Marius van Dijke

When does self-sacrificial leadership motivate prosocial behavior? It depends on followers’ prevention focus

In the present set of studies, the authors examine the idea that self-sacrificial leadership motivates follower prosocial behavior, particularly among followers with a prevention focus. Drawing on the self-sacrificial leadership literature and regulatory focus theory, the authors provide results from 4 studies (1 laboratory and 3 field studies) that support the research hypothesis. Specifically, the relationship between self-sacrificial leadership and prosocial behavior (i.e., cooperation, organizational citizenship behavior) is stronger among followers who are high in prevention focus. Implications for the importance of taking a follower-centered approach to leadership are discussed.

Self-Sacrificial Leadership and Follower Self-Esteem: When Collective Identification Matters

In the present research, we examine whether leader’s self-sacrifice positively influences followers’ self-esteem and whether followers’ identification with the collective plays a role in this process. It was predicted that leader self-sacrifice would influence followers’ self-esteem, but particularly so when followers exhibited strong (vs. weak) collective identification. Results from an organizational survey showed that leader self-sacrifice and collective identification interacted in predicting follower self-esteem, such that followers’ self-esteem was higher when they identified strongly with the collective and when the leader was self-sacrificial (vs. self-benefiting). An experimental scenario study replicated this interactive effect between collective identification and leader’s self-sacrifice on followers’ self-esteem and also showed that this effect was (at least partly) mediated by followers’ perceptions of whether the leader respected and valued the group. Implications with respect to the relationship between self-sacrifice and self-esteem are outlined, and possible integrations of leader self-sacrifice, identity, and empowerment are discussed.

Coping with unmet expectations: Learning opportunities as a buffer against emotional exhaustion and turnover intentions

This study investigated the buffering role of learning opportunities in the process leading from unmet expectations to turnover intentions, via emotional exhaustion. In a sample of 420 teachers in elementary education, the results of a mediated moderation analysis showed a significant positive relationship between unmet expectations and turnover intentions, via emotional exhaustion. Learning opportunities were found to buffer for the relationship between unmet expectation and emotional exhaustion in the sense that this relationship was weaker when learning opportunities were high. Also the mediated relationship between unmet expectations and turnover intentions via emotional exhaustion was weaker when learning opportunities were high. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Question order in the assessment of misperception of physical activity

BackgroundPeople often have misperceptions (overestimation or underestimation) about the health-related behaviours they engage in, which may have adverse consequences for their susceptibility to behavioural change. Misperception is usually measured by combining and comparing quantified behavioural self-reports with subjective classification of the behaviour. Researchers assume that such assessments of misperception are not influenced by the order of the two types of measurement, but this has never been studied. Based on the precaution adoption model and the information processing theory, it might be expected that taking the subjective measurement after a detailed quantified behavioural self-report would improve the accuracy of the subjective measurement because the quantified report urges a person to think more in detail about their own behaviour.MethodsIn an experiment (n = 521), quantified self-report and subjective assessment were manipulated in a questionnaire. In one version, the quantified self-report was presented before the subjective assessment, whereas in the other version, the subjective assessment came first.ResultsNeither subjective assessment nor overestimation of physical activity were biased by the order of the questions. Underestimation was more prevalent among subgroups of the group which answered the subjective assessment after the quantified self-report.ConclusionQuestion order in questionnaires does not seem to influence misperceptions concerning physical activity in groups relevant for health education (overestimators: those who do not meet the guidelines for physical activity while rating their physical activity as sufficient or high). The small order effect found in underestimators is less relevant for health education because this subgroup already meets the guideline and therefore does not need to change behaviour.

When do leaders grant voice? How leaders’ perceptions of followers’ control and belongingness needs affect the enactment of fair procedures

Theories that explain employees’ positive emotional, cognitive, and behavioral responses to fair procedures rely on control and relational processes. In the present study, we build on these models, but reverse this perspective to examine when leaders provide voice opportunities in their interactions with employees. We argued that leaders may take care of employees’ perceived individual control needs (which influence their own outcomes) by granting them voice. However, this will be the case particularly when leaders perceive that this employee also wants to belong to the organization, because this makes it more likely that employees will use their voice in a way that does not hurt the organization’s interest. Support for this predicted interaction effect was found in a laboratory experiment and a multisource field study. This research is among the first to identify factors that influence whether leaders will be more likely to act fairly, thus integrating procedural justice processes in the leadership literature.

Using Self-Definition to Predict the Influence of Procedural Justice on Organizational-, Interpersonal-, and Job/Task-Oriented Citizenship Behavior:

An integrative self-definition model is proposed to improve our understanding of how procedural justice affects different outcome modalities in organizational behavior. Specifically, it is examined whether the strength of different levels of self-definition (collective, relational, and individual) each uniquely interact with procedural justice to predict organizational, interpersonal, and job/task-oriented citizenship behaviors, respectively. Results from experimental and (both single and multisource) field data consistently revealed stronger procedural justice effects (1) on organizational-oriented citizenship behavior among those who define themselves strongly in terms of organizational characteristics, (2) on interpersonal-oriented citizenship behavior among those who define themselves strongly in terms of their interpersonal relationships, and (3) on job/task-oriented citizenship behavior among those who define themselves weakly in terms of their distinctiveness or uniqueness. We discuss the relevance of these results with respect to how employees can be motivated most effectively in organizational settings.

Willing and Able: Action-State Orientation and the Relation Between Procedural Justice and Employee Cooperation

Existing justice theory explains why fair procedures motivate employees to adopt cooperative goals, but it fails to explain how employees strive toward these goals. We study self-regulatory abilities that underlie goal striving, abilities that should thus affect employees’ display of cooperative behavior in response to procedural justice. Building on action control theory, we argue that employees who display effective self-regulatory strategies (action-oriented employees) display relatively strong cooperative behavioral responses to fair procedures. A multisource field study and a laboratory experiment support this prediction. A subsequent experiment addresses the process underlying this effect by explicitly showing that action orientation facilitates attainment of the cooperative goals that people adopt in response to fair procedures, thus facilitating the display of actual cooperative behavior. This goal striving approach better integrates research on the relationship between procedural justice and employee cooperation in the self-regulation and the work motivation literature. It also offers organizations a new perspective on making procedural justice effective in stimulating employee cooperation by suggesting factors that help employees reach their adopted goals.

Fairness Enactment as Response to Higher Level Unfairness The Roles of Self-Construal and Spatial Distance

In contrast to the abundance of evidence on employee reactions to manager unfairness, we know very little about factors that predict whether managers will act fairly or not. This article explores the effect of procedural unfairness that emanates from higher level managers on procedural fairness enactment at lower levels in the organization. We argue that lower level managers can enact both more and less fair procedures in response to higher level unfairness and that this depends on the extent to which lower level managers define the self in terms of their relation with their higher level manager (i.e., relational-interdependent self-construal). We study both the moderating role of self-construal and how it is embedded in the physical environment of the organization. We pay particular attention to how spatial distance between higher and lower management affects self-construal at lower levels and—because of this relationship—the enactment of fair procedures within the organization. We conduct four studies (in two of which we study spatial distance as an antecedent for self-construal) and show that relatively high levels of relational-interdependent self-construal lead to assimilation in terms of procedural fairness enactment, whereas relatively low levels lead to contrast.In contrast to the abundance of evidence on employee reactions to manager unfairness, we know very little about factors that predict whether managers will act fairly or not. This article explores the effect of procedural unfairness that emanates from higher level managers on procedural fairness enactment at lower levels in the organization. We argue that lower level managers can enact both more and less fair procedures in response to higher level unfairness and that this depends on the extent to which lower level managers define the self in terms of their relation with their higher level manager (i.e., relational-interdependent self-construal). We study both the moderating role of self-construal and how it is embedded in the physical environment of the organization. We pay particular attention to how spatial distance between higher and lower management affects self-construal at lower levels and—because of this relationship—the enactment of fair procedures within the organization. We conduct four studies (in two of which we study spatial distance as an antecedent for self-construal) and show that relatively high levels of relational-interdependent self-construal lead to assimilation in terms of procedural fairness enactment, whereas relatively low levels lead to contrast.

Motivations Underlying Power Dynamics in Hierarchically Structured Groups

The authors studied tendencies to change power differences with others in hierarchically structured groups. Specifically, they contrasted predictions from two theories based on a power motive approach that have recently inspired power dynamics research. Social comparison theory predicts that people want to be somewhat more powerful than comparison others. A competing prediction from power distance theory is that people are more inclined to further increase their power, the more power they have already. In an experiment, 79 students participated in a decision-making task in a hierarchical group. They advised their subordinates and received advice from their superiors. Subsequently, they indicated their preferred changes in power differences. Social comparison theory was mostly supported: Participants mainly wanted slight power superiority over comparison others. The discussion focuses on implications for various theories in the field, such as expectation states theory, and on understanding behavior aimed at improving or securing power positions in hierarchical groups.

When saying sorry may not help: Transgressor power moderates the effect of an apology on forgiveness in the workplace

An apology, as an expression of remorse, can be an effective response from a transgressor to obtain forgiveness from a victim. Yet, to be effective, the victim should not construe the transgressor’s actions in a cynical way. Because low-power people tend to interpret the actions of high-power people in a cynical way, we argue that an apology (versus no apology) from high-power transgressors should be relatively ineffective in increasing forgiveness from low-power victims. We find support for this moderated mediation model in a critical incidents study (Study 1), a forced recall study (Study 2) among employees from various organizations and a controlled laboratory experiment among business students (Study 3). These studies reveal the limited value of expressions of remorse by high-power people in promoting forgiveness.