Organizational politics has been an oft-studied phenomenon for nearly four decades. Prior reviews have described research in this stream as aligning with one of three categories: perceptions of organizational politics (POPs), political behavior, or political skill. We suggest that because these categories are at the construct level research on organizational politics has been artificially constrained. Thus, we suggest a new framework with higher-level categories within which to classify organizational politics research: political characteristics, political actions, and political outcomes. We then provide a broad review of the literature applicable to these new categories and discuss the possibilities for future research within each expanded category. Finally, we close with a discussion of future directions for organizational politics research across the categories.
Workplace deviance research has expanded rapidly over the past decade. Despite the expansive body of research available, we have an incomplete understanding of the measurement, magnitude, and direction of relationships within workplace deviance’s nomological network. We draw from 235 empirical samples of data (k = 235, N = 66,990) to conduct random-effects meta-analyses of interpersonal (k = 156, N = 42,239) and organizational (k = 206, N = 60,008) workplace deviance research so we can build the solid foundation necessary to advance the conversation in this literature. We use an exploratory meta-analytic approach and the horizontal contrasting method of theory elaboration to provide a nuanced understanding of the relationship between interpersonal and organizational deviance (ρ = .67, k = 110, N = 30,426) as well as determine the magnitude and generalizability (i.e., external validity) of relationships within their nomological networks. We find some evidence of differences (i.e., heterogeneity) in the measurement and magnitude of relationships across contexts. Overall, we conduct a state-of-the-art meta-analysis that leverages contemporary meta-analytic techniques and the extensive body of empirical workplace deviance research available to improve our understanding of the measurement of workplace deviance and relationships within its nomological network. Our study instigates new debates about the completeness of our understanding of workplace deviance and provides the empirical building blocks necessary for this literature to reach its unrealized potential.
Social influence is one of the oldest and most researched constructs in organizational behavior. Most research has examined the "what" and "who" of social influence behavior, but it was not until recently that scholars began examining the "how," or the operation, of social influence techniques and behaviors. Social effectiveness constructs, such as political skill, have been the primary focus of this research effort. However, despite these constructs illuminating social influence processes, little is known about the actual operation of the social effectiveness constructs themselves. Thus, to develop a more complete understanding of social influence effectiveness, this article develops a theoretical framework by synthesizing several literatures and explaining how the individual dimensions of political skill affect the social influence process. Specifically, the authors (a) review and integrate research and theory in social influence and political skill; (b) develop an opportunity recognition, evaluation, and capitalization model to provide a theoretical framework for the dimensional dynamics of political skill; and (c) provide suggestions for how this framework informs future political skill research.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.