New Insights on Navigating Formal Organizational Hierarchies and Informal Identity-based Hierarchies

In this symposium, we adopt a multi-method approach to examine how individuals perceive and navigate formal (e.g., organizational) and informal (e.g. identity-based) hierarchies. Across five talks employing field studies, lab experiments, and online studies, we discuss how a group norm of deference influences reactions to dominant actors, how individuals’ ability to perceive informal status hierarchies impacts team performance, how hierarchical rank differently influences men and women’s perceptions of inequality, how positional insecurity creates a gender difference in leadership behaviors, and how racial minorities attenuate identity-based hierarchies. The papers in this symposium seek to broaden our understanding of how individuals with varying social characteristics navigate both formal and informal hierarchies. Why Dominance Incites Deference: A Social Norms Account Presenter: Jennifer Dannals; Yale School of Management Presenter: Emily Reit; Stanford Graduate School of Business Presenter: Deborah Gruenfeld; Professor at Stanford U. Graduate School of Business Accurately Perceiving Status Hierarchies Reduces Status Conflict and Benefits Group Performance Presenter: Siyu Yu; Jones Graduate School of Business, Rice U. Presenter: Gavin J. Kilduff; New York U. Presenter: Tessa West; NYU Stern School of Business Men, but not Women, Perceive Less Inequality as a Function of their Higher Organizational Rank Presenter: Sonya Mishra; UC Berkeley Presenter: Laura Kray; U. of California, Berkeley Presenter: Cameron Anderson; U. of California, Berkeley Gender differences in response to leadership insecurity and their influence on team performance Presenter: Jin Wook Chang; Korea U. Business School Presenter: Rosalind M. Chow; Carnegie Mellon U. Presenter: Anita Williams Woolley; Carnegie Mellon U. Uniting Through Differences: Rich Cultural-Identity Expression as a Conduit to Inclusion Presenter: Rachel Arnett; The Wharton School, U. of Pennsylvania