The present study focused on mentorship effectiveness from the perspective of the mentor. Specifically, factors related to relationship quality and learning were investigated. Mentors in relationships with others perceived to be similar reported the mentorship to be of higher quality and greater learning than did mentors in relationships with less similar others. Results also indicated that mentorship type (formal vs. informal) did not have a direct relationship with mentorship effectiveness, but did interact with mentorship duration. Additional results and implications are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Allen, T. D., Day, R., & Lentz, E.2002, April. Interpersonal comfort in mentoring relationships: A mediating mechanism. Paper presented at the 17th Annual Conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Toronto, ON.
2.
Allen, T. D., & Poteet, M. L.1999. Developing effective mentoring relationships: Strategies from the mentor’s viewpoint. Career Development Quarterly, 48: 59–73.
3.
Allen, T. D., Poteet, M. L., & Burroughs, S. M.1997a. The mentor’s perspective: A qualitative inquiry and future research agenda. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 51: 70–89.
4.
Allen, T. D., Poteet, M. L., Russell, J. E. A., & Dobbins, G. H.1997b. A field study of factors related to supervisors’ willingness to mentor others. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 50: 1–22.
5.
Allen, T. D., Poteet, M. L., & Russell, J. E. A.2000. Protégé selection by mentors: What makes the difference?Journal of Organizational Behavior, 21: 271–282.
6.
Aryee, S., Chay, Y. W., & Chew, J.1996. The motivation to mentor among managerial employees. Group & Organization Management, 21: 261–277.
7.
Bentler, P. M.1990. Comparative fit indexes in structural models. Psychological Bulletin, 107: 238–246.
8.
Bentler, P. M., & Bonett, D. G.1980. Significant tests and goodness of fit in the analysis of covariance structures. Psychological Bulletin, 88: 588–606.
9.
Berscheid, E., & Peplau, L. A.1983. The emerging science of relationships. In H. H. Kelley, E. Berscheid, A.Christensen, J. H., Harvey, T. L.Huston, G. Levinger, E. McClintock, L. A. Peplau, & D. R. Petterson (Eds.), Close relationships: 1–19. New York: W. H. Freeman and Company.
10.
Burke, R. J., McKeen, C. A., & McKenna, C.1993. Correlates of mentoring in organizations: The mentor’s perspective. Psychological Reports, 72: 883–896.
11.
Byrne, D.1971. The attraction paradigm. New York: Academic Press.
12.
Byrne, D., & Neuman, J. H.1992. The implications of attraction research for organizational issues. In K. Kelley (Ed.), Issues, theory, and research in industrial and organizational psychology: 29–70. New York: Elsevier.
13.
Catalyst1993. Mentoring: A guide to corporate programs and practices. New York.
14.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M.1987. The support of autonomy and the control of behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53: 1024–1037.
15.
Dreher, G., & Ash, R.1990. A comparative study of mentoring among men and women in managerial, professional, and technical positions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 75: 525–535.
16.
Duck, S.1977. The study of acquaintance. Westmead, England: Saxon House
17.
Ensher, E. A., & Murphy, S. E.1997. Effects of race, gender, perceived similarity, and contact on mentor relationships. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 50: 460–481.
18.
Fagenson, E. A.1989. The mentor advantage: Perceived career/job experiences of protégés versus non-protégés. Journal of Occupational Behavior, 10: 309–320.
19.
Graziano, W. G. & Musser, L. M.1982. The joining and parting of the ways. In S. Duck (Ed.), Personal relationships 4: Dissolving personal relationships: 75–406. London: Sage.
20.
Harrison, D. A., Price, K. H., & Bell, M. P.1998. Beyond relational demography: Time and the effects of surface- and deep-level diversity on work group cohesion. Academy of Management Journal, 41: 96–107.
21.
Higgins, M. C., & Kram, K. E.2001. Reconceptualizing mentoring at work: A developmental network perspective. Academy of Management Review, 26: 264–288.
22.
Hinde, R. A.1981. The bases of a science of interpersonal relationships. In S. Duck & R. Gilmour (Eds.). Personal relationships 1: Studying relationships: 1–22. London: Academic Press.
23.
Hinde, R. A.1997. Relationships: A dialectical perspective. East Sussex, UK: Psychology Press Publishers.
24.
Hughes, M. A., Price, R. L., & Marrs, D. W.1986. Linking theory construction and theory testing: Models with multiple indicators of latent variables. Academy of Management Review, 11: 128–144.
25.
Hurley, A. E., & Fagenson-Eland, E. A.1996. Challenges in cross-gender mentoring relationships: Psychological intimacy, myths, rumours, innuendoes, and sexual harassment. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 17: 42–49.
26.
Huston, T. L., & Burgess, R. L.1979. Social exchange in developing relationships: An overview. In R. L. Burgess & T. L. Huston (Eds.), Social exchange in developing relationships: 3–28. New York: Academic Press.
27.
James, L. R., & Brett, J. M.1984. Mediators, moderators, and tests for mediation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 69: 307–321.
28.
James, L. R., Muliak, S. A., & Brett, J. M.1982. Causal analysis: Assumptions, models, and data. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
29.
Jöreskog, K. G., & Sörbom, D.1983. LISREL: Analysis of linear structural relationships by the method of maximum likelihood (2nd ed.). Chicago, IL: National Educational Resources.
Kizilos, P.1990. Take my mentor, please!Training, 27(4): 49–55.
32.
Klauss, R.1981. Formalized mentor relationships for management and development programs in federal government. Public Administration Review, 41: 489–496.
Kram, K. E.1985. Mentoring at work: Developmental relationships in organizational life. Glenview, IL: Scott Foresman.
35.
Kram, K. E.1996. A relational approach to career development. In D. T. Hall (Ed.), The career is dead—long live the career: 132–157. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
36.
Kram, K. E., & Hall, D. T.1989. Mentoring as an antidote to stress during corporate trauma. Human Resource Management, 28: 493–510.
37.
Leek, M., & Smith, P. K.1989. Phenotypic matching, human altruism, and mate selection. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 12: 534–535.
38.
Levinger, G.1979. A social exchange view on the dissolution of pair relationships. In R. L. Burgess & T. L. Husotn (Eds.), Social exchange in developing relationships: 169–193. New York: Academic Press.
39.
Levinson, D. J., Darrow, D., Klein, E., Levinson, M., & McKee, B.1978. Seasons of a man’s life. New York: Knopf.
40.
Lincoln, J. R., & Miller, J.1979. Work and friendship ties in organizations: A comparative analysis of relational networks. Administrative Science Quarterly, 24: 181–199.
41.
Medkser, G. J., Williams, L. J., & Holahan, P. J.1994. A review of current practices for evaluating causal models in organizational behavior and human resources management. Journal of Management, 20: 439–464.
42.
Mullen, E.1994. Framing the mentoring relationship in an information exchange. Human Resource Management Review, 4: 257–281.
43.
Murstein, B. I.1987. A clarification and extension of the SVR theory of dyadic pairing. Journal of Marriage and Family, 49: 929–947.
44.
Noe, R. A.1988. An investigation of the determinants of successful assigned mentoring relationships. Personnel Psychology, 41: 457–479.
45.
Pedhazur, E. J., & Schmelkin, L. P.1991. Measurement, design, and analysis: An integrated approach. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associated.
46.
Podsakoff, P. M., & Organ, D. M.1986. Self-reports in organizational research: Problems and prospects. Journal of Management, 12: 531–544.
47.
Ragins, B. R.1997a. Diversified mentoring relationships in organizations: A power perspective. Academy of Management Review, 22: 482–521.
48.
Ragins, B. R.1997b. Antecedents of diversified mentoring relationships. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 51: 90–109.
49.
Ragins, B. R., & Cotton, J. L.1993. Gender and willingness to mentor in organizations. Journal of Management, 19: 97–111.
50.
Ragins, B. R., & Cotton, J.1999. Mentor functions and outcomes: A comparison of men and women in formal and informal mentoring relationships. Journal of Applied Psychology, 84: 529–550.
51.
Ragins, B. R., Cotton, J. L., & Miller, J. S.2000. Marginal mentoring: The effects of type of mentor, quality of relationship, and program design on work and career outcomes. Academy of Management Journal, 43: 1177–1194.
52.
Ragins, B. R., & McFarlin, D. B.1990. Perceptions of mentor roles in cross-gender mentoring relationships. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 37: 321–339.
53.
Ragins, B. R., & Scandura, T. A.1994. Gender differences in expected outcomes of mentoring relationships. Academy of Management Journal, 37: 957–971.
54.
Ragins, B. R., & Scandura, T. A.1997. The way we were: Gender and the termination of mentoring relationships. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82: 945–953.
55.
Ragins, B. R., & Scandura, T. A.1999. Burden or blessing? Expected costs and benefits of being a mentor. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 20: 493–509.
56.
Rousseau, D. M., & McLean-Parks, J.1993. The contracts of individuals and organizations. In L. L. Cummings & B. M. Staw (Eds.), Research in Organizational Behavior: Vol. 15, 1–43. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
57.
Scandura, T. A.1992. Mentorship and career mobility: An empirical investigation. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 13: 169–174.
58.
Scanzoni, J.1979. Social exchange and behavioral interdependence. In R. L. Burgess & T. L. Huston (Eds.), Social exchange in developing relationships: 61–98. New York: Academic Press.
59.
Schroeder, D. A., Penner, L. A., Dovidio, J. F., & Piliavin, J. A.1995. The psychology of helping and altruism. New York: McGraw-Hill.
60.
Thomas, D.1990. The impact of race on managers’ experiences of developmental relationships (mentoring and sponsorship): An intra-organizational study. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 11: 479–492.
61.
Turban, D. B., Dougherty, T. W., & Lee, F. K.2000. The moderating effect of time on the relationships of demographic and perceived similarity with mentoring outcomes. Manuscript under review.
62.
Viswesvaran, C., Barrick, M. R., & Ones, D. S.1993. How definitive are conclusions based on survey data: Estimating robustness to nonresponse. Personnel Psychology, 46: 551–567.
63.
Whitely, W., Dougherty, T. W., & Dreher, G. F.1991. Relationship of career mentoring and socioeconomic origin to managers’ and professionals’ early career progress. Academy of Management Journal, 34: 331–351.