When do employees manipulate? Investigating the interplay of power value, political will, and hierarchy

Abstract

This study examines a moderated mediation model to explore how the power value of an individual influences the use of manipulation tactics, and how hierarchy and political will of employees interact to influence this relationship. Data were collected from the employees of a public sector organization in India. Structural equation modeling has been used to explore the mediation and moderated mediation relationships between variables. The results of the study indicate that political will mediates the relationship between power value and the use of manipulation tactics, and hierarchy increases the use of manipulation tactics by strengthening the effect of political will on the use of manipulation tactics. The study elaborates upon the role of hierarchy in the process, thereby paving the way for a better understanding of leadership in the context of organizational politics. This study also calls for a fine-tuning of the organizational structure to make it more welcoming toward the political will and power values of the employees. This study also contributes to value studies and organizational psychology literature by explaining moderated mediation mechanisms through which power value and political will affect employees’ use of manipulation tactics.

Keywords:

• Hierarchy
• manipulation
• political will
• politics
• power values
• public sector

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding authors upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Swati Tripathi

Swati Tripathi is an Assistant Professor in Organizational Behaviour and Human Resources area at the International Management Institute, New Delhi.

Divya Tripathi

Divya Tripathi is an Assistant Professor in Organizational Behaviour and Human Resources area at the Indian Institute of Management, Amritsar.