Foundations

Chapter 1

Foundations of Positive Organizational Scholarship

Kim S. Cameron, Jane E. Dutton, and Robert E. Quinn

Imagine a world in which almost all organizations are typified by greed,

selfishness, manipulation, secrecy, and a single-minded focus on winning.

Wealth creation is the key indicator of success. Imagine that members of

such organizations are characterized by distrust, anxiety, self-absorption,

fear, burnout, and feelings of abuse. Conflict, lawsuits, contract breaking,

retribution, and disrespect characterize many interactions and social rela-

tionships. Imagine also that scholarly researchers investigating these orga-

nizations emphasize theories of problem solving, reciprocity and justice,

managing uncertainty, overcoming resistance, achieving profitability, and

competing successfully against others.

For the sake of contrast, now imagine another world in which almost all

organizations are typified by appreciation, collaboration, virtuousness, vital-

ity, and meaningfulness. Creating abundance and human well-being are

key indicators of success. Imagine that members of such organizations are

characterized by trustworthiness, resilience, wisdom, humility, and high

levels of positive energy. Social relationships and interactions are character-

ized by compassion, loyalty, honesty, respect, and forgiveness. Significant

attention is given to what makes life worth living. Imagine that scholarly

researchers emphasize theories of excellence, transcendence, positive de-

viance, extraordinary performance, and positive spirals of flourishing.

C o p y r i g h t 2 0 0 3 . B e r r e t t - K o e h l e r P u b l i s h e r s .

A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d . M a y n o t b e r e p r o d u c e d i n a n y f o r m w i t h o u t p e r m i s s i o n f r o m t h e p u b l i s h e r , e x c e p t f a i r u s e s p e r m i t t e d u n d e r U . S . o r a p p l i c a b l e c o p y r i g h t l a w .

EBSCO Publishing : eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) - printed on 4/15/2024 5:39 PM via INDIANA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY AN: 260674 ; Kim Cameron, Jane Dutton.; Positive Organizational Scholarship : Foundations of a New Discipline Account: s8876267.main.edsocls

4  Introduction

Positive organizational scholarship (POS) does not reject the value and

significance of the phenomena in the first worldview. Rather, it emphasizes

the phenomena represented in the second worldview. A focus on competi-

tion and profitability in the first worldview, for example, is crucial for un-

derstanding organizational survival and success. The second worldview

merely calls attention to phenomena that represent positive deviance—

phenomena that have received limited scholarly attention in organizational

studies. Most organizational theories and empirical research have hereto-

fore adopted assumptions and variables that are more typical of the first

worldview than the second.

THE DOMAIN OF POSITIVE ORGANIZATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP

POS is concerned primarily with the study of especially positive outcomes,

processes, and attributes of organizations and their members. POS does not

represent a single theory, but it focuses on dynamics that are typically de-

scribed by words such as excellence, thriving, flourishing, abundance, resilience, or virtuousness. POS represents an expanded perspective that includes in-

strumental concerns but puts an increased emphasis on ideas of “goodness”

and positive human potential. It encompasses attention to the enablers (e.g.,

processes, capabilities, structures, methods), the motivations (e.g., unselfish-

ness, altruism, contribution without regard to self), and the outcomes or effects (e.g., vitality, meaningfulness, exhilaration, high-quality relationships) asso-

ciated with positive phenomena. POS is distinguished from traditional or-

ganizational studies in that it seeks to understand what represents and

approaches the best of the human condition. In seeking to understand such

phenomena, POS has a number of biases. These biases can be considered

in terms of each of the three concepts in the label positive organizational scholarship.

Positive

POS seeks to understand positive states—such as resilience (see Chapter 7

by Sutcliffe and Vogus) or meaningfulness (see Chapter 20 by Pratt and

Ashforth)—as well as the dynamics and outcomes associated with those

states—such as gratitude (see Chapter 6 by Emmons) and positive connec-

tions (see Chapter 17 by Dutton and Heaphy). This does not mean that tra-

ditional organizational studies could be accused of focusing on “negative”

or undesirable states, only that especially positive states, dynamics, and out-

comes usually receive less attention in traditional organizational studies.

POS also encompasses the study of systems in equilibrium, but it is espe-

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Foundations of Organizational Scholarship  5

cially interested in the nonlinear positive dynamics (what several authors in

this volume refer to as “positive spirals”; see Chapter 11 by Fredrickson)

that are frequently associated with positive organizational phenomena. POS

encompasses the examination of typical patterns of behavior and exchange,

but it also tends to emphasize the realization of potential patterns of excel-

lence, especially positive deviance from expected patterns (see Chapter 14

by Spreitzer and Sonenshein). It takes classic questions such as those of or-

ganizational leadership and design and uncovers new understanding by ex-

amining positive processes that create these patterns (see Chapter 16 by

Luthans and Avolio and Chapter 18 by Gittell). Whereas POS does not re-

ject the examination of dysfunctions, or dynamics that disable or produce

harm (see Chapter 5 by Weick), it does tend to emphasize the examination

of factors that enable positive consequences for individuals, groups, and or-

ganizations (see Chapter 12 by Bagozzi). “Positive,” in other words, repre-

sents an affirmative bias and orientation, not a substitute for other more

common organizational phenomena. More often than not, POS focuses on

phenomena that are displayed “not in accordance with the situation broadly

construed” (see Chapter 3 by Park and Peterson), or, in other words, phe-

nomena that are unexpectedly positive. The interest is in exceptional, vir-

tuous, life-giving, and flourishing phenomena.

Organizational

POS focuses on positive processes and states that occur in association with

organizational contexts. It examines positive phenomena within organiza-

tions as well as positive organizational contexts themselves. POS draws

from the full spectrum of organizational theories to understand, explain,

and predict the occurrence, causes, and consequences of positivity. POS ex-

pands the boundaries of these theories to make visible positive states, posi-

tive processes, and positive relationships that are typically ignored within

organizational studies. For example, POS spotlights how the virtuousness of

organizations is associated with financial performance in the context of

downsizing, in contrast to a more typical focus on how organizations try to

mitigate the harmful effects of downsizing (see Chapter 4 by Cameron); or,

how organizational practices enable individuals to craft meaningful work

through fostering individual “callings,” in contrast to a more typical focus

on employee productivity or morale (see Chapter 19 by Wrzesniewski); or,

how the cascading dynamics of empowerment create broader inclusion of

stakeholders in public organizations, in contrast to a focus on the political

dynamics of stakeholder demands (see Chapter 22 by Feldman and

Khademian); or, how building on strengths produces more positive out-

comes in a diverse array of settings such as classroom learning, employee

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6  Introduction

commitment, leadership development, and firm profitability, in contrast to

a more typical focus on managing or overcoming weaknesses (see Chapter

8 by Clifton and Harter). As this sampling of studies implies, a POS lens ex-

poses new or different mechanisms through which positive organizational

dynamics and positive organizational processes produce extraordinarily pos-

itive or unexpected outcomes. At the same time, POS purposely illumi-

nates how contexts and processes, and their interactions, are related to

positive states in individuals, groups, and organizations.

Scholarship

There is no lack of self-help accounts that prescribe relatively simple and

uncomplicated prescriptions for achieving happiness, fulfillment, or effec-

tiveness. What is lacking in most of these contributions, however, is em-

pirical credibility and theoretical explanations for how and why the prescrip-

tions work. Further, these more prescriptive accounts do not speak to the

contingencies regarding when the directives will produce the desired results

and when they won’t. Having a foundation in the scientific method is the

basis upon which most concepts, relationships, and prescriptions develop

staying power. POS does not stand in opposition to the array of self-help

publications—many of which recount positive dynamics and outcomes—but

it extends beyond them in its desire to develop rigorous, systematic, and

theory-based foundations for positive phenomena. POS requires careful def-

initions of terms, a rationale for prescriptions and recommendations, consis-

tency with scientific procedures in drawing conclusions, and grounding in

previous related work. An interest in POS implies a commitment to the full

spectrum of activities involved in scholarship. Whereas this book is intended

to address an audience of organizational researchers, the success and sustain-

ability of this field requires balanced attention to research, teaching, and

practice as three important elements of scholarly endeavor. A bias of POS is

to develop theory and research in service of teaching and practice. POS is

biased toward appreciating how each of these elements of the scholarly en-

deavor contributes to the vitality of the others.

SOME CORRELATES OF POSITIVE ORGANIZATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP

An emphasis on positive phenomena is not unique in the social sciences, of

course. Other traditions have also examined positive dynamics. In fact, POS

has gained particular momentum from literatures in several other fields.

Two—positive psychology in Chapter 2 by Peterson and Seligman, and ap-

preciative inquiry in Chapter 15 by Cooperrider and Sekerka—are particu-

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Foundations of Organizational Scholarship  7

larly well described in this volume. Other traditions with a focus on positive

phenomena include community psychology, humanistic organizational be-

havior, organizational development, prosocial motivation and citizenship

behavior, and corporate social responsibility.

Positive Psychology

In 1998 the president of the American Psychological Association, Martin

Seligman, initiated a new emphasis in the field of psychology, referred to as

positive psychology. Seligman argued that since World War II, traditional

psychology has focused almost exclusively on human pathology, or on what

is wrong with and lacking in individuals. This brand of psychology devel-

oped the assumption that human beings are inherently fragile and flawed.

On the one hand, clinical psychology has made considerable progress in

finding strategies of treatment and in moving people from psychological ill-

ness toward health. On the other hand, the field has created a deficit bias.

It produced a set of theories and practices that described and explained

remedies for specific human problems. In contrast, the development of pos-

itive psychology was not meant to replace the existing field but to supple-

ment it. Its focus is on strengths and on building the best in life. The basic

assumption is that goodness and excellence are not illusions but are authen-

tic states and modes of being that can be analyzed and achieved. Positive

psychology has three points of focus: positive experiences such as happiness,

pleasure, joy, and fulfillment; positive individual traits such as character, tal-

ents, and interests; and positive institutions such as families, schools, busi-

ness, communities, and societies. This growing literature has begun to

capture the attention of both scholars and the media (Snyder & Lopez,

2002; Seligman, 2002).

Community Psychology

Historically, community psychology has had an emphasis on the prevention

of illness and on wellness enhancement. Jahoda’s treatment of positive

mental health was one of the first attempts to “express dissatisfaction with

a primary focus on sick behavior” (1958: ix) and to emphasize illness pre-

vention and wellness. She identified six domains of prevention-based com-

munity psychology: positive self-attitudes, wholesome growth and

development, personal integration, autonomy, accurate perception of real-

ity, and mastery of one’s environment. Other writers in community psy-

chology, notably Cowen (1973, 1977, 1980, 1986, 1994, 1999), also

discussed principles and practices associated with prevention of mental ill-

ness. Community-based prevention and wellness enhancement programs

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8  Introduction

have been studied and described in that literature, as illustrated by Durlak

and Wells’s summary (1997) of 177 studies of prevention and wellness and

their positive outcomes. Unfortunately, little dissemination of those findings

has occurred in the more general field of psychology or in organizational

studies.

Organizational Development and Appreciative Inquiry

Organizational development (OD) was founded on a set of techniques and

strategies for changing, developing, and enhancing the functioning of or-

ganizations—especially the internal human features of the organization. In

OD, a recent movement has emerged that focuses directly on “searching

for the best in people, their organizations, and the relevant world around

them . . . [it] involves in a central way the art and practice of asking ques-

tions that strengthen a system’s capacity to apprehend, anticipate, and

heighten positive potential” (Cooperrider & Whitney, 2000: 5). Chapter 15

in this volume describes the foundation of this movement—called appre- ciative inquiry—which has recently received a substantial amount of atten-

tion among consultants and change agents (Srivastava & Cooperrider,

1999; Cooperrider & Whitney, 2000). Appreciative inquiry refers to a com-

posite of change practices based on the assumption that organizations have

a positive core that, if revealed and tapped, unleashes positive energy and

positive improvement. The change process proceeds by identifying past

examples of peak performance, spectacular successes, or positive aspira-

tions for the future. Key explanatory elements are identified that account

for these past successes, and a vision of the future is crafted based on what

was extraordinarily successful and what can be perpetuated in the future.

The success and popularity of this approach to organizational development

have advanced at a more rapid pace than the articulation of the theory for

why it works, so the scholarly opportunities for POS researchers to examine

and comprehend the underlying dynamics of appreciative inquiry are

abundant.

Prosocial and Citizenship Behavior

An increasing amount of attention has also been given to prosocial behavior

at work, sometimes called “citizenship behavior,” which refers to helping

behaviors designed to provide assistance or benefit to others (Organ, 1988;

George, 1991; Batson, 1994). These types of behaviors exceed role re-

quirements and are pursued in spite of not being associated with a formal

organizational reward (Bolino, Turnley, & Bloodgood, 2002). Examples

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Foundations of Organizational Scholarship  9

range from providing assistance to customers or coworkers in a work setting

to volunteer or philanthropic activity outside of work. In all cases, prosocial

and citizenship behavior refers to voluntary actions that provide benefit to

other people. Related literature has appeared on topics such as rescuing

Jews in Nazi Europe, fundraising, assisting starving refugees, saving whales

and endangered species, assisting third world countries, donating organs,

enhancing group welfare, and so on (Batson, 1994; Podsakoff, MacKenzie,

Paine, & Bachrach, 2000). An ongoing debate in psychology centers on

whether or not prosocial behavior is really just a selfish act designed to sat-

isfy a personal, egotistical need, or whether empathy and altruism are the

chief motivators of prosocial behavior. A variety of experiments have been

performed to test the nature of prosocial motivation (Batson, 1991), but the

debate continues.

Corporate Social Responsibility

An increasing literature on corporate social responsibility centers on the

obligation of organizations, especially corporations, to address societal prob-

lems and ills (Margolis & Walsh, 2002; Whetten, Rands, & Godfrey, 2001).

All three branches of the U.S. government have urged corporations to be-

come involved in promoting social welfare—from contributing to the

global AIDS fund to establishing minimum wage standards. A large num-

ber of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have also been established

to address social problems and to pressure corporations to join them in tak-

ing responsibility for addressing human suffering. Various academic disci-

plines have long been interested in social welfare, social justice, and

human rights (e.g., accounting, economics, strategy, and organizational be-

havior), and most of this scholarly work has focused on the relationship

between corporate social performance (i.e., involvement in socially respon-

sible activities) and financial performance. In an extensive review of the

literature, Margolis and Walsh (2002) reported that 53 percent of the stud-

ies pointed to a positive relationship between corporate social performance

and financial performance when the latter was treated as the dependent

variable. Two-thirds (68 percent) of the studies that treated financial per-

formance as an independent variable found a positive relationship with cor-

porate social performance.

The point of our brief discussion of these related scholarly traditions is to

acknowledge that the emphasis on positive phenomena is neither unique

nor new. Much scholarly work has been done in other arenas. On the other

hand, too little of that work has found its way into organizational studies,

and with the exception of positive psychology and appreciative inquiry,

much of that work remains focused on overcoming ills, problems, and diffi-

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10  Introduction

culties rather than on flourishing, on extraordinarily positive dynamics, or

on the best of the human condition. POS as a field of study seeks to capi-

talize on these related scholarly traditions, but POS also represents an ex-

tension of what is known to date about generative and life-giving

phenomena in organizations.

ADVANTAGES OF A POSITIVE ORGANIZATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP PERSPECTIVE

POS is a fresh lens. It offers new ways of looking at old phenomena. By ap-

plying this new lens, elements that were formerly invisible become visible.

POS helps people look at phenomena in new ways. For example, POS can

help traditional network and social capital research uncover energizing and

generative relationships (see Chapter 21 by Baker, Cross, and Wooten);

typical work on adaptation can uncover new patterns of replenishment and

resilience (see Chapter 7 by Sutcliffe and Vogus); typical work on informa-

tion exchange and learning can uncover new pathways for knowledge cre-

ation (see Chapter 13 by Lee, Caza, Edmondson, and Thomke); typical

work on motivation can uncover unexpected and transcendent motiva-

tional dynamics (see Chapter 9 by Bateman and Porath); and typical work

on problem solving and deficit gaps can uncover abundance gaps (see

Chapter 15 by Cooperrider and Sekerka).

To repeat, POS is not value-neutral. It advocates the position that the

desire to improve the human condition is universal and that the capacity to

do so is latent in most systems. The means by which this latent capacity is

unleashed and organized, the extent to which human possibilities are en-

abled, and the extent to which systems produce extraordinarily positive

outcomes are of special interest. POS does not exclude phenomena that are

typically labeled “positive” in organizational studies—such as organi-

zational improvement, goal achievement, or making a profit—but it has a

bias toward life-giving, generative, and ennobling human conditions.

In other words, POS seeks to be a generative lens for linking theories in

organizational studies. As an example, POS can uncover new sources and

forms of capabilities that build on human relationships. By focusing on the

generative dynamics of human organizing, POS provides an expanded view

of how organizations can create sustained competitive advantage. By un-

locking capacities for elements such as meaning creation, relationship

transformation, positive emotion cultivation, and high-quality connections,

organizations can produce sustained sources of collective capability that

help organizations thrive. POS offers a unique conceptual foundation for

understanding how and why organizational strategies have their effects on

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Foundations of Organizational Scholarship  11

human behavior in the workplace, and why some strategies and dynamic

capabilities may be more generative than others.

OUTLINE OF THE BOOK

Our purpose in this volume is to provide groundwork for a new emphasis on

positive organizational phenomena. The intent is to make positive phenom-

ena available for systematic and rigorous investigation by organizational

scholars. We are mindful of Cowen and Kilmer’s observation (2002) that

the social sciences are filled with faddish concepts and perspectives that

have lost credibility and relevance because people accepted too quickly an

alluring concept that was not conceptually defined and rigorously investi-

gated. Such concepts receive short-lived attention, spinning off in discon-

nected directions and never generating cumulative findings or theories.

“Even though there may be good agreement about the pristine beauty and

promise of the new concept as an abstraction, people may diverge substan-

tially in how, concretely, its operations are best understood and imple-

mented” (p. 450). The intent of each chapter in this volume is to invite

organizational scholars to build upon and extend the positive organizational

phenomena being examined. These chapters each provide definitional,

theoretical, and/or empirical foundations for what we anticipate will be-

come a cumulative body of enduring work.

We have organized the chapters into three parts. These parts are an arbi-

trary way to capture some basic themes in POS phenomena. Part 1—“Vir-

tuous Processes, Strengths, and Positive Organizing”—contains chapters on

virtues and strengths in individuals and organizations that are associated

with positive outcomes. Chapters also discuss extraordinarily positive orga-

nizing processes. Part 2—“Upward Spirals and Positive Change”—identi-

fies the generative dynamics associated with self-reinforcing, positive

spirals in organizations. The effects of positive emotions, inquiry, and lead-

ership on individuals and organizations are examined. Part 3—“Positive

Meanings and Positive Connections”—contains chapters focusing on posi-

tive human relationships and the positive meaning of, and in, work that are

associated with human flourishing and positive dynamics in organizations.

Each of these parts contains chapters that ground a specific concept or phe-

nomenon in scholarly literature, identify its relationship to positive organi-

zational scholarship, and guide further scholarly work with suggested

research questions and additional areas of needed study. The chapters are

intended to be invitations to further work by providing a foundation upon

which scholarship can expand.

In Part 1, Park and Peterson in Chapter 3 provide an overview of the ex-

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12  Introduction

tensive work being done to classify strengths and virtues in the field of pos-

itive psychology. The chapter focuses specifically on six widely shared or-

ganizational virtues that help produce the good society, the good

workplace, and the good school. Chapter 4 by Cameron introduces the con-

cept of organizational virtuousness and examines its relationship to several

measures of organizational performance. The results demonstrate that or-

ganizations scoring high in virtuousness have higher levels of performance,

especially after downsizing. Weick’s Chapter 5 examines the dynamics of

tragic and traumatic events, and it highlights how a POS perspective helps

explain the absence of “a million accidents waiting to happen.” Chapter 6

by Emmons introduces the concept of gratitude and identifies the impor-

tance of this phenomenon in organizational settings. Research is reviewed

that establishes relationships between feelings and expressions of gratitude

and desirable individual and organizational outcomes. Chapter 7 by Sut-

cliffe and Vogus highlights resilience as a key attribute of flourishing organ-

izations. They identify predictors, dimensions, contributors, and effects of

resilience in organizations, groups, and individuals. Chapter 8 by Clifton

and Harter reviews a variety of empirical studies that support the proposi-

tion that building strengths is the most efficient focus for individual and or-

ganizational improvement efforts. The authors point out that individuals

and organizations gain more when they build on their strengths than when

they make comparable efforts in overcoming weaknesses. In Chapter 9,

Bateman and Porath introduce the concept of transcendent motivation.

Transcendent motivation is that which surpasses environment or personal

constraints and creates positive change in the person or the environment.

Conceptual and empirical dimensions of the construct are developed.

Chapter 10 by Worline and Quinn focuses on the virtue of courageous prin-

cipled action in fostering innovation and vitality in the four major organiz-

ational forms and structures.

Part 2 focuses on upward spirals, or the dynamics of escalating positive

phenomena in organizations. In Chapter 11, Fredrickson focuses on positive

emotions in organizations. Based on her broaden-and-build theory, she ex-

plains how positive emotions can transform individuals and organizations

and move them in upward spirals to higher levels of performance. In Chap-

ter 12, Bagozzi focuses on the dynamics of emotions, mapping how such

emotions give rise to both negative and positive outcomes in organizations.

In Chapter 13, Lee, Caza, Edmondson, and Thomke focus on attributes of

organization members and the processes of knowledge creation. They

show how knowledge-creating processes give rise to self-reinforcing or up-

ward dynamics. In Chapter 14, Spreitzer and Sonenshein discuss the con-

cept of positive deviance, or the manifestation of extreme positive

behaviors in organizations, and they provide a research agenda for further

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Foundations of Organizational Scholarship  13

examining the dynamics involved. In Chapter 15, Cooperrider and Sekerka

provide a review of the literature on appreciative inquiry (AI) and present a

new model of AI that explains the understructure of the process for un-

leashing potential in organizations. Luthans and Avolio craft Chapter 16 by

drawing from their respective past efforts on leadership. They define what

is meant by authentic leadership and offer a theoretically driven model for

developing authentic leaders.

Part 3 contains chapters focusing on relationships, positive connections,

and meaningfulness. In Chapter 17, Dutton and Heaphy introduce the con-

cept of high-quality connections and develop four mechanisms through

which high-quality connections enable individuals to thrive. In Chapter 18,

Gittell uses the idea of high-quality connections to build a new perspective

on the positive dynamics of coordination mechanisms in organizations.

Chapters 19 by Wrzesniewski and 20 by Pratt and Ashforth focus on the

positive meanings created at work and their impact on individuals and or-

ganizations. Wrzesniewski focuses on the powerful effects of work orienta-

tions referred to as “callings” and how individuals can craft their work to

make it more meaningful. Pratt and Ashforth use core concepts of identity

to build a theory of how organizational contexts foster meaningfulness both

in working and at work. They examine how contexts enrich memberships,

tasks, and roles. Chapter 21 by Baker, Cross, and Wooten introduces ideas

of positive energy as means for explaining positive dynamics of connection.

More specifically, the authors develop a new perspective they call “positive

network analysis” that explains how the positive energy created in positive

ties delivers extraordinary results. They begin to unpack the mechanisms

that contribute to these effects. Last, but definitely not least, Feldman and

Khademian in Chapter 22 take on the dynamics of inclusion and empower-

ment in a public management context. Their model of cascading inclusion

shows how empowerment on the “inside” of an organization creates de-

mocracy and participation for stakeholders on the “outside.”

Taken as a whole, these chapters represent only a sampling of key POS

phenomena, of course, but they do begin to create a foundation upon which

additional scholarly work can build. Their intent is to provide empirical,

theoretical, and logical arguments so that a science of positive organi-

zational dynamics can flourish.

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