Summary articles - Essentials in corporate & organizational communication
College 2 - Relationships
1. Do peers make the place? Conceptual synthesis and meta-analysis of coworker effects on perceptions,
attitudes, OCBs, and performance - Chiaburu & Harrison (2008)
Abstract
Lateral relationships can be conceptualized as coworker support and coworker antagonism
They are linked to important individual employee outcomes: role perception, work attitudes,
withdrawal, effectiveness….)
Differential strengths of coworker influence are based on its valance, content, severity and on the
social intensity of the task environment
Theory
Coworkers are not only a vital part of the social environment at work; they can literally define it
The study is based on the interdependence theory: Coworkers can provide different valances of
influence positive (social support) and negative (antagonism)
Vertical relationships are governed by authority ranking, as opposed to equality matching and
coworker exchanges are based on reciprocation and turn-taking
The repository of emotional and behavioral resources from coworkers is thus larger and easier to draw
from than the leader-based one
Coworker support is the provision of desirable resources to a focal employee, including task-directed
helping, coworker mentoring and friendliness or positive effects
Coworker antagonism is the enactment of unwelcome, undesirable, or disdained behaviors toward a
focal employee, such as incivility, social undermining and interpersonal abuse
Hypothese 1: coworkers (a) support and (b) antagonism have a unique effect on focal
employees outcomes beyond that of leader influence
o Coworkers matter uniquely- when associations of leader support with outcome variables
are partialed or accounted for an considered simultaneously
Role perceptions are central to role-sending and receiving theories
o Roles are defined as sets of behavioral expectations associated with given positions in social
structure
Given coworkers positions as role senders and as members of a focal employees role set, they can
influence several role components
o Specifically, coworkers relay task advice that diminishes their collegues` role ambiguity
Role ambiguity is composed of the relative unpredictability of outcomes of individual
behavior and the lack of clarity of behavioral requirements
, o High-quality or frequent exchanges with coworkers can affect a focal employee´s perceived
role conflict
The simultaneous occurrence of two (or more) sets of pressures such that
compliance with one would make more difficult compliance with the other
o Finally, individuals can experience role overload, or situations in which they feel that
excessive activities are expected of them given their abilities, time and organizational
constraints
Coworkers can help to sort out such task with the net result of reduced overload. In addition to giving
cues about what is important, coworkers can reduce their fellow employees feeling of role overload
though emotional means
Hypothese 2: Coworker support is negatively related to focal employees (a) role ambiguity, (b)
role conflict, and (c) role overload.
o Coworker support is indeed associated with reduced levels of these (detrimental) aspects
of role perception
Coworkers can influence employee opinions and attitudes through varied means including providing
task-related help, information or affective support. Focus here on widely inclusive attitudes to ones
work experience: job satisfaction, job involvement, organizational commitment
o Job satisfaction is a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of
one`s job experience and should be positive connected to coworker support
o Job involvement is the state of psychological identification with one`s work role. Coworkers
provide information on how to internalize versus externalize core elements of one`s job
o Organizational commitment is described as an emotional attachment to, or identification
with, one`s firm
Hypothese 3: Coworker support is positively related to focal employees (a) job satisfaction, (b)
job involvement and (c) organizational commitment.
The contribution of coworkers to the social environment at work can also drive a focal employee`s
behavioral outcomes, including forms of withdrawals
o Effort reduction: the likelihood that an individual will give less than full inputs
o Absenteeism lack of physical presence when one is expected to be
o Intention to quit willfulness to leave the organization
o Turnover permanent separation from the firm
Hypothese 4: Coworker support has a negative relationship with focal employees (a) effort
reduction (b) absenteeism, (c) intention to quit and (d) turnover
, o De resultaten steunen de hypothese wel, maar de effects zijn eigenlijk te klein en de
gevonden waarden zijn “gemanipuleerd” door het vervangen van bepaalde waardes.
Dus: er is wel sprake van een effect, maar die is kleiner dan in 3
In many ways coworker support might influence elements of the effectiveness space, including
counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs), organizational citizenship behavior (OCBs) and task
performance
o CWBs are intentional actions viewed by the organization as contrary to its legitimate
interests. They compromise a general category that encompasses deviant, antisocial, uncivil
and socially undermining actions
o OCBs consist of individual actions that are discretionary, not explicity recognized by a firms
rewarded system and that promote stable, efficient organization functioning
Behaviors in each of these categories can be distinguished as being directed at coworkers versus the
organization and they likely follow social exchange and reciprocity
As coworkers supply more helpful resources we expect focal employees themselves to engage more in
interpersonally directed OCBs and less often in interpersonally directed CWBs
Coworker support also promotes employee task performance
o Making work task easier to execute by giving critical information about “knowing the ropes”
processes, by directly helping employees advance toward their work goals and by facilitating
smooth social transactions
Hypothese 5: Coworker support has a negative relationship with focal employees (a) CWB-I and
(b) CWB-O and coworker support has a positive relationship with (c) OCB-I, (d) OCB-O and (e)
task performance
Staat niet echt een toelichting voor hypothese 6. De begrippen zijn al eerder toegelicht
Hypothese 6: Coworker (a) support and (b) antagonism have unique association with focal
employees performance beyond that role perceptions and work attitudes
One valance can be more important for some consequences than others; when perceiving roles,
forming attitudes, modulating inputs and enacting behaviors, focal employees may have different
motivations depending on the valance of their coworker influence
Because it is likely to be seen as a background pattern of expected behavior, we assert that most
forms of coworker support will be perceived as generic, common and widely spread through an
organization
College 2 - Relationships
1. Do peers make the place? Conceptual synthesis and meta-analysis of coworker effects on perceptions,
attitudes, OCBs, and performance - Chiaburu & Harrison (2008)
Abstract
Lateral relationships can be conceptualized as coworker support and coworker antagonism
They are linked to important individual employee outcomes: role perception, work attitudes,
withdrawal, effectiveness….)
Differential strengths of coworker influence are based on its valance, content, severity and on the
social intensity of the task environment
Theory
Coworkers are not only a vital part of the social environment at work; they can literally define it
The study is based on the interdependence theory: Coworkers can provide different valances of
influence positive (social support) and negative (antagonism)
Vertical relationships are governed by authority ranking, as opposed to equality matching and
coworker exchanges are based on reciprocation and turn-taking
The repository of emotional and behavioral resources from coworkers is thus larger and easier to draw
from than the leader-based one
Coworker support is the provision of desirable resources to a focal employee, including task-directed
helping, coworker mentoring and friendliness or positive effects
Coworker antagonism is the enactment of unwelcome, undesirable, or disdained behaviors toward a
focal employee, such as incivility, social undermining and interpersonal abuse
Hypothese 1: coworkers (a) support and (b) antagonism have a unique effect on focal
employees outcomes beyond that of leader influence
o Coworkers matter uniquely- when associations of leader support with outcome variables
are partialed or accounted for an considered simultaneously
Role perceptions are central to role-sending and receiving theories
o Roles are defined as sets of behavioral expectations associated with given positions in social
structure
Given coworkers positions as role senders and as members of a focal employees role set, they can
influence several role components
o Specifically, coworkers relay task advice that diminishes their collegues` role ambiguity
Role ambiguity is composed of the relative unpredictability of outcomes of individual
behavior and the lack of clarity of behavioral requirements
, o High-quality or frequent exchanges with coworkers can affect a focal employee´s perceived
role conflict
The simultaneous occurrence of two (or more) sets of pressures such that
compliance with one would make more difficult compliance with the other
o Finally, individuals can experience role overload, or situations in which they feel that
excessive activities are expected of them given their abilities, time and organizational
constraints
Coworkers can help to sort out such task with the net result of reduced overload. In addition to giving
cues about what is important, coworkers can reduce their fellow employees feeling of role overload
though emotional means
Hypothese 2: Coworker support is negatively related to focal employees (a) role ambiguity, (b)
role conflict, and (c) role overload.
o Coworker support is indeed associated with reduced levels of these (detrimental) aspects
of role perception
Coworkers can influence employee opinions and attitudes through varied means including providing
task-related help, information or affective support. Focus here on widely inclusive attitudes to ones
work experience: job satisfaction, job involvement, organizational commitment
o Job satisfaction is a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of
one`s job experience and should be positive connected to coworker support
o Job involvement is the state of psychological identification with one`s work role. Coworkers
provide information on how to internalize versus externalize core elements of one`s job
o Organizational commitment is described as an emotional attachment to, or identification
with, one`s firm
Hypothese 3: Coworker support is positively related to focal employees (a) job satisfaction, (b)
job involvement and (c) organizational commitment.
The contribution of coworkers to the social environment at work can also drive a focal employee`s
behavioral outcomes, including forms of withdrawals
o Effort reduction: the likelihood that an individual will give less than full inputs
o Absenteeism lack of physical presence when one is expected to be
o Intention to quit willfulness to leave the organization
o Turnover permanent separation from the firm
Hypothese 4: Coworker support has a negative relationship with focal employees (a) effort
reduction (b) absenteeism, (c) intention to quit and (d) turnover
, o De resultaten steunen de hypothese wel, maar de effects zijn eigenlijk te klein en de
gevonden waarden zijn “gemanipuleerd” door het vervangen van bepaalde waardes.
Dus: er is wel sprake van een effect, maar die is kleiner dan in 3
In many ways coworker support might influence elements of the effectiveness space, including
counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs), organizational citizenship behavior (OCBs) and task
performance
o CWBs are intentional actions viewed by the organization as contrary to its legitimate
interests. They compromise a general category that encompasses deviant, antisocial, uncivil
and socially undermining actions
o OCBs consist of individual actions that are discretionary, not explicity recognized by a firms
rewarded system and that promote stable, efficient organization functioning
Behaviors in each of these categories can be distinguished as being directed at coworkers versus the
organization and they likely follow social exchange and reciprocity
As coworkers supply more helpful resources we expect focal employees themselves to engage more in
interpersonally directed OCBs and less often in interpersonally directed CWBs
Coworker support also promotes employee task performance
o Making work task easier to execute by giving critical information about “knowing the ropes”
processes, by directly helping employees advance toward their work goals and by facilitating
smooth social transactions
Hypothese 5: Coworker support has a negative relationship with focal employees (a) CWB-I and
(b) CWB-O and coworker support has a positive relationship with (c) OCB-I, (d) OCB-O and (e)
task performance
Staat niet echt een toelichting voor hypothese 6. De begrippen zijn al eerder toegelicht
Hypothese 6: Coworker (a) support and (b) antagonism have unique association with focal
employees performance beyond that role perceptions and work attitudes
One valance can be more important for some consequences than others; when perceiving roles,
forming attitudes, modulating inputs and enacting behaviors, focal employees may have different
motivations depending on the valance of their coworker influence
Because it is likely to be seen as a background pattern of expected behavior, we assert that most
forms of coworker support will be perceived as generic, common and widely spread through an
organization
