Belongingness - Publications - Faculty & Research

2017
Working Paper

Seeking to Belong: How the Words of Internal and External Beneficiaries Influence Performance

By: Paul Green, Francesca Gino and Bradley R. Staats

In this paper, we examine how connecting to beneficiaries of one’s work increases performance and argue that beneficiaries internal to an organization (i.e., one’s own colleagues) can serve as an important source of motivation, even in jobs that—on the surface—may seem... View Details

Keywords: Prosocial Motivation; Belongingness; Motivation; Job Design; Field Experiment; Motivation and Incentives; Strategy; Job Design and Levels

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Research Summary

Relational Motivation & Need Expectations

My current research in this area explores the ways in which the nature of relational interactions at work facilitate, or supress, important individual and organizational outcomes such as motivation, engagement and personal well-being. Much of my work in this... View Details

Keywords: Motivation; Relationships; Engagement; Manufacturing Industry

Research Summary

Overview

I am a field researcher studying the relational nature of work. Organizations are inherently social institutions and provide myriad opportunities for relationship formation. My work begins with the simple insight that all relationships are not equal: interpersonal... View Details

March 2025
Article

Does Communicating Measurable Diversity Goals Attract or Repel Historically Marginalized Job Applicants? Evidence from the Lab and Field

By: Erika L. Kirgios, Ike Silver and Edward H. Chang

Many organizations struggle to attract a demographically diverse workforce. How does adding a measurable goal to a public diversity commitment—for example, “We care about diversity” versus “We care about diversity and plan to hire at least one woman or racial minority... View Details

Keywords: Selection and Staffing; Recruitment; Diversity; Goals and Objectives; Communication Intention and Meaning; Behavior

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Web

Negotiation, Organizations & Markets - Faculty & Research

rates from women and racial minorities? Extant psychological theory offers competing predictions about how historically marginalized applicants might respond to such goals. On one hand, measurable diversity goals may raise belongingness... View Details

30 Sep 2019
Book

6 Steps to Building a Better Workplace for Black Employees

about race aren’t getting lost as they work to make other groups feel like they belong. “It’s good that we’re recognizing more forms of diversity,” Roberts says. “But, it seems like we’re talking more generally about belongingness now,... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

21 Feb 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research: February 21

occurs because words of beneficiaries strengthen one’s sense of belongingness, a key driver of human behavior. Employees, in fact, seek to belong—and seek to enhance their sense of belongingness in work settings. We conducted two studies... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

Publications