The Bright Side of Organizational Politics as a Driver of Firm Competitiveness: The Mediating Role of Corporate Entrepreneurship

Authors: Monika Kulikowska-Pawlak, Katarzyna Bratnicka-Myśliwiec, Tomasz Ingram

Abstract:

This study seeks to contribute to the literature on firm competitiveness by advancing the perspective of organizational politics that views this process as a driver which creates identifiable differences in firm performance. The hypothesized relationships were tested on the basis of data from 355 Polish medium and large-sized enterprises. Data were analyzed using correlation analysis, EFA and robustness tests. The main result of the conducted analyses proved the coexistence, previously examined in the literature, of corporate entrepreneurship and firm performance. The obtained research findings made it possible to add organizational politics to a wide range of elements determining corporate entrepreneurship, followed by competitive advantage, in addition to antecedents such as strategic leadership, corporate culture, opportunity-oriented resource-based management, etc. Also, the empirical results suggest that four dimensions of organizational politics (dominant coalition, influence exertion, making organizational changes, and information openness) are positively related to firm competitiveness. In addition, these findings seem to underline a supposition that corporate entrepreneurship is an important mediator which strengthens the competitive effects of organizational politics.

Keywords: Corporate entrepreneurship, firm competitiveness organizational politics, sensemaking.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1132535

References:

[1] G. Di Stefano, M. Peteraf, and G. Verona, “Dynamic capabilities deconstructed”, Paper presented at the Academy of Management Conference, Chicago, 2009.
[2] M. P. Cunha and J. V. Cunha, “Organizational improvisation and change: Two syntheses and a filled gap”, J. Organ. Change Manag., vol. 16, pp. 169-185, 2003.
[3] R. C. Wood, “How strategic innovation really gets started”, Strat. Leadership, vol. 35(1), 21-29, 2007.
[4] P. Sederberg, “The politics of meaning: Power and explanation in the construction of social reality”, Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1984.
[5] H. Mintzberg, “Power in and around organizations”, Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1983.
[6] J. Pfeffer, “Managing with power: Politics and influence in organizations, Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press, 1992.
[7] W. A. Hochwarter, W. A. 2012. “The positive side of organizational politics”, In: G.R. Ferris, & D.C. Treadway (eds.), Politics in organizations. Theory and research considerations, New York/ Hove: Routlege, 2012, pp. 27-65.
[8] A. Langley and H. Tsoukas, “Introducing perspectives on process organizational studies”, In: T. Hernes i S. Maitlis (eds.), Process sensemaking and organizing, London: Oxford University Press, 2010, pp. 1-26.
[9] B. P. Ellen III, R. G. Ferris, and M. R. Buckley, “Leader political support: Reconsidering leader political behavior”, Leadership Quart., vol. 24, pp. 842-857, 2013.
[10] G. Gaveti, H. R. Greve, D. A. Levinthal, and W. Ocasio, “The behavioral theory of the firm: assessment and prospects”, Acad. Manag. Ann., vol. 6, pp. 1-40, 2012.
[11] A. Drory and E. Vigoda-Gadot, “Organizational politics and human resource management: A typology and the Israeli experience”, Hum. Resour. Manag. R., vol. 20, pp. 194–202, 2010.
[12] G. N. Gotsis and Z. Kortezi, “Ethical considerations in organizational politics: Expanding the perspective”, J. Bus. Ethics, vol. 93, pp. 497-517, 2010.
[13] Y. Liu, J. Liu, and L. Wu, “Are you willing and able? Roles of motivation, power, and politics in career growth”, J. Manage., vol. 36, pp. 1432–1460, 2010.
[14] C. Lechner and S. W. Floyd, “Group influence activities and the performance of strategic initiatives”, Strateg. Manage. J., vol. 33, pp. 478- 495, 2012.
[15] D. A. Buchanan, “You stab my back, I'll stab yours: Management experience and perceptions of organization political behaviour”, Brit. J. Manage., vol. 19, pp. 49-64, March 2008.
[16] S. Lux, G. R. Ferris, R. L. Brouer, M. D. Laird, and J. K Summers, “A Multilevel conceptualization of organizational politics”, In: C.C. Cooper and J. Barling (eds.), The Handbook of organizational behavior, Newbury Park, CA.: Sage Publication, 2008.
[17] C. Hardy, “Understanding power: Bringing about strategic change”, Brit. J. Manage., vol. 7, pp. S3-S16, December 1996.
[18] D. B. Fedor, J. M. Maslyn, S. Farmer, and K. Bettenhausen, “The contribution of positive politics to the prediction of employee reactions”, J. App. Soc. Psych., vol. 38, pp. 76–96, 2008.
[19] F. Pichault, “The management of politics in technically related organizational change”, Organ. Stud., vol. 3, pp. 449–460, 1995.
[20] D. Katz and R. L. Kahn, “The social psychology of organizations”, New York: Wiley, 1978.
[21] M. W. McCall and R. E. Kaplan, “Whatever it takes: The realities of managerial decision making”, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990.
[22] D. W. Organ, “O.C.B.: The good soldier syndrome”, Lexington, MA: Lexington Book, 1988.
[23] P. Burns, “Corporate entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurship and innovation in large organizations”, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.
[24] R. D. Hisrich and Amr Al-Dabbagh, “Governpreneurship: Establishing a thriving entrepreneurial spirit in government”, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012.
[25] A. Rauch, J. Wiklund, G. T. Lumpkin, and M. Frese, “Entrepreneurial orientation and business performance: An assessment of past research and suggestions for future”, Entrep. Theory Pract., vol. 33, pp. 761-787, 2009.
[26] S. Zahra, D. F. Jennings, and D. J. Kuratko, “Antecedents and consequences of firm-level entrepreneurship: The state of the field”, Entrep. Theory Pract., vol. 24, pp. 45-66, 1999.
[27] G. G. Dess and G. T. Lumpkin, “The role of entrepreneurial orientation in stimulating effective corporate entrepreneurship”, Acad. Manage. Exec., vol. 19, pp. 147-156, 2005.
[28] D. Miller, “Miller (1983) revisited: A reflection on EO research and some suggestions for the future”, Entrep. Theory Pract., vol. 35, pp. 873-894, 2011.
[29] J. C. Short, J. C. Broberg, C. C. Cogliser, and K. H. Brigham, 2009. “Construct validation using computer-aided text analyses (CATA): An illustration using entrepreneurial orientation”, Organ. Res. Methods, vol. 12, pp. 1-28, 2009.
[30] B. A. George, “Entrepreneurial orientation: Theoretical and empirical examination of the consequences of differing construct representations”, J. Manage. Stud., vol. 48, pp. 1291-1313, 2011.
[31] J. G. Covin and D. P. Slevin, “Strategic management of small firms in hostile and benign environment”, Strateg. Manage. J., vol. 10, pp. 73-87, 1989.
[32] M. H. Morris, D. F. Kuratko, and J. G. Covin, “Corporate entrepreneurship and innovation (3rd edition)”, Mason: Thomson South-Western, 2011.
[33] K. E. Weick, “Enacted sensemaking in crisis situations”, J. Manage. Stud., vol. 25, pp. 305–317, 1988.
[34] J. W. Rudolph, J. B. Morrison, and J. S. Carroll, “The dynamics of action-oriented problem solving: Linking interpretation and choice”, Acad. Manage. Rev., vol. 34, pp. 733–756, 2009.
[35] E. Clark, and M. Geppert, “Subsidiary integration as identity construction and institution building: A political sensemaking approach”, J. Manage. Stud., vol. 48, pp. 395–416, 2011.
[36] R. Drazin, M. A. Glynn, and R. K. Kazanjian, “Multilevel theorizing about creativity in organizations: A sensemaking perspective”, Acad. Manage. Rev. vol. 24, pp. 286–307, 1999.
[37] J. Jay, “Navigating paradox as a mechanism of change and innovation in hybrid organizations”, Acad. Manage. J., vol 56, pp. 137–159, January 2013.
[38] G. R. Ferris, and W. A. Hochwarter, “Organizational politics”. In S. Zedeck (ed.), APA Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (Vol. 3), Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2011, pp. 435-459.
[39] C. Hope, “The politics of middle management sensemaking and sensegiving”, J Change Manage, vol. 10, pp. 195-215 February 2010.
[40] S. Maitlis and T.B. Lawrence, “Triggers and enablers of sensegiving in organizations”, Acad. Manage. J., vol. 50, pp. 57-84, January 2007.
[41] A. P. Ammenter, C. Douglas, W. L. Gardner, W. A. Hochwarter and G.R. Ferris, “Toward a political theory of leadership”, Leadership Quart., vol. 15, pp. 751-796, December 2002.
[42] J. Silvester, “The good, the bad, and the ugly: Politics and politicians at work”, Int. Rev. of Industr. and Organ. Psych., vol. 23, p. 107, January 2008.
[43] R. A. Baron, S. Lux, G. L. Adams, and B. T. Lamont, “Organizational politics in strategic management and entrepreneurship”. In. G.R. Ferris and D. C. Treadway (eds.), Politics in organizations. Theory and research considerations, New York/ Hove: Routlege, 2012.
[44] E. Babbie, “The Basics of social research”, Wadsworth: Cengage Learning, 2011.
[45] A. Leon-Guerrero, Ch. Frankfort-Nachmias, “Essentials of social statistics for a diverse society, 2nd Edition”, Los Angeles/London/New Delhi/ Singapore/ Washington DC: Sage Publications, 2015.
[46] R. F. DeVellis, “Scale development. Theory and applications”, Thousand Oaks/London/New Delhi: Sage Publication, 2003.
[47] “Organizational positivity, high performance factors, creativity and creative strategy as antecedents of competitive advantage”, The paper presented at the Annual British Academy of Management Conference, Belfast, 2014.
[48] 2012. “Organizational creativity and firm's growth: the moderating role of corporate entrepreneurship”, In: Creating Opportunities through innovation: Local energy, global vision, Dublin: Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship, 2012, pp. 1-15.
[49] R. A. Baron and J. Tang, “The role of entrepreneurs in firm-level innovation: Joint effects of positive affect, creativity, and environmental dynamism”, J. Bus. Venturing, vol. 26, pp. 49–60, 2011.
[50] J. He and Z. Huang “Board informal hierarchy and firm financial performance: Exploring a tacit structure guiding boardroom interactions”, Acad. Manage. J., vol. 54, pp. 1119–1139, 2011.
[51] P. M. Podsakoff, S. B. MacKenzie, J. Y. Lee, and N. P. Podsakoff, “Common method biases in behavioral research: A Critical review of the literature and recommended remedies, J. App. Psych., vol. 88, pp. 879-903, May 2003.
[52] “Political micro-foundations of strategic management”, In Krupski, R. (ed.), Zarządzanie strategiczne. Rozwój koncepcji i metod, Wałbrzych: Prace Naukowe Wałbrzyskiej Wyższej Szkoły Zarządzania i Przedsiębiorczości, 2014, vol. 27, pp. 109-127.
[53] X. Zhao and A. J. Murrell, “Revisiting the corporate social performance – financial performance link: A replication of Waddock and Graves”, Strateg. Manage. J., vol. 37, pp. 2378-2388, 2016.
[54] S. A. Waddock and S. B. Graves, “The corporate social performance – financial performance link”, Strateg. Manage. J., vol. 18, pp. 303-319, 1997.
[55] G. Blickle, J. John, G. R. Ferris, T. Momm, Y. Liu, R. Haag, G. Meyer, K. Weber, K. Oerder, “Fit of political skill to the work context: A two- study investigation”, App. Psych.: Int. Rev., vol. 61, pp. 295-322, February 2011.
[56] R. Fang, L. Chi, M. Chen, and R. A. Baron, “Bringing political skill into social networks: Findings from a field study of entrepreneurs”, J. Manage. Stud., vol. 52, pp. 175–212, 2015.
[57] B. A. Mueller, M. T. Wolfe, and I. Syed, 2017. “Passion and gift: An exploration of pathways leading to venture success”, J. Bus. Venturing, vol. 32, pp. 260-279, 2017.
[58] A. L. Duckworth and P. D. Quinn, “Development and validation of the short grit scale (GRIT-S)”, J. Pers. Assess., vol. 91, pp. 166-174, 2009.