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The drive for employees to perform well may tempt them to practice exaggerated self-promotion tactics. The supposition is that those with a strong performance-approach orientation are especially inclined to do this, but that contextual variables are relevant. In this study, I examined the influence of the combination of two contextual variables (perceived audience power and feedback) on the relationship between performance-approach orientation and exaggerated self-promotion. A sample of 277 employees from two companies participated in the study. I found that the presence of a powerful audience weakened the positive relationship between performance-approach orientation and exaggerated self-promotion if the feedback from that audience was highly salient, and that a powerful audience strengthened this relationship if the salience of this feedback was low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advantageous structural positions in a social network provide opportunities for employees. In this study, we examined whether the interaction between the personality traits neuroticism and extraversion affects the extent to which employees benefit from network centrality. Data from a sample of 299 nurses from four Dutch hospitals revealed that affect-based network centrality was associated with higher job satisfaction and that in-degree advice network centrality was associated with higher ratings by supervisors with respect to job performance, but only for extraverts low in neuroticism and introverts high in neuroticism. The results show that the existence and magnitude of the positive relationship between affect-based network centrality and job satisfaction, and the positive relationship between advice network centrality and supervisor ratings of job performance, may crucially depend on the specific interactional combination of personality traits. These findings provide an explanation for the variation in results regarding the network centrality-job satisfaction link and extend empirical evidence for the network centrality-job performance link. The current findings offer team managers insight into how a combination of personality traits influences the effect of network centrality on individual work outcomes. Implications for social networks and selection of employees are discussed. Practitioner points The positive relationship between affect-based network centrality and job satisfaction and the positive relationship between advice network centrality and job performance depend on the specific interactional combination of neuroticism and extraversion., Employees benefit most from network centrality when they are high on extraversion and low on neuroticism, or when they are low on extraversion and high on neuroticism., For jobs that require much social interaction, extraverts low in neuroticism are preferred. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we argue that reciprocal expertise affirmation-i.e. the mutual recognition by team members that they respect, value, and affirm each other's expertise-is positively related to team performance, but only in teams with high levels of shared expertise perceptions. Moreover, we propose that the joint effects of teams' reciprocal expertise affirmation and sharedness of expertise perceptions on team performance will be mediated by coordinated action. Data from 226 members of 39 student teams, working on a realistic four-week business simulation, supported our hypotheses. Our findings highlight the importance of reciprocal expertise affirmation for the effective functioning of work teams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past research suggests that power asymmetry within teams can have a stifling effect on team learning and performance. We argue here that this effect is contingent on whether power advantages within a team are used to advance individual or collective interests. This study considers the moderating role of one factor that can influence the individual or collective orientation of team members-the type of performance feedback that a team receives. We propose that whereas individual feedback reinforces the negative effects of power asymmetry on team learning, group feedback fosters a collective orientation within a team that transforms power differences into a stimulus for team learning. Analysis of multisource, multimethod data obtained from 218 individuals in 46 teams provided support for these hypotheses. Results also suggested that team learning mediated the relationship between power asymmetry and team performance. These findings suggest that power asymmetry can be a resource for and not just an obstacle to team learning in power-asymmetric teams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we examine the relationships between newcomers' competence in specific work activity clusters and the evaluation of their performance. Longitudinal data were gathered on 92 novice nurses from themselves and from the senior staff at three stages: before entering the job, 6 weeks after entry and 18 months after entry. Results showed that, after entry, a newcomer's competence in the cluster of care activities contributed more to a positive performance evaluation than competence in the cluster of non-care activities. Competence in the non-care cluster was only found to contribute to a positive performance evaluation, if the newcomer also showed competence in the care cluster. Moreover, novices showed a greater improvement in their care competence than their non-care competence during the first 18 months of socialization. Finally, we found that after 18 months competence in the non-care cluster contributes more to a positive performance evaluation than competence in the care cluster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides information on a study that argued that a contingent performance management system has to focus on learning and group processes, on qualitative as well as quantitative goals and on both the individual as well the interpersonal level. Methodology of the study; Results and discussion on the study.