Core self-evaluations and job performance: the role of the perceived work environment.

Using trait activation theory as a framework, the authors examined the moderating role of two situational variables-perceptions of organizational politics and perceptions of leader effectiveness-on the relationship between core self-evaluations and job performance. Results from two samples (N = 137 and N = 226) indicate that employee perceptions of their work environment moderated the relationship between their core self-evaluations and supervisor ratings of their performance. In particular, those with higher core self-evaluations received higher performance ratings in environments perceived as favorable than in environments perceived as unfavorable.

Effects of task interdependence on the relationship between helping behavior and group performance.

The authors examine whether task interdependence moderates the relationship between the helping form of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and group performance. In a laboratory study, 62 groups with 3 members each completed a card-sequencing activity in which the level of task interdependence among group members was manipulated. Independent evaluators assessed helping by viewing videotapes of the groups' interactions during the sequencing activities. Performance was measured as a combined function of group speed and accuracy. Two prior field studies reported contradictory results regarding the impact of helping on group performance. Results from this study suggest that task interdependence may explain these results, and that the relationship between helping and group performance depends on the level of task interdependence required of group members.