Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jkksz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-19T10:48:36.703Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Contextualizing research: Putting context back into organizational behavior research

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 November 2014

Charmine E. J. Härtel  and
Jennifer M. O’Connor
Charmine E. J. Härtel*
Affiliation:
UQ Business School, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
Jennifer M. O’Connor
Affiliation:
UQ Business School, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
*
Corresponding author: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Contextualizing organizational behavior research means considering the influence of context and illuminating how context influences organizational behavior. In this article, we examine the field of organizational behavior against the criteria of contextualized research, finding it comes up short. We discuss the influences of context and contextual influences and identify ways to contextualize organizational behavior research. We provide examples of contextualized research and outline future directions for contextualized organizational behavior research. Lastly, we issue a call and urge scholars to take up the challenge of putting context back into their organizational behavior research and opening new research pathways and innovative theory for examining organization behavior.

Keywords

contextualizationorganizational contexttrends in organizational behaviorcomparative researchculture social context
Type
Invited Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 20 , Issue 4 , July 2014 , pp. 417 - 422
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Cappelli, P., & Sherer, P.D. (1991). The missing role of context in OB: The need for a meso-level approach. Research in Organizational Behavior, 13, 55–110.Google Scholar
Griffin, M. A. (2007). Specifying organizational contexts: Systematic links between contexts and processes in organizational behavior. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 28(7), 859–863.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johns, G. (2001). In praise of context. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 22(1), 31–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johns, G. (2006). The essential impact of context on organizational behavior. Academy of Management Review, 31(2), 386–408.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mowday, R. T., & Sutton, R. I. (1993). Organizational behavior: Linking individuals and groups to organizational contexts. Annual Review of Psychology, 44(1), 195–229.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nouri, R., Erez, M., Lee, C., Liang, J., Bannister, B. D., & Chiu, W. (2014). Social context: Key to understanding culture’s effects on creativity. Journal of Organizational Behavior, doi:10.1002/job.1923.Google Scholar
O’Leary, M. B., & Almond, B. A. (2009). The industry settings of leading organizational research: The role of economic and non-economic factors. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 30(4), 497–524.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rousseau, D. M., & Fried, Y. (2001). Location, location, location: Contextualizing organizational research. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 22(1), 1–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhou, Q., Hirst, G., & Shipton, H. (2012). Context matters: Combined influence of participation and intellectual stimulation on the promotion focus–employee creativity relationship. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 33(7), 894–909.CrossRefGoogle Scholar