Emerging Trends on the Perceptions of Social Relations within Organizations

Abstract

Interest in the effects of social relations on organizations is on the rise. A number of influential theoretical and empirical papers have recently been published which detail the impact that social relations can have on organizational outcomes. However, key questions remain, particularly with regards to the nature, antecedents, and consequences of individuals' perceptions of social relations in organizations. In this symposium, we include five papers that broadly explore the perceptual aspects of relations in organizations. More specifically, they explore: 1) Whether individuals vary their ability to accurately perceive social relations and structures within groups, and how that affects work outcomes; 2) Whether individuals vary in their beliefs about the nature of social relations and their implications; 3) How various psychological states influence individuals' ability to recognize advantageous social relations; 4) How observers' perceptions of targets' ability to perceive interpersonal emotions shape employee job criteria; and 5) How the interplay of targets' perceived and actual social relations impacts observers' judgment towards the targets. Overall, these papers deepen our understanding about the pervasive and impactful role of the perceptions of social relations in organizational contexts.