The Expression of Dominance and Perceptions of Supervisor Credibility in Supervisor/Employee Relationships

Abstract

In the workplace, a supervisor’s communication of dominance can be used to help accomplish tasks and complete work. Further, perceptions of credibility can be integral in influencing employees and creating an open work climate. The goal of this investigation was to understand how supervisors’ messages of dominance were related to perceptions of supervisor credibility. In this study, 303 participants working in various industries completed measures of interpersonal dominance and credibility about their direct supervisor. As hypothesized, influence and focus/poise were positively related to competence, goodwill, and trustworthiness, whereas conversational control was negatively related to goodwill and trustworthiness. Further, self-assurance was negatively related to goodwill. Regression analyses determined that influence and focus/poise had the strongest relationship to all three dimensions of credibility.

Keywords:

• Credibility
• Relational Messages
• Supervisor Dominance

Notes

[1] Participant sex, supervisor sex, age of employee/participant, industry, length of employment in the organization, and length of work under the current supervisor were entered as control variables in the initial regression analyses.