Lyons publishes paper in the Journal of Managerial Psychology

Associate Professor of Management Brian Lyons published his paper about the effectiveness of peer reporting policies.

Brian Lyons, associate professor of management in the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business, co-authored a paper on the effectiveness of peer reporting policies on counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs).

The paper, “On the effectiveness of peer reporting policies,” was co-authored by Lyons and Nathan Bowling, professor of psychology at Wright State University.

The article was accepted on September 17, and can be found online in Volume 32, Issue 8 of the Journal of Managerial Psychology.

The abstract reads as follows:

“Purpose

Unlike general codes of conduct, little is known about whether peer reporting policies achieve their intended purpose – that is, to increase the base rate of peer reporting counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs). The purpose of this paper is to use a person-situation perspective to examine if and when peer reporting policies impact the base rate of peer reporting CWBs.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors collected data from 271 employed participants and used moderated regression to examine whether policy presence and strength (situational variables) enhanced the relationship between a subjective obligation to report CWBs (person variable) and the base rate of peer reporting CWBs. This study also explored whether these interactions differ by CWB target (i.e. the organization vs coworkers).

Findings

Both situational variables – policy presence and policy strength – moderated the relationship between an obligation to report CWBs and the base rate of peer reporting CWBs. The interactions also differed by CWB target.

Originality/value

This study represents one of the initial academic investigations into the effectiveness of peer reporting policies. It primarily draws on the person-situation perspective to explain why peer reporting policies should influence the base rate of peer reporting CWBs. The results support the impact of peer reporting policies, but also suggest the benefit of examining different targets of CWB to help clarify when peer reporting policies are actually effective.”

The Journal of Managerial Psychology is a high-quality outlet that focuses on the psychological and social understanding and impact of management in organizations. It has an acceptance rate of 15% and a 5-year impact factor of 1.84.  The journal publishes paper that research behaviors, theories, practice, methods, and tools used to solve workplace problems and increase the efficacy of people at work.