When age does not harm innovative behavior and perceptions of competence: Testing interdepartmental collaboration as a social buffer

Abstract

Can older managers overcome stereotypes relating age to low competence? We integrate the literature on age and cognitive ability with research on innovation to explore whether—and if so, when—employees' age harms performance and promotability appraisals made by their supervisors. Multisource, time‐lag data from 305 project managers indicate that the negative stereotypes can be explained through decreased innovative behavior. However, older employees are not always seen as poorer performers with less potential to be promoted due to their reduced innovative behavior. Rather, interdepartmental collaboration moderates these effects. Specifically, older employees with low interdepartmental collaboration are less innovative and receive worse performance and promotability appraisals than younger employees, but the “age handicap” vanishes when older employees collaborate with members of other departments. Organizations should foster formal or informal collaboration among units to prevent negative consequences of an aging workforce.

Sixty years of discrimination and diversity research in human resource management: A review with suggestions for future research directions

“…An important difference between PWDs and individuals of other marginalized identities is the burden of seeking and establishing protection. Establishing disability is more complicated than establishing race or gender as courts often defer to the judgment of employers (Lee, 2001) and PWDs may be perceived negatively when they request disability accommodations (Baldridge & Swift, 2016). While supportive policies are important and necessary, if these policies are not adequately enforced by the organizational climate, PWDs may not request accommodations afforded by those policies for fear of judgment from others for going against the norm (Baldridge & Swift, 2016).…”

Transformational Leadership Job Satisfaction’s Relationship with Innovativeness in Elementary Schools

“…Different results have been found in previous studies on whether the innovativeness of employees varies significantly depending on the age factor. In the study conducted by Guillen and Kunze (2019), it was stated that innovativeness levels are high until the age of 35 and they decrease at later ages. And in this study, these levels are at highest between the ages of 20-30 and they decrease every year.…”

Does creativity relate to innovation or destruction? An explanation from the perspective of novelty and usefulness.

“…To rule out alternative explanations of the relationship between creativity and individual behaviors, we controlled employees’ ages (1 = 24 and below 24 years old , 2 = 25–29 years , 3 = 30–34 years , 4 = 35–39 years , and 5 = 40 years old and above ), genders (0 = female , 1 = male ), educations (1 = high school degree and below , 2 = college degree , 3 = bachelor's degree, 4 = master’s degree , 5 = doctoral degree and above ), team tenures, and company tenures because these demographics were likely to influence DB (Drapela, 2004; Garrison & Muchinsky, 1977; Gove, 1985), OCB (Chattopadhyay, 1999), and IB (Guillén & Kunze, 2019; Luksyte et al, 2012; Ng & Feldman, 2013; Scott & Bruce, 1994). Team tenure and company tenure are reported in years.…”