Workplace meetings are influenced by both individual and organizational factors. However, the majority of research on meeting interaction has focused primarily on one or the other. Using structuration theory as a starting point, this study aims to consider how both individual and organizational factors influence counterproductive meeting behaviors in meetings.
Thirty-four employees from a variety of industries who regularly attend meetings were interviewed regarding their meeting behaviors. Constant comparative analysis was used to analyze 350 pages of transcript data.
The data suggested several ways that individual and organizational factors together encourage certain counterproductive behaviors, such as how meeting schedules created by organizational norms force individuals to make decisions about how to prioritize meeting preparation.
Individual and organizational factors together created a participation framework through which meeting members are encouraged to behave in counterproductive ways.
