Ilias Kapoutsis

Measuring Political Will in Organizations: Theoretical Construct Development and Empirical Validation:

Political will is widely recognized as an important, yet profoundly underinvestigated, construct that lacks conceptual clarity and valid measurement. To address this lack, we conducted four studies encompassing six samples (N = 925) from three countries (United States, Greece, and United Kingdom) that establish the psychometric properties and nomological network of the Political Will Scale. We demonstrate that the scale exhibits both convergent and discriminant validity with several conceptually related constructs while also determining that political will positively relates to influence and work-related behaviors. As an extension of our findings, political will seems to explain variance over and above political skill in relation to influence tactics, status, and career growth potential. The theoretical implications of this new scale are discussed in relation to organizational politics, leadership, and social change.

Compulsive buying: the role of earlier-in-life events and experiences

Purpose – This study aims to examine the effects of earlier-in-life family events and experiences on the development of compulsive buying behavior in later life. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on data collected from a self-administered survey of 285 young Greek adults. Findings – Young individuals appear to be particularly susceptible to their peers’ evaluations of consumption matters. However, those who experience family disruptions and have a low socio-economic status are least likely to communicate with their peers about consumer matters, possibly as a self-protection coping mechanism. Contrary to previous findings, family communication styles promote rather than deter the development of compulsive tendencies, suggesting the influence of other macro-environmental factors upon the development of young adults’ compulsive consumption tendencies. Social implications – Understanding the underlying mechanisms and contexts that promote the development of compulsive buying is imperative for d...

The role of political tactics on the organizational context–career success relationship

Drawing from the norm of reciprocity, signal theory, and psychological contracts, we argue that the use of different types of political tactics, based on their social desirability, can be reciprocal behavioral reactions to contextual cues (i.e. perceptions of organizational support and politics) that can predict career success. Using a sample of 117 middle managers, our findings suggest that the use of sanctioned political tactics partially mediates the relationship between perceptions of organizational support and career success, while non-sanctioned political tactics suppress the relationship between perceptions of organizational politics and career success.

Creativity and propitiousness in strategic decision making: The role of positive politics and macro-economic uncertainty

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between positive perceptions of politics (i.e. positive politics) and decision creativity and propitiousness (i.e. reaching unforeseen advantages while limiting unexpected problems). In addition, drawing from threat-rigidity effect theory the authors argue that such relationships will be resilient to external environmental threats and specifically macro-economic uncertainty. Design/methodology/approach The database for the analyses consisted of 200 strategic decisions gathered from firms located in Dubai. Findings Positive politics significantly influence decision creativity and propitiousness. Also, macro-economic uncertainty moderates this relationship. Research limitations/implications Although this research has tried to adopt a more neutral perspective on political behavior, much more work is required to better understand the role and implications of neutral politics in decision-making. Practical implications If decision makers ensure that the concern for the organization’s welfare remains a priority over the self-serving motives of the actors, then politics can enhance decision success. Social implications This paper challenges the long held conventional wisdom that politics in organizations are an important underlying cause of unethical practices, poor decisions and organizational ineffectiveness. Originality/value The findings serve to further the understanding of complexities involved in the relationships between political behavior and its consequences.

Hard, soft or ambidextrous?:which influence style promotes managers' task performance and the role of political skill

Abstract Ambidexterity at the manager level focuses on the crucial, but underexplored, role of managers’ knowledge, skills, and behaviors to address competing demands and promote organizational ambidexterity. As such, to successfully complete their assigned duties, managers need to employ the appropriate interpersonal style and calibrate their behavior to different contextual demands. This study highlights the role of the individual in the ambidexterity process by introducing the concept of influence tactic ambidexterity, to denote the frequent use of both hard and soft influence and investigating its role on task performance. Drawing on the literature on ambidexterity and HRM, we analyze data from a sample of 172 middle managers and their corresponding 68 supervisors working for multinational organizations, and provide evidence that influence tactic ambidexterity relates to higher levels and less variation in managers’ task performance compared to the sole use of either hard or soft tactics. Our findings also show that political skill positively moderates the relationship between influence tactic ambidexterity and a manager’s task performance. Therefore, this study suggests that influence tactic ambidexterity and political skill can be considered valuable HR assets for managers.

Mind the First Step: The Intrapersonal Effects of Affect on the Decision to Initiate Negotiations under Bargaining Power Asymmetry

We undertook two vignette studies to examine the role of affect (trait and state) and bargaining power on initiating negotiations, an often overlooked stage of the negotiation process. Using a job negotiation opportunity, we examine three distinct phases of the initiation process—engaging a counterpart, making a request, and optimizing a request. Study 1 examines the effects of two affect dispositions (happiness and sadness), under power asymmetry (low vs. high bargaining power), on the three initiation behaviors. We found that power is pivotal to the decision to engage, request, and optimize. Also, sadness reduces the likelihood of initiation when power is high but is immaterial when power is low. In contrast, individuals who tend to be happy can reverse the adverse effect of powerlessness on requesting, but not on engaging and optimizing. However, happiness does not carry over a positive effect on negotiation initiation, over and above that of power. Study 2 investigated the role of trait affect when individuals are in power asymmetry and when they are induced with sadness or happiness. We found that those with a happy disposition initiate more (engage, request, and optimize) when power is high and experience incidental sadness. Overall, these findings qualify previous research on negotiation initiation and highlight the importance of trait affect and its interaction with state affect as additional driving forces and of power as a boundary condition. “for the error occurs at the beginning, and the beginning as the proverb says is half of the whole, so that even a small mistake at the beginning stands in the same ratio to mistakes at the other stages.” (trans. Aristotle, 1944, 1303b)

From Restaurants to Board Rooms: How Initiating Negotiations Teaches Management Principles and Theory.

Negotiation is an interpersonal process common to everyday personal and professional success. Yet individuals often fail to recognize opportunities for initiating negotiations and the immediate and long-term implications of these oversights for themselves and others. This article describes a simple yet rich negotiation exercise that learners can undertake outside the classroom in a familiar and highly accessible setting, an exercise that offers insights into and reinforcement of principles and theories from the individual (e.g., perception, personality, motivation), interpersonal/group (e.g., communication media, group dynamics, power), and organizational/environmental (e.g., design/structure, ethics) dimensions of organizational behavior and management. The application of these and other lessons to negotiations across organizational levels are offered, along with specific observations from learners of the parallels to asking one’s boss for a raise.