. & Carmeli, C. 2016. The positive effect of expressing negative emotions on knowledge creation capability and performance in project teams. International Journal of Project Management, 34(5), 862-873.

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Stephens, J.P., Heaphy, E., Carmeli, A., Spreitzer, G., & Dutton, J. 2013. Relationship quality and virtuousness: Emotional carrying capacity as a source of individual and team resilience. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 49(1), 13-41.

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Stephens, J.P. & Lyddy, C.J. 2016. Operationalizing heedful interrelating: How attending, responding, and feeling comprise coordinating and predict performance in self-managing teams. Frontiers in Psychology - Organizational Psychology, 7:362.

Relationship Formation

Ballinger, G.A. & Rockmann, K.W 2010. Chutes versus ladders: A punctuated-equilibrium perspective on social exchange relationships.  Academy of Management Review, 35: 373-391. 

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Dobrow Riza, S. & Higgins, M. C. In press. “The dynamics of developmental networks.” Academy of Management Discoveries.
 

Dobrow, S. R., Chandler, D. E., Murphy, W. M., & Kram, K. E. 2012. “A review of developmental networks: Incorporating a mutuality perspective.” Journal of Management, 38(1): 210-242.

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Methot, J. R., Melwani, S., & Rothman, N. B. 2017. The space between us: A social-functional emotions view of ambivalent and indifferent workplace relationships. Journal of Management, 43, 1789-1819.

 

Rockmann, K.W. & Pratt, M.G. 2015. Contagious offsite work and the lonely office: The unintended consequences of distributed work. Academy of Management Discoveries, 1: 150-164.

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Rouse ED (in press). Where you end and I begin: Understanding intimate co-creation. Academy of Management Review.

Relationship Formation
Emotions

Emotions

Barsade, S.G. & O’Neill, O.A. 2014. What’s love got to do with it? A longitudinal study of the culture ofcompanionate love and employee and client outcomes in the long-term care setting. Administrative ScienceQuarterly, 59 (4): 1-40.

 

Barsade, S.G. & O’Neill, O.A. 2016, January/February issue. Manage your emotional culture. Harvard
Business Review.

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Methot, J. R., Melwani, S., & Rothman, N. B. 2017. The space between us: A social-functional emotions view of ambivalent and indifferent workplace relationships. Journal of Management, 43, 1789-1819.

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O’Neill, O.A. & Rothbard, N.P. 2017. Is love all you need? The effects of emotional culture,
suppression, and work-family conflict on firefighter risk taking and health. Academy of Management Journal,
60 (1): 1-31.

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Work Friendships

Work Friendships

Methot, J. R., LePine, J. A., Podsakoff, N. P., & Christian, J. L. 2016. Are workplace friendships a mixed blessing? Exploring tradeoffs of multiplex relationships and associations with job performance. Personnel Psychology, 69, 311-355.

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Rouse ED (in press). Where you end and I begin: Understanding intimate co-creation. Academy of Management Review.

Social Networks

Social Networks

Chandler, D.E., Murphy, W.M., Kram, K.E., & Higgins, M.C. 2016. Bridging formal and informal mentoring: A developmental network perspective. In K. Peno, E.S. Mangiante, & R. Kenahan (Eds.). Mentoring in Formal and Informal Contexts. New York: Information Age Publishing, pp.1-22. ISBN-13: 978-1681234610. 

 

Chanland, D.E. & Murphy, W.M. 2018. Propelling Diverse Leaders to the Top: A Developmental Network Approach. Human Resource Management, 57(1): 111-126. 

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Chrobot-Mason, D., Gerbasi, A. &  Cullen-Lester, K. 2016. “Predicting leadership relationships: The importance of collective identity”. The Leadership Quarterly, 27, 298-311.  

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Cullen, K., Gerbasi, A., & Chrobot-Mason, D.  In print 2018 (published online 2015). “Thriving in Central Network Positions:  The Role of Political Skills.”  Journal of Management 44, 682-706. 

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Cullen-Lester, K., Gerbasi, A. & White, S. 2016. “The Promise and Peril of Workplace Connections: Insights for Leaders about Workplace Networks and Well-being.” Research in Occupational Stress and Well Being, 14, 61-90. 

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Cullen-Lester, K., Leroy, H., Gerbasi, A. & Nishii, L.  2016. “Energy’s Role in the Extraversion (Dis)advantage: How Energy Ties and Task Conflict Help Clarify the Relationship between Extraversion and Proactive Performance.” Journal of Organizational Behavior, 37, 7, 1003-1022. 

 

Dobrow Riza, S. & Higgins, M. C. In press. “The dynamics of developmental networks.” Academy of Management Discoveries.
 

Dobrow, S. R., Chandler, D. E., Murphy, W. M., & Kram, K. E. 2012. “A review of developmental networks: Incorporating a mutuality perspective.” Journal of Management, 38(1): 210-242.

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Dobrow, S. R. & Higgins, M. C. 2005. “Developmental networks and professional identity: A longitudinal study.” Career Development International, 10(6/7): 567-583.

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Gerbasi, A., Porath. C.L., Parker, A., Cross, R., & Spreitzer, G.  2015. “Destructive De-energizing Relationships:  How Thriving Buffers their Effect on Performance.”  Journal of Applied Psychology, 100 (5), 1423-1433.

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Higgins, M. C., Dobrow, S. R., & Roloff, K. S. 2010. “Optimism and the boundarlyess career: The role of developmental relationships.” Journal of Organizational Behavior, 31: 749-769.
 

Higgins, M. C., Dobrow, S. R., & Chandler, D. E. 2008. “Never quite good enough: The paradox of sticky developmental relationships for elite university graduates.” Journal of Vocational Behavior, 72(2): 207-224.

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Methot, J. R., Rosado-Solomon, E., & Allen, D. 2018. The network architecture of human capital: A relational identity perspective. Academy of Management Review, 43(4), 723-748.

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Murphy, W.M., Gibson, K., & Kram, K.E. 2017. Advancing Women through Developmental Relationships. In S.R. Madsen (Ed.). Handbook of Research on Gender and Leadership, Chapter 23. London: Edward Elgar Publishing. ISBN-13: 978-1785363856. 

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Murphy, W.M. & Kram, K.E. 2010. Understanding non-work relationships in developmental networks. Career Development International, 15(7): 637-663. 

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Murphy, W.M. & Volpe, E.H. 2015. Enacting authentic careers: An identity and social networks approach. In G. Baugh & S.E. Sullivan (Eds.). Searching for Authenticity, in the Research in Careers Series, Volume 2. New York: IAP (Information Age Publishers). ISBN-13: 978-1623969837.

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Murphy, W.M. & Kram, K.E. 2014. Strategic Relationships at Work: Creating your Circle of Mentors, Sponsors, and Peers for Success in Business and Life. New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN-13: 978-0071823470.

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Parker, A. & Gerbasi, A. 2016. “The Impact of Energizing Interactions on Voluntary and Involuntary Turnover.”M@n@gement 19, 3, 177-201. 

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Porath, C.L. & Gerbasi, A. 2015. “Does Civility Pay?”  Organizational Dynamics, 44, 281-286.  Porath, C.L., Gerbasi, A., & Schorch, S.L. 2015. “Effects of Civility on Advice, Leadership, and Performance.” Journal of Applied Psychology, 100 (5), 1527-1541.

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Volpe, E.H. & Murphy, W.M. [1] 2011. Married professional women’s career exit: Integrating identity and social networks. Gender in Management: An International Journal, 26(1): 57-83.​

Diversity

Diversity

Chanland, D.E. & Murphy, W.M. 2018. Propelling Diverse Leaders to the Top: A Developmental Network Approach. Human Resource Management, 57(1): 111-126.

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Clair, J.A., Humberd, B. K., Caruso, H., Roberts, L.M., 2012. Marginal Memberships: Psychological Effects of Identity Ambiguity on Professionals who are Demographically Different from the Majority.  Organizational Psychology Review, 2(1): 71-93.

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Clair, J. A., Humberd, B. K., Rouse, E. D., Jones, E. 2018.  Loosening Categorical Thinking: Extending the Terrain of Theory and Research on Demographic Identities in Organizations. Academy of Management Review, Forthcoming.

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Murphy, W.M. 2012. Reverse mentoring at work: Fostering cross-generational learning and developing Millennial leaders. Human Resource Management, 51(4): 549-574.

Gender

Marcinkus, W.C., Gordon, J.R., & Whelan-Berry, K.S. 2007. The relationship of social support to the work-family balance and work outcomes of midlife women. Women in Management Review, 22(2): 86-111.

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Murphy, W. 2016. How Women (and Men) Can Find a Role Model when None are Obvious. Harvard Business Review, June 1.

 

Murphy, W.M., Gibson, K., & Kram, K.E. 2017. Advancing Women through Developmental Relationships. In S.R. Madsen

(Ed.). Handbook of Research on Gender and Leadership, Chapter 23. London: Edward Elgar Publishing. ISBN-13: 978-1785363856.

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Volpe, E.H. & Murphy, W.M. [1] 2011. Married professional women’s career exit: Integrating identity and social networks. Gender in Management: An International Journal, 26(1): 57-83.

Gender

Job Performance

Dobrow Riza, S. & Heller, D. 2015. “Follow your heart or your head? A longitudinal study of the facilitating role of calling and ability in the pursuit of a challenging career.” Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(3), 695-712.

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Friedman, Anat, Abraham Carmeli and Jane E. Dutton. When Does Respectful Engagement with One's Supervisor Foster Help-Seeking Behaviors and Performance?, Journal of Vocational Behavior, 2018.

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Gerbasi, A., Porath. C.L., Parker, A., Cross, R., & Spreitzer, G.  2015. “Destructive De-energizing Relationships:  How Thriving Buffers their Effect on Performance.”  Journal of Applied Psychology, 100 (5), 1423-1433.

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Marcinkus, W.C., Gordon, J.R., & Whelan-Berry, K.S. 2007. The relationship of social support to the work-family balance and work outcomes of midlife women. Women in Management Review, 22(2): 86-111.

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Methot, J. R., LePine, J. A., Podsakoff, N. P., & Christian, J. L. 2016. Are workplace friendships a mixed blessing? Exploring tradeoffs of multiplex relationships and associations with job performance. Personnel Psychology, 69, 311-355.

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Porath, C.L., Gerbasi, A., & Schorch, S.L. 2015. “Effects of Civility on Advice, Leadership, and Performance.”Journal of Applied Psychology, 100 (5), 1527-1541.

Job Performance

Mentoring

Chandler, D.E., Murphy, W.M., Kram, K.E., & Higgins, M.C. 2016. Bridging formal and informal mentoring: A developmental network perspective. In K. Peno, E.S. Mangiante, & R. Kenahan (Eds.). Mentoring in Formal and Informal Contexts. New York: Information Age Publishing, pp.1-22. ISBN-13: 978-1681234610.

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Chanland, D.E. & Murphy, W.M. 2018. Propelling Diverse Leaders to the Top: A Developmental Network Approach. Human Resource Management, 57(1): 111-126.

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de Janasz, S. & Murphy, W.M. Forthcoming. Real career development with Virtual Mentoring: Past, present, and future. In Richard N. Landers (Ed.). Cambridge Handbook of Technology and Employee Behavior. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

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Dobrow, S., Chandler, D.E., Murphy, W.M., & Kram, K.E. 2012. A review of developmental networks: Incorporating a mutuality perspective. Journal of Management, 38(1): 210-242.

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Humberd, B. K. & Rouse, E. D. 2016.  Seeing You in Me and Me in You: Personal Identification in the Phases of Mentoring Relationships.  Academy of Management Review, 41(3): 435-455.

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Humberd, B. K. & Rouse, E. D. 2016. Building high-quality mentoring relationships at work through personal identification, written for:

Work in Progress: Sociology on the economy, work and inequality, a public sociology blog of the American Sociological Association (ASA).

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Iyer, B. & Murphy, W. 2016. The Benefits of Virtual Mentors. Harvard Business Review, April 26.


Kram, K. E. 1983. Phases of the mentor relationship. Academy of Management Journal, 26: 608-625

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Murphy, W.M. 2011. From e-mentoring to blended mentoring: Increasing students’ developmental initiation and mentors’ satisfaction. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 10(4): 606-622.

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Murphy, W. 2016. How Women (and Men) Can Find a Role Model when None are Obvious. Harvard Business Review, June 1.

 

Murphy, W.M. & Kram, K.E. 2010. Understanding non-work relationships in developmental networks. Career Development International, 15(7): 637-663.

 

Murphy, W.M. & Kram, K.E. 2014. How to Develop Talent through Relationships.Inside HR Australia, July 3.

 

Murphy, W.M. & Kram, K.E. 2014. Strategic Relationships at Work: Creating your Circle of Mentors, Sponsors, and Peers for Success in Business and Life. New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN-13: 978-0071823470. 

 

Murphy, W.M. & Kram, K.E. 2017. Building Your Developmental Network. In The Babson Collection #BAB342. Babson Park, MA: Babson College.  Distributed by The Case Centre and Harvard Business School Publishing.

 

Murphy, W.M. & Kram, K.E. 2017. How can Leaders Foster a Developmental Culture?HRM Asia, January/February.

 

Murphy, W.M. 2012. Reverse mentoring at work: Fostering cross-generational learning and developing Millennial leaders. Human Resource Management, 51(4): 549-574.

 

Murphy, W.M. 2015. 7 Ways to be a Great Mentor for Women. The GlassHammer, July.

 

Murphy, W.M. 2018. Good Mentors Help You Work Through Strong Emotions. Harvard Business Review, February 23. 

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Murphy, W.M., Gibson, K., & Kram, K.E. 2017. Advancing Women through Developmental Relationships. In S.R. Madsen (Ed.). Handbook of Research on Gender and Leadership, Chapter 23. London: Edward Elgar Publishing. ISBN-13: 978-1785363856

Mentoring
Learning
Leadership

Leadership

Colbert, A. E., Barrick, M. R., & Bradley, B. H. 2014. Personality and leadership composition in top management teams: Implications for organizational effectiveness. Personnel Psychology, 67, 351-387. 

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Colbert, A. E., Bono, J. E., & Purvanova, R. K. 2008. Generative leadership in business organizations: Enhancing employee cooperation and well-being through high-quality relationships. In B. A. Sullivan, M. Snyder, & J. L. Sullivan (Eds.), Cooperation: The political psychology of effective human interaction (pp. 199-217). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

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Colbert, A. E., Judge, T. A., Choi, D., & Wang, G. 2012. Assessing the trait theory of leadership using self and observer ratings of personality: The mediating role of contributions to group success. The Leadership Quarterly, 23, 670-685.

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Colbert, A. E., Kristof-Brown, A. L., Bradley, B. H., & Barrick, M. R. 2008. CEO transformational leadership: The role of goal importance congruence in top management teams. Academy of Management Journal, 51, 81-96.

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Colbert, A. E., & Witt, L. A. 2009. The role of goal-focused leadership in enabling the expression of conscientiousness. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94, 790-796.

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Courtright, S. H., Colbert, A. E., & Choi, D. 2014. Fired up or burned out? How developmental challenge differentially impacts leader behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology, 99, 681-696.

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Courtright, S. H., Gardner, R. G., Smith, T. A., McCormick, B. W., & Colbert, A. E. (2016). My family made me do it: A cross-domain, self-regulatory perspective on antecedents to abusive supervision. Academy of Management Journal, 59, 1630-1652. 

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Chrobot-Mason, D., Gerbasi, A. &  Cullen-Lester, K. 2016. “Predicting leadership relationships: The importance of collective identity”. The Leadership Quarterly, 27, 298-311.

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Cullen-Lester, K., Gerbasi, A. & White, S. 2016. “The Promise and Peril of Workplace Connections: Insights for Leaders about Workplace Networks and Well-being.” Research in Occupational Stress and Well Being, 14, 61-90. 

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Judge, T. A., Colbert, A. E., & Ilies, R. 2004. Intelligence and leadership: A quantitative review and test of theoretical propositions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89, 542-552.

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Inceoglu, I., Thomas, G., Chu, C.., Plans, D., & Gerbasi, A. 2018. “Leadership behavior and employee well-being: An integrated, meta-analytic review for a future research agenda.” The Leadership Quarterly 29 (1), 179-202. 

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Murphy, W.M. & Kram, K.E. 2017. How can Leaders Foster a Developmental Culture? HRM Asia,  January / February. 

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Murphy, W.M. & Kram, K.E. 2014. How to Develop Talent through Relationships.Inside HR Australia, July 3.


Porath, C.L., Gerbasi, A., & Schorch, S.L. 2015. “Effects of Civility on Advice, Leadership, and Performance.”Journal of Applied Psychology, 100 (5), 1527-1541.

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Spreitzer, G., Stephens, J.P., & Sweetman, D. 2009. The Reflected Best Self field experiment with adolescent leaders: Exploring the psychological resources associated with feedback source and valence. Journal of Positive Psychology, 4(5), 331-348.

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Stephens, J.P. 2016. Adapting for the sake of beauty: The role of leaders, levels, and learning in the coordination of a choral group. In B.A. Bechky & K.D. Elsbach (Eds.) Qualitative Organizational Research, Vol. 3: Best Papers from the Davis Conference on Organizational Research, pp. 225-263. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing. 

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Stephens, J.P. 2014. Leading a group through feeling: Teaching by the movement of learning. In D. Ladkin & S.S. Taylor (Eds.) The Physicality of Leadership: Gesture, Entanglement, Taboo, Possibilities. Monographs in Leadership and Management, (Vol. 6), pp. 17-36. Bingley, U.K.: Emerald Group.

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Stephens, J.P., & Carmeli, A. 2017. Relational leadership and creativity: The effects of respectful engagement and caring on meaningfulness and creative work involvement. In M. Mumford & S. Hemlin (Eds.) Handbook of Research on Leadership and Creativity, pp. 273-296. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar.

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Wang, G., Oh, I.-S., Courtright, S. H., & Colbert, A. E. 2011. Transformational leadership and performance across criteria and levels: A meta-analytic review of 25 years of research.  Group and Organization Management, 36, 223-270.

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Work-Life

Work Life

Clair, J., Jones, K., King, E. & Humberd, B. 2016.  The Right & Wrong Way to Help Pregnant Workers.  Harvard Business Review, Online, Sept 27.

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Marcinkus, W.C., Gordon, J.R., & Whelan-Berry, K.S. 2007. The relationship of social support to the work-family balance and work outcomes of midlife women. Women in Management Review, 22(2): 86-111.

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Stephens, J.P. & Kanov, J. 2017. Stories as artworks: Giving form to felt dignity in connections at work. Journal of Business Ethics, 144(2), 235-249.

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