Organizational Behavior and Theory Commons^™

A Philosophy Of Communication Response To Bullying In Corporate America, Chris A. Phillips Dr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This philosophy of communication response to bullying in corporate America follows the structure of posing research questions, synthesizing relevant literature, and offering advice to practitioners. It invites the reader to have hope in continuing the conversation through a constructive hermeneutic approach to the problem. By building on literature in oppression, silencing, bullying, incivility, and communication ethics, this dissertation reveals how (rhetoric) and why (philosophy) the problem occurs in corporate America today. This dissertation offers a new angle to an old problem, or, a rhetoric and philosophy of bullying. It responds to the following questions:

RQ 1: As a destructive communication …

Cycles Of Inequality In The Marketplace: Insights From Macro, Marketer, And Consumer Perspectives, Debora V. Thompson, Amna Kirmani, Rebecca Hamilton, Andy Li, Christilene Du Plessis, Daniel Fernandes, Guillaume Johnson, Brent Mcferren, Jian Ni, Vladmir Pavlov, Francine Petersen, Lisa Scheer, Yan Vieites, Keith Wilcox

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Seeking inequality via differentiation is a fundamental theme in the marketing literature: consumers derive utility from products that convey socially valued attributes, and marketers target consumers by giving them opportunities to differentiate on socially valued attributes. However, as a large body of evidence shows, inequality can reduce consumer well-being and limit economic growth. In this paper, we take a systemic view of marketplace inequality, examining the interdependence among consumers, marketers, and macro forces in shaping inequality in markets for goods and services. Our broad review of the marketing literature across ten marketing journals and a variety of subdomains within the …

When God Lifts The Veil: Transformational Leadership And Political Skills Model As Counters To Machiavellianism And Organizational Politics In The Los Angeles City Council, John Sandy Campbell

The Scholarship Without Borders Journal

This paper examines how Machiavellianism and Organizational Political Behavior contribute to destructive organizational politics and applies Transformational Leadership Theory and the Political Skill Model as countervailing frameworks to the Dark Triad. Grounded in leadership and organizational behavior research, this theory-based conceptual paper provides a theory-driven analysis that synthesizes established models to explore how power and unethical governance erode public trust. This paper examines the relationship between leadership behavior and power dynamics in a contemporary political context. Rather than relying on empirical data collection, it draws on Transformational Leadership Theory, the Political Skills Model, the Dark Triad, Organizational Politics, and Organizational …

The Dynamics Of Power Transfer In Organizations: Examining Downward Deference And Its Workplace Consequences, Hoang Bao My Nguyen

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

This dissertation examines managerial power transfer as a core mechanism through which less-hierarchical management unfolds in organizations. While traditional management research has emphasized formal authority and top-down control, emerging organizational forms increasingly call on managers to share power with subordinates. Despite growing interest in constructs like empowerment, delegation, and participative leadership, the phenomenon of power transfer remains conceptually fragmented and undertheorized.

To address this, the dissertation defines power transfer as the intentional redistribution of authority, control, or resources by powerholders to lower-power individuals. Chapter 1 develops a typology of power transfer behaviors, organized along two key dimensions: extent of control …

From Low Power To Action: Reappraising Powerlessness As An Opportunity Restores Agency, Tianyu He, Michael Schaerer, Trevor A. Foulk, Elizabeth B. Wolf, Winnie Y. Jiang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Agentic behaviors are a critical pathway to power in contemporary organizations. Paradoxically, employees who lack power are the least likely to think and act agentically—creating a self-perpetuating cycle of disadvantage. Existing research on facilitating employee agentic behaviors relies on structural solutions that are often out of reach for individual employees. Yet, anecdotal evidence suggests that this view may be incomplete, as some individuals seem to be able to overcome the challenges powerlessness poses without relying on external resources, control, or organizational change. Integrating research on powerlessness and cognitive reappraisal, the present research proposes that cognitively reappraising powerless situations as opportunities …

The Effect Of Human Resource Business Partners' Power On Business Managers' Work Outcomes: The Mediating Role Of Voice, Wei Liu

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

As a fundamental construct in social sciences, power is defined as an ability to influence others’ behavior to pursue one’s own interests, which affects the work outcomes of individuals within the organizations. The main purpose of Human Resource Business Partners (HRBPs) is to cooperate with business managers to achieve work outcomes, but in practice, HRBPs are often positioned differently in different organizations due to the lack of a precise definition of HRBPs, so their support to business managers is different. In-depth research on the power and influence of HRBPs can provide theoretical guidance for enhancing the internal work outcomes within …

A Regulatory Focus Theory Perspective On The Dynamics Between Action And Power, Shereen Fatimah, Hun Whee Lee, Lance D.. Ferris, Henry R. Young

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Building on the strong consensus that the experience of power motivates individuals to take action, prior research postulates a positively reinforcing cycle wherein taking action leads to power, which in turn leads to subsequent actions. Applying regulatory focus theory, we differentiate between promotion-oriented and prevention-oriented actions to develop a within-person theory of when and why promotion-oriented and prevention-oriented actions should relate to power, and vice-versa. Across two studies, we find that when employees engaged in promotive voice behaviors, they were more likely to experience a sense of power; this effect was amplified for employees with trait promotion focus. When employees …

The More The Merrier: How Psychological Standing And Work Group Size Explain Managers' Willingness To Communicate About Unethical Conduct In Their Work Group, Burak Oc, Maryam Kouchaki

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Business ethics research has long examined the dichotomy between remaining silent or reporting ethical misconduct to a third party. Little is known, however, about ethical conversations within a work group after observing misconduct. Specifically, we do not know how many members of their work group individuals choose to communicate with. These conversations could have important implications for creating an ethical workplace. We propose that psychological standing is an important driver of individuals' decisions not to remain silent and to instead raise moral concerns with a greater number of others in their work group. In addition, integrating existing work on structural …

Relative Power And Interpersonal Trust, Christilene Du Plessis, My Hoang Bao Nguyen, Trevor A. Foulk, Michael Schaerer

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Because trust is essential in the development and maintenance of well-functioning relationships, scholars across numerous scientific disciplines have sought to determine what causes people to trust others. Power dynamics are known to predict trust, but research on the relationship between power and trust is inconclusive, with mixed results and without systematic consideration of how the relative power distribution within dyadic relationships may influence trust in those relationships. Building on interdependence theory, we propose that both individuals in an unequal-power dyad trust each other less than individuals in an equal-power dyad because unequal-power dyads heighten the perception of a conflict of …

I'M Special But A.I. Doesn't Get It, Huei Huei Laurel Teo

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

A growing body of management research on artificial intelligence (AI) has consistently shown that people innately distrust decisions made by AI and find such decision processes simply less fair compared to decisions made by humans. My dissertation adopts a different perspective to propose that aside from fairness concerns, AI decision methods trigger perceptions in people that their individual uniqueness has not be adequately considered and this has negative consequences for their psychological or subjective well-being.

By combining theories of uniqueness, individuality, power, and well-being, I develop five studies to provide empirical evidence that aversion to AI-mediated decisions also operates through …

Power And Negotiation: Review Of Current Evidence And Future Directions, Michael Schaerer, Laurel Teo, Nikhil Madan, Roderick I. Swaab

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This review synthesizes the impact of power on individual and joint negotiation performance. Although power generally has positive effects on negotiators’ individual performance (value claiming), recent work suggests that more power is not always beneficial. Taking a dyadic perspective, we also find mixed evidence for how power affects joint performance (value creation); some studies show that equal-power dyads create more value than unequal-power dyads, but others find the opposite. We identify the source of power, power distribution, and competitiveness as critical moderators of this relationship. Finally, we suggest that future research should move beyond studying alternatives in dyadic deal-making, identify …

Win-Win In Distributive Negotiations: The Economic And Relational Benefits Of Strategic Offer Framing, Michael Schaerer, Martin Schweinsberg, Nico Thornley, Roderick I. Swaab

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

In distributive negotiations, people often feel that they have to choose between maximizing their economic outcomes (claiming more value) or improving their relational outcomes (having a satisfied opponent). The present research proposes a conversational strategy that can help negotiators achieve both. Specifically, we show that using an offer framing strategy that shifts offer recipients’ attention to their reservation price (e.g., “How does my offer compare to your minimum price?”) leads to both (a) an assimilation effect whereby recipients make more favorable counteroffers (economic benefit) as well as (b) a contrast effect whereby recipients feel more satisfied with the negotiation (relational …

“They F*Cking Own This Sh*T. They're Running It”: Are Music Fandoms Organizations?, Jacqueline Haughton

Scripps Senior Theses

Organizational Studies as a field typically focuses on organizations such as workplaces, large businesses, corporations, or governments. While organizational theorists often recognize in their definitions of organization that other forms of human groups and communities can be considered organizations, they don’t often include non-traditional organizations as examples in literature. In this thesis, I argue that music fandoms are a form of organization by examining multiple definitions, power relations, culture, influence on identity, and lasting impacts of fandom.

The Impact Of #Metoo: A Review Of Leaders With Supervisor Power On Employee Motivation, Mary Kovach

The Journal of Values-Based Leadership

This manuscript intends to advance existing research, specifically, in gender dissimilar supervisor-employee workplace dyads by integrating #MeToo with our existing knowledge concerning supervisor power and employee motivation. With the #MeToo movement re-energized in 2017, power in leadership positions was redefined. As a result, power held by a supervisor is likely to influence outcomes based on gender and the employees’ source of motivation. Supervisors who believed they were successful through influence were more likely to exhibit power to achieve success. However, employees’ source of the motivation was a moderating factor in those outcomes. Meaning, outcomes were dependent on the type of …

Delayed Adoption Of Rules: A Relational Theory Of Firm Exposure And State Cooptation, Cyndi Man Zhang, Henrich. R. Greve

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Thestate creates and changes rules that coerce firms, but firms can delay or decouple responses to rule changes in order to managethe cost of demands. Theoryof compliance to thestate has not yet considered the degree to which the firm candelay adoption because of low exposure to rules and state linksthat allow cooptation, butboth of these relations between state power and firm ability to counteract itcan affect the adoption decision. This makes the response to state rule changes a more strategic outcome than the theoryof coercive isomorphism implies. We develop a relational theory of delayed firmcompliance to a state rule change …

01. Evolution Of Leadership, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

CORE

This module serves as an introduction to the academic study of leadership and leadership theory, encouraging students to dissect leadership concepts through an objective and subjective lenses. With a general understanding of how leadership has changed through time and how it is classified today, students can explore where they fit into the definition itself.

Leading In The Real World: Operationalizing A Power-Based Model Of Collaboration For Leadership Experiential Learning, Mariana J. Lebron, Filiz Tabak

Organization Management Journal

Using a power-based conceptual framework, we present a collaboration model to guide faculty and student affairs (SA) staff in working together to develop experiential learning assignments that help students apply leadership concepts to on-campus organizational problems. The PowerBased Student-Centered Collaboration Model (PSCM) consists of four stages through which faculty, SA staff, leadership course students, and student organization leaders operationalize their legitimate, coercive, expert, reward, and informational power in sharing resources for mutually beneficial student-centered learning experiences. Power structures provide coordinating mechanisms for information-exchange, decision-making, and role clarification in team-based collaborations. Using the PSCM, we developed a 6-week assignment Leading in …

Status, Power, And Apologies: How Status And Power Shape The Willingness To Apologize And The Perception Of Victims, Louis Lipani

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Apologies are interpersonal tools that individuals employ to repair damaged relationships. Management scholars have largely ignored the role that power and status play in the apology process. Across three studies I experimentally manipulate power and status and examine the apology process via a workplace scenario. In Study 1 I propose that power and status have different implications with respect to one’s willingness to apologize. I orthogonally manipulate power and status and examine their effect on people’s willingness to apologize. I find that status, but not power, impacts one’s willingness to apologize. In Study 2 I posit and find that apologies …

Imaginary Alternatives: The Impact Of Mental Simulation On Powerless Negotiators, Michael Schaerer, Martin Schweinsberg, Roderick I. Swaab

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The present research demonstrates that negotiators can act powerfully without having power.Researchers and practitioners advise people to obtain strong alternatives prior to negotiating toenhance their power. However, alternatives are not always readily available, often forcingnegotiators to negotiate without much, or any, power. Building on research suggesting thatsubjective feelings of power and objective outcomes are disconnected and that mental simulationcan increase individuals’ aspirations, we hypothesized that the mental imagery of a strongalternative could provide similar psychological benefits to having an actual alternative. Ourstudies demonstrate that imagining strong alternatives causes individuals to negotiate moreambitiously and provides them with a distributive advantage: negotiators …

The Four Horsemen Of Power At The Bargaining Table, Adam D. Galinsky, Michael Schaerer, Joe C. Magee

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This paper aims to identify and discuss four major sources of power in negotiations. Findings: The four sources of power are alternatives, information, status and social capital. Each of these sources of power can enhance a negotiator’s likelihood of obtaining their ideal outcome because power allows negotiators to be more confident and proactive, and it shields them from the bargaining tactics of their opponents. Practical implications: The paper discusses how negotiators can utilize each source of power to improve their negotiation outcomes. Originality/value: The paper provides a parsimonious definition of power in negotiations, identifies the four major sources of negotiator …

Mutual And Exclusive: Dyadic Sources Of Trust In Interorganizational Exchange, Bill Mcevily, Akbar Zaheer, Darcy Fudge Kamal

Business Faculty Articles and Research

Trust in interfirm exchange has traditionally been treated as mutually held and jointly determined by the two parties in a relationship. Yet, the expectations of exchange partners can, and routinely do, differ with respect to the goals, preferences, and vulnerabilities in their shared relationship. To account for such differences in expectations, we propose a broadened conceptualization of the sources of interorganizational trust as dyadic. Viewing the sources of trust as dyadic expands the conventional focus on mutual elements to further emphasize exclusive features of an exchange relationship. To substantiate our theory, we examine a key source of interorganizational trust, exchange …

Bargaining Zone Distortion In Negotiations: The Elusive Power Of Multiple Alternatives, Michael Schaerer, David D. Loschelder, Roderick I. Swaab

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We challenge the assumption that having multiple alternatives is always better than a single alternative by showing that negotiators who have additional alternatives ironically exhibit downward-biased perceptions of their own and their opponent’s reservation price, make lower demands, and achieve worse outcomes in distributive negotiations. Five studies demonstrate that the apparent benefits of multiple alternatives are elusive because multiple alternatives led to less ambitious first offers (Studies 1–2) and less profitable agreements (Study 3). This distributive disadvantage emerged because negotiators’ perception of the bargaining zone was more distorted when they had additional (less attractive) alternatives than when they only had …

Secret Conversation Opportunities Facilitate Minority Influence In Virtual Groups: The Influence On Majority Power, Information Processing, And Decision Quality, Roderick I. Swaab, Katherine W. Phillips, Michael Schaerer

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We examined the impact of secret conversation opportunities during virtual team discussions on majority opinion holders’ motivation to attend to minority opinion holders. Studies 1a and b showed that majorities were more motivated to process others’ arguments when secret conversation opportunities were available (vs. not), provided these arguments contained unique (vs. shared) information and this information was offered by the minority (vs. majority). Study 2 demonstrated that this effect occurs because secret opportunities made majorities feel less powerful after being exposed to unique information from the minority (Study 2a), especially when majority members expected others to use these channels (Study …

Speaking Truth To Power: The Effect Of Candid Feedback On How Individuals With Power Allocate Resources, Burak Oc, Michael R. Bashshur, Celia Moore

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Subordinates are often seen as impotent, able to react to but not affect how powerholders treat them. Instead, we conceptualize subordinate feedback as an important trigger of powerholders’ behavioral self-regulation, and explore subordinates’ reciprocal influence on how powerholders allocate resources to them over time. In two experiments using a multi-party, multi-round dictator game paradigm, we find that when subordinates provided candid feedback about whether they found prior allocations to be fair or unfair, powerholders regulated how self-interested their allocations were over time. However, when subordinates provided compliant feedback about powerholders’ prior allocation decisions (offered consistently positive feedback, regardless of the …

Anchors Weigh More Than Power: Why Absolute Powerlessness Liberates Negotiators To Achieve Better Outcomes, Michael Schaerer, Roderick I. Swaab, Adam D. Galinsky

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The current research shows that having no power can be better than having a little power. Negotiators prefer having some power (weak negotiation alternatives) to having no power (no alternatives). We challenge this belief that having any alternative is beneficial by demonstrating that weak alternatives create low anchors that reduce the value of first offers. In contrast, having no alternatives is liberating because there is no anchor to weigh down first offers. In our experiments, negotiators with no alternatives felt less powerful but made higher first offers and secured superior outcomes compared with negotiators who had weak alternatives. We established …

The Power Of The Weak, Martin Gargiulo, Gokhan Ertug

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Weak organizational actors can overcome the consequences of their dependence by securing the control of valuable resources or by embedding dependence relationships into social networks. While these strategies may not eliminate the underlying dependence, they can curtail the ability or the willingness of the stronger party to use power. Embedding strategies, however, can also have unintended consequences. Because the network structures that confer power to the weak are inherently more stable, they can persist beyond the point of being beneficial, trapping weak actors into unsuitable network structures. The power of the weak can thus become the weakness of the strong.

From Bonding To Bridging: Using The Immunity To Change (Itc) Process To Build Social Capital And Create Change, Froswa' Booker-Drew

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

A group of diverse women from various ethnic, religious, socio-economic and generations were brought together over the course of four months to determine if the Immunity to Change (ITC) process (Kegan & Lahey, 2009) would create bridging social capital as well as individual change. The group sessions included a process of assigned readings, discussions, and completion of ITC maps allowing women to reveal their identities and journeys through the sharing of their personal narratives. As a result, many experienced perception transformation regarding issues of gender, leadership, race, and class. The dissertation explores topics of power and privilege, relational leadership, and …

Power Motivates Interpersonal Connection Following Social Exclusion, Jayanth Narayanan, Kenneth Tai, Zoe Kinias

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Research has systematically documented the negative effects of social exclusion, yet little is known about how these negative effects can be mitigated. Building on the approach-inhibition theory of power (Keltner, Gruenfeld, & Anderson, 2003), we examined the role of power in facilitating social connection following exclusion. Four experiments found that following exclusion, high power (relative to low power) individuals intend to socially connect more with others. Specifically, following exclusion, individuals primed with high power sought new social connections more than those primed with low power (Studies 1–4) or those receiving no power prime (Study 1). The intention to seek social …

Ethical Issues In Knowledge Management: Conflict Of Knowledge Ownership, Isabel D. W. Rechberg, Jawad Syed

Publications and Research

Purpose: This paper reviews ethical issues inherent in the theorisation and practice of knowledge management (KM) with specific attention to the conflict of knowledge ownership between organisations and individual employees.

Design/methodology/approach: Relevant literature was identified and reviewed via EBSCO host and ISIWeb.

Findings: The paper notes that knowledge, although rooted in individuals, is often claimed or treated as owned by organisations, creating a conflict of knowledge ownership. The paper argues that such an approach to appropriation and management of knowledge leads to tension in knowledge processes between organisations and individuals, and also among individuals. This situation may, in turn, jeopardise …

Masters Of The Universe: How Power And Accountability Influence Self-Serving Decisions Under Moral Hazard, Marko Pitesa, Stefan Thau

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This article provides an answer to the question of why agents make self-serving decisions under moral hazard and how their self-serving decisions can be kept in check through institutional arrangements. Our theoretical model predicts that the agents' power and the manner in which they are held accountable jointly determine their propensity to make self-serving decisions. We test our theory in the context of financial investment decisions made under moral hazard using others' funds. Across 3 studies, using different decision-making tasks, different manipulations of power and accountability, and different samples, we show that agents' power makes them more likely to behave …