Not since the 1930s has so much attention focused on the study of moods and
emotions in organizations. Unlike the research in the 1930s, current effor
ts are expected to result in a change in the nature of what is thought to c
onstitute the field of organizational behavior. This claim is based, in par
t, on ideas evident in the articles comprising this special issue, at least
those ideas reflecting that (a) affect needs to be the focal point of theo
ry building efforts (and not merely appended to existing theories) and (b)
contextual features of organizations are essential to understanding the pro
duction and consequences of moods and emotions in organizations. Ideas that
are affect focused and sensitive to organization context likely are to be
seen as novel by students of organizational behavior and, thereby, to captu
re the interest required to generate the research that will reshape the bou
ndaries of the field. (C) 2001 Academic Press.