Putting the Mr. Big technique back on trial:a re-examination of probative value and abuse of process through a scientific lens

Purpose – A recent Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) ruling resulted in stricter rules being placed on how police organizations can obtain confessions through a controversial undercover operation, known as the Mr. Big technique. The SCC placed the onus on prosecutors to demonstrate that the probative value of any Mr. Big derived confession outweighs its prejudicial effect, and that the police must refrain from an abuse of process (i.e. avoid overcoming the will of the accused to obtain a confession). The purpose of this paper is to determine whether a consideration of the social influence tactics present in the Mr. Big technique would deem Mr. Big confessions inadmissible. Design/methodology/approach – The social psychological literature related to the compliance and the six main principles of social influence (i.e. reciprocity, consistency, liking, social proof, authority, scarcity) was reviewed. The extent to which these social influence principles are arguably present in Mr. Big operations are discussed. Findings – Mr. Big operations, by their very nature, create unfavourable circumstances for the accused that are rife with psychological pressure to comply and ultimately confess. A consideration by the SCC of the social influence tactics used to elicit confessions – because such tactics sully the circumstances preceding confessions and verge on abuse of process – should lead to all Mr. Big operations being prohibited. Practical implications – Concerns regarding the level of compliance in the Mr. Big technique call into question how Mr. Big operations violate the guidelines set out by the SCC ruling. The findings from the current paper could have a potential impact of the admissibility of Mr. Big confessions, along with continued use of this controversial technique. Originality/value – The current paper represents the first in-depth analysis of the Mr. Big technique through a social psychological lens

Consumer Responses to Sales Promotion from the Perspective of Gift-giving: The Case of Unexpected Promotion

Sales promotion is a widely-used tool in marketing, and billions of dollars are spent every year to promote both products and services. Much research has been done on the effectiveness of different types of promotions. However, there is limited research on how consumers reciprocate when they are given deep discounts or unexpected promotional rewards. Consequently, this paper explored the effectiveness of promotional offers in a retail setting through the lens of reciprocity norm, appreciation, and indebtedness borrowed from the gift-giving literature in social psychology. The findings of three studies reveal that consumer appreciation and indebtedness facilitate different reciprocal responses (additional purchase likelihood, word of mouth, loyalty, and attitude towards store) in the context of discounts and rewards. Results also showed that situational factors such as staff helpfulness, purchase expectation, social presence, and promotion depth of certain promotion format significantly influence the likelihood of consumer purchase. Additionally, there are cultural differences in how consumers react towards certain promotion format

The relationships among social exchange, organizational citizenship, and employee behavior

This study examined a social exchange approach to influencing employee attitudes, behavior, and performance. Social exchange theory predicts that employees will respond, in kind, to the treatment they receive from the organization. It was proposed, therefore, that organizations can influence the attitudes, behavior, and performance of employees by attending to the relationships that develop between employees and the organization. This study examined the relationships between leader-member exchange, organizational citizenship behavior, and perceived organizational support. Surveys were administered to 49 employees and their supervisors at three separate country clubs located in the southwestern United States. Perceptions of organizational support, leader-member exchange, and organizational citizenship behavior were assessed. Mean scores, standard deviations, analysis of variance, and Spearman\u27s correlations were calculated to measure the constructs and determine possible relationships. Overall, employees reported that they believed they received some support from the organization and some support from their manager. Employees\u27 altruistic and general compliance behaviors were rated favorably by their supervisors. Analysis of variance calculations suggested that these variables did not vary by age, gender, education, or tenure. The research aimed to answer three questions: Does leader-member exchange have a positive relationship on organizational citizenship behavior? Does perceived organizational support have a positive relationship with organizational citizenship behavior? Does leader-member exchange have a stronger relationship to organizational citizenship behavior than perceived organization support to organizational citizenship behavior? The results showed a positive, statistically significant relationship between general compliance and altruism (from the organizational citizenship behavior survey) and between perceived organizational support and leader-member exchange. These results suggest that as altruism increases, general compliance also increases (and vice versa). Similarly, as perceived organizational support increases, leader-member exchange also tends to increase (and vice versa). No other relationships among the variables could be concluded. Limitations of this study are its small sample, the applicability of organizational citizenship behavior to a hospitality setting, the limitations of quantitative research for complex topics, and the natural conflict between customer service and organizational citizenship behavior

Three essays on likability factors, crowdfunding, and entrepreneurial performance

In this dissertation, I conduct three empirical studies exploring the relation between likability factors, crowdfunding characteristics and entrepreneurial performance. Together these studies integrate aspects of major entrepreneurial likability factors including liking of the entrepreneur (source attractiveness, credibility, personal traits) and liking of the message (verbal content and expression), and components of nonverbal and verbal cues. I apply computer-mediated communication (CMC) and persuasion theories, political and marketing literature to provide a more fine-grained understanding of likability on crowdfunding success. In the first essay, I study how the non-verbal cues of a crowdfunding video influence the crowdfunding success. By employing social presence theory, I argue, hypothesize and test that effective use of non-verbal cues in a pitch video increases funding success. In the second essay, I explore how verbal cues (readability and complexity) and non-verbal cues (smiling and professional attire) interact to influence crowdfunding outcome. Findings of this essay indicate that powerful persuasion results from both expression (verbal cues) and impression (non-verbal cues). The third essay examines the mediating effect of likability between nonverbal, verbal cues and crowdfunding success. According to the likability factors extracted from political and advertising campaign literature, I conclude five main dimensions of likability in crowdfunding context. The results show that message factors are more influential than source factors in affecting crowdfunding outcome. Findings of three essays show that entrepreneurs should be careful to deliver a message which is immediate, simple, informative, humorous, storytelling and less complimentary to their funders. The more their messages are liked, the more likely funders will back their projects, and then the more success their crowdfunding campaign will be

DYADIC LEADER MEMBER EXCHANGE: AN INTERACTIONAL PERSPECTIVE

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

Helping in the eyes of the beholder: The impact of OCB type and fluctuation in OCB on coworker perceptions and evaluations of helpful employees

Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) is often hailed for its positive linkages to individual outcomes and organizational effectiveness. Despite these findings, research on OCB often fails to consider how an individual’s past OCB may influence the outcomes stemming from current OCB performance. Such a contextually bland image truncates our understanding of the impact of these behaviors. To this end, the theories that drive literature on OCB (e.g., social exchange, expectancy, conservation of resources) are socially focused. However, there is limited research examining how coworkers’ responses to the OCBs, in light of past OCB performance, may alter the nature of coworker perceptions and behavior in response to OCB changes. Recent literature on OCB also calls for consolidation of OCB related typologies, but few efforts test the efficacy of composite frameworks (e.g., Marinova, Moon & Van Dyne, 2010). Accordingly, this effort investigates the impact that fluctuations (increase vs. decreases) in different types of OCB (orientation vs. direction) have on coworker perceptions and responses to OCB performers. This effort also sought to examine the impact that a coworker’s assumptions regarding another employee’s motivations for OCB has on the outcomes that stem from OCB. Limitations, implications, and future directions are discussed

A Social Exchange Perspective of Intention to Quit

This dissertation introduces a social exchange perspective of intention to quit and examines the relationship of several work-related and non work-related variables with intention to quit. Specifically, the relationships between the following ? perceived organizational support (POS), perceived supervisor support (POS), family responsibility, kinship responsibility ? and intention to quit were examined. POS and PSS were examined to provide a better understanding of the role each plays in the development of intention to quit. Family responsibility and kinship responsibility were examined because prior research has generally ignored the role each may play in the development of intention to quit. A cross-sectional design was utilized and data was collected from three prison sites within the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) using a questionnaire. Correctional officers at each of the three sites were asked to complete a questionnaire, were told their participation was voluntary and their responses would be held in complete confidentiality, and were given time during working hours to complete the questionnaire. The data collection yielded 392 usable questionnaires. Hierarchical regression was used to analyze the hypotheses. By utilizing social exchange theory, this dissertation provided a broader theoretical perspective of intention to quit by allowing the inclusion of work-related and non work-related variables. The results provided support for the role POS and PSS play in the development of intention to quit. Specifically, POS and PSS do not appear to have a direct effect on intention to quit. Rather, the relationship seems to be fully mediated by job satisfaction and organizational commitment. No support was found indicating family responsibility or kinship responsibility had an effect on intention to quit. However, possible limitations concerning the measurement of family responsibility and kinship responsibility were noted and further development of these measures may be necessary

Resistance Is Not Futile:Harnessing the Power of Counter-Offensive Tactics in Legal Persuasion

A core competency for people working in law or business is the ability to influence and persuade: People need to become expert at getting others to agree, to go along, and to give in. The potential “targets” of one’s influence throughout a given workday are seemingly endless and include clients and customers, co-counsel, opposing counsel, supervisors, direct reports, contractors, subcontractors, consultants, secretaries, judges, juries, witnesses, police officers, court personnel, and others. Moreover, that influence is largely exerted through words spoken and behaviors exhibited within the context of a negotiation. And yet, leading academics have argued that the vast majority of academic writing on negotiation has ignored the element of interpersonal influence. This Article was written to help correct this glaring omission.This Article underscores the notion that throughout each day, people move rapidly and fluently between the roles of persuasion “agent” (that is, one who attempts to persuade others) and persuasion “target” (that is, one whom others attempt to persuade). If an “agent” party is attempting to persuade, the receiving or “target” party must understand the various tactics, strategies, and techniques being employed in those attempts, as well as ways to resist and defend against them. This Article provides this knowledge and understanding so that all parties, whether agents or targets, can be more effective negotiators. Those who are not aware that these techniques exist and who cannot recognize them and resist them place themselves (and their clients) at a clear disadvantage with respect to negotiation outcomes and final settlement results. It is only by recognizing and responding to various strategies and techniques of influence and persuasion that negotiators can begin to resist their powers and nullify their impacts

Authentic Leadership, Leader-Member Exchange, and Organizational Citizenship Behavior: A Multilevel Analysis

This field study examined the relationship between leaders’ authentic leadership (as rated by leader and follower) and five constructs of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) (altruism, civic virtue, conscientiousness, courtesy, and sportsmanship) as moderated by leader-member exchange. Data were collected from 32 leader participants and 243 raters from seven for-profit organizations in the Midwest. A multilevel data analysis was conducted using Hierarchical Linear Modeling. Three of the five OCB constructs (conscientiousness, courtesy, and civic virtue) were analyzed as multi-level. Altruism and sportsmanship were analyzed using regression. First, the direct effect of the leader’s level of authentic leadership was tested on each of the OCB constructs. Leaders rating as authentic had a positive effect on follower altruistic behavior (helping behaviors). Leaders rating as authentic had a positive effect on civic virtue and courtesy at the group level. This means that leader authenticity, influences behaviors that support the organization (civic virtue) and foster organizational communication (courtesy). Leader authenticity was significant at the individual level, but not at the group level in conscientiousness. Leaders rated as authentic only influence individual followers behaviors regarding rules and regulations. The leader will not influence the group. Leader authenticity did not influence follower sportsmanship behaviors. Leader-member exchange (LMX) was examined as a moderating variable. LMX positively moderated the relationship between authentic leadership and altruism – high LMX will yield followers’ engagement in altruistic behaviors. The constructs of conscientiousness and courtesy were partially moderated by LMX. LMX moderated conscientiousness at the individual level, but not at the group level, indicating LMX has a positive effect on individual conscientious behaviors – but not the overall group. In courtesy, LMX was significant at the group level, but only within groups. LMX will only influence courteous behaviors on a group by group basis. Comparisons between groups are not possible. Civic virtue and sportsmanship were not moderated by LMX. The leader-follower relationship has no effect on follower behaviors that support the organization nor will followers refrain from petty complaints. Advisor: Gina S. Matki