A political conceptualization of managerial behavior

Abstract

This article addresses the issue of managerial behavior as actions that occur and are interpreted within a political arena. Whereas some theory and research has addressed organizational politics (Frost 1987; Pfeffer 1981), there is still a need to consolidate previous research, more precisely articulate the dynamics, and refine the concept of political behavior in relation to the actions taken by managers within the framework of human resource management (HRM). We strive to improve upon and extend previous attempts by developing a political conceptualization of managerial behavior that incorporates several disciplinary perspectives, and has implications for human resources systems. An additional objective of this paper is to identify relevant questions and future research topics that will advance the study of managerial political behavior as a relevant HRM issue.