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Professor Rob Briner

Rob

Professor of Organisational Psychology

Email: r.briner@qmul.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7882 6587
Room Number: Room 4.05a, Francis Bancroft Building, Mile End Campus

Profile

Roles:

Biography:

Rob Briner is Professor of Organizational Psychology in the School of Business and Management. He conducts research into several areas of organizational psychology and HR such as work and well-being, the psychological contract, work-nonwork relationships and ethnicity. In addition, he is very active in developing evidence-based practice in management, HR and organizational psychology.

His first degree was in psychology and philosophy (University of Hull) followed by a MSc by thesis about the theory and evidence for the relationship between stress and illness (Durham University).  He completed his PhD at the MRC/ESRC Social and Applied Psychology Unit (now The Institute of Work Psychology) at the University of Sheffield.

Before moving to the University of Bath in 2011 he worked for 20 years in the Department of Organizational Psychology at Birkbeck, University of London where he also served as Director of the PhD Programme, Director of Research and Head of School.

You can also find Professor Briner on:

Teaching

Undergraduate:

  • BUS362: Principles of Evidence-Based Management

Postgraduate:

  • BUSM136: Evidence-based Human Resource Management

Research

Research Interests:

  • Evidence-based practice in management, HR and organizational psychology
  • Emotion at work
  • The psychological contract
  • Ethnicity and work behaviour
  • Work-nonwork relationships
  • Absence from work

Professor Briner's research interests fall under two broad categories: Evidence-based practice and various topics in organizational psychology and HR.

Evidence-based practice  

Practitioners of many kinds, including managers, regularly make decisions and choices what to do in their professional practice. I am interested in how managers and other practitioners make use of different forms of information (including professional expertise, scientific findings, organizational data and stakeholder values) in their practice decisions.

Topics in organizational psychology and HR 

I am particularly interested in the reciprocal relationships between work conditions (e.g. characteristics, events, the psychological contract, contexts) psychological well-being/affect (e.g. emotion, moods, 'stress', satisfaction) and behaviours (e.g. pro- and anti-social, withdrawal and withdrawal of effort, engagement, job crafting).

Professor Briner is also the Scientific Director of the Center for Evidence-Based Management: www.cebma.org

Centre and Group Membership:

 

Publications

Journal articles

(Note: only articles published after 2000 are listed below)

  • Cassar, V., Buttigieg, S. C., & Briner, R. B. (2016). What’s in a broken promissory obligation?  Developing and testing a multiple component form measure of psychological contract breach. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 27, 567-592.
  • Briner, R..B. & Walshe, N.D. (2015). An evidence-based approach to improving the quality of resource-oriented well-being interventions at work. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 88, 563–586.
  • Conway.N. & Briner, R.B. (2015). Unit-level linkages between employee commitment to the organization, customer service delivery and customer satisfaction. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 26, 2039-2061.
  • Kiefer, T., Hartley, J., Conway, N. & Briner, R. B (2015). Feeling the squeeze: Public employees’ experiences of cutback- and innovation-related organizational changes following a national announcement of budget reductions. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 25, 1279-1305.
  • Briner, R..B. & Walshe, N.D. (2014).  From passively received wisdom to actively constructed knowledge: teaching systematic review skills as a foundation of evidence-based management. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 13, 415-432.
  • Barends, E.G.R. & Briner, R.B. (2014).  Teaching Evidence-Based Practice: Lessons from the Pioneers.  An Interview with Amanda Burls and Gordon Guyatt. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 13, 476-483.
  • Kenny, E. & Briner, R.B. (2014). Stereotype threat and minority ethnic employees: What should our research priorities be? Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 7, 425-429.
  • Conway, N., Kiefer, T., Hartley, J., & Briner, R.B. (2014).  Doing more with less? Employee reactions to psychological contract breach via target similarity or spillover during public sector organizational change. British Journal of Management, 25, 737–754.
  • Kenny, E. & Briner, R.B. (2013). Increases in salience of ethnic identity at work: The roles of ethnic assignation and ethnic identification. Human Relations, 66, 725-748.
  • Cassar, V., Buttigieg, S. C., & Briner, R. B. (2013). Causal explanations of psychological contract breach characteristics. The Psychologist-Manager Journal, 16, 85-106.
  • Briner, R..B. & Walshe, N.D. (2013). The causes and consequences of a scientific literature we cannot trust:  An evidence-based practice perspective. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 6, 369-312.
  • Conway, N. & Briner, R.B. (2012). Investigating the effect of collective organizational commitment on unit-level performance and absence. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 85, 472-486.
  • Cassar, V. & Briner, R.B. (2011). The mediating role of violation between breach and organizational commitment and the moderating influence of exchange imbalance. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 78, 283-289.
  • Briner, R.B. & Rousseau, D.M. (2011). Evidence-Based I-O Psychology:  Not there yet but now a little nearer? Industrial and Organizational Psychology:  Perspectives on Science and Practice, 4, 76-82.
  • Briner, R.B. & Rousseau, D.M. (2011). Evidence-Based I-O Psychology:  Not there yet. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 4, 3-22.
  • Kenny, E.J. & Briner, R.B. (2010). Exploring ethnicity in organizations. Equal Opportunities International, 29, 348-363.
  • Briner, R.B., Denyer, D. & Rousseau, D.M. (2009). Evidence-based management: Construct clean-up time? Academy of Management Perspectives, 23, 4, 19-32.
  • Briner, R.B. & Kiefer, T. (2009). Whither psychological research into emotion at work?  Feeling for the future. International Journal of Work Organisation and Emotion, 3, 161-173.
  • Cassar, V. & Briner, R.B. (2009).  Contextualizing the features of the psychological contract: the case of Malta. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 24, 677-690.
  • Briner, R.B. & Sturdy, A. (2008).  Introduction to food, work and organization. Human Relations, 61, 907-912.
  • Poppleton, S., Briner, R.B., & Kiefer, T. (2008). The roles of context and everyday experience in understanding work-non-work relationships:  A qualitative diary study of white and blue-collar workers. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 81, 481-502.
  • Kenny, E.J. & Briner. R.B. (2007). Ethnicity and behaviour in organizations: A review of British research. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 80, 437-457.
  • Cassar, V. & Briner, R.B.  (2005).  Psychological contract 'breach': A multiple component perspective to an over-researched construct? Revista de Psicología Social, 20, 125-136.
  • Briner, R.B. (2005). What can research into emotion at work tell us about researching well-being at work? International Journal of Work Organisation and Emotion, 1, 67-73.
  • Daniels, K., Harris, C. & Briner, R.B. (2004). Linking work conditions to unpleasant affect: Cognition, categorization and goals. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 77, 343–363.
  • Briner, R.B., Harris, C. & Daniels, K. (2004).  How do work stress and coping work? Toward a fundamental theoretical reappraisal. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 32, 223-234.
  • Harris, C., Daniels, K. & Briner, R.B. (2003). A daily diary study of goals and affective well-being at work. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 76, 401–410.
  • Harris, C., Daniels, K. & Briner, R.B. (2002). Using cognitive mapping for psychosocial risk assessment. Risk Management: An International Journal, 4(3), 1-21.
  • Conway, N. & Briner, R.B. (2002). A daily diary study of affective responses to psychological contract violation and exceeded promises. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 23, 287-302.
  • Conway, N. & Briner, R.B. (2002). Full-time versus part-time employees: Understanding the links between work status, the psychological contract, and attitudes. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 61, 279-301.
  • Briner, R.B. (2000). Relationships between work environments, psychological environments and psychological well-being. Occupational Medicine, 50, 299-303.
  • Briner, R.B. & Fingret, A. (2000). Work and psychological well-being: Future directions in research and practice. Occupational Medicine, 50, 320-321.
  • Rick, J. & Briner, R.B. (2000). Psychosocial risk assessment:  Problems and prospects. Occupational Medicine, 50, 310-314.

 

Books

  • Conway, N. & Briner, R.B. (2005).  Understanding Psychological Contracts at Work - A Critical Evaluation of Theory and Research.  Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Parkinson, B., Totterdell, P., Briner. R.B., & Reynolds, S. (2000).  Stimmungen: Struktur, DynamiK und Beeinflussungsmöglichkeiten eines psychologischen Phänomens. Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta.  pp 304. German version of Parkinson, B., Totterdell, P., Briner. R.B., and Reynolds, S. (1996).
  • Parkinson, B., Totterdell, P., Briner. R.B., & Reynolds, S. (1996). Changing Moods: The Psychology of Mood and Mood Regulation. London: Longman.

 

Book chapters and edited volumes

  • Briner, R.B. (in press). Evidence-based human resource management.  In D. Guest & D. Needle (Eds.), Wiley Encyclopedia of Management: Human Resource Management. New York: Wiley.
  • Briner, R. B., & Walshe, N. D. (2013). Evidence‐based management and leadership. In H.S. Leonard, R. Lewis, A.M. Freedman & J. Passmore (Eds.), The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of the Psychology of Leadership, Change, and Organizational Development. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
  • Briner, R. B. (2012). Developing evidence-based occupational health psychology. In J. Houdmont, S. Leka & R. Sinclair (Eds.) Contemporary Occupational Health Psychology: Global Perspectives on Research and Practice. Chichester:  Wiley-Blackwell.
  • Rick, J., & Briner, R. B. (2012). Evidence-Based Trauma Management for Organizations: Developments and Prospects.  In R. Hughes, A. Kinder and C.L. Cooper (Eds.), International Handbook of Workplace Trauma Support. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
  • Briner, R.B., Engwall, L., Juillerat, T.L., Mintzberg, H., Morgeson, F.P., Pratt, M.G. & Tengblad, S. (2012).  Bridging the management theory and practice gap.  In S. Tengblad (Ed.), The Work of Managers. Oxford:  Oxford University Press.
  • Briner, R.B. & Denyer, D. (2012). Systematic review and evidence synthesis as a practice and scholarship tool.  In D.M. Rousseau (Ed.), Handbook of Evidence-Based Management:  Companies, Classrooms, and Research. New York: University Press.
  • Conway, N. & Briner, R.B. (2009). 50 Years of Psychological Contract Research What do we know and what are the main challenges? International Review of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 21, 71-131.
  • Kiefer, T. & Briner, R.B. (2006). Emotions at work:  Implications for International Business and Management. In P.R. Jackson and M. Shams (Eds.), International Business and Management: Developments in Work and Organizational Psychology, Vol.20 – Implications for International Business. Elsevier.
  • Briner, R.B. & Kiefer, T. (2005). Research into the Experience of Emotion at Work: Definitely Older, But are we any Wiser? In N.M. Ashkanasy, C. Hartel, & W. Zerbe (Eds.), The effect of Affect in Organizational Settings - Research on Emotion in Organizations, Volume 1. Oxford, UK: Elsevier/JAI Press.
  • Briner, R.B. (2004). Do EAPs work? A complex answer to a simple question. In R. Hughes (Ed.), An Anthology of Counselling at Work II. Rugby:  Association for Counselling at Work. 113-116. [reproduction of Briner, 2000]
  • Briner, R.B. (2003). Stress management. In M. Cardwell, L. Clark, & C. Meldrum (Eds.), Psychology for AS-level. London: Harper-Collins. 110.
  • Briner, R.B. & Totterdell, P.A. (2002).  Emotion at Work. In P.B Warr (ed.) Psychology at Work. Penguin. 229-252.
  • Briner, R.B. (2000). Evidence-based human resource management. In Trinder, L. & Reynolds, S. (Eds.), Evidence-Based Practice: A Critical Appraisal. London: Blackwell Science. 184-211.

Refereed conference papers and invited talks (Note: since 2010 only)

2016
Invited talks
  • Getting started with evidence-based management. Dublin City University Business School.
  • Talent management – What’s the evidence? Irish Management Institute, Dublin.
  • How can HR professionals demonstrate value in a constrained environment? University of Greenwich Annual HR Conference. (Invited keynote address)
  • Evidence-Based Management. University of Bradford PhD Conference. (Invited keynote address)
  • Methods for studying psychological contract dynamics. Psychological Contract Small Group Conference, Dublin. (Invited keynote address)
  • Evidence-based healthcare management. European Healthcare Management Association Annual Conference, Porto. (Invited Keynote Address with Eric Barends)
  • Evidence-based HR: What is it and is it really happening yet? Rethink! HR & Technology Minds 2016, London. (Invited keynote address)
  • Employee engagement and its implications for occupational health. The Colt Lecture, Workplace Health 2016, Warwickshire.
  • The development of evidence-based practice in management and HR: How and why universities and academics are part of the problem. Warwick Business School.
  • Facing up to some awkward truths about employee engagement: An evidence-based approach. Employee Engagement Summit 2016, London.
  • Systematic Reviews and Organizational Psychology Practice. Future Work Centre, London.
  • An evidence-based approach to equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace. ESRC Seminar Series Equality and Diversity - Evaluating the impact of EDI initiatives in the workplace, Lancaster.
  • Getting started with evidence-based management. Leaders’ Lunch Balance HR, Brussels.
2015
Refereed conference papers
  • Systematic review and evidence-based work and organizational psychology (workshop). European Congress of Work and Organizational Psychology, Oslo.
  • From Passively Received Wisdom to Actively Constructed Knowledge: Teaching Systematic Review Skills As a Foundation of Evidence-Based Management. Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Vancouver. (Professional Development Workshop paper with Neil Walshe)
Invited talks
  • Evidence-based organizational psychology. The British Psychological Society Occupational Psychology Conference, Glasgow. (Invited keynote address)
  • The importance of evidence-based practice in organizational psychology, HR and Management. PwC Behavioural Science Network, London.
  • How can HR become more evidence-based?  CIPD London Student Conference, London. (Invited keynote address)
  • An evidence-based approach to employee engagement. Corporate Research Forum, London.
  • The academic/practitioner interface:  The role of evidence-based practice and the barriers faced by academics to making a practical contribution. Guildhall Faculty of Business & Law Research Conference, London. (Invited keynote address)
  • Measuring employee attitudes and perceptions:  The causes and consequences of poor construct definition and operationalization (construct drift). 14th European Conference on Research Methodology for Business and Management Studies, University of Malta, Valletta. (Invited keynote address)
  • What is an evidence-based management and why isn’t it happening much?  Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education, University of London.
  • What is evidence-based HR and how do you do it? HMRC OneHR Leadership Event, London.
  • Evidence-Based Practice: The foundations for a new path for HRM. Zurich Society for HRM, Zurich. (Invited keynote address)
  • What is evidence-based management? How is it relevant to CS Employee Policy Health and Well-Being Strategy and Service? Cross-Government Working Group on Health and Well-Being, London.
  • What is evidence-based management and why isn’t it happening much? The roles of cognitive biases, management fads, consultants, and business school academics. Surrey Business School, University of Surrey.
  • How evidence-based is work and organizational psychology? Why does it matter and what can we do about it? Work & Organizational Psychologists of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, Mainz. (Invited keynote address)
  • Business psychology in action:  How evidence-based is it and how can it become more so? Association for Business Psychology, Reading. (Invited keynote address)
2014
Refereed conference papers
  • How evidence-based are occupational psychology academics in their research practices?  The British Psychological Society Occupational Psychology Conference, Brighton.
  • How would you like your occupational psychology, Sir? Ethical? Scientific? Evidence based? The British Psychological Society Occupational Psychology Conference, Brighton. (panel discussion with Richard Kwiatkowski, Emma Donaldson-Fielder and Clive Fletcher).
  • Evidence-based Practice in Practice - The Practitioner as Scientist. The British Psychological Society Occupational Psychology Conference, Brighton. (with Claudia Nuttgens)
  • Bridging the Research-Practice Gap though Evidence-Based Management and Systematic Review. Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Philadelphia. (Professional Development Workshop with David Denyer)
  • Evidence-Based Management in Action: Reports on Innovations in Practice, Consulting and Teaching. Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Philadelphia. (Professional Development Workshop with Denise Rousseau and Eric Barends)
  • Evidence-based practice in organisational psychology and related areas: Which types of evidence should you use and trust? Association of Business Psychologists Annual Conference, Reading.
Invited talks
  • What is the evidence for the leadership required for effective policing? Strategic Command Course, College of Policing, Bramshill. 
  • Why isn’t management practice more evidence-based?  Who or what can we blame? Cranfield University School of Management.
  • What is evidence-based management and how does it facilitate organizational and management learning?  How do teaching and research practices in management schools and universities inhibit its development? School of Business and Management, Queen Mary University of London.
  • Does coaching work and does anyone really care? First Welsh Coaching Conference, University of South Wales, Pontypridd.
  • Evidence-based management:  From fads and quick fixes to effective decision-making. Oxford Brookes University Business School.
  • Evidence-based management in context. Presentation at Evidence-Based Practice: Insights from Key Domains, School of Management, University of Edinburgh.
  • Why isn’t management more evidence-based? And what can we do about it? University of San Francisco.
  • What is evidence-based management? And why don’t organizations do more of it? American Society for Training & Development, Asia Pacific Conference, Taipai, Tiawan.
  • What is evidence-based management? And why don’t organizations do more of it? How can Universities and Business Schools help? National Changhua University of Education, Tiawan.
  • Employee engagement: What’s the evidence? Engage for Success Guru Group, Aston University.
2013
Refereed conference papers
  • Methods for rapidly reviewing literature to inform practice:  Becoming more of an evidence-based occupational psychologist. The British Psychological Society Occupational Psychology Conference, Chester.  (workshop and presentation).
  • Does executive coaching work?  The questions every coach needs to ask and (at least try to) answer. The British Psychological Society Occupational Psychology Conference, Chester.  (professional discussion forum and presentation).
  • Perceived organizational support in everyday work life.  European Congress of Work and Organizational Psychology, Munster. (with Neil Conway and Tina Kiefer).
  • How evidence-based is work and organizational psychology? Some criteria for evaluating how far we’ve got and some suggestions for speeding up progress. European Congress of Work and Organizational Psychology, Munster.
  • Understanding increases in the salience of minority ethnic identity at work. European Congress of Work and Organizational Psychology, Munster. (with Etlyn Kenny).
  • Feeling bad and good: The daily experience of ongoing change.  European Congress of Work and Organizational Psychology, Munster. (with Tina Kiefer and Neil Conway).
  • Austerity and its effects on change, psychological contracts, and employee contributions.  Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Orlando. (with Neil Conway and Tina Kiefer).
Invited talks
  • Evidence-Based HR:  What is it and is it really happening yet? Brighton Business School, University of Brighton.
  • Evidence-based practice:  What does “evidence” mean and why do we need it?  Metropolitan Police, New Scotland Yard, London.
  • Supervising Evidence-Based Practice.  BPS Supervision Conference, Harrogate.
  • Evidence-based Occupational Psychology.  Department of Psychology, City University.
  • Evidence-based Occupational Psychology.  Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths College, University of London.
  • An evidence-based approach to intervention research.  Keynote lecture. EAWOP Small Group Meeting on resource based interventions. University of Heidelberg.
  • Why isn’t psychology practice (more) evidence-based?  Why you should care and what you can do.  Keynote lecture.  British Psychology Society Psychology Postgraduate Affairs Group Annual Conference. University of Lancaster.
  • Evidence-based management:  What is it?  Do any organizations do it?  What are the barriers?  Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester.
  • Evidence-Based Organisational Psychology:  What is it?  How do you do it?  And what's stopping us?  The British Psychological Society, Division of Occupational Psychology Scotland, Glasgow.
  • What is evidence-based practice and why don’t psychologists do more of it?  Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen.
  • Evidence-Based HR.  HRO Today Forum Europe, London.
  • Conceptualizing and measuring psychological well-being at work: How and why?  ESRC Seminar Series: Sustaining employee well-being for the 21st Century, University of Edinburgh.
  • Work and well-being: From job satisfaction to job stress to employee engagement to…where next?  British Psychology Society South West of England Branch, Psychology in The Pub, Exeter.
  • Is the evidence in coaching psychology really that rubbish?  A hothouse debate.  Panel Member, Fourth European Coaching Psychology Conference, Edinburgh.
  • What is Evidence-Based Management?  And Why Aren’t Managers, Educators, Researchers and Consultants Not Too Interested?  Department of Management, University of Bristol.
2012
Refereed conference papers
  • Research and practice around emotion at work:  Four awkward questions we need to ask.  The British Psychological Society Occupational Psychology Conference, Chester.
  • How evidence-based are organizational psychology practitioners?  A collective discussion and evaluation of how far we’ve got and what’s stopping us. The British Psychological Society Occupational Psychology Conference, Chester. (professional discussion forum and presentation)
  • How to practice in a more evidence-based way:  Some practical guidelines and suggestions. The British Psychological Society Occupational Psychology Conference, Chester. (workshop and presentation)
  • Larger, longer, and more pervasive: The distinct experiences of broken and fulfilled promises. Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Boston. (with Neil Conway and Tina Kiefer).
  • Feeling the squeeze: The experience of change and innovation in public organizations. Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Boston. (with Tina Kiefer, Jean Hartley and Neil Conway).
  • What does evidence from organizational psychology research really tell us and how do we know? The challenges and benefits of systematic literature reviews. Institute of Work Psychology Conference, Sheffield. (workshop with Malcolm Patterson).
  • The role of causal attributions and social accounts for broken and fulfilled promises on emotion and daily mood. Institute of Work Psychology Conference, Sheffield. (with Neil Conway and Tina Kiefer).
  • Feeling the squeeze! The experience of ongoing change in UK public sector organizations. Institute of Work Psychology Conference, Sheffield. (with Tina Kiefer, Jean Hartley and Neil Conway).
Invited talks
  • What is evidence-based practice and how can business psychologists do more of it?  Association of Business Psychologists, London.
  • The psychological contract:  Understanding motivation and ‘engagement’ at work.  Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, Bracknell.
  • Methodological fit in researching the work-nonwork interface.  BPS Work-Life Balance Working Group Postgraduate Workshop.
  • Just how bad an idea is employee engagement?  On multiple meanings, muddled measurement and management myths.  ESRC Employee Engagement Seminar Series:  University of Kent.
  • The psychological contract:  Understanding the real deal between employer and employee.  BPS South-West Branch, Bristol.
  • Do management fads inhibit management learning? And do evidence-based approaches help?  Learning Sciences Research Institute, University of Nottingham.
  • Work and Psychological Well-Being:  What are The Issues? What are The Solutions? Where is The Evidence?  University of Edinburgh Business School.
  • Evidence-based coaching psychology:  What would it look like and how close are we?  BPS Special Group in Coaching Psychology Annual Conference, Aston University.
  • Evidence-Based HR: What is it and is it really happening yet?  Institute for Employment Studies Annual HR Conference, London.
  • Work and well-being:  From job satisfaction to job stress to employee engagement to…where next?    BPS South-West Branch, Bristol.
  • Engagement, motivation and the changing nature of the psychological contract:  A perspective on the evidence.  Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development/Public Sector People Management Association, Manchester.
  • Systematic Reviews as Foundations of Research and Practice.  ESRC Researcher Development Initiative/BAM Workshop on Evidence-Based Management.  London.
2011
Refereed conference papers
  • Evidence-based organizational psychology revisited:  Evidence of value and the value of evidence. The British Psychological Society Occupational Psychology Conference, Stratford-upon-Avon.
  • Dons and suits:  The relationship between science and practice, and why it really matters to the future of occupational psychology.  The British Psychological Society Occupational Psychology Conference, Stratford-upon-Avon. (Professional Forum with Antonia Dietmann, Eugene Burke, Fiona Patterson, Ivan Robertson).
  • The crafting of job crafting: A review of development in job crafting research. European Congress of Work and Organizational Psychology, Maastricht.
  • Unit level linkages between employee commitment to the organization, customer service delivery and customer satisfaction. European Congress of Work and Organizational Psychology, Maastricht. (with Neil Conway)
  • Causal attributions of psychological contract breach characteristics. European Congress of Work and Organizational Psychology, Maastricht. (with Sandra Buttgieg, Vincent Cassar and Pedro Ramos-Villagrasa).
  • The role of broken, fulfilled and exceeded promises and emotions on OCBs during radical organizational change - A diary study. European Congress of Work and Organizational Psychology, Maastricht. (with Tina Kiefer and Neil Conway).
  • How are organizational climates formed? A critical review of the literature, 1983-2010.  European Congress of Work and Organizational Psychology, Maastricht. (with Candy Whittome).
  • Doing systematic literature reviews in work and organizational psychology. European Congress of Work and Organizational Psychology, Maastricht. (pre-congress workshop).
  • Evidence-Based Management: A New Approach to Teaching the Practice of Management. Academy of Management Annual Meeting, San Antonio. (Professional Development Workshop/papers with Eric Barends and Denise Rousseau).
  • Systematic Review and Research Synthesis. Academy of Management Annual Meeting, San Antonio. (Professional Development Workshop with David Denyer).
  • The Role of Attributions for Broken and Fulfilled Promises on Daily Mood and Work Behaviors. Academy of Management Annual Meeting, San Antonio. (with Neil Conway and Tina Kiefer).
Invited talks
  • So you want to do a PhD? Why having an academic career isn’t so bad.  BPS Postgraduate Occupational Psychology Conference, Stratford-upon-Avon. (with Kevin Daniels)
  • Invited Professional Forum:  DOP Working Group on Minority Ethnic Career Experiences: Debate on theory, evidence and practice. The British Psychological Society Occupational Psychology Conference, Stratford-upon-Avon. (with Tinu Cornish, Doyin Atewologun, Binna Kandola, Richard Williams, Phil Wilson).
  • Why don't managers use management research? The role of evidence-based management approaches. Department of Management, London School of Economics.
  • Re-visiting strategic HR and workforce development from an evidence-based perspective. Welsh NHS Employers Unit, Cardiff.
  • The past, present and future of evidence-based management. School of Business and Professional Studies, University of San Francisco.
  • Work-non-work relationships in contrasting settings: A qualitative diary study of white and blue collar workers. Work-life Balance Needs and Solutions: A Focus on Diversity and Difference. The British Psychological Society Division of Occupational Psychology, London. (with Sarah Poppleton).
  • Why don't Organizations use Research produced by Business Schools?  The Role of Evidence-Based Management Approaches.  Westminster Business School, University of Westminster.
  • Why don't managers use management research? The role of evidence-based management.  Kemmy Business School, University of Limerick.
  • Where has evidence-based human resource management come from and what does it mean?  Corporate Research Forum, London.
  • Evidence-based management. University of Ghent.
  • The psychological contract:  Understanding the real deal at work.  Ernst & Young, London.
  • Evidence-Based Management: What is it, why do we need it, and what does it look like in practice?  7th International Conference of the Dutch HRM Network, Groningen. (with Eric Barends).
  • Systematic review and research synthesis.  7th International Conference of the Dutch HRM Network, Groningen. (workshop with Eric Barends).
2010
Refereed conference papers
  • All that glisters is not gold: the role of military medals in processes of organizational redemption. Critical Management Studies Workshop, Montreal. (with Neil Walshe)
  • Evidence-Based Management: A New Approach to Teaching the Practice of Management.  Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Montreal.  (Professonal Development Workshop/papers with Eric Barends, Wendelien Van Eerde, Dirk Ubbin, Barbara Janssen).
  • Systematic Review and Research Synthesis:  Synthesis and EBMgt. Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Montreal.  (Professional Development Workshop/papers with David Denyer).
Invited talks
  • Past, Present and Future of Occupational Psychology.  The British Psychological Society Occupational Psychology Conference, Brighton (Opening Forum panel member)
  • Disentangling Engagement.  The British Psychological Society Occupational Psychology Conference, Brighton.  (Symposium discussant).
  • Getting On and Getting Published: Processes of Academic Careers.  BPS Postgraduate Occupational Psychology Conference, Brighton. (with Kevin Daniels)
  • Evidence-based management and the notion of reseach impact.  The Impact of Business and Management Research, Association of Business Schools, London.
  • University Staff and the Psychological Contract During Funding Cuts. HE Facilities Management Network
  • The past, present and future of evidence-based management.  Newcastle Business School.
  • Evidence-based management:  What is it and how do you do it?  Napier University Business School.
  • Making an impact beyond impact factors: Evidnece-based management. Institute of Work Psychology Conference, Postgraduate and Early Career Event.
  • Evidence-based management: Where's it from? Where's it at? And where's it going?  Norwich Business School.
  • Evidence-based management and the contribution of psychology to understanding BAME career experiences.  The BPS Division of Occupational Psychology Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Careers (BAME) Working Group, City University.
  • Evidence-based management: Where's it from? Where's it at? And where's it going? University of Exeter Business School.
  • The past, present and future of evidence-based management. University of Strathclyde Business School.
  • Evidence-based organizational psychology. European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology Early Career Summer School, Valencia.
  • Practicing Evidence-based Human Resource Management. King’s College HRM Learning Board, London.
  • Evidence-based Human Resource Management. East of England Local Government Association, Cambridge.
  • Management accounting and evidence-based management. Management Accounting Research Group Conference, Aston University.
  • The psychological contract and reactions to flexible working. Building & Social Science Network. London.
  • The relationship between employee and employer:  Can researching the psychological contract help us understand the real deal? Department of Psychology, University of Westminster.

 

Recent practitioner articles

  • Briner, R.B. & Barends, E. (2016). The Role of Scientific Findings in Evidence-Based HR. HR People + Strategy, Spring 2016.
  • Briner, R.B. (2015).  Universities are mismanaging performance. Times Higher Education, May 7th.
  • Briner. R.B. (2015).  What’s the evidence for...goal setting?  HR Magazine.
  • Briner. R.B. (2015).  What’s the evidence for...absence management?  HR Magazine.
  • Briner. R.B. (2015).  What’s the evidence for...change management?  HR Magazine.
  • Briner. R.B. (2015).  What’s the evidence for...performance management?  HR Magazine.
  • Briner. R.B. (2015).  What’s the evidence for...talent management?  HR Magazine.
  • Briner, R.B. (2014).  Unreliable evidence?  Understanding and working with the limitations of the academic literature.  Occupational Psychology Matters, 19, 11-15.
  • Briner, R.B. (2014).  Employee engagement:  Don’t believe the hype. HR Magazine.
  • Briner, R.B. (2012). Does coaching work and does anyone really care?  Occupational Psychology Matters, 16, 4-11.
  • Briner, R.B. (2012).  How Does Work Feel? Is it Simply Stress or Satisfaction?  The Bath Perspective. University of Bath:  School of Management.
  • Briner, R.B. (2010). Evidence-based management: how to use research to make more informed decisions.  British Library Management & Business Studies Portal.
    http://www.mbsportal.bl.uk/taster/subjareas/mgmt/bl/managersevidence.aspx

Supervision

Areas of Supervision Expertise:

Professor Briner welcomes prospective doctoral students with an interest in:

  • Evidence-based practice in management, HR and organizational psychology
  • Emotion at work
  • The psychological contract
  • Ethnicity and work behaviour
  • Work-nonwork relationships
  • Absence from work

Current Doctoral Students:

1st Supervisor

  • Jurate Cingiene, 'An event-based approach to understanding the dynamics of work-nonwork conflict'

 

Public Engagement

He was a founding member, Vice-Chair and now Scientific Director of the Center for Evidence-Based Management (www.cebma.org) which, through its teaching, training and dissemination activities aims to help managers make better decisions by adopting the principles of evidence-based practice.  Rob is regularly invited as keynote speaker to discuss evidence based management/HR and has published numerous practitioner articles on the topic.  Rob’s work in this area has led to him being named in 2015 the second Most Influential HR Thinker by HR Magazine and he also in 2014 received the British Psychological Society Division of Occupational Psychology Academic Contribution to Practice Award.

He is also Visiting Professor at the Institute of Psychiatry and the London School of Economics, a Professorial Fellow at the University of Edinburgh Business School and Honorary Fellow at the Institute for Employment Studies.

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