Business and Management INK

Do Managers Act Territorially of Their Employees?

May 31, 2016

8308869963_88da799f39_zWorking with the same employees over an extended period of time can lead managers to establish strong relationships with their employees, but do managers go so far as to act territorial of their employees? A recent article published in Journal of Managemententitled When Territoriality Meets Agency: An Examination of Employee Guarding as a Territorial Strategy,” from authors Timothy M. Gardner, Timothy P. Munyon, Peter W. Hom, and Rodger W. Griffeth finds that managers do engage in territorial behavior, using anticipatory defenses in particular to prevent employee defection. The abstract for the paper:

Do managers behave territorially toward their employees? Despite accumulating evidence demonstrating the prevalence of territoriality over nonagentic organizational resources, key questions remain regarding the extent to which Current Issue Coverpsychological ownership and territorial behavior occur within supervisor-subordinate relationships. To explore this question, we drew on territoriality and mate-guarding theory to ascertain how and why managers might utilize one form of territoriality, anticipatory defenses, toward their employees. In a four-study investigation, we find that managers consistently engage in two forms of anticipatory defense tactics, persuasion and nurturing, that are intended to defend ownership claims over their employees and limit employee defection. Our results demonstrate a positive relationship between psychological ownership of subordinates and employee guarding directed toward those subordinates. We also find that managers engage in employee guarding more when they anticipate an employee is likely to defect, and they adapt guarding tactics in response to the subordinate’s general mental ability. Collectively, our results identify the motivations and conditions under which supervisors act territorially toward agentic subordinates, contributing to theory in territoriality and downward social influence.

You can read “When Territoriality Meets Agency: An Examination of Employee Guarding as a Territorial Strategy” from Journal of Management free for the next two weeks by clicking here. Want to know about the latest research from Journal of ManagementClick here to sign up for e-alerts!

0 0 votes
Article Rating

Business and Management INK puts the spotlight on research published in our more than 100 management and business journals. We feature an inside view of the research that’s being published in top-tier SAGE journals by the authors themselves.

View all posts by Business & Management INK

Related Articles

Disruptive Technologies and Local Regulations: Policy Leaning in Venue Shifting
Business and Management INK
November 22, 2023

Disruptive Technologies and Local Regulations: Policy Leaning in Venue Shifting

Read Now
Shared Leadership: What Do Employees Think About It?
News
November 6, 2023

Shared Leadership: What Do Employees Think About It?

Read Now
Organized Creativity: Creative Processes and Constraints
Business and Management INK
October 20, 2023

Organized Creativity: Creative Processes and Constraints

Read Now
Top Five Takeaways from AOM on Business and Management in a Challenging World 
Business and Management INK
October 17, 2023

Top Five Takeaways from AOM on Business and Management in a Challenging World 

Read Now
From Rejections to Reflections: Unveiling the Role of Horizontal Linkages in Academia

From Rejections to Reflections: Unveiling the Role of Horizontal Linkages in Academia

Mental health issues in early-career researchers are on the rise: could “horizontal linkages” amongst peers help foster emotional support? Lucas Amaral Lauriano, Julia Grimm, and Camilo Arciniegas Pradilla reflect on the origins of their paper, “Navigating Academia’s Stressful Waters: Discussing the Power of Horizontal Linkages for Early-Career Researchers.”

Read Now
What You Should Know About Megaprojects and Why: An Overview

What You Should Know About Megaprojects and Why: An Overview

This article by Bent Flyvbjerg examines the misconceptions and strategic misrepresentations that routinely result in the implementation of projects for which there is inadequate justification, absorbing funds that could have been better spent elsewhere.

Read Now
Improving Well-being in Families of Children with Additional Needs

Improving Well-being in Families of Children with Additional Needs

Many families around the world are caring for members with additional needs, which can be complex, unpredictable, and long-term. The challenges related to caregiving of this nature affect not only parents but also siblings, grandparents, and other members of the extended family.

Read Now
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments