The study examined the importance of different bases of legitimacy of authority upon conformity and performance of temporary employees engaged in a realistic technical task. Task supervisors varied in apparent technical and administrative expertise. The contingency of rewards upon performance was systematically varied to separate the impact of expected reward contingency from variations in bases of legitimacy. Subjects were hired as temporary workers in a laboratory experiment to test these propositions, and to build upon an earlier laboratory study by Evan and Zelditch.
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