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Exploring Positive Relationships at Work

Building a Theoretical and Research Foundation

Exploring Positive Relationships at Work

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Series: Series in Organization and Management.

This edited volume brings together a select group of leading organizational scholars for the purpose of developing a foundation-setting book on positive relationships at work. Positive Relationships at Work (PRW) is a rich new interdisciplinary domain of inquiry that focuses on the generative processes, relational mechanisms and outcomes associated with positive relationships between people at work. This volume builds a solid foundation for this promising new area of scholarly inquiry and offers a multidisciplinary exploration of how relationships at work become a source of growth, vitality, learning and generative states of human and collective flourishing. A unique feature of the book is the use of a connecting commentator chapter at the end of each section. The Commentator Chapters, written by preeminent scholars, uncover and discuss integrative themes that emerge within sections.

The editors approach the topic from multiple levels, each level providing critical, valuable insights into the dynamic process underlying positive relationships at work. These levels are arranged in five parts:

  • an introduction to positive relationships at work;
  • Individuals and Dyads;
  • Groups and Communities;
  • Organizations and Organizing; and
  • a conclusion that offers an engaging invitation and multi-level map for guiding future research.

This volume will appeal to academics and practitioners, as well as scholars and graduate students in organizational psychology, management, human resources, and inter-personal communications.

Table of Contents

Contents: Series Foreword. Part I: Introduction. B.R. Ragins, J.E. Dutton, Positive Relationships at Work: An Introduction and Invitation. Part II: Positive Relationships: Individuals and Dyads. L.M. Roberts, From Proving to Becoming: How Positive Relationships Create a Context for Self-Discovery and Self-Actualization. E.D. Heaphy, Bodily Insights: Three Lenses on Positive Organizational Relationships. R.W. Quinn, Energizing Others in Work Connections. B.R. Ragins, A.K. Verbos, Positive Relationships in Action: Relational Mentoring and Mentoring Schemas in the Workplace. M.G. Pratt, K.T. Dirks, Rebuilding Trust and Restoring Positive Relationships: A Commitment-Based View of Trust. M.N. Davidson, E.H. James, The Engines of Positive Relationships Across Difference: Conflict and Learning. J. Greenberg, Positive Organizational Justice: From Fair to Fairer—and Beyond. S. Duck, Commentary: Finding Connections at the Individual/Dyadic Level. Part III: Positive Relationships: Groups and Communities. W.A. Kahn, Meaningful Connections: Positive Relationships and Attachments at Work. M. Higgins, A Contingency Perspective on Developmental Networks. D. Ancona, W. Isaacs, Structural Balance in Teams. R. Blatt, C.T. Camden, Positive Relationships and Cultivating Community. K.L. McGinn, History, Structure, and Practices: San Pedro Longshoremen in the Face of Change. W.A. Kahn, Commentary: Positive Relationships in Groups and Communities. Part IV: Positive Relationships: Organizations and Organizing. K. Golden-Biddle, K. GermAnn, T. Reay, G. Procyshen, Creating and Sustaining Positive Organizational Relationships: A Cultural Perspective. M.A. Glynn, K. Wrobel, My Family, My Firm: How Familial Relationships Function as Endogenous Organizational Resources. W. Baker, J.E. Dutton, Enabling Positive Social Capital in Organizations. J.K. Fletcher, Leadership, Power, and Positive Relationships. D.M. Rousseau, K. Ling, Commentary: Following the Resources in Positive Organizational Relationships. Part V: Conclusion. J.E. Dutton, B.R. Ragins, Moving Forward: Positive Relationships at Work as a Research Frontier.

Reviews

"The flourishing positive scholarship movement attempts to shift from models that focus on 'what is wrong' to 'what is right'. Exploring Positive Relationships at Work adds a critical new area of inquiry to this movement. Weaving together different disciplines, levels of analysis and perspectives, this book will change the way we think about relationships in organizational life." – Leslie Perlow, Harvard Business School

"This book brings together leading scholars working at the forefront of efforts to develop a positive psychology of organizational behavior. It contains an intellectually exciting and impressively diverse collection focusing on the crucial but neglected role positive relationships play in organizational life. This is one of those essential volumes that belongs on the shelf of every organizational theorist interested in where the field is going and, more importantly, where it should be going."– Roderick M. Kramer, William R. Kimball Professor of Organizational Behavior, Stanford Graduate School of Business

'Dutton and Ragins have compiled a very good collection of chapters that will likely facilitate putting the study of positive relationships at work on the research map… Each of the chapters is well written, on point, and clearly linked to positive relationships at work… it is applicable to virtually anyone whose work involves interacting with other people.' - Steven M. Elias, PsycCRITIQUES