25-08-2017, 09:32 PM
The Employee-Organization Relationship: Where Do We Go From Here?
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Abstract
While there is a great deal of literature on the employee-organization relationship, we argue for a number of needed developments. The status of EOR theory is first discussed, and the assumptions associated with popular frameworks, including who is party to the relationship, the norm of reciprocity as a functioning rule, and the value of the resources exchanged. Next, areas of underdevelopment in the EOR literature are presented with a spotlight on specification of agents, what is being predicted, placing the EOR in context, and micro- and macro-levels of the EOR. The final section of the article provides recommendations for future research on the EOR, focusing on methods, relevance, diversity, managerial implications, and employee implications.
Status of EOR Theory
Research on the EOR has drawn upon social exchange (Blau, 1964) and the inducements-contributions model (March & Simon, 1958) to provide the theoretical foundation to understanding the employee and employer perspectives to the exchange. Although different views of social exchange exist, there is consensus amongst theorists that social exchange involves a series of interactions that generate obligations to reciprocate (Cropanzano & Mitchell, 2005). In essence, three aspects are fundamental to social exchange: relationship, reciprocity and exchange. A social exchange relationship begins with one party bestowing a benefit to another. If the beneficiary reciprocates, and then a series of benefits exchanges occur, this creates feelings of mutual obligation between the parties. Over time, the relationship can then be characterized as one where the exchange partners trust each other to reciprocate benefits received.
Underdevelopment in the EOR
Having reviewed the assumptions made regarding the relationship, how the relationship operates and what is exchanged as part of the relationship, we now turn to issues that are underdeveloped in EOR research. In particular, we focus on (a) the specification of agents (b) what is being predicted © placing EOR in context and (d) levels of EOR.
Specification of agents
An underdeveloped area within the employment relationship research is the specification (or lack) of organizational agents. Here, theorizing is weak and empirically, who represents the organization has yielded a number of different positions. On one hand, researchers have selected an employee’s immediate manager (Tekleab & Taylor, 2003) as representing the organization to an employee in what is conceptualized as a dyadic exchange. Alternatively, other researchers have focused on middle/senior level managers (Coyle-Shapiro & Kessler, 2002; Porter, Pearce, Tripoli & Lewis, 1998) in capturing the organization’s perspective to its relationship with employees at a global level.