Do Birds of a Feather Flock, Fly, and Continue to Fly Together? The Differential and Cumulative Effects of Attraction, Selection, and Attrition on Personality-Based Within-Organization Homogeneity and Between-Organization Heterogeneity Progression Over Time

Journal of Organizational Behavior (in press)

Fox School of Business Research Paper No. 18-020

59 Pages Posted: 4 Jun 2018 Last revised: 15 Aug 2018

See all articles by In‐Sue Oh

In‐Sue Oh

Temple University - Department of Human Resource Management

Brian Holtz

Temple University - Department of Human Resource Management; Temple University - Organizational Behavior

You Kim

Temple University - Department of Human Resource Management

Seongsu Kim

Seoul National University - College of Business Administration

Date Written: June 4, 2018

Abstract

The most fundamental proposition of attraction-selection-attrition (ASA) theory is that organizations progress toward homogeneity of personality over time through the processes of attraction, selection, and attrition. However, critical aspects of that proposition have remained untested, thus limiting a fuller understanding of ASA theory. To close the gap, this multi-wave, multi-sample, and multi-inventory study examines the extent to which each of the ASA processes, and different personality traits, contribute to within-organization homogeneity progression as well as between-organization heterogeneity progression over time. Our findings suggest that both within-organization homogeneity and between-organization heterogeneity emerge to varying degrees over time, and that selection, among the ASA processes, is most responsible for the within-organization homogenization, whereas attraction contributes most to between-organization heterogeneity. We also found that within-organization homogeneity progression overall operates relatively more strongly on extraversion than on the other personality traits, whereas between-organization heterogeneity progression operates relatively more strongly on neuroticism than on the other personality traits. Overall, this study provides an important extension to ASA theory and useful insights into the organization-level emergent process of personality-based human capital resources. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of this study along with study limitations and future research directions.

Keywords: attraction-selection-attrition, personality, homogeneity, heterogeneity, human capital resources

Suggested Citation

Oh, In-Sue and Holtz, Brian and Kim, You and Kim, Seongsu, Do Birds of a Feather Flock, Fly, and Continue to Fly Together? The Differential and Cumulative Effects of Attraction, Selection, and Attrition on Personality-Based Within-Organization Homogeneity and Between-Organization Heterogeneity Progression Over Time (June 4, 2018). Journal of Organizational Behavior (in press), Fox School of Business Research Paper No. 18-020, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3190252

In-Sue Oh (Contact Author)

Temple University - Department of Human Resource Management ( email )

1801 Liacouras Walk
Alter Hall 343
Philadelphia, PA 19122
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.fox.temple.edu/mcm_people/in-sue-oh/

Brian Holtz

Temple University - Department of Human Resource Management ( email )

Philadelphia, PA 19122
United States

Temple University - Organizational Behavior ( email )

Philadelphia, PA
United States

You Kim

Temple University - Department of Human Resource Management ( email )

Philadelphia, PA 19122
United States

Seongsu Kim

Seoul National University - College of Business Administration ( email )

1 Kwanakro Kwanakgu
59-707
Seoul, 08826
Korea, Republic of (South Korea)
+82-2-880-8797 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://gsb.snu.ac.kr

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