Positive Deviance and Organizational Behavior
Summary
Positive deviance refers to voluntary departures from organisational norms that yield desirable outcomes. Within organisational behaviour, this concept encompasses a range of actions—from constructive deviance to pro-social rule breaking and creative deviance—that challenge established processes in pursuit of innovation, service excellence and ethical goals. Rooted in social learning and resource conservation theories, research on positive deviance examines antecedents such as leadership style, psychological empowerment and organisational culture, as well as outcomes including performance improvement, innovation performance and employee well-being. Positive deviance is double-edged: it can foster creativity and adaptability, but may also incur risks when boundary conditions are overlooked. Understanding the drivers and boundary conditions of positive deviant behaviours enables organisations to harness beneficial departures from the status quo, align incentives with ethical standards and promote sustainable development on a global scale.
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Positive Deviance and Organizational Behavior publication trend
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Technical terms
Positive deviance: Voluntary departure from organisational norms that produces beneficial outcomes.
Constructive deviance: Behaviour that contravenes formal rules or norms to enhance organisational effectiveness.
Pro-social rule breaking: Intentional infringement of rules intended to benefit the organisation or stakeholders.
Creative deviance: Development of ideas or innovations in defiance of managerial directives, motivated by organisational welfare.
References
- Exchange variables, organizational culture and their relationship with constructive deviance. Management Research Review (2019).
- Now You Do It, Now You Don’t: The Mixed Blessing of Creative Deviance as a Prosocial Behavior. Frontiers in Psychology (2020).
- Aiming at the Organizational Sustainable Development: Employees’ Pro-Social Rule Breaking as Response to High Performance Expectations. Sustainability (2020).
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