Keeping a healthy distance from senior management

__Abstract__ Follow the leader whilst showing a good example to your subordinates – such is the lot of the middle manager. This juggling of obligation and responsibility is made even more complicated when some of the decision-making at the top is deemed unfair. How do middle managers respond in such instances? Do they reproduce the unfair practices of their superiors or react against them? New research shows that creating physical distance from senior management reduces the chances of such unfair behaviour spreading

Something To Rely On

__Abstract__ In virtually any situation we are bound to encounter short-lived influences that lure us to act in a certain way. The influence of such ‘fleeting drivers’ may or may not be in line our long-term goals and commitments (‘stable drivers’). Moral behaviour in particular often requires the ability to overcome the influence of fleeting drivers (e.g. self-interest) as well as to act on stable ones (e.g. moral principles). This dissertation is devoted to the question what determines the relative influence of both these types of influence upon our moral behaviours. I give a perhaps somewhat unlikely answer: cognitive abstraction, or ‘construal level’. Abstract cognition (high construal level) allows us to mentally disengage from the ‘here’ and ‘now’ and therefore quells the influence of fleeting drivers. Concrete cognition (low construal level), on the other hand, enhances the influence of fleeting drivers. High construal level is therefore associated with behaviour that is more strongly driver by abstract moral principles, such as moral norms. Low construal level is associated with behaviour that is more strongly driven by situational factors. I show this to be true for several different forms of moral behaviour, including cooperation, punishment and trust restoration

So close and yet so far away: A psychological distance account of the effectiveness of leader appeals

Contradictory recommendations persist on how leaders best communicate goals to followers. Whereas scholars of visionary leadership recommend emphasizing the desirability of preferred end?states, scholars of goal setting argue that the perceived feasibility of a goal determines motivation. This paper proposes and tests a synthesis based on construal level theory. Under relatively high (i.e., abstract) levels of construal, such as when leader–follower distance is relatively large, leader appeals that emphasize desirability (i.e., desirable appeals) are more likely to be effective than appeals that emphasize feasibility (i.e., feasible appeals). Under relatively low (i.e., concrete) levels of construal, such as when leader–follower distance is relatively small, feasible appeals are more likely to be effective. Two experimental studies in two different countries provide support for our predictions

Investing to gain others' trust: Cognitive abstraction increases prosocial behavior and trust received from others.

Being trusted has many positive implications for one's wellbeing (e.g., a better career, more satisfying interpersonal relationships). Scholars have suggested that people actively attempt to earn trust. However, it is not clear what makes people invest in actions that may earn them trust. We propose that cognitive abstraction (more than concreteness) facilitates seeing the long-term benefits of performing behaviors (i.e., prosocial behaviors) for gaining trust. We conducted a survey among employees and their supervisors and two yoked experiments-total N = 1098 or 549 pairs. In support of our claim, we find that cognitive abstraction leads to more prosocial behavior, which subsequently increases trust received. Furthermore, the effect of abstraction on the performance of prosocial behavior is limited to situations where such behavior can be observed by others (and thus be a basis for gaining observers' trust). Our research shows when and why people decide to act in ways that may gain them trust and clarifies how cognitive abstraction influences the display of prosocial behavior and the subsequent trust received from fellow organization members