Seeking help in the shadow of doubt: the sensemaking processes underlying how nurses decide whom to ask for advice.

Full Abstract

Although scholars often assume that individuals seek out experts when they need help, recent research suggests that seeking help from experts can be costly. The authors propose that perceiving potential help providers as accessible or trustworthy can reduce the costs of seeking help and thus encourage individuals to seek help from experts. They further predict that perceptions of potential help providers' expertise, accessibility, and trustworthiness are shaped by their experience, formal roles, and organizational commitment. They investigated their theoretical model in a study of 146 nurses on the front lines of healthcare. They found that the decision to seek out help depends on help-seekers' perceptions of experts' accessibility and trustworthiness, and that these perceptions are predicted by experience, formal roles, and affective organizational commitment. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Author information

Author/s: Hofmann, David A (DA); Lei, Zhike (Z); Grant, Adam M (AM);

Affiliation: Kenan-Flagler Business School (CB-3490), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3490, USA. dhofmann(-atsign-)unc.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: The Journal of applied psychology (J Appl Psychol), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Sep; vol 94 (issue 5) : pp 1261-74

Dates: Created 2009/08/25; Completed 2009/10/06;

PMID: 19702369, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 10/6/2009, IMS Date: )

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