The spiral of inequalities in work organizations: Framing social dominance theory and the interpersonal power interaction model

The present study examined the asymmetry hypothesis of social dominance theory (SDT) in a work organization. The asymmetry hypothesis posits that members of subordinate groups who are high in social dominance orientation (SDO; desire for group-based hierarchy) can contribute to maintaining hierarchies by conforming with hierarchy-enhancing legitimizing myths and tactics used by members of dominant groups. Focusing on subordinates’ perspective, we studied their compliance with supervisors’ use of harsh power tactics, and whether this increased with subordinates’ levels of SDO. At a hierarchy-enhancing for-profit organization, 207 subordinate employees self-reported their compliance with the supervisor’s use of harsh influence tactics and the perceived use of those tactics by their supervisors. The moderation analysis confirmed that the concurrence between supervisors’ use of harsh power tactics, as perceived by subordinates, and subordinates’ compliance with harsh tactics were moderated by subordinates’ SDO. The higher SDO subordinates perceived a higher supervisor’s use of harsh power tactics, the more they were willing to comply with those tactics. As the asymmetry hypothesis implies, this pattern can maintain hierarchies and even contribute to a spiral of inequalities within the work environment.