No abstract

No abstract

Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to analyze how the exchanges that employees maintain with their immediate superior and with their work group influence the creativity that they manifest. Design/methodology/approach-A study was carried out among employees of a firm from the automotive sector. On the basis of previous works, the authors first built reliable multi-item scales for each variable included in the model; then, a multiple regression analysis was conducted to ascertain the causal effect of those exchanges upon creativity. Findings-The findings reveal that high-quality exchanges between the employee and their work group and, to a lesser extent, their immediate superior, have a significant positive influence on their creative behavior. Practical implications-All this underlines the importance of the composition of work groups for achieving the team environment necessary for creative production. Originality/value-This paper provides new evidence about a still unexplored topic, trying to bridge the existing gap in the literature about the influence of leadership and group behavior on creativity.

There is evidence that relations between physicians and nurses within healthcare institutions might be shaped by informal aspects of such relations and by links to people external to the organization, with an impact on work performance. Social network analysis is underutilized in exploring such associations. The paper aims to describe physicians’ and nurses’ relationships outside their clinical units and to explore what kind of ties are related to job performance. A network analysis was performed on cross-sectional data. The study population consisted of 196 healthcare employees working in a public hospital and a primary healthcare centre in Spain. Relational data were analysed using the UCINET software package. Measures included: (i) sample characteristics; (ii) social network variables; and (iii) team performance ratings. Descriptive statistics (means, medians, percentages) were used to characterize staff and performance ratings. A correlational analysis was conducted to examine the strength of relationships between four different types of ties. Our findings suggest that external ties only contribute to improving the performance of physicians at both the individual and team level. They are focused on the decision-making process about the therapeutic plan and, therefore, might need to seek advice outside the workplace. In contrast, external ties are not relevant for the work performance of nurses, as they need to find solutions to immediate problems in a short period of time, having strong ties in the workplace. Social network analysis can illuminate relations within healthcare organizations and inform the development of innovative interventions.

El liderazgo de los profesionales de enfermería y el rendimiento organizativo: un estudio exploratorio con aplicación del Análisis de Redes Sociales