Explicit Power Motive Research Articles

Up for the challenge: Power motive congruence drives nurses to craft their jobs and experience well-being.

Job crafting is the behavior that employees engage in to create personally better fitting work environments, for example, by increasing challenging job demands. To better understand the driving forces behind employees' engagement in job crafting, we investigated implicit and explicit power motives. While implicit motives tend to operate at the unconscious, explicit motives operate at the unconscious level. We focused on power motives, as power is an agentic motive characterized by the need to influence your environment. Although power is relevant to job crafting in its entirety, in this study, we link it to increasing challenging job demands due to its relevance to job control, which falls under the umbrella of power. Using a cross-sectional design, we collected survey data from a sample of Lebanese nurses (N = 360) working in 18 different hospitals across the country. In both implicit and explicit power motive measures, we focused on integrative power that enable people to stay calm and integrate opposition. The results showed that explicit power predicted job crafting (H1) and that implicit power amplified this effect (H2). Furthermore, job crafting mediated the relationship between congruently high power motives and positive work-related outcomes (H3) that were interrelated (H4). Our findings unravel the driving forces behind one of the most important dimensions of job crafting and extend the benefits of motive congruence to work-related outcomes.

Distinguishing the Explicit Power Motives

Abstract. Power is an important motivator at work, particularly for leaders. However, power also relates to dark personality traits, which negatively affect employees and organizations. Therefore, we argue that a high explicit power motive is a double-edged sword depending on whether people desire power for dominance, prestige, or leadership. We explored these research questions in a cross-sectional ( N = 151 employees) and a prospective study ( N = 371 leaders). Both studies revealed that dominance is most strongly related to Machiavellianism and moderately to narcissism and psychopathy. Prestige related strongly to narcissism and weakly to Machiavellianism, while leadership only weakly related to narcissism. Dominance best predicted counterproductive work behavior (CWB), while leadership best-predicted organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). In addition, Study 2 showed that transformational and, to a lesser extent, transactional leadership styles mediated the relations between the three power motives with OCB and CWB, respectively. Thus, promoting transformational leadership might be a fruitful way of channeling leaders’ power motives into pro-social actions.

Being pro‐environmentally oriented SMEs: Understanding the entrepreneur's explicit and implicit power motives

AbstractThe increased number of environmental problems caused by business activities put higher pressures on entrepreneurs to implement pro‐environmental policies within their businesses. However, studies show that SMEs are less engaged with sustainable and pro‐environmental policies. Hence, it is important to understand the barriers and drivers of implementing a pro‐environmental strategy in SMEs from an entrepreneur's perspective. In a study with Indonesian SME owners, we find that environmental sustainability orientation (ESO) is driven by an entrepreneur's explicit and implicit power motives. Using polynomial regression with surface analysis, we also reveal that a high level of SME's ESO is affected by power motive discrepancy. We discuss implementations for policymakers, entrepreneurs, and educational programs in entrepreneurship.

Implicit-explicit power motives congruence and forgiveness in the workplace conflict: the mediating role of empathy

PurposeIn the workplace, forgiveness can increase positive interactions between the victim and offender in the aftermath of a conflict. As an important intrapersonal factor in an organization, a victim’s power motives may shape one’s forgiveness. However, previous research shows inconsistent results because it only considers explicit power motives while ignoring the possible contingent role of implicit power motives in influencing forgiveness. This paper aims to consider both implicit and explicit power motives and aims to examine their joint effect on interpersonal forgiveness in the workplace conflict.Design/methodology/approachPolynomial regressions with response surface analysis were conducted with 415 Amazon Mechanical Turk users. Implicit power motives were measured by using a modified picture story exercise technique, whereas explicit power motives were measured via self-response scales.FindingsFirst, congruence in power motives was associated with higher empathy and forgiveness than incongruence. In addition, high-implicit/high explicit power motives led to higher level of empathy and forgiveness than low-implicit/low-explicit power motives. Furthermore, directional power motive incongruence had an additive effect on forgiveness, such that discrepantly low-implicit/high-explicit power motives were more detrimental to empathy and forgiveness than discrepantly high-implicit/low-explicit power motives. Finally, empathy underlies the combined effect of implicit and explicit power motives on forgiveness.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that in a workplace conflict, managers should consider an employee’s explicit and implicit motives. To build the harmony group work climate, managers can improve intrapersonal implicit–explicit power motive congruence by providing developmental support and training focusing on self-enhancement and self-affirmation with the low-explicit-powerful employees. Further, to promote forgiveness in a conflict, organizations can use empathy-based exercise and provide team building activities to increase employees’ empathy and perspective-taking toward others.Originality/valueBy integrating implicit–explicit framework, this paper conciliates previous studies investigating the relationship between power and forgiveness by proposing that the two types of power motives, implicit and explicit power motives, jointly influences a victim’s forgiving tendency. This study serves as a meaningful touchstone for future research to consider both implicit and explicit power motives into the organizational conflict framework.

The power motive as a predictor of receptiveness to nonverbal behavior in sport

The study tested the hypothesis that the implicit power motive is positively associated with receptiveness to nonverbal cues related to submissiveness in sports. Participants’ (N = 156) implicit and explicit power motives were measured. Receptiveness to nonverbal dominance and submissiveness cues was measured using videos from sports competitions depicting elite athletes who are supposed to send nonverbal signals dependent on the current score. Participants’ task was estimating if athletes were currently trailing or leading. Participants’ estimates were compared to the actual score in the video scenes. Results suggest that participants scoring high in the implicit power motive were more receptive towards submissive cues, but not more receptive towards dominant cues. This finding suggests that the implicit power motive is associated with a greater receptiveness for cues related to submissiveness.

The Power and Affiliation Component of Achievement Pride: Antecedents of Achievement Pride and Effects on Academic Performance

Previous research on the self-conscious achievement emotion pride introduces the Achievement Pride Scales (APS) that illustrate the relation of self-based pride and social comparison-based pride with frames of reference, achievement goals, and achievement values. The present study (N = 354) extends those results with regard to explicit achievement, affiliation, and power motives, as well as performance. Results show that self-based pride is related to self-approach goals, individual achievement values, as well as achievement and affiliation motives. Social comparison-based pride, in turn, is positively related to other-approach goals, social achievement values, as well as achievement and power motives. In addition, when controlling for those antecedent variables a positive effect of social comparison-based pride on academic performance disappears whereas a positive effect of self-based pride on academic performance appears. As such, the present work replicates and broadens the knowledge on achievement pride.

When proactivity produces a power struggle: how supervisors’ power motivation affects their support for employees’ promotive voice

ABSTRACTPrevious research informs us about facilitators of employees’ promotive voice. Yet little is known about what determines whether a specific idea for constructive change brought up by an employee will be approved or rejected by a supervisor. Drawing on interactionist theories of motivation and personality, we propose that a supervisor will be least likely to support an idea when it threatens the supervisor’s power motive, and when it is perceived to serve the employee’s own striving for power. The prosocial versus egoistic intentions attributed to the idea presenter are proposed to mediate the latter effect. We conducted three scenario-based studies in which supervisors evaluated fictitious ideas voiced by employees that – if implemented – would have power-related consequences for them as a supervisor. Results show that the higher a supervisors’ explicit power motive was, the less likely they were to support a power-threatening idea (Study 1, N = 60). Moreover, idea support was less likely when this idea was proposed by an employee that was described as high (rather than low) on power motivation (Study 2, N = 79); attributed prosocial intentions mediated this effect. Study 3 (N = 260) replicates these results.

The Power Paradox: Implicit and Explicit Power Motives, and the Importance Attached to Prosocial Organizational Goals in SMEs

We examine the fundamental tension between explicit and implicit power motives; and their combined impact on the importance attached to prosocial organizational goals in small businesses (SMEs). We show that key decision-makers with a dominant implicit power motive attach more importance to the prosocial goals of job creation and taking care of the environment in their businesses. However, we reveal that this positive relationship is moderated by their explicit power motive. Once decision-makers in SMEs consciously seek for power, the positive relationship is neutralized. With these results, we highlight the conceptual and methodological differences between implicit and explicit power motives. We could obtain these results because we developed and validated an innovative implicit motive measure—the Shortened Pictorial Attitude Implicit Association Test (SPA-IAT). Contrary to the currently available implicit motive measures, the SPA-IAT is fast and easy to use and analyze, which makes this novel instrument well suited for research in business settings.

They do! How the explicit motive-structure predicts user behavior in (business-) social network sites like Xing or LinkedIn

Despite the massive influence of business related social network sites (SBNSs) like Xing or LinkedIn regarding our professional networking-behavior, little is known about how motivational components (especially considering the `Big Three Motives' affiliation, achievement and power motive) affect user behavior in SNSs. The study's findings indicate that the explicit conscious affiliation, achievement and power motive were related to different networking outcomes. While the explicit affiliation motive predicted the percentage of colleagues in the contact list, the total amount of SBNS contacts was predicted by the explicit power motive. Also, people with high explicit achievement motivation networked significantly more often with persons of lower hierarchical status unlike people with less achievement motivated characteristics. This presents us with new research results and closes an empirical gap in motive research.

Affiliation or Power: What Motivates Behavior on Social Networking Sites? And Role of Self-Consciousness on Behavior on Social Networking Sites

The present study investigated the relationship between explicit and implicit measures of affiliation, power, and achievement motives and behavior as related to social networking sites (SNS) in a sample of 40 participants. SNS appear to be designed to enable social connection via the Internet, so the potential for influence of the affiliation motive seemed self- evident. Additionally, we hypothesized that the power motive drives certain aspects of SNS behavior such that individuals with a high power motive have a larger number of friends and upload more pictures. The results of regression analyses showed that the explicit affiliation motive and the explicit power motive were related to different outcome of SNS activity. Specifically, the explicit power motive predicted number of friends and number of uploaded pictures, whereas time spent on SNS per day was predicted by the explicit affiliation motive. Only weak evidence was found for an influence of implicit motives on SNS activity.

The implicit Power Motive and Adolescents' Salivary Cortisol Responses to Acute Psychosocial Stress and Exercise in School.

In the present study we examined the moderating effect of the power motive on salivary cortisol responses to acute psychosocial stress and exercise in adolescents. Fifty-seven high school students aged M = 14.8 years participated in the study. The Operant Motive Test was applied to measure the implicit power motive and the Personality Research Form was used to measure the explicit power motive. Salivary cortisol levels were assessed before and after the stress stimuli. Participants were randomly assigned to three experimental groups. An exercise group ran 15 minutes at a defined heart rate of 65-75% HRmax. A psychosocial stress group worked on a standard intelligence test for the same amount of time under the assumption, that their test scores will be made public in class after the test. The control group participated in a regular class session. The implicit power motive was significantly associated with increased cortisol levels in the psychosocial stress group. The explicit power motive was not associated with cortisol responses. Findings suggest that the implicit power motive moderates the cortisol responses to acute stress in an adolescent age group with higher responses to psychosocial stress in comparison to exercise or control conditions.

The implicit fear of power motive is associated with practice time in elite karateka and tennis players

Competitions in sports like tennis or karate are characterized by a direct interaction of opponents with one athlete trying to dominate the other. The importance of the implicit power motive – the need to have impact on others – has previously been pointed out for elite sport performances in these interactive sports. We hypothesized that the implicit power motive is associated with practice intensity in elite tennis (Study 1) and karate (Study 2). In the two studies we assessed the implicit (hope and fear components) and explicit power motives of elite male athletes (N = 62) and found associations with athletes’ current amount of practice hours and career highs in practice hours. Only the fear component of the implicit power motive was marginally positively associated with current and maximum amount of practice hours (Study 1, tennis) and significantly positively associated with additional practice time (Study 2, karate). The results suggested that elite athletes in interactive sports are motivated to practice in order not to lose (control) in competitions.

Enjoying influence on others: Congruently high implicit and explicit power motives are related to teachers’ well-being

The present study examined the associations of implicit and explicit power motives with the well-being of teachers. Teachers (N = 170) participated in an online assessment, which included measures for implicit motives (assessed by the operant motive test), explicit motives, and well-being. We expected congruently high power motives to be linked with the highest levels of well-being. We tested this assumption using polynomial regressions with response surface analysis. Results were consistent with our hypothesis. Additionally, there was an effect of directional motive incongruence (a combination of a low implicit and a high explicit power motive was associated with higher well-being than a high implicit/low explicit combination), which did not hold when controlling for emotional stability. Results for achievement were comparable, but weaker, and there was no effect for motive incongruence. No significant associations were found for motive (in)congruence in the affiliation domain. Our findings underline the importance of the power motive in understanding individual differences in teachers’ well-being.

Guiding others for their own good: Action orientation is associated with prosocial enactment of the implicit power motive

Prior research has repeatedly documented how people who are implicitly motivated by power motives may hurt other people’s interests. However, people may also enact the implicit power motive (nPower) in a prosocial manner. Using an Operant Motive Test, the authors differentiated five enactment strategies within nPower and investigated personality antecedents and personal benefits of a prosocial enactment strategy. Two studies found that demand-related action orientation (i.e., ability to self-regulate positive affect) was associated with prosocial enactment of nPower. Furthermore, prosocial enactment of nPower was associated with a higher explicit power motive among future teachers (Study 1) and future psychologists (Study 2). Finally, there was an indirect effect of action orientation through the prosocial enactment of nPower on the explicit power motive (Studies 1 and 2) and, in turn, on well-being (Study 2). Our integration of motivation and self-regulation research (the “what” and “how” of goal striving) helps to better understand the dual nature of power motives.

Individual differences in the explicit power motive predict “utilitarian” choices in moral dilemmas, especially when this choice is self-beneficial

We all face moral decisions, whether we are judges, politicians, or just riding the bus. The most well studied of these involve concerns of harming or caring for other people, which have often been researched by employing hypothetical moral dilemmas. This study investigated how the explicit power motive, more precisely the hope to gain power (h_Power), predicts decisions for these types of problems. We found that h_Power was positively related to deciding that it was morally acceptable to kill one person to save multiple others (i.e., making a utilitarian choice). In an exploratory analysis, we found that the probability of making such choices as a function of h_Power was even higher when participants’ own lives were at stake as compared to only the lives of others. These findings complement previous research showing that personality variables as well as situational factors predict moral decision making. Finding biases in moral decision making is important, as only when we know these biases we can consciously counteract them.

Affiliation or Power

The present study investigated the relationship between explicit and implicit measures of affiliation, power, and achievement motives and behavior as related to social networking sites (SNS) in a sample of 59 participants. SNS appear to be designed to enable social connection via the Internet, so the potential for influence of the affiliation motive seemed self-evident. Additionally, we hypothesized that the power motive drives certain aspects of SNS behavior such that individuals with a high power motive have a larger number of friends and upload more pictures. The results of regression analyses showed that the explicit affiliation motive and the explicit power motive were related to different outcomes of SNS activity. Specifically, the explicit power motive predicted number of friends and number of uploaded pictures, whereas time spent on SNS per day was predicted by the explicit affiliation motive. Only weak evidence was found for an influence of implicit motives on SNS activity.

Jawna vs utajona potrzeba władzy

Jawna vs utajona potrzeba władzy

Directional discrepancy between implicit and explicit power motives is related to well-being among managers

This study investigates explicit –implicit motive discrepancies and their effect on well-being. Participants were 382 executive managers (107 females and 275 males). Female managers had higher explicit affiliation scores than males, whereas male managers had marginally significant higher explicit power scores than females. Males and females did not differ in their implicit motives. We expected a directional discrepancy on the power motive (explicit vs. implicit: “Striving for goals without gaining pleasure from doing so”) to predict impaired well-being. Results were consistent with this hypothesis, using polynomial regression analysis with response surface methods, instead of calculating motive difference scores. Discrepancies in the achievement and affiliation motives were not related to well-being. Results are discussed considering the specificity of motive discrepancies for selected groups, such as managers, and the importance of distinguishing between absolute versus directional motive discrepancy scores in motivation research.