European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology

Thirty Years of Affective Events Theory: New Directions in the Knowledge Era

We are honored to have Professor Russell Cropanzano serve as Honorary Guest Editor for this special issue. Professor Cropanzano is one of the original authors of Affective Events Theory (AET) and a leading figure in the study of emotions, justice, and well-being at work. His involvement in this special issue represents a unique opportunity to both honor the theory’s intellectual origins and advance its development in light of contemporary work contexts. The participation of Professor Cropanzano underscores the special issue’s commitment to theoretical rigor, historical continuity, and forward-looking innovation in affective science.

This special issue seeks to articulate the next generation of Affective Events Theory (AET, Weiss and Cropanzano, 1996) by revisiting its core propositions and extending them to the realities of contemporary work—characterized by knowledge intensity, datafication, digital interdependence, and AI-mediated experiences. Thirty years after its formulation, AET is uniquely positioned to explain how employees interpret, experience, and act upon the constant flow of affective micro-events that define modern work.

The AET highlights how discrete affective events at work generate emotional reactions that mediate the relationship between the work environment and employee attitudes and behaviors (Weiss & Beal, 2005). This approach enables a more refined understanding of a wide range of attitudinal and behavioral outcomes by incorporating the fluctuating and context-dependent nature of affective experiences within organizational settings, a consideration increasingly critical in today’s evolving work environments (see, e.g., de la Nuez et al., 2023; Navarro et al., 2015). Research on AET has evolved significantly over the past three decades to reflect the changing contexts and eras in which it has been applied (e.g., Liu et al, 2022; Zhou, 2023).

Initially formulated in the mid-1990s, AET focused on understanding how discrete workplace events evoke emotional reactions that influence job satisfaction and behavior, emphasizing stable job characteristics and global attitudes prevalent at the time (Fisher, 2002; Weiss et al, 1999). As organizational environments transformed with technological advances, globalization, and shifts toward knowledge-intensive work, AET research expanded to incorporate these new realities (Good et al, 2023; Mazzei et al., 2023). Contemporary studies have extended the theory to digital, hybrid, and AI-augmented work contexts, recognizing novel affective triggers such as virtual collaboration, human–animal interactions or algorithmic feedback, among others (e.g., Chang et al., 2024; Junça-Silva, 2024). Methodological advancements, including intensive longitudinal studies and multimodal emotion sensing, have allowed dynamic and multilevel modeling of affective experiences over time and across organizational levels (e.g., Ashkanasy & Humphrey, 2011; Ilies et al., 2015; Miner et al., 2005; Zhu et al, 2024). Furthermore, research has increasingly integrated cross-cultural and individual differences (e.g., Ghasemy et al., 2021; Küçük & Konuk, 2023) and has linked AET with adjacent theories like emotional contagion and job crafting to capture the complex interplay of affect, cognition, and behavior in modern organizations (e.g. Rueff-Lopes et al., 2017). This evolution underscores AET’s adaptability and continued relevance in explaining affective processes across distinct eras of work. These developments reflect the evolving nature of affective experiences in contemporary organizational settings and underscore the need to revisit and expand AET to better capture the complexities of affect in knowledge-driven, digitally interconnected workplaces.

The Call for Papers invites contributions that engage with these cutting-edge themes, encouraging empirical and conceptual work that advances AET’s theoretical boundaries, applies novel methodologies, and explores diverse contexts such as cross-cultural and individual differences. By linking these advances to the special issue’s objectives, the call emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary and international perspectives in shaping the future trajectory of AET research and practice. More specifically, we welcome original empirical research, theoretical contributions, and comprehensive review articles that address topics including, but not limited to:

• Revisiting the structure and boundaries of AET in digital, hybrid, and AI-augmented work contexts
• Temporal, multilevel, and dynamic modeling of affective events in teams and organizations
• Affective events in knowledge-intensive work, professional services, and virtual collaboration
• Cross-cultural and individual differences in affective experience
• Methodological advances such as experience sampling, multimodal emotion sensing, and computational text or voice analysis
• Links between affective events and creativity, performance, well-being, and sustainability
• Integrations with adjacent theories including emotion regulation, relational energy, job crafting, and affective climate

We encourage scholars to engage boldly with AET—to challenge its assumptions, extend its mechanisms, and situate affective events within the complex socio-technical landscapes that define contemporary work. Submissions should offer novel theoretical insights, robust methodologies, and clear implications for both theory and practice. Interdisciplinary approaches and international perspectives are highly encouraged to reflect the diverse and evolving nature of contemporary work environments.

References

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Chang, P. C., Zhang, W., Cai, Q., & Guo, H. (2024). Does AI-driven technostress promote or hinder employees’ artificial intelligence adoption intention? A moderated mediation model of affective reactions and technical self-efficacy. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 17, 413-427. https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S441444

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