Navigating Ambivalence: Perceived Organizational Prestige–Support Discrepancy and Its Relation to Employee Cynicism and Silence

Drawing on the social identity literature, this study offers theoretical arguments and empirical evidence to understand reactions to divergent perceptions of organizational external prestige (PEP) and organizational support (POS) – two crucial bases of employees’ social worth. Across three studies,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of management studies 2018-07, Vol.55 (5), p.837-872
Main Authors: Mignonac, Karim, Herrbach, Olivier, Serrano Archimi, Carolina, Manville, Caroline
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ambivalence
ambivalent identification
Behavior
Cynicism
Economics and Finance
Employees
Humanities and Social Sciences
Organizational behavior
organizational cynicism
Organizational support
perceived external prestige
perceived organizational support
Perceptions
Prestige
Silence
Social dynamics
Social identity
Social systems
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Summary:Drawing on the social identity literature, this study offers theoretical arguments and empirical evidence to understand reactions to divergent perceptions of organizational external prestige (PEP) and organizational support (POS) – two crucial bases of employees’ social worth. Across three studies, using both experimental and field data, we find that PEP‐POS discrepancy contributes to employees’ perceptions of organizational cynicism and silence behaviour, especially when PEP is high and POS is low (rather than the reverse). Consistent with our social identity perspective, we find that ambivalent identification, that is, the simultaneous identification and disidentification of an individual with an organization, is a key mediating mechanism that transfers the interactive relationship of PEP and POS to cynicism and silence. These findings contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the dynamics of individuals’ social worth at work.
ISSN:0022-2380
1467-6486
DOI:10.1111/joms.12330