Discussion: View Thread

CM Division and IACM Virtual Seminar Speaker:  A Monthly Series on Conflict and Negotiation Research

 

 

Professor Brian Lucas, Cornell University 

Moderator: Professor: Jessica Li

 

8 AM US Pacific       

11 AM US Eastern

5 PM Amsterdam       

11 PM Singapore

 

Authors: Wayne Johnson, University of Utah; Brian Lucas, Cornell University

 

Abstract:  Employees' creative ideas often require managerial endorsement to be implemented. It is therefore important to understand factors that impact managers' willingness to endorse their employees' creative ideas. Across five experiments, we investigate the role of social status dynamics and we support two main hypotheses. First, we find that managers lose more status for endorsing an idea that fails than they gain for endorsing an idea that succeeds (asymmetric status change hypothesis). Second, we find that managers' status gain for endorsing an idea that succeeds is smaller than the idea generating employee's status gain, producing a status distance loss (status distance hypothesis). We characterize these findings as the idea endorser's dilemma. Study 1 demonstrated this dilemma, with Studies 2A/B testing boundary conditions of perceiver role and idea creativity. Study 3 investigated mechanism, finding that manager status change was influenced by perceived decision responsibility and employee status change was influenced by perceived psychological ownership over the idea. Study 4 found that managers are intuitively aware of the idea endorser's dilemma and suggests that managers perceive they can avoid the dilemma by not endorsing an idea. We discuss implications for creativity research and for implementing creative ideas in organizations.

 

Bio: Brian Lucas is an associate professor of organizational behavior at the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations. He received his PhD in management and organizations from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. His research investigates the psychology of creativity and ethical decision-making, with a focus on helping workers understand and navigate creative and ethical challenges in the workplace.

* You will receive the Zoom link after you register via the above link.