Social influence and stakeholder engagement behavior conformity, compliance, and reactance

Abstract

Following the proliferation of customer engagement behavior research, rising interest is observed in marketing‐based stakeholder engagement behavior, which covers any stakeholder's—including a customer's, employee's, firm's, supplier's, competitor's, and so forth—behavioral engagement in his/her role‐related interactions, activities, and relationships. However, despite its importance, understanding of the stakeholder engagement behavior concept remains tenuous, is therefore addressed in this paper. We first conceptualize stakeholder engagement behavior as a stakeholder's behavioral manifestation toward his/her role‐related interactions, activities, and relationships, followed by an exploration of the effect of influencor‐exerted social influence on an influencee's stakeholder engagement behavior. We argue this effect to manifest as stakeholder engagement behavior conformity, ‐compliance, or ‐reactance, depending on the influencee's level of acceptance of the influencor's exerted influence. In turn, we propose stakeholder engagement behavior conformity, ‐compliance, and ‐reactance to yield cooperation, coopetition, or competition in the influencor/influencee relationship, respectively, as depicted in a conceptual model and an associated set of propositions. By investigating the interface of social influence, stakeholder engagement behavior, and its prevailing relational consequences (i.e., cooperation, coopetition, and competition), our analyses offer novel theoretical acumen and actionable managerial insight.

Beyond the Big Five: The effect of machiavellian, narcissistic, and psychopathic personality traits on stakeholder engagement

“…However, by taking an omni ‐stakeholder perspective, we extend these prior authors' findings to incorporate any firm stakeholder (Freeman, 2010), thus making a broader, more generalizable contribution to the literature. As noted, by addressing stakeholders' dark triad personality trait‐based engagement and its effects on the interactee's engagement, we also extend Hollebeek et al (2021) more general social influence‐based analyses, thus affording further insight into the hitherto nebulous area of SE in the context of maladaptive (vs. well‐adjusted) personality traits.…”

“…Our analyses, therefore, extend the work of authors, including Furnham and Treglown (2021), Filipkowski and Derbis (2020), and Purwati et al (2019), who address the dark triad's impact on a particular stakeholder's (e.g., employee's/customer's) engagement, which we broaden to incorporate any stakeholder's role‐related engagement (Viglia et al, 2018), thus unlocking more generalizable, omni ‐stakeholder‐based insight (Hollebeek et al, 2020). Moreover, by exploring the effect of stakeholders' dark triad‐based personality traits on their, and their interactee's, role‐related engagement, this paper also extends the work of Hollebeek et al (2021), which examines the effect of social influence on stakeholders' engagement behavior, as follows. First, as stakeholders' maladaptive personality traits typically entail a level of (anti‐)social influence, our work further advances Hollebeek et al (2021) more general social influence‐based analyses in the context of stakeholders' dark triad personality trait‐based engagement.…”

“…Moreover, by exploring the effect of stakeholders' dark triad‐based personality traits on their, and their interactee's, role‐related engagement, this paper also extends the work of Hollebeek et al (2021), which examines the effect of social influence on stakeholders' engagement behavior, as follows. First, as stakeholders' maladaptive personality traits typically entail a level of (anti‐)social influence, our work further advances Hollebeek et al (2021) more general social influence‐based analyses in the context of stakeholders' dark triad personality trait‐based engagement. Second, unlike the latter authors' more limited focus on (unidimensional) SE behavior , the present analyses examine the effect of a stakeholder's maladaptive personality trait‐based engagement on his/her interactee's cognitive, emotional, and/or behavioral engagement (Viglia et al, 2018), thus highlighting the impact of the aggressing stakeholder's negatively valenced, antisocial engagement on the recipient (e.g., Bowden et al, 2017).…”

“…Therefore, these maladaptive personality traits tend to not only impact the focal (i.e., antisocial) stakeholder's engagement, but also, that of his/her interactee (e.g., Clark et al, 2020). Consequently, SE‐based interactivity is crucial for machiavellian, narcissistic, or psychopathic stakeholders in communicating their social influence to others (Poorrezaei & Heinze, 2014), thus extending Hollebeek et al (2021), as outlined.…”

“…Addressing these gaps, this article makes the following contribution to the SE‐ (e.g., Hollebeek et al, 2021) and firm‐based antisocial personality traits literature (e.g., Fastoso et al, 2018). By exploring the maladaptive traits of machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy, collectively known as the dark triad of personality traits (e.g., Jakobwitz & Egan, 2006), and their effect on the focal (i.e., antisocial) stakeholder's engagement and that of his/her interactee(s), our analyses offer pioneering new insight.…”