Persuasion without polarization? Modelling persuasive argument communication in teams with strong faultlines

Strong demographic faultlines are a potential source of conflict in teams. To study conditions under which faultlines can result in between-group bi-polarization of opinions, a computational model of persuasive argument communication has been proposed. We identify two hitherto overlooked degrees of freedom in how researchers formalized the theory. First, are arguments agents communicate influencing each other's opinions explicitly or implicitly represented in the model? Second, does similarity between agents increase chances of interaction or the persuasiveness of others' arguments? Here we examine these degrees of freedom in order to assess their effect on the model's predictions. We find that both degrees of freedom matter: in a team with strong demographic faultline, the model predicts more between-group bi-polarization when (1) arguments are represented explicitly, and (2) when homophily is modelled such that the interaction between similar agents are more likely (instead of more persuasive)

About renegades and outgroup-haters: Modelling the link between social influence and intergroup attitudes

Polarization between groups is a major topic of contemporary societal debate as well as of research into intergroup relations. Formal modelers of opinion dynamics try to explain how intergroup polarization can arise from simple first principles of interactions within and between groups. Models have been proposed in which intergroup attitudes affect social influence in the form of homophily or xenophobia, elaborated as fixed tendencies of individuals to interact more with in-group members, be more open to influence from in-group members and perhaps even distance oneself from attitudes of outgroup members. While these models can generate polarization between groups, their underlying assumptions curiously neglect a central insight from research on intergroup attitudes. Intergroup attitudes are themselves subject to social influence in interactions with both in- and outgroup members. I extend an existing model of opinion formation with intergroup attitudes, by adding this feedback-effect. I show how this changes model predictions about the process and the conditions of polarization between groups. In particular, it is demonstrated how the model implies that intergroup polarization can become less likely if intergroup attitudes change under social influence; and how more complex patterns of intergroup relations emerge. Especially, a renegade minority (outgroup-lovers) can have a key role in avoiding mutually negative intergroup relations and even elicit attitude reversal, resulting in a majority of individuals developing a negative attitude towards their in-group and a positive one of the outgroup. Interpretations of these theoretical results and directions for future research are further discussed.Comment: 33 pages, 21 figures, Paper presented at ODCD 2017. Interdisciplinary Workshop on Opinion Dynamics and Collective Decision 2017, July 5-7, 2017 @ Jacobs University Bremen, German

Top management team decision-making : a multi-level approach to understanding demographic and cognitive variation, team processes and decision belief.

Based within the 'upper echelons' tradition, the starting premise for this thesis is that demographic attributes such as age, functional background, educational attainment, gender, and tenure, influence the decisions made by top management teams (TMTs) (Pfeffer, 1983; Hambrick & Mason, 1984). Unlike most studies, which use public archival data, artificial teams, or retrospective interviews with a couple of selected senior executives, this research design (which is unprecedented in the TMT literature), investigated the decision making processes, in real time, of 23 authentic and fully functioning TMTs in the UK manufacturing sector using a state-of-the-art business simulation. From a concentrated literature review which focused exclusively on TMTs, and disentangled the constructs of dissimilarzfy (individual level differences) and diversity (team level differences), a series of propositions were established. These hypothesized that demographic variation would lead to cognitive variation, that both these types of variation would influence team processes, which in turn would affect decision belief. Despite the meticulous precision with which the constructs were measured in this research, and even with the application of sophisticated multi-level modeling techniques, only limited and sporadic support was observed for these predictions. Although there were slightly more findings than one would expect by chance alone (27 from a possible 177), these tended to be isolated and formed no clear pattern. Moreover, when one went beyond tests of simple statistical significance and reviewed effect sizes, all 27 results were tiny. The conclusion of this research is that demographic attributes are not nearly as influential in real TMTs as 'upper echelons' theory (Hambrick & Mason, 1984) supposes. It is argued that the lack of convincing results is due to over-riding and inherent social factors in authentic TMTs, so that individual demographic differences cease to be novel or important during strategic decision-making discussions. The practical, theoretical and methodological implications of retaining the global null hypothesis are discussed in the final chapters

How do middle managers deal with uncertainty in the strategy process?

Uncertainty is an unavoidable dimension of organizational life, and it is also challenging even for the most competent managers (Pich, Loch, & Meyer, 2002). This thesis examined middle managers’ uncertainty responses during the formulation and implementation of the strategy process in three studies. The first study was qualitative and intended to expose the sources of uncertainty, managerial responses, and variables, which are essential for middle managers to cope with uncertainty in the strategy process. Study 1, involving interviews with 22 middle managers in civilian and military organizations, resulted in six sources, including a new classification--International instability and disasters--and five different responses: Collaborative responses, Emotional responses, Cognitive responses, Value-based responses, and Bureaucratic responses. In the second study, we conducted a Multidimensional scaling technique (N=70) to create a taxonomy of perception of managerial uncertainty responses in order to understand the nature of uncertainty in any organization and to help to build new theories. Results indicated six clusters: Protection by Support, Protection by Structure, Protection by Scapegoats, Certainty of Change, Development by Debate, and Development by Change. In the third study, we examined the effects of individual responses to uncertainty and organizational factors on managerial responses using quantitative analysis (N=310). The results showed that organizational-level knowledge sharing has positive effects on managers’ desire of change. This study added a new source of uncertainty and five different managerial responses to uncertainty, and revealed that individual-level cognitive uncertainty and desire of change result in bureaucratic and collaborative responses. Additionally, we contend that managers respond to uncertainty variously, from suppressing to collaboration, either to protect themselves or to act towards a constructive change in the organizations.A incerteza é uma dimensão inevitável da vida organizacional, e também é um desafio até mesmo para os gerentes mais competentes (Pich, Loch & Meyer, 2002). Esta dissertação examinou as respostas de incerteza do gerente intermediário durante a formulação e implementação do processo de estratégia em três estudos. O primeiro estudo foi qualitativo e pretendia expor as fontes de incerteza, respostas gerenciais e variáveis, que são essenciais para os gerentes de nível médio lidarem com a incerteza no processo de estratégia. O estudo 1, com entrevistas a 22 gerentes de nível médio em organizações civis e militares, resulta em seis fontes, incluindo uma nova classificação; Instabilidade internacional e desastres e cinco respostas diferentes; Respostas colaborativas, respostas emocionais, respostas cognitivas, respostas baseadas em valores e respostas burocráticas. No segundo estudo, conduzimos uma técnica de dimensionamento multidimensional (N = 70) para criar uma taxonomia da percepção das respostas gerenciais de incerteza para entender a natureza da incerteza em qualquer organização e para ajudar a construir novas teorias. Os resultados indicaram cinco clusters; Proteção por Suporte, Proteção por Estrutura, Proteção por Bodes Expiatórios, Certeza de Mudança, Desenvolvimento por Debate e Desenvolvimento por Mudança. No terceiro estudo, examinamos os efeitos das respostas individuais à incerteza e fatores organizacionais sobre respostas gerenciais por meio de análise quantitativa (N = 310). Os resultados mostraram que o compartilhamento do conhecimento no nível organizacional tem efeitos positivos no desejo de mudança dos gestores. Este estudo adicionou uma nova fonte de incerteza e cinco respostas gerenciais diferentes à incerteza e revelou que a incerteza cognitiva de nível individual e o desejo de mudança resultam em respostas burocráticas e colaborativas. Além disso, afirmamos que os gerentes reagem à incerteza, desde a supressão até a colaboração, seja para se protegerem ou para agir em prol de uma mudança construtiva nas organizações

How attitude certainty tempers the effects of faultlines in demographically diverse teams

Lau and Murnighan's faultline theory suggests that strong demographic faultlines can undermine cohesion in work teams. A strong faultline splits a team into internally homogeneous but mutually dissimilar subgroups based on demographic characteristics. Social influence processes within these subgroups then lead to the polarization of team members' attitudes along the divisions imposed by the faultline. However, faultline theory hitherto neglects effects of attitude certainty. Research shows that the certainty with which individuals hold their attitudes affects social influence processes. We extend theoretical faultline research by integrating attitude certainty. For this, we incorporate the interplay of the dynamics of attitude certainty and social influence into a formal model of demographic faultline effects developed by Flache and Mas. Computational experiments suggest a moderation effect. Demographic faultlines only affect team cohesion if attitude certainty is low. We discuss implications for future research

Bærekraftsmål og bruk av styringssystemer i norske dagligvarebutikker - En kvantitativ studie av holdnings- og barrieresystemer

Den langsiktige overlevelsen av organisasjoner og individer avhenger av et samfunn som er økonomisk, miljømessig og sosialt bærekraftig. Med utgangspunkt i dette forsøker studien å bidra med kunnskap om driverne bak bærekraft. Dette gjøres ved å undersøke om det er sammenhenger mellom bærekraftstrategi og styringssystemer gjennom følgende problemstilling: «Er det sammenheng mellom bærekraftstrategi og styringsforholdene i norske dagligvarebutikker?» Studien operasjonaliserer begrepet ESG (miljø, sosial, styring) og bruker holdnings- og barrieresystemer fra Simons (1995) rammeverk «levers of control» for å svare på problemstillingen. Studien har en kvantitativ tilnærming og baserer seg på data samlet inn fra butikksjefer i hele Norge ved bruk av en elektronisk spørreundersøkelse. Sentrale funn fra studien er at butikkers oppnåelse av faktorer knyttet til ESG har sammenheng med bruk av holdnings- og barrieresystemer. Hovedsakelig er sammenhengene i studien knyttet til sosiale forhold og myndiggjøring av medarbeidere. Studien viser at størrelsen på butikkene er avgjørende for i hvilken grad ledere tar i bruk styringssystemer, noe som også reflekterer butikkens bærekraftige bidrag. Studien viser også at Simons (1995) rammeverk har behov for mer forskning. Spesielt med tanke på å operasjonalisere og tilpasse styringssystemer slik at de egner seg bedre for mindre organisasjoner. Et uventet funn i studien var at det diskrimineres mot menn med tanke på kjønnsbalanse i dagligvarebransje

Social Comparisons on Instagram and Adolescent Identity Development: A Mixed-Methods Study

The formation of a coherent and synthesised sense of identity is a key developmental task for adolescents, and over the past decade, young people have increasingly been using social networking sites (SNSs) as platforms for self-expression, self-construction, and identity exploration. Whilst previous research has evidenced how self-presentations on SNSs can inform identity development, less is known about the identity implications of other-focused SNS behaviours. To shed light on this gap in the literature, this investigation drew upon social comparison theory to examine how social comparisons on Instagram inform the process of identity development during adolescence. Following the sequential explanatory design, an initial cross-sectional survey of British adolescents sought to determine the linear relationship between ability and opinion comparisons on Instagram and three key identity processes (commitment, in-depth exploration, and reconsideration of commitment). The moderator effects of age, gender, and Instagram network composition (network homophily and tie strength) were also examined. Subsequent qualitative interviews with adolescents built upon the results of the quantitative analysis and explored the nuances and mechanisms which may help to explain them. Overall, findings indicate that social comparisons on Instagram are not inherently ‘bad’ for young people (as is often suggested by the media and academic literature), and that both ability and opinion comparisons on the platform can support identity development during adolescence by increasing self-focus, strengthening commitments, and prompting further exploration. Nevertheless, females were more prone to experiencing the maladaptive implications of competitive ability comparisons on Instagram, whilst developmental maturity informed the comparison targets most supportive of identity development. Results therefore evidence the importance of Feed curation for ensuring that comparisons on Instagram have adaptive outcomes for young people, and the implications that these findings have for future research and practical work are discussed