Managerial Downward Influence Tactics: Considering the 'Why' of Employee Commitment

• In Event: Motivational Processes Within Socially Desirable and Undesirable Contexts

Abstract

Research on managerial influence has ignored why employees respond with commitment or lack thereof in response to particular tactics. This study tested whether self-determination theory needs explain this association. Participants were given an instruction embodying a tactic before completing and evaluating a task. The results showed no significant difference among experimental conditions in SDT needs. The data were consistent with the rest of the proposed model and suggest message perceptions might differ from tactic labeling.

Author

• Amber Raile, North Dakota State University