OB
HR
Kelly Harrington
Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern U., United States
Nicole Abi-Esber
Harvard Business School, United States
Charles Dorison
-, United States
Sophia Pink
The Wharton School, U. of Pennsylvania
Alison Brooks
Harvard U., United States
Ariella Kristal
Harvard Business School
Loran Nordgren
Northwestern U., United States
The idea that structure —explicit and predetermined rules that are imposed to guide behavior in situations and tasks— can elevate and improve performance is well established in the field of management. However, what is largely absent from the literature is an investigation of individuals’ perceptions and attitudes towards the structures that are often embedded in tasks and situations necessary for our work. As perceptions are consequential antecedents of behavior, how individuals perceive these structured devices may have important implications for the tasks and experiences they choose to engage in and support. The papers in this symposium build on prior work on the topic of structure by making three important contributions: 1) they begin to investigate how people perceive the impact of adding structure on enjoyment and effectiveness; 2) they demonstrate how structure can provide interpersonal benefits— topic preparation improves conversations and precommitment strategies facilitate the development of interpersonal trust; and 3) they show how structural attributions shape perceptions of others, the self, and support for policy. Ultimately, the work presented in this symposium highlights the power of perceptions and how they might hinder our ability to capitalize on the benefits that structure can confer in organizations and society.
Author: Kelly Harrington – Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern U.
Author: Loran F. Nordgren – Northwestern U.
Author: Nicole Abi-Esber – Harvard Business School
Author: Alison Wood Brooks – Harvard U.
Author: Ariella Kristal – Harvard Business School
Author: Charles Adam Dorison – -
Author: Sophia Pink – The Wharton School, U. of Pennsylvania