EAWOP Small Group Meeting “Advancing Theory, Research, and Practice of Workplace Coaching” CALL FOR PAPERS

EAWOP Small Group Meeting (SGM)
Advancing Theory, Research, and Practice of Workplace Coaching
HMKW University of Applied Sciences,
Berlin, Germany
November 12-14, 2020
Deadline for Submissions: April 15th, 2020

Organizing Committee
Silja Kotte, University of Kassel/ from April 2020: HMKW University of Applied Sciences, Germany
Carolin Grassmann, SRH Berlin University of Applied Sciences, Germany
Gil Bozer, Sapir Academic College, Israel
Yi-Ling Lai, Birkbeck, University of London, UK

Meeting Theme
Workplace coaching has become an integral approach to facilitating the development and performance of individuals, groups, and teams in organizations worldwide (Athanasopoulou & Dopson, 2018; Bozer & Jones, 2018; Grant, 2017), and has been described as the fastest growing field within consulting (Liljenstrand & Nebeker, 2008). As such, it has become part of the established human resource development portfolio of many organizations (Bozer & Delegach, 2019). It can be described as a custom-tailored development intervention that uses a collaborative, reflective, goal-focused relationship provided by a professional coach (internal or external, but without formal supervisory authority over the coachee; Bozer & Jones, 2018; Smither, 2011; Passmore & Lai, 2019). Until recently, coaching has been characterized as one of the fields of practice of work and organizational psychology where research was lagging furthest behind (Silzer, Cober, Erickson, & Robinson, 2008). However, during the last five years there has been a shift in the coaching literature moving from being a practice-driven field of research with publications mostly in niche journals on coaching and consulting towards becoming a more scientific and credible field of study as reflected by an increasing number of scholars conducting more robust and theory driven research (Bachkirova, 2017).
Meta-analyses (e.g., Jones, Woods, & Guillaume, 2016; Sonesh, Coultas, Lacerenza, Marlow, Benishek, & Salas, 2015; Theeboom, Beersma, & van Vianen, 2014) have established that workplace coaching can effectively increase a range of outcomes from well-being, self-efficacy, and behavioural skills to performance. Recent reviews have also begun to highlight factors and processes that impact upon the effectiveness of workplace coaching, including coach and coachee characteristics, coaching settings, and the quality of the working alliance (e.g., Athanasopoulou & Dopson, 2018; Blackman, Moscardo, & Gray, 2016; Bozer & Jones, 2018; Grover & Furnham, 2016; Kotte, 2019; Myers, 2017; Grabmann, Scholmerich & Schermuly, 2019). However, the impact and interplay of these process factors as well as their theoretical grounding are still at an emerging stage. Moreover, contextual factors (e.g. situational, organizational, societal) that were highlighted as impactful in the workplace training literature (e.g., Baldwin & Ford, 1988; Colquitt, LePine, & Noe, 2000; Salas & Cannon-Bowers, 2001) have remained largely unexplored in the workplace coaching literature, although recent publications have posited their importance and their associations with coaching processes outcomes (Athanasopoulou & Dopson, 2018; Bozer & Delegach; Kotte, 2019; Louis & Fatien Diochon, 2014; Shoukry & Cox, 2018).

Objective and Scope
The SGM on workplace coaching aims to advance theory, research, and practice of workplace coaching in four ways: First, we invite contributions, in the form of both theoretical and empirical research, that investigate the mechanisms and processes that impact upon coaching effectiveness. Second, we invite studies that explicitly incorporate contextual factors that are key to coaching at different levels of analysis. Third, we invite contributions that ground coaching theoretically by applying and extending established theories to workplace coaching. Fourth, we invite methodological contributions both qualitative and quantitative that illustrate how coaching research can move forward methodologically. During the meeting, in addition to ‘classical’ poster and paper sessions, we offer a workshop on theory building to advance coaching as a theory-driven field, and a workshop on new frontiers in workplace coaching research to explore emerging topics in coaching research and formulate an agenda for future research. We will conclude our SGM with discussing a major debate in coaching research: the similarities and differences between coaching by professional coaches and managerial or supervisory coaching where supervisors coach their employees as part of their leadership style.

Potential submissions to this SGM could cover, but are not restricted to, the following topics:
Contextual factors that affect workplace coaching interventions

• The influence of organizational/proximal group climate factors on coaching
• The role of culture at different levels (individual, organizational, societal)
• Multi-stakeholder contracting in coaching

Input and process factors in workplace coaching

• Coachee personal characteristics
• Coach personal characteristics
• Coaching relationship/alliance in coaching
• Working with goals in coaching
• The impact of emotions
• Feedback processes

Advances in coaching theory

• Interplay of key theoretical constructs in coaching (e.g. self-efficacy, goal setting and attainment, learning goal orientation, trust)
• Conceptual frameworks for workplace coaching
• Adapting applied psychology and management theories to coaching

Ethics in coaching

• Side effects of coaching for its constituents (i.e. coach, coachee, organisation)
• Power, politics and agency issues in coaching

Methodological issues in coaching research

• Development and validation of new measures for coaching research
• Advances in qualitative and quantitative design and analyses
• Quality and rigor of evidence in coaching outcome research

Different forms of coaching and related developmental interventions

• Comparison of the relative effectiveness of different coaching approaches
• Group or team coaching versus one-on-one coaching
• Comparison of different coaching modalities (face-to-face, remote)
• Comparison of coaching effectiveness with other developmental interventions (e.g. training, feedback)
• Combination of coaching with other interventions

Nature of the Meeting
This is a small-scale conference meeting spanning two and a half days. The meeting includes several activities such as keynote talks by distinguished experts in the field, paper and poster presentations,  theory building and collaboration marketplace sessions, theme tables, and a 'what's next in coaching research' workshop to enable participants to actively discuss, engage, reflect, and collaborate in order to harness the potential of the SGM. Prof. Tatiana Bachkirova, Director of the International Centre for Coaching and Mentoring Studies at Oxford Brookes University, UK, will be our keynote speaker. A keynote of a different nature will be provided by Prof. Niels Van Quaquebeke, Head of Management Department at Kühne Logistics University, Germany, who will share some insights on theory building.

Location
The Small Group Meeting will be held at HMKW University of Applied Sciences, Berlin, Germany. Berlin is the capital and largest city of Germany and home to world-renowned historical sites, cutting-edge architecture, and a vibrant culture. Berlin is conveniently located in the centre of Europe, with plenty availability of public transport, close to two airports and other modes of transport. All presentations will be held on campus and is conveniently located near transportation and hotel accommodation options. We will also provide hotel accommodation at special rates for those who are interested in booking a hotel room nearby. For more information about the city of Berlin, visit: https://www.visitberlin.de/en

Submission of Abstracts

Participants are invited to submit extended paper abstracts (up to 1000 words excluding references) with the following structure: purpose/contribution, design/methodology, results, limitations, implications, and originality/value. Abstracts are to be submitted by April 15th, 2020 to Dr. Yi-Ling Lai via email to: y.lai@bbk.ac.uk. Submitted abstracts will be pre-screened and selected by the organizing committee, following a peer-review procedure. Participants will have the opportunity to submit their work either as an oral presentation or poster presentation and will be notified about the acceptance of their paper by July 1st, 2020.

Meeting Fees and Registration
Fees for participation in the meeting are €75 for EAWOP members and €150 for non-EAWOP members. PhD students can participate at a reduced rate of €50 (EAWOP members) or €85 (non-EAWOP members). These fees cover food and drinks during the meeting including a conference dinner.

Publication of Papers
We are planning to submit selected papers for publication in a special issue of an academic journal, e.g., the European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology (EJWOP). We will keep you updated.