A meta-analytic study of positive organizational scholarship and organizational performance

Abstract

This paper aims to review the development of the concept of Positive Organizational Scholarship (POS) and its emergence in the studies of organizational effectiveness. It attempts to understand why studies of organizational effectiveness were hindered in its advancement and explore the future directions of POS development. This study first reviews the theoretical underpinning of POS. Then, it highlights empirical supports and methodological issues associated with the research. The software QSR NVivo 11 was used in content analysis of 46 selected articles. After that, it looks into new perspectives and recent development of POS. POS has stimulated research interest in the studies of organizational effectiveness. Traditional approaches of measuring organizational effectiveness focused on goal achievement, problem solving and efficiency. Positive deviances like excellence, benevolence and generosity seemed to be neglected. Construct of POS just fills the gap by drawing more attention towards positive deviances. POS is not necessarily a cure for a problematic organization, but instead it keeps organizations in good shape. This study draws attention for viewing organizational effectiveness with a more holistic approach. It stimulates thinking and arouses interest for further research to address the practicability of POS in real-life situations.