Job Crafting Interventions: What Works, for Whom, Why, and in Which Contexts? Research Protocol for a Realist Synthesis With Coincidence Analysis

Abstract Background:Job crafting (JC) refers to self-initiated changes that employees introduce to their jobs to optimize their job design and increase the fit between the job and their needs and preferences. These behaviors can be stimulated by job crafting training interventions, which aim to change how individual employees design, organize, or manage their work. However, knowledge on JC interventions and their effects is still scarce. Additionally, the findings are spread across distinct theoretical approaches and the interventions are implemented in various ways. We have yet to determine which context and intervention factors are necessary or sufficient to achieve desired outcomes. The overall aim of this project will be to investigate how to implement effective JC interventions. Specifically, we will detect what factors are minimally sufficient and/or necessary to produce a successful JC intervention, as well as the multiple alternative paths to their success.Methods: We will perform a realist synthesis of the JC interventions literature combined with coincidence analysis (CNA). We will search electronic databases of journals and utilize Rayyan software to make decisions regarding inclusion. Data regarding context (e.g., fit), intervention (e.g., types of activities), mechanisms (e.g., intention implementation), and outcomes (e.g., employee well-being, job performance) will be extracted using a pre-piloted form and coded into a crisp-set (factor present vs. absent). Analyses will be carried out using CNA package in R.Discussion:This realist synthesis will address gaps in knowledge about the context, intervention and mechanism-related factors that may impact the effects of JC interventions. Consequently, this review will help develop a program theory for JC interventions that explains what works, how and under which circumstances. Applying CNA to synthesize these complex solutions across multiple studies provides an innovative method that may be used in future realist syntheses evaluating the implementation of interventions. Finally, our synthesis will provide knowledge relevant to organizational practitioners and scholars who want to implement JC interventions.Systematic review registration:https://osf.io/2q7cn (registration pending)