In female supervisors male subordinates trust!? An experiment on supervisor and subordinate gender and the perceptions of tight control

Abstract

Little attention has been directed towards the role of gender in the supervisor–subordinate dyad that is the very fundament of management control. We argue that gender roles and the roles implied in the supervisor–subordinate relationship are powerful concepts that need to be incorporated in research to better understand the reactions and perceptions of management controls. The article contributes to this line of research by developing and testing hypotheses related to gender differences in supervisor–subordinate dyads and the resulting perceptions of evaluation fairness and trust in management under a tight control regime. In a vignette experiment where only the name of the supervisor was changed to a typical female or male name for female and male subordinates (respondents)(2 times 2), we find that female (male) subordinates demonstrate more negative (positive) attitudes towards evaluation fairness and that male subordinates with a female supervisor put more trust in management than males with a male supervisor and females with a female supervisor.