Böker, Caroline Madeleine (2023) Why do Leaders Manage Conflicts With Followers Destructively Rather Than Constructively? The Mediating Role of Fearing Power Loss. Bachelor thesis, Psychology.
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Abstract
Conflict management at work is part of organizational leaders’ main tasks. Organizations profit from constructive conflict management (i.e., problem-solving, compromising, yielding). Nonetheless, leaders resolve conflicts destructively (i.e., forcing) on a large scale, despite its harm to organizations and their employees. The present study investigates why powerful leaders manage conflicts destructively, with the fear of power loss as a possible exploratory variable. We designed a field study with British organizational leaders (N = 246) who answered an online questionnaire about a recent conflict with an employee. The destructive strategy, forcing, was significantly positively related to leader’s relative power. Further, we found a partial mediation effect of fear of power loss in the relationship between relative power and forcing. Interestingly, powerful leaders experienced low fear of power loss. We conclude that leaders tend to manage conflicts with employees destructively, partially because they fear losing their power. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. Keywords: relative power, conflict management, fear of power loss, organizational leaders, destructive leadership
| Item Type: | Thesis (Bachelor) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Fousiani, K. |
| Degree programme: | Psychology |
| Differentiation route: | None [Bachelor Psychology] |
| Date Deposited: | 26 Jan 2023 13:21 |
| Last Modified: | 26 Jan 2023 13:21 |
| URI: | http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/1583 |
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