Frontiers of Hierarchy Research: The Impacts of Low Power and Changing Power

Power, defined as individuals’ asymmetric control over valuable resources, is a central reality of organizational life. Decades of power research have offered us plenty of insights into how the powerful think, feel, and behave. However, researchers contend that this emphasis on high power may have resulted in an insufficient understanding of low-power individuals, and that taking a static view of power may have hampered the development of the literature. To help move the literature forward, our symposium contains two papers that focus explicitly on the effects of low power, one paper that investigates the causes of increasing power, and one paper that examines the effects of power fluctuations. Taken together, these papers extend our understanding and generate new research directions for how the power literature can move forward. How do Low-Power Individuals Compete? An Investigation of Covert Competition Presenter: Yufei Zhong; Georgia Institute of Technology Presenter: Huisi Li; Georgia Institute of Technology The Power to Leverage Your Power: How Social Power Affects the Use of Negotiation-Specific Power Presenter: Alice J. Lee; Columbia Business School Presenter: Nicholas Hays; Michigan State U. Presenter: Huisi Li; Georgia Institute of Technology Presenter: Adam Galinsky; Columbia Business School The Distortionary Power of Naysaying: Naysaying and Negativity Inflate Decision Makers’ Confidence Presenter: Jieun Pai; U. of Virginia Presenter: Eileen Chou; U. of Virginia The Energizing Effect of Daily Power Fluctuations Presenter: Hae-Lyeng Rose Kim; Robert H. Smith School of Business, U. of Maryland Presenter: Trevor Foulk; Robert H. Smith School of Business, U. of Maryland Presenter: Michael Schaerer; Singapore Management U. Presenter: Jake Gale; U. of Florida Presenter: Eric Anicich; U. of Southern California