The Multidisciplinary Foundations of Organizational Behavior: A PRISMA-Based Systematic Literature Review and Integrative Conceptual Synthesis

Wijil Nugroho; Ririsma Sihombing

Authors

Wijil Nugroho Management Study Program, Business & Tourism Faculty, Matana University, Indonesia
Ririsma Sihombing Management Study Program, Business & Tourism Faculty, Matana University, Indonesia

Keywords:

Organizational Behavior, Systematic Literature Review, PRISMA, Psychology, Sociology, Multilevel Analysis

Abstract

Organisational behaviour (OB) is a multidisciplinary field that explains, predicts, and influences human behaviour within organisations. However, the specific contribution of different disciplines to analysing behaviour at the individual, group, and organisational system levels remains fragmented. This article employs a PRISMA-oriented systematic literature review combined with an integrative conceptual synthesis to map the disciplinary foundations of OB and develop a multilevel framework for organisational diagnosis. Data were collected from 326 records identified through databases and registers, alongside 21 additional records retrieved through citation tracking. Following the screening process, 18 studies were included in the thematic synthesis. The findings demonstrate that psychology explains motivation, perception, learning, emotion, work attitudes, and decision-making; social psychology explains group influence, identity, and psychological safety; sociology explains norms, roles, networks, structure, and conflict; anthropology explains culture, meaning systems, diversity, and inclusion; while political science explains power, influence, coalition building, negotiation, and resource allocation. This article provides an individual-group-system framework and a transparent review protocol to support multidisciplinary and multilevel approaches to organisational diagnosis.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2017). Job demands-resources theory: Taking stock and looking forward. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 22(3), 273-285. https://doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000056

Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Prentice-Hall.

Burns, T., & Stalker, G. M. (1961). The management of innovation. Tavistock.

Deci, E. L., Olafsen, A. H., & Ryan, R. M. (2017). Self-determination theory in work organizations: The state of a science. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 4, 19-43. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-032516-113108

Edmondson, A. C., & Lei, Z. (2014). Psychological safety: The history, renaissance, and future of an interpersonal construct. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 1, 23-43. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-031413-091305

Ferris, G. R., Ellen, B. P., III, McAllister, C. P., & Maher, L. P. (2019). Reorganizing organizational politics research: A review of the literature and identification of future research directions. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 6, 299-323. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-012218-015221

French, J. R. P., Jr., & Raven, B. (1959). The bases of social power. In D. Cartwright (Ed.), Studies in social power (pp. 150-167). University of Michigan.

Giorgi, S., Lockwood, C., & Glynn, M. A. (2015). The many faces of culture: Making sense of 30 years of research on culture in organization studies. Academy of Management Annals, 9(1), 1-54. https://doi.org/10.5465/19416520.2015.1007645

Guillaume, Y. R. F., Dawson, J. F., Otaye-Ebede, L., Woods, S. A., & West, M. A. (2017). Harnessing demographic differences in organizations: What moderates the effects of workplace diversity? Journal of Organizational Behavior, 38(2), 276-303. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2040

Hatch, M. J., & Cunliffe, A. L. (2013). Organization theory: Modern, symbolic, and postmodern perspectives (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.

Hofstede, G., Hofstede, G. J., & Minkov, M. (2010). Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill.

Kniffin, K. M., Narayanan, J., Anseel, F., Antonakis, J., Ashford, S. P., Bakker, A. B., Bamberger, P., Bapuji, H., Bhave, D. P., Choi, V. K., Creary, S. J., Demerouti, E., Flynn, F. J., Gelfand, M. J., Greer, L. L., Johns, G., Kesebir, S., Klein, P. G., Lee, S. Y., ... Vugt, M. V. (2021). COVID-19 and the workplace: Implications, issues, insights, and future research directions. American Psychologist, 76(1), 63-77. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000716

Knight, C., Patterson, M., & Dawson, J. (2017). Building work engagement: A systematic review and meta-analysis investigating the effectiveness of work engagement interventions. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 38(6), 792-812. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2167

Kraus, S., Breier, M., & Dasí-Rodríguez, S. (2020). The art of crafting a systematic literature review in entrepreneurship research. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 16, 1023-1042. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-020-00635-4

Lewin, K. (1951). Field theory in social science: Selected theoretical papers. Harper & Row.

Mintzberg, H. (1983). Power in and around organizations. Prentice-Hall.

Newman, A., Donohue, R., & Eva, N. (2017). Psychological safety: A systematic review of the literature. Human Resource Management Review, 27(3), 521-535. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2017.01.001

Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., Chou, R., Glanville, J., Grimshaw, J. M., Hróbjartsson, A., Lalu, M. M., Li, T., Loder, E. W., Mayo-Wilson, E., McDonald, S., ... Moher, D. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ, 372, n71. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n71

Pfeffer, J. (1992). Managing with power: Politics and influence in organizations. Harvard Business School Press.

Rethlefsen, M. L., Kirtley, S., Waffenschmidt, S., Ayala, A. P., Moher, D., Page, M. J., Koffel, J. B., & PRISMA-S Group. (2021). PRISMA-S: An extension to the PRISMA Statement for reporting literature searches in systematic reviews. Systematic Reviews, 10, 39. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-020-01542-z

Roberson, Q. M. (2019). Diversity in the workplace: A review, synthesis, and future research agenda. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 6, 69-88. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-012218-015243

Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2019). Organizational behavior (18th ed.). Pearson.

Rudolph, C. W., Allan, B., Clark, M., Hertel, G., Hirschi, A., Kunze, F., Shockley, K. M., Shoss, M. K., Sonnentag, S., & Zacher, H. (2021). Pandemics: Implications for research and practice in industrial and organizational psychology. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 14(1-2), 1-35. https://doi.org/10.1017/iop.2020.48

Schein, E. H. (2010). Organizational culture and leadership (4th ed.). Jossey-Bass.

Schneider, B., Ehrhart, M. G., & Macey, W. H. (2013). Organizational climate and culture. Annual Review of Psychology, 64, 361-388. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-113011-143809

Shore, L. M., Cleveland, J. N., & Sanchez, D. (2018). Inclusive workplaces: A review and model. Human Resource Management Review, 28(2), 176-189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2017.07.003

Simon, H. A. (1997). Administrative behavior: A study of decision-making processes in administrative organizations (4th ed.). Free Press.

Snyder, H. (2019). Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 104, 333-339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.07.039

Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1986). The social identity theory of intergroup behavior. In S. Worchel & W. G. Austin (Eds.), Psychology of intergroup relations (2nd ed., pp. 7-24). Nelson-Hall.

Tranfield, D., Denyer, D., & Smart, P. (2003). Towards a methodology for developing evidence-informed management knowledge by means of systematic review. British Journal of Management, 14(3), 207-222. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.00375

Weber, M. (1978). Economy and society: An outline of interpretive sociology. University of California Press.