A Look at Two Methodological Challenges for Scholars Interested in Positive Organizational Behavior

A Look at Two Methodological Challenges for Scholars Interested in Positive Organizational Behavior

A number of applied scholars, drawing on the impetus of the various ‘positive’ movements – Positive Psychology, Positive Organizational Behavior (POB), and Positive Organizational Scholarship (POS) – have clearly called for an increased emphasis on positive processes and behaviors in organizational research. In the applied sciences, this proactive and positive approach has been alternatively termed Positive Organizational Behavior (POB) by Luthans (2002a, 2002b, 2003) and Positive Organizational Scholarship (POS) by Cameron et al. (2003). Disregarding these semantic differences for the moment, this chapter is about the challenge of conducting positive-based research in a rigorous, methodologically sound manner. To be sure, as with research purporting to measure the more ‘negative’ aspects of organizational life, there are a number of methodological concerns of which positive organizational scholars should be well aware. Space limitations necessitate that I limit my discussion to two such challenges.

The first addresses the core conceptual and methodological challenge facing positive organizational scholars: providing further clarification to the ambiguity surrounding the widely assumed, but rarely measured, temporal distinction between POB and POS. Simply stated, this challenge involves deciding whether the particular variable or concept of interest is [Page 178]best considered as a state and in the domain of POB or is best considered as a trait and in the domain of POS. The second challenge is twofold in nature. Following the admonition of the various positive movements, I suggest that cardiovascular research focus on not only the negative or cost-related aspects of cardiovascular disease, but also on the positive aspects of cardiovascular health. Relatedly, and to assist researchers in better focusing on the positive, I propose that positive organizational research consider the use of such composite cardiovascular measures as pulse product and pulse pressure in addition to the more commonly used systolic and diastolic blood pressure. But first, I direct our attention to the important, but invariably neglected, role of time or timing in positive organizational research. Incorporating time as a ‘main effect’ variable, I next define and provide the basis for a temporal distinction between POB and POS.