The success of organizations rests largely on their ability to coordinate with the external environment. At the foundation of this external coordination are the interpersonal work relationships that enable organizations to gather critical information, resources, and engage in commerce with clients. Unfortunately, little research has been conducted on how firms may best leverage their employee-client relationships to enhance performance and other outcomes of interest. One factor influencing relationships is that of distance, which describes psychological and structural differences between two individuals in a dyad. Theory suggests that higher levels of distance may negatively influence both the quality of relationships and their outcomes. Yet, that same theory suggests that distance, like relationships, can be managed. Thus, the purpose of this dissertation is to better understand how distance and relationship quality influence employee and transaction outcomes. The successful management of employee-client relationships may also positively influence other interpersonal outcomes. For example, theory suggests that conflict between employees and clients may be reduced by lessening distance and enhancing the quality of work relationships. The successful management of dyadic work relationships should also reverberate to the employee's social network, enabling employees to experience higher levels of productivity and increasing the probability of retention. Finally, this dissertation tested how the interpersonal competency, political skill, acts as a boundary condition in mitigating the negative effects of distance on relationship quality. In particular, theory suggests that individuals who are politically skilled may more effectively accentuate similarities to others and reduce perceived differences, allowing these individuals to reduce the interpersonal distance that negatively affects relationship quality. These theoretical connections were quantified and explicated in this dissertation, with a complementary discussion of contributions, strengths and weaknesses, and directions for future research. / A Dissertation Submitted to the Department of Management in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2009. / September 25, 2009. / Relationship Quality, Distance, Work Relationships / Includes bibliographical references. / Gerald R. Ferris, Professor Directing Dissertation; Michael K. Brady, University Representative; Wayne A. Hochwarter, Committee Member; Mark J. Martinko, Committee Member; Pamela L. Perrewé, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_180420 |
| Contributors | Munyon, Timothy Paul (authoraut), Ferris, Gerald R. (professor directing dissertation), Brady, Michael K. (university representative), Hochwarter, Wayne A. (committee member), Martinko, Mark J. (committee member), Perrewé, Pamela L. (committee member), Department of Management (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
Page generated in 0.0219 seconds