“Effects of Positive Practices on Organizational Effectiveness“, by Kim Cameron, Margaret Calarco, both of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and Carlos Mora, Trevor Leutscher, both of Determinant LLC, Ann Arbor, Michigan, was recently published in the Journal of Applied Behavior Science. Kim Cameron has provided some background about the article:
Who is the target audience for this article?
Organizational scholars, leaders, and change agents
What Inspired You To Be Interested In This Topic?
This has been a ten year journey to investigate the relationships between positive, virtuous practices and the performance of organizations. Up to now, little attention has been paid to these relationships, much fluff and hype has appeared in the popular press, and many of the terms have been considered non-scholarly and illegitimate for scientific investigation. The study helps us progress past these obstacles.
Were there findings that were surprising to you?
The findings were not surprising, just confirming.
How do you see this study influencing future research and/or practice?
The study helps provide a foundation for an area of inquiry that is beginning to develop, namely, positive organizational scholarship. It helps provide legitimacy for the entire field of investigation. For practitioners, it identifies some non-traditional, positively-oriented interventions that were found to affect organizational performance.
How does this study fit into your body of work/line of research?
This study is at the heart of my current research stream, and I will continue to engage in similar investigations in the future.
How did your paper change during the review process?
The reviewers were very insightful and helpful in their suggestions, as was the editor. The paper is clearer and more relevant as a result of their comments.
What, if anything, would you do differently if you could go back and do this study again?
This is the first step in a research trajectory, so this foundational study is needed before other more carefully controlled studies can be conducted. This is not a “final word” kind of study, but it opens the door for more empirical investigations in positive organizational scholarship.
