Event-Oriented Organizational Behavior Research: A Multilevel Review and Agenda for Future Research

Abstract

A large and growing body of organizational behavior (OB) research has adopted what can be termed an “event-oriented” perspective. Broadly speaking, this stream of research focuses on discrete, change-oriented events that occur at different hierarchical levels as well as the impact of such events on employee outcomes. This event-oriented OB research stands in contrast to the traditional focus on the enduring features of people and collectives. Although event-oriented OB research has become increasingly prominent and influential, a systematic and integrative review of this important domain has yet to be conducted. Event-oriented OB research has utilized a wide range of theoretical and methodological perspectives, leading to a fragmented and disconnected literature. A synthesis of extant event-oriented OB studies is needed to obtain a more integrated and holistic view of this domain. In the present review, we propose a four-level framework to enhance our understanding of the types of events studied and synthesize insights from event-oriented OB studies. With this understanding and synthesis, we highlight promising theoretical and methodological opportunities for future research. In sum, our review facilitates a more systematic and refined understanding of events and can assist future event-oriented OB research by highlighting novel avenues for theoretical extensions and methodological improvements.

Conceptualizing Team Disruption Through an Event-System Framework

“…Based on our review of the team literature, integrated with research on EST (Liu et al, 2023a;Morgeson et al, 2015) and theory and methods on eventbased transitions and discontinuities (Bliese et al, 2017;Li et al, 2023), we define team disruption as the misalignment of team member coordination relative to task demands due to shifts in coordination, task demands, or both. The greater the misalignment and/or the longer it exists, the greater the magnitude of disruption to the team.…”

“…The more critical and/or novel the event, the greater the magnitude of team disruption. Critical and/or novel events create significant changes for teams that alter the information and resources relevant to how teams coordinate around task demands (Li & Van Knippenberg, 2021;Liu et al, 2023a). Highly novel events create change that is unprecedented to team members while critical events create change that induces a sense of priority for team members (Morgeson, 2005;Morgeson & DeRue, 2006;Morgeson et al, 2015).…”

“…Event novelty indicates how accurately an event can be anticipated (Morgeson et al, 2015). Novel events contribute to disruption because the change they produce is unprecedented (Liu et al, 2023a). For instance, the completely unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the magnitude with which the event affected employee perceptions of job insecurity (Lin et al, 2021).…”

“…Although we have discussed the temporal aspect of events in terms of their timing, such an approach does not fully account for the dynamic nature that many events exhibit. Events often create disruption because their impact is not static but, rather, changes rapidly (Liu et al, 2023a). EST accounts for the dynamism of events by describing how "as they unfold upon their inception, events may become more or less novel, disruptive, and critical...their overall strength can change over time" (Morgeson et al, 2015, p. 528).…”

“…Disruptive events are a common part of modern work and organizational life (Liu et al, 2023a). Disruptive events range from global (e.g., 2008 financial recession) to local (e.g., bad weather), and can be negative (e.g., or positive (e.g., creation of COVID vaccine).…”