Perceptions of organizational politics: A need satisfaction paradigm

Christopher C. Rosen, D. Lance Ferris, Douglas J. Brown, Yuanyi Chen, Ming Yan

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

    104 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Stressor and exchange relationship paradigms have developed in isolation from each other to explain the negative effects of perceived organizational politics. We outline how these different paradigms share a common basis-a focus on psychological need satisfaction-and develop a needs-based paradigm to account for the negative effects of perceived organizational politics. Moreover, we argue that psychological need satisfaction acts as an unmeasured third variable, which, once accounted for, should limit the utility of stressor and exchange relationship paradigms. Across four samples using a combination of multiple sources, operationalizations of constructs, and measurement occasions, we found full support for the needs-based paradigm as a mediator of the effects of politics on contextual performance, creativity, and proactive behavior, whereas strain and exchange relationship constructs by and large had no effect on outcomes once psychological need satisfaction was accounted for. Theoretical implications and future research directions are discussed.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)1026-1055
    Number of pages30
    JournalOrganization Science
    Volume25
    Issue number4
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2014

    Scopus Subject Areas

    • Strategy and Management
    • Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management
    • Management of Technology and Innovation

    User-Defined Keywords

    • Contextual performance
    • Creativity
    • Organizational politics
    • Proactive behavior
    • Self-determination theory
    • Social exchange
    • Stress

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