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The perils of positivity
Author(s) -
Hackman J. Richard
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of organizational behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.938
H-Index - 177
eISSN - 1099-1379
pISSN - 0894-3796
DOI - 10.1002/job.587
Subject(s) - scholarship , construct (python library) , field (mathematics) , passion , foundation (evidence) , epistemology , productivity , organizational behavior , sociology , psychology , ideology , social psychology , political science , computer science , philosophy , law , politics , economics , mathematics , pure mathematics , macroeconomics , programming language
Abstract The passion and productivity that characterizes research on positive organizational behavior (POB) is impressive. Yet POB research is accumulating so rapidly that it may exceed what the field's conceptual, methodological, and ideological foundation can bear. I discuss here six concerns prompted by the articles in this special issue. These concerns are (1) the emphasis of positive organizational scholarship on individual‐level phenomena, (2) the ahistorical character of POB research and writing, (3) the construct validity of key concepts, (4) over‐reliance on a particular research strategy, (5) implicit acceptance of fundamental flaws in how work and organizations are designed, and (6) the seductiveness of new research paradigms. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.