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Head Above The Parapet: How Minority Subordinates Influence Group Outcomes And The Consequences They Face, Burak Oc, Michael R. Bashshur, Celia Moore

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The vast majority of research on power, social, and minority influence treats those who are recipients of powerholders’ decisions (i.e., subordinates) as an undifferentiated group, overlooking how recipients may respond in unique ways to the decisions that affect them. In this paper we examine the role of minority subordinates in shaping how powerholders allocate resources. We also explore how psychological distance between the minority subordinate and powerholder moderates this relationship, as well as the individual consequences minority subordinates face for articulating their unique opinions. In three experimental studies, we show that even as a lone voice, the feedback of a …