Supervisors' Upward Influence Tactics in Same-Sex and Cross-Sex Dyads

Abstract

The paper describes 162 male and female superiors' self-reported tactics in successful influence attempts with their male and female managers. Analysis indicated that female supervisors used inspirational appeals and allurement tactics with female and male managers. Male supervisors used pressure, allurement, and rationality tactics with female managers. Contrary to gender-role expectancy, male superiors used inspirational appeals, ingratiation, and liking tactics with male managers. These results were discussed in terms of expectancy theory, which suggests that people develop normative expectations about appropriateness of influence behavior that differ for men and women.