Papers by Dr. Nicole A . Celestine
Journal of Organizational Behavior, 2020
In recent decades, practitioner interest in the notion of 'play' at work has gene... more In recent decades, practitioner interest in the notion of 'play' at work has generated a surge of research on the topic of play-at-work activities. Findings suggest that activity-based play-at-work can produce an array of positive outcomes for individuals and the organization. However, there remains uncertainty about which forms of play are effective for meeting which particular objectives as past reviews have either focused on a narrow activity or treated all activities as uniform. In this paper, we draw on knowledge from the play and management literatures to review 122 studies of activity-based play-at-work and its outcomes. By identifying several activity-based play-at-work concepts from the literature, we apply both theoretical and data-driven approaches to generate a two-dimensional typology comprising four categories. These categories are manager-initiated work-embedded play (e.g., serious play), self-/peer-initiated work-embedded play (e.g., experiencing one's work as a 'game,' 'puzzle,' or 'sport'), manager-initiated diversionary play (e.g., celebrations), and self-/peer-initiated diversionary play (e.g., joking practices). In our discussion, we unify play-at-work activities under an energy-management framework and consider implications for understanding each of the four categories in our typology using both theories applied in past research and energy-related theories from neighboring literatures.
International Journal of Knowledge Management, 2016
This study examines the moderating effects of individuals' national cultural values on intrin... more This study examines the moderating effects of individuals' national cultural values on intrinsic motivation to engage in tacit knowledge transfer, through the lens of knowledge coaching. Using partial least squares analysis, survey data from 26 district managers (knowledge coaches) and 102 territory managers (protégés) from a large MNC's subsidiaries in Denmark, Ireland, Japan, Norway, Sweden and the UK is examined. In the first model, appertaining to the knowledge coaches, long-term orientation positively moderated the path between intrinsic motivation and perceived selling skill acquisition. For the corresponding pathway in the protégé model, collectivism and power distance attenuated the pathway. The implications for managers in terms of fostering intrinsic motivation to engage in knowledge transfer across a diversity of employees, and avenues for future research are discussed.
The International Journal of Management Education, 2016
Gamification is a term that has gained currency over the last few years. Gamification refers to t... more Gamification is a term that has gained currency over the last few years. Gamification refers to the application of characteristics from digital games into non-gaming contexts. The concept under other names has attracted the interest of scholars for more than twenty years, due to its possible value in motivating students to learn. However few scholars have investigated ways in which the concept can be applied to building intrinsic motivation in employees. This is a particularly important area for research, as new generations who have been brought up with computer games become the dominant cohort within the workforce. This paper summarises the literature on game playing as a motivator, and outlines a variety of studied motivational responses to gamified systems as evoked from different categories of users, including students, consumers and employees. The paper goes on to discuss how the concept of gamification may interact with various theories of motivation, including Four-Drive Theory and Self-Determination Theory, and makes recommendations as to which gamification elements are relevant to the 21st century workplace, and may be effectively implemented in such a way that they can help to achieve personal and organisational objectives.
Journal of Business Ethics, 2018
Ethical attitudes and behaviour are complex. This complexity extends to the influencers operating... more Ethical attitudes and behaviour are complex. This complexity extends to the influencers operating at different levels both outside and within the organisation, and in different combinations for different individuals. There is hence a growing need to understand the proximal and distal influencers of ethical attitudes, and how these operate in concert at the individual, organisational, and societal levels. Few studies have attempted to combine these main research streams and systematically examine their combined impact. The minority of studies that have taken a combined approach have often done so using conventional statistical and analytical techniques which imply linearity between variables—a situation that rarely exists in business settings and is likely to lead to simplistic or even erroneous conclusions. Applying a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis approach, this paper reports on the mutual and simultaneous influence of individual demographic factors (gender, education), as well as proximal and distal factors stemming from within and outside the work environment (e.g. treatment by one’s supervisor, country-level indicators of corruption perceptions) to understand individuals’ ethical views within the workplace ( n = 525). The multiple configurations that emerged reveal the complex nature of influencers of ethical attitudes, and reinforce the view that “one size does not fit all”. We discuss these implications together with managerial recommendations and future research directions.
Journal of Organizational Behavior, 2021
In recent decades, practitioner interest in the notion of 'play' at work has generated a surge of... more In recent decades, practitioner interest in the notion of 'play' at work has generated a surge of research on the topic of play-at-work activities. Findings suggest that activity-based play-at-work can produce an array of positive outcomes for individuals and the organization. However, there remains uncertainty about which forms of play are effective for meeting which particular objectives as past reviews have either focused on a narrow activity or treated all activities as uniform. In this paper, we draw on knowledge from the play and management literatures to review 122 studies of activity-based play-at-work and its outcomes. By identifying several activity-based play-at-work concepts from the literature, we apply both theoretical and data-driven approaches to generate a two-dimensional typology comprising four categories. These categories are manager-initiated work-embedded play (e.g., serious play), self-/peer-initiated work-embedded play (e.g., experiencing one's work as a 'game,' 'puzzle,' or 'sport'), manager-initiated diversionary play (e.g., celebrations), and self-/peer-initiated diversionary play (e.g., joking practices). In our discussion, we unify play-at-work activities under an energy-management framework and consider implications for understanding each of the four categories in our typology using both theories applied in past research and energy-related theories from neighboring literatures.
Journal of Business Ethics, 2020
Ethical attitudes and behaviour are complex. This complexity extends to the influencers operating... more Ethical attitudes and behaviour are complex. This complexity extends to the influencers operating at different levels both outside and within the organisation, and in different combinations for different individuals. There is hence a growing need to understand the proximal and distal influencers of ethical attitudes, and how these operate in concert at the individual, organisational, and societal levels. Few studies have attempted to combine these main research streams and systematically examine their combined impact. The minority of studies that have taken a combined approach have often done so using conventional statistical and analytical techniques which imply linearity between variables (Hubbard 2015; Ziliak and McCloskey 2008)-a situation that rarely exists in business settings and is likely to lead to simplistic or even erroneous conclusions. Applying a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis approach, this paper reports on the mutual and simultaneous influence of individual demographic factors (gender, education), as well as proximal and distal factors stemming from within and outside the work environment (e.g., treatment by one's supervisor, country-level indicators of corruption perceptions) to understand individuals' ethical views within the workplace (n = 525). The multiple configurations that emerged reveal the complex nature of influencers of ethical attitudes, and reinforce the view that "one size does not fit all". We discuss these implications together with managerial recommendations and future research directions.
International Journal of Knowledge Management, 2016
This study examines the moderating effects of individuals’ national cultural values on intrinsic ... more This study examines the moderating effects of individuals’ national cultural values on intrinsic motivation to engage in tacit knowledge transfer, through the lens of knowledge coaching. Using partial least squares analysis, survey data from 26 district managers (knowledge coaches) and 102 territory managers (protégés) from a large MNC’s subsidiaries in Denmark, Ireland, Japan, Norway, Sweden and the UK is examined. In the first model, appertaining to the knowledge coaches, long-term orientation positively moderated the path between intrinsic motivation and perceived selling skill acquisition. For the corresponding pathway in the protégé model, collectivism and power distance attenuated the pathway. The implications for managers in terms of fostering intrinsic motivation to engage in knowledge transfer across a diversity of employees, and avenues for future research are discussed.
Gamification is a term that has gained currency over the last few years. Gamification refers to t... more Gamification is a term that has gained currency over the last few years. Gamification refers to the application of characteristics from digital games into non-gaming contexts. The concept under other names has attracted the interest of scholars for more than twenty years, due to its possible value in motivating students to learn. However few scholars have investigated ways in which the concept can be applied to building intrinsic motivation in employees. This is a particularly important area for research, as new generations who have been brought up with computer games become the dominant cohort within the workforce. This paper summarises the literature on game playing as a motivator, and outlines a variety of studied motivational responses to gamified systems as evoked from different categories of users, including students, consumers and employees. The paper goes on to discuss how the concept of gamification may interact with various theories of motivation, including Four-Drive Theory and Self-Determination Theory, and makes recommendations as to which gamification elements are relevant to the 21st century workplace, and may be effectively implemented in such a way that they can help to achieve personal and organisational objectives.
Thesis Chapters by Dr. Nicole A . Celestine
Numerous scholars and practitioners claim that culture has an impact upon the success of knowledg... more Numerous scholars and practitioners claim that culture has an impact upon the success of knowledge transfer (KT). While a plethora of research has been conducted examining how different organisational cultures influence motivation to transfer knowledge on aggregate levels of analysis, this study examines the role of individually espoused national cultural dimensions, and the moderating effects that they have on employees’ intrinsic motivation to engage in KT in formal Knowledge Coach-Protégé relationships. Based on a survey of 26 District Managers (Knowledge Coaches) and 102 Territory Managers (Protégés) from a large MNC’s subsidiaries in Denmark, Ireland, Japan, Norway, Sweden and the UK, this study uses partial least squares analysis to examine the effects of Long-Term Orientation, Power Distance and Collectivism on the two research models’ main pathways. In the first model, appertaining to the perceptions and motivation of the Knowledge Coaches, the results indicated that Long-Term Orientation positively moderated the path between intrinsic motivation and perceived Selling Skill acquisition, while negatively moderating the path predicting Problem-Solving Skill acquisition. For the corresponding pathway in the second model (the Protégé model), Collectivism and Power Distance attenuated the pathway predicting perceived Selling Skill acquisition. When compared to the original models, it was found that the inclusion of these moderators allowed for the explanation of between 15% and 22% more variance in the outcome variables, constituting an unprecedented contribution to the knowledge management literature. The implications for managers in terms of fostering intrinsic motivation to engage in KT across a diversity of employees, and recommendations for future research are discussed.
Books by Dr. Nicole A . Celestine
Effective Knowledge Management Systems in Modern Society, 2019
With the global rise of the knowledge worker, there is an increasing interest in effective knowle... more With the global rise of the knowledge worker, there is an increasing interest in effective knowledge transfer practices within the firm. This interest is especially prevalent in regards to the transfer of tacit knowledge-knowledge that is difficult to describe and transmit to others. In this chapter, the authors consider how the emerging practice of knowledge coaching can be utilised as a means to transfer tacit knowledge between experts and protégés within the firm, and consider the individual-level factors that influence whether the process yields success. In doing so, they report the results of a study examining the impact of individually-possessed national cultural values on motivation to engage in knowledge coaching, and put forward several avenues for future research.
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Papers by Dr. Nicole A . Celestine
Thesis Chapters by Dr. Nicole A . Celestine
Books by Dr. Nicole A . Celestine