Although the concept of flow at work is increasingly receiving scholarly attention, knowledge about the interaction between challenge and hindrance stress demands in the context of flow is still lacking. Moreover, little is known about the stress-relieving capacity of coping mechanisms in connection to work-related flow. The aim of our study is to investigate whether and how challenge stress demands are related to work-related flow, and whether this relationship is moderated by a three-way interaction between challenge stress demands × hindrance stress demands × use of humor/cynicism. For this study we use survey data from 265 employees of a financial service organization in the Netherlands. Results clearly indicate a positive linear association between challenge demands and workrelated flow and a negative association between hindrance demands and flow. Support is found for an interaction effect between challenge and hindrance stress demands, showing that hindrance demands weaken the positive association between challenge demands and work-related flow. Finally, cynicism is found to alter this relationship between work stress demands and work-related flow, increasing the negative effect of hindrance demands and confirming the expected three-way interaction. Results from this study have implications for the theory on work-related flow and advance the challenge-hindrance stressors framework. Insights from this study suggest that managers who wish to foster work-related flow should be alert to the use of cynicism among employees and address organizational issues that cultivate the negative attitude underlying this.

In multi-stakeholder collaboration settings, trust plays a significant role. We explore the connection between trust and interaction over time in a collaborative governance board. To this end, we conducted a case study of the board of a collaborative governance arrangement in professional education. The results include an increase in trust within the board as well as three changes in the interaction pattern during board meetings: more openness, more responsiveness and more speed. It is argued that the increase in trust and the changes in interaction are related, implying that trust is visible in interaction content, interaction atmosphere and interaction process.

There is a growing awareness of the significance of collective creativity in dealing with the complex problems typical of today's rapidly changing society. Whereas studies on collective creativity provide insight into what happens during creative episodes in terms of a changing meaning of the interaction content, they do not explain what happens in the conversational interaction process. To shed light on this, we introduce and define the concept of interaction flow. Interaction flow was observed during creative episodes in the board meetings of Platform Inspire, an innovation-oriented collaborative governance board in Western Europe. The concept of interaction flow makes collective creative episodes more observable and offers points of attention for facilitating these episodes.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into cross-functional team (CFT) members’ points of view on knowledge integration. Design/methodology/approach This study was conducted using Q methodology. The 22 respondents were members of CFTs in information systems development within 7 agencies of the Flemish Government administration. Findings The study resulted in three distinct perspectives. To the CFT player, the benefits and added value of information and knowledge diversity of CFTs outweigh the challenges of knowledge integration. By contrast, the CFT sceptic is doubtful that knowledge integration in CFTs can ever work at all. Finally, the organization critic highlights the lack of support from the organization for efficient and effective knowledge integration in CFTs. Research limitations/implications The findings of this study suggest that CFT configurations have important implications for the development of shared team mental models and for teams’ cognitive performance. Practical implications Making CFT members aware of their peers’ mental models, ways of working and priorities could help strengthen knowledge integration. To improve knowledge integration in teams, managers should reduce knowledge boundaries that are the result of organizational structuring and power play between departments. Originality/value By focusing on daily experiences with knowledge integration, this study reveals that members of CFTs in information systems development hold contrasting perspectives on, and diverging attitudes towards, knowledge integration.

This study aims to investigate whether and how a learning-from-error climate is associated with work-related flow experiences by employees. Drawing on the tenets of Job Demands-Resources theory, we propose that this relationship is mediated by a work-related growth mindset. The study tests a mediation model by conducting structural equations modelling. Data were gathered in two waves from 159 employees within a Dutch financial organization. Results demonstrate that work-related mindset significantly mediates the relationship between a learning-from-error climate and work-related flow. In this study, we address the call for studies that empirically assess the influence of organizational climate on work-related flow in a multiwave study design. Specifically, we highlight the relevance of understanding how individual dispositions can shape the effects of a learning-from-error climate on work-related flow.