This study tested hypotheses regarding the relationships between types of power used by supervisors and organizational characteristics. Data about organizational characteristics were provided by top level managers in 45 various organizations. Data about supervisory power were provided by 280 employees in those organizations. Results suggested that supervisors possessed more power in organizations that were formalized, growing, innovative, and not status stratified.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Bacharach, S.
, & Aiken, M. (1976). Structural and process constraints on influence in organizations: A level specific analysis. Administrative Science Quarterly, 21, 623-642.
2.
Blau, P.
(1956). Bureaucracy in modem society. New York: Random House.
3.
Brass, D.
(1984). Being in the right place: A structural analysis of individual influence in an organization. Administrative Science Quarterly, 29, 518-534.
4.
Brass, D.
, & Burkhardt, M. (1993). Potential power and power use: An investigation of structure and behavior. Academy of Management Journal, 36, 441-470.
5.
Burns, T,
& Stalker, G. (1961). The management of innovation. London: Tavistock.
6.
Cheng, J.
(1983). Organizational context and upward influence: An experimental study of the use of power tactics. Group & Organization Studies, 8(3), 337-355.
7.
Christie, R.
, & Geis, F. (1970). Studies in Machiavellianism. New York: Academic Press.
8.
Courtright, J.
, Fairhurst, G., & Rogers, L. (1989). Interaction patterns in organic and mechanistic systems. Academy of Management Journal, 32(4), 773-802.
9.
Drory, A.
, & Gluskinos, U. (1980). Machiavellianism and leadership. Journal of Applied Psychology, 65, 81-86.
10.
French, J.
, & Raven, B. (1959). The bases of social power. In D. Cartwright (Ed.), Studies in social power (pp. 150-157). Ann Arbor, MI: Institute for Social Research.
11.
Gillen, D.
, & Carroll, S. (1985). Relationship of managerial ability to unit effectiveness in more organic versus more mechanistic departments. Journal of Management Studies, 22(6), 668-676.
12.
House, R.
(1991). The distribution and exercise of power in complex organizations: A meso theory. Leadership Quarterly, 2(1), 23-58.
13.
Hulin, C.
, & Blood, M. (1968). Job enlargement, individual differences, and worker responses. Psychological Bulletin, 69, 41-55.
14.
James, L.
, & Jones, L. (1976). Organizational structure: A review of structural dimensions and their conceptual relationships with individual attitudes and behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 16, 74-113.
15.
Kerr, S.
, & Jermier, J. (1978). Substitutes for leadership: Their meaning and measurement. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 22, 376-403.
16.
Khandwalla, P.
(1976). The design of organizations. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
17.
Melcher, A.
(1977). Leadership models and research approaches. In J. G. Hunt & L. L. Larson (Eds.), Leadership: The cutting edge (pp. 94-108). Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.
18.
Mintzberg, H.
(1983). Structure in fives: Designing effective organizations. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
19.
Moorhead, G.
(1981). Organizational analysis: An integration of the macro and micro approaches. Journal of Management Studies, 18(2), 191-207.
20.
Pfeffer, J.
(1981). Power in organizations. Cambridge, MA: Ballinger.
21.
Podsakoff, P.
, & Schriesheim, C. (1985). Field studies of French and Raven's bases of power: Critique, reanalyses, and suggestions for future research. Psychological Bulletin, 97(3), 387-441.
22.
Pugh, D.
, & Hickson, D. (1976). Organizational structure in its context. Westmead, UK: Saxon House.
23.
Rousseau, D.
(1978). Characteristics of departments, positions, and individuals: Contexts for attitudes and behavior. Administrative Science Quarterly, 23, 521-540.
24.
Singh, J.
(1986). Performance, slack, and risk-taking in organizational decision making. Academy of Management Journal, 29(3), 562-585.
25.
Woodward, J.
(1970). Industrial organization: Behavior and control. London: Oxford University Press.
26.
Yukl, G.
(1989). Leadership in organizations. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
27.
Yukl, G.
, & Falbe, C. (1991). The importance of different power sources in downward and lateral relations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 76(3), 416-423.