This study addressed how various outcomes to a leader might influence not only how that leader is perceived but also the degree of influence that leader might subsequently obtain. On the basis of recent charismatic leadership theories, it was expected that leaders who appeared willing to endure hardship for the expression of their beliefs would be perceived differently than leaders who appeared to benefit in some way. The relationship between outcomes and subsequent leader influence was confirmed. Sacrificing resulted in greater influence, whereas benefiting reduced it. This relationship was mediated by attributions made about leader motives. The relationship between outcomes and influence was also mediated by perceptions of charisma.

One of the difficulties groups have when making quantitative judgments is determining the relative quality of members’ inputs. Outcome feedback was investigated as a method for improving the ability of groups to identify their most accurate member. Results indicate that groups given outcome feedback were better at identifying their best member than were groups that practiced without feedback. This occurred even though the same individual was seldom the most accurate across items. However, groups given feedback were not as accurate as their best member any more often. This suggests that groups given feedback are learning how to discriminate valid from invalid cues, but are not using this information consistently when making their group estimates.

An experimental design was used to assess the impact of group formation and perceptions of fairness on organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs). Several mediators were also considered. First, when groups were established, social comparison and competition among those groups was expected to reduce the number of OCBs that would occur between the groups. Second, perceptions of unfair procedures were expected to result in negative affective and cognitive reactions, which would also decrease OCBs. It was also hypothesized that group formation and perceptions of fairness would interact to more strongly affect OCBs. Results indicated that group formation had a substantial impact on the frequency of OCBs, and that social competition was a significant mediator of that relationship. On the other hand, this study found little evidence for the negative impact of unjust procedures on OCBs. The interaction between group formation and unjust procedures was not significant. Implications for organizations are discussed.

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