This article sets out a framework for the application of the concept of drivers in an organizational setting, specifically, with owner-managers of small businesses. The applicability of previous literature is explored, and consideration is given to the differences between clinical and organizational transactional analysis. The call for further research within transactional analysis is supported by the description of a research investigation of owner-managers of small firms in the United Kingdom. The relevance of the model to the overall performance of the business is highlighted. The need for further research to inform ongoing theoretical development and the possibility of interventions using the model are described.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BaronR.GreenbergJ. (1995. Behaviour in organisations: Understanding and managing the human side of work. New York: Prentice-Hall.
2.
BerneE. (1961). Transactional analysis in psychotherapy: A systematic individual and social psychiatry. New York: Grove Press.
3.
CartmelG. (1992). To be or not to be respectable. The Script, 22(6), 2.
4.
ClarksonP. (1992). In praise of speed, experimentation, agreeableness, endurance, and excellence: Counterscript drivers and aspiration. Transactional Analysis Journal, 22, 16–20.
5.
GouldingM. (1992, August). Thoughts on keeping TA/ITAA alive. The Script, 22(6), 5.
6.
HayJ. (1992). Transactional analysis for trainers. London, England: McGraw-Hill Training Series.
7.
HewsonJ.TurnerC. (1992). Transactional analysis in management. Bristol, England: The Staff College.
8.
JohnsonD. (1993a, July). Driver behaviour and business outcomes: An alternative approach to the psychology of the owner-manager. Paper presented at Fourth World Conference on Entrepreneurship, Singapore.
9.
JohnsonD. (1993b). Driver behaviour and business outcomes: An alternative approach to the psychology of the owner-manager. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, 5, 369–383.
10.
JohnsonD. (1993c, April). How do you drive to work? Workshop presented at Institute of Transactional Analysis Annual Conference, Cirencester, England.
11.
JohnsonD. J. (1995). The working styles questionnaire. Durham, United Kingdom: Durham University Business School.
12.
JohnsonD. J. (1997). Construct validity of the concept of drivers and working styles model. Manuscript submitted for publication.
13.
JohnsonD.MaR. (1994). Recognising entrepreneurial potential in graduate business start-ups: The development of a behaviorally based tool. Journal of Enterprising Culture, 2(2), 669–686.
14.
KahlerT. (1975). Drivers: The key to the process of scripts. Transactional Analysis Journal, 5, 280–284.
15.
KahlerT. (1977). The miniscript. In BarnesG. (Ed.), Transactional analysis after Eric Berne: Teachings and practices of three TA schools (pp. 223–256). New York: Harper's College Press.
16.
KahlerT.CapersH. (1974). The miniscript. Transactional Analysis Journal, 4(1), 26–42.
17.
KleinM. (1980). Lives people live: A textbook of transactional analysis. Chichester, England: Wiley.
18.
KusmanA. K., & associates. (1994). Human dilemmas in work organisations. London, England: Guilford Press.
19.
MischelW. (1984). Introduction to personality: A new look. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
20.
MyersI. B.BriggsK. C. (1962). The Myers-Briggs type indicator manual. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
21.
OhlssonT. (1993, Oct. 1). Transactional analysis “deferred” by Swedish authorities. EATA Newsletter, 47, 1.
22.
SteinerC. M. (1974). Scripts people live: Transactional analysis of life scripts. New York: Grove Press.
23.
StewartI.JoinesV. (1987). TA today: A new introduction to transactional analysis. Nottingham, England, and Chapel Hill, NC: Lifespace Publishing.
24.
Van PoeljeS. (1995). Differences between the transactional analysis fields revisited. Transactional Analysis News, 43, 34–37.
25.
WagnerA. (Speaker). (1989). People skills with Abe Wagner. A set of tapes supplied in Europe by Personal and Professional Development, 19 Whittingstall Road, London, SW6 4EA.
26.
WagnerA. (Speaker). (1990). Say it straight or you'll show it crooked. A set of tapes supplied in Europe by Personal and Professional Development, 19 Whittingstall Road, London, SW6 4EA.
27.
WissinkL. M. (1994). A validation of transactional analysis in increasing self-esteem among participants in a self-reparenting program. Transactional Analysis Journal, 24, 189–196.
