Curtin University Homepage
  • Library
  • Help
    • Admin

    espace - Curtin’s institutional repository

    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.
    View Item 
    • espace Home
    • espace
    • Curtin Research Publications
    • View Item
    • espace Home
    • espace
    • Curtin Research Publications
    • View Item

    One hundred years of work design research: Looking back and looking forward

    70119.pdf (1.241Mb)
    Access Status
    Open access
    Authors
    Parker, Sharon
    Morgeson, F.
    Johns, G.
    Date
    2017
    Type
    Journal Article
    
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Citation
    Parker, S. and Morgeson, F. and Johns, G. 2017. One hundred years of work design research: Looking back and looking forward. Journal of Applied Psychology. 102 (3): pp. 403-420.
    Source Title
    Journal of Applied Psychology
    DOI
    10.1037/apl0000106
    ISSN
    0021-9010
    School
    Future of Work Institute
    Remarks

    © American Psychological Association. This article may not exactly replicate the authoritative document published in the APA journal. It is not the copy of record.

    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/69907
    Collection
    • Curtin Research Publications
    Abstract

    In this article we take a big picture perspective on work design research. In the first section of the paper we identify influential work design articles and use scientific mapping to identify distinct clusters of research. Pulling this material together, we identify five key work design perspectives that map onto distinct historical developments: (a) sociotechnical systems and autonomous work groups, (b) job characteristics model, (c) job demands-control model, (d) job demands-resources model, and (e) role theory. The grounding of these perspectives in the past is understandable, but we suggest that some of the distinction between clusters is convenient rather than substantive. Thus we also identify contemporary integrative perspectives on work design that build connections across the clusters and we argue that there is scope for further integration. In the second section of the paper, we review the role of Journal of Applied Psychology (JAP) in shaping work design research. We conclude that JAP has played a vital role in the advancement of this topic over the last 100 years. Nevertheless, we suspect that to continue to play a leading role in advancing the science and practice of work design, the journal might need to publish research that is broader, more contextualized, and team-oriented. In the third section, we address the impact of work design research on: applied psychology and management, disciplines beyond our own, management thinking, work practice, and national policy agendas. Finally, we draw together observations from our analysis and identify key future directions for the field.

    Related items

    Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

    • Overlapping dialogues: the role of interpretation design in communicating Australia’s natural and cultural heritage
      Woodward, Margaret (2009)
      This research investigates the development of interpretation design in Australia during the period 1980 – 2006, and its role in presenting natural and cultural heritage to audiences in visitor settings. It establishes ...
    • New Perspectives in Work Design Research
      Parker, Sharon ; Edwards, J.R.; Knight, Caroline ; Andrei, Daniela ; Klonek, Florian ; Liu, Yukun ; Ward, M.K. (2018)
      In this symposium, five early-career researchers from the recently established Centre for Transformative Work Design at the University of Western Australia would like to present five ongoing research projects that have ...
    • More than ‘more than ever’: Revisiting a work design and sociotechnical perspective on digital technologies
      Parker, Sharon ; Grote, G. (2022)
      We respond to commentaries on our 2020 article ‘Automation, algorithms, and beyond: Why work design matters more than ever in a digital world’ and report on research on the topic since that publication. A top-down work ...
    Advanced search

    Browse

    Communities & CollectionsIssue DateAuthorTitleSubjectDocument TypeThis CollectionIssue DateAuthorTitleSubjectDocument Type

    My Account

    Admin

    Statistics

    Most Popular ItemsStatistics by CountryMost Popular Authors

    Follow Curtin

    • 
    • 
    • 
    • 
    • 

    CRICOS Provider Code: 00301JABN: 99 143 842 569TEQSA: PRV12158

    Copyright | Disclaimer | Privacy statement | Accessibility

    Curtin would like to pay respect to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members of our community by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which the Perth campus is located, the Whadjuk people of the Nyungar Nation; and on our Kalgoorlie campus, the Wongutha people of the North-Eastern Goldfields.