Research examining the tactics used to influence others has served as a significant line of inquiry over the past two decades. Critical to this stream of work has been the development of measures used to assess the frequency of upward influence tactics. This article reexamines a taxonomy and instrumentation originally presented by Kipnis et al. and modified by Schriesheim and Hinkin. The authors of this article assessed the factor structure, convergent, and discriminant validity of the 18-item, six-factor (i.e., assertiveness, exchange, rationality, ingratiation, upward appeal, and coalition building) measure. Data relevant to the investigation of construct validity were gathered from four independent samples. Concerns regarding lower than acceptable reliability estimates and unexpected item-factor correlations surfaced suggesting the need to develop a more appropriate measure of upward influence tactics.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Anderson, J. , & Gerbing, D. (1988). Structural equation modeling in practice: A review and recommended two-step approach. Journal of Applied Psychology, 103, 411-423.
2.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: W. H. Freeman.
3.
Bentler, P. M. , & Bonnett, D. G. (1980). Significance tests and goodness of fit in the analysis of covariance structures. Psychological Bulletin, 88, 588-606.
4.
Bollen, K. (1989). Structural equations with latent variables. New York: John Wiley.
5.
Breaugh, J. , & Colihan, J. (1994). Measuring facets of job ambiguity: Construct validity evidence. Journal of Applied Psychology, 79, 191-202.
6.
Caldwell, D. , & Burger, J. (1997). Personality and social influence strategies at the workplace. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23, 1003-1012.
7.
Caldwell, D. , & O’Reilly, C. (1982). Boundary spanning and individual performance: The impact of self-monitoring. Journal of Applied Psychology, 67, 124-127.
8.
Campbell, D. (1960). Recommendations for APA test standards regarding construct, trait, or discriminant validity. American Psychologist, 15, 546-553.
9.
Campbell, D. , & Fiske, D. (1959). Convergent and discriminant validation by the multitraitmultimethod matrix. Psychological Bulletin, 56, 81-105.
10.
Christie, R. (1968). Machiavellianism. In J. Robinson & P. Shaver (Eds.), Measures of social psychological attitudes (pp. 590-602). Ann Arbor, MI: Institute of Social Research.
11.
Christie, R. , & Geis, F. (1970). Studies in Machiavellianism. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
12.
Cronbach, L. J. , & Meehl, P. C. (1955). Construct validity in psychological tests. Psychological Bulletin, 52, 281-302.
13.
Deluga, R. (1989). Employee influence strategies as possible stress-coping mechanisms for role conflict and role ambiguity. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 10, 329-335.
14.
Eisenberger, R. , Huntington, R., Hutchison, S., & Sowa, D. (1986). Perceived organizational support. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71, 500-507.
15.
Farmer, S. , Maslyn, J., Fedor, D., & Goodman, J. (1997). Putting upward influence strategies in context. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 18, 17-42.
16.
Ferris, G. , Frink, D., Galang, M., Zhou, J., Kacmar, K., & Howard, J. (1996). Perceptions of organizational politics: Predictions, stress-related implications, and outcomes. Human Relations, 49, 233-266.
17.
Ferris, G. , & Kacmar, K., (1992). Perceptions of organizational politics. Journal of Management, 18, 93-116.
18.
Hair, J. , Anderson, R., Tatham, R., & Black, W. (1992). Multivariate data analysis. New York: Russell Sage.
19.
Harrison, A. , Hochwarter, W., Perrewe, P., & Ralston, D. (1999). The ingratiation construct: An assessment of the validity of the Measures of Ingratiatory Behaviors in Organizational Settings (MIBOS) scale. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83, 932-941.
20.
Hinkin, T. R. (1995). A review of the scale development practices in the study of organizations. Journal of Management, 21, 967-988.
21.
House, R. , & Rizzo, J. (1972). Toward the measurement of organizational practices: Scale development and validation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 56, 951-956.
22.
Jex, S. , & Beehr, T. (1991). Emerging theoretical and methodological issues in the study of work-related stress. In G. R. Ferris & K. M. Rowland (Eds.), Research in personnel and human resources management (Vol. 9, pp. 311-365). Greenwich, CT: JAI.
23.
Jöreskog, K. , & Sörbom, D. (1993). LISREL VIII user’s guide. Uppsala, Sweden: University of Uppsala.
24.
Judge, T. , & Bretz, R. (1994). Political influence behavior and career success. Journal of Management, 20, 43-65.
25.
Kacmar, K. , & Carlson, D. (1997). Further validation of the Perceptions of Politics Scale (POPS): A multiple sample investigation. Journal of Management, 5, 627-658.
26.
Kapoor, A. , Ansari, M., & Shukla, R. (1986). Upward influence tactics as a function of locus of control and organizational context. Psychological Studies, 31, 190-199.
27.
Kipnis, D. , Schmidt, S., & Wilkinson, I. (1980). Intraorganizational influence tactics: Exploration in getting one’s way. Journal of Applied Psychology, 65, 440-452.
28.
Kumar, K. , & Beyerlein, M. (1991). Construction and validation of an instrument for measuring ingratiatory behaviors in organizational settings. Journal of Applied Psychology, 76, 619-627.
29.
Lennox, R. , & Wolfe, R. (1984). Revision of the self-monitoring scale. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 1349-1364.
30.
Liden, R. , & Mitchell, T. (1988). Ingratiatory behaviors in organizational settings. Academy of Management Review, 13, 572-587.
31.
Littlepage, G. , Van Hein, J., Cohen, K., & Janiec, L. (1993). Evaluation and comparison of three instruments designed to measure organizational power and influence tactics. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 23, 107-125.
32.
Mintzberg, H. (1983). Power in and around the organization. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
33.
Nonis, S. , Sager, J., & Kumar, K. (1996). Salespeople’s use of upward influence tactics (UITs) in coping with role stress. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Sciences, 24, 44-56.
34.
Nunnally, J. C. (1978). Psychometric theory (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
35.
Organ, D. , & Konovsky, M. (1989). Cognitive versus affective determinants of organizational citizenship behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology, 74, 157-164.
36.
Porter, L. , Allen, R., & Angle, H. (1981). The politics of upward influence in organizations. In L. L. Cummings & B. M. Staw (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior (Vol. 3, pp. 109-149). Greenwich, CT: JAI.
37.
Riggs, M. (1989). The development of self-efficacy and outcome expectancy scales for general applications. Paper presented at the fourth annual conference of the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Boston, April.
38.
Rotter, J. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal versus external locus of control. Psychological Monographs, 80, 1-28.
39.
Schriesheim, C. , & Hinkin, T. (1990). Influence tactics used by subordinates: A theoretical and empirical analysis and refinement of the Kipnis, Schmidt, and Wilkinson subscales. Journal of Applied Psychology, 75, 246-257.
40.
Schwab, D. P. (1980). Construct validity in organizational behavior. In B. M. Staw & L. L. Cummings (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior (Vol. 2, pp. 3-43). Greenwich, CT: JAI.
41.
Snyder, M. (1974). Self-monitoring of expressive behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 4, 526-537.
42.
Sörbom, D. (1989). Model modification. Psychometrika, 54, 371-384.
43.
Spector, P. (1988). Development of the work locus of control scale. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 61, 335-340.
44.
Steers, R. , & Braunstein, D. (1976). A behaviorally-based measure of manifest needs in a work setting. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 9, 251-266.
45.
Thacker, R. A. , & Wayne, S. J. (1995). An examination of the relationship between upward influence tactics and assessments of promotability. Journal of Management, 21, 739-756.
46.
Thompson, J. (1981). Will it hurt if I can control it? A complex answer to a simple question. Psychological Bulletin, 90, 89-101.
47.
Wayne, S. , & Ferris, G. R. (1990). Influence tactics, affect, and exchange quality in supervisor-subordinate interactions: A laboratory experiment and field study. Journal of Applied Psychology, 75, 487-499.
48.
Wayne, S. , & Green, S. (1993). The effects of leader-member exchange on employee citizenship and impression management behavior. Human Relations, 46, 1431-1440.
49.
Wayne, S. , Liden, R., Graf, I., & Ferris, G. (1997). The role of upward influence tactics in human resource decisions. Personnel Psychology, 50, 979-1006.
50.
Weiner, B. (1974). An attributional interpretation of expectancy-value theory. In B. Weiner (Ed.), Cognitive views of human motivation (pp. 51-70). New York: Academic Press.
51.
Wheaton, B. , Muthen, B., Alwin, D., & Summers, G. (1977). Assessing the reliability and stability in panel models. In D. Heise (Ed.), Sociological methodology (pp. 84-136). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
52.
Yukl, G. , & Falbe, C. (1990). Influence tactics and objectives in upward, downward, and lateral influence attempts. Journal of Applied Psychology, 75, 132-140.
53.
Zaleznik, A. (1989). The mythological structure of organizations and its impact. Human Resource Management, 28, 267-277.
