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Advancing a Morphogenetic Understanding of Organisational Behaviour ADVANCING A MORPHOGENETIC UNDERSTANDING OF ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR An Investigation into the Psychological Mechanisms and Organisational Behavioural Tendencies of Autonomous Reflexivity By Royston Francis Meriton Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Leeds Leeds University Business School September 2016 The candidate confirms that the work submitted is his/her own and that appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of others. This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. ©2016 “The University of Leeds” Royston Francis Meriton Acknowledgement “Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery None but ourselves can free our mind…” Bob Marley (1945 – 1981) RIP To Thierry and Keisha Nicky and Mark thank you for your patience and confidence showed in me. I cannot express enough in words how much your guidance has been valued. Granny, you have been my rock, you may never know how much your influence runs deep in this work. I thank Professor Ann Cunliffe for her comments on an earlier draft and Dr Andy Brown for lending a listening ear. Without her confidence and understanding this work would not have been possible, a special mention goes to Professor Margaret Archer for her informal guidance, you are an inspiration to many. A special mention also goes to Maha, a friend I have shared many a thought with, you have the ability to inspire even without trying. All of this would have been but a fleeting illusion without Richard, thank you. Finis coronat opus I | P a g e The Abstract It has been argued that the inertial forces of traditional societies are being gradually eroded under the weight of the destabilising forces imbued in nascent globalisation. For the new cosmopolitans of late modernity, this means that forging a sense of self is therefore becoming increasingly a reflexive project. This thesis celebrates reflexivity as an emergent human power. Three dominant modes of human reflexivity have been identified; communicative, autonomous, meta. Fractured reflexivity on the other hand is considered as non-reflexive. Moreover, the contextual discontinuity favoured by late modern societies appears to be selective, conditioning structural circumstances in favour of autonomous reflexivity in mainstream organisations. In the first instance, the findings of this thesis expose the fragility of the internal reliability of the measurement models of the modes of Archer’s internal conversation index (ICONI). Secondly, drawing on the resources of critical realism, this thesis’ further contribution to knowledge is in revealing the positive psychological resources associated with an autonomous reflexivity intervention. By adopting an evidence-based realist review followed in sequence by a large scale survey and structural equation modelling, the findings suggest that autonomous reflexivity potentially holds the key to unlocking the resources that underlie positive psychological capital (PsyCap). In turn, PsyCap seems to operate in the intervening space between internal conversation and action accounting for the positive sense of self associated with autonomous reflexivity. However, autonomous reflexivity does not mean unrestricted homo economicus, rather it means the search for congruence between a particular modus vivendi and a meaningful work context. Thus, this thesis also shows that autonomous reflexivity and the experience of contextual discontinuity at work share in a reciprocal relationship. Such congruency translates into positive organisational outcomes at the individual level albeit with the tendency to be mediated by positive PsyCap. II | P a g e List of Abbreviations of Key Terms AR Autonomous Reflexivity MR Meta Reflexivity FR Fractured Reflexivity CR Communicative Reflexivity COCD Climate of Organisational Contextual Discontinuity ICONI Internal Conversation Indicator OFLEX Organisational Flexibility and Innovation ORES Organisational Resources OREF Organisational Reflexivity OAUT Organisational Autonomy RESI Resilience SCONFI Self-confidence/efficacy OPTI Optimism HOP Hope PsyCap Psychological Capital TPERF Task Performance JOSAT Job Satisfaction INOV Innovative Behaviour FOC Fear of Change EDU Education level T_POST Tenure in post T_ORG Tenure in organisation CMO Context, Mechanisms, and Outcomes III | P a g e Table of Contents Acknowledgement ............................................................................................. I The Abstract ...................................................................................................... II List of Abbreviations of Key Terms ................................................................ III List of Figures ............................................................................................... VIII List of Tables ................................................................................................. VIII Chapter One: Introduction ............................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ........................................................................................... 1 1.2 Research Gap and Research Question ................................................ 2 1.3 Chapter Summary ................................................................................. 6 1.3.1 Structure of the Thesis .................................................................... 7 Chapter Two: Realist Literature Review ......................................................... 8 2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................... 8 2.2 Justifying the Realist Review Approach ................................................ 9 2.3 Formulating the Middle Range Theory (MRT) ..................................... 17 2.4 Searching, Selection and Appraisal, and Synthesis ............................ 21 2.4.1 The Searching Process ................................................................. 21 2.4.2 Selection and Appraisal of Documents .......................................... 21 2.4.3 Data Extraction and Synthesis ...................................................... 23 2.5 Findings and Discussion ..................................................................... 24 2.5.1 Autonomous Reflexivity and Psychological Resources ................. 27 2.5.2 Self-Confidence/Efficacy ............................................................... 28 2.5.3 Resilience ...................................................................................... 31 2.5.4 Hopefulness .................................................................................. 34 2.5.5 Optimism ....................................................................................... 38 2.5.6 Psychological Capital .................................................................... 43 2.5.7 Autonomous Reflexivity, PsyCap and Outcomes .......................... 47 2.5.8 Performance .................................................................................. 48 2.5.9 Job Satisfaction ............................................................................. 50 2.5.10 Innovative Behaviour ................................................................. 51 2.5.11 Relationship with Change .......................................................... 53 IV | P a g e 2.5.12 Organisational Context for Autonomous Reflexivity ................... 55 2.5.13 CMO Configurations: Linking PsyCap, OCD, and Outworks ...... 60 2.6 Operationalising COCD ...................................................................... 64 2.6.1 The Different Facets of COCD ...................................................... 65 2.7 Chapter Summary ............................................................................... 74 Chapter Three: Methodological Considerations .......................................... 76 3.1 Introduction ......................................................................................... 76 3.2 Sampling and Recruitment .................................................................. 76 3.2.1 Sampling ....................................................................................... 76 3.2.2 Recruitment ................................................................................... 78 3.2.3 Non-response Bias ........................................................................ 79 3.3 Data Screening ................................................................................... 80 3.4 Sample Socio-demographic Characteristics ....................................... 82 3.5 A Priori Consideration of Method Effects ............................................ 85 3.6 Measures ............................................................................................ 88 3.6.1 Psychological Capital Constituents ............................................... 88 3.6.2 Job Satisfaction ............................................................................. 89 3.6.3 Innovative Behaviour ..................................................................... 90 3.6.4 Work Performance ........................................................................ 90 3.6.5 Change Attitude............................................................................. 91 3.6.6 Internal Conversation .................................................................... 91 3.6.7 Reflective
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