Take it to the top: Imagined interactions with leaders elevates organizational identification

Meleady, Rose ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4671-4960 and Crisp, Richard J. (2017) Take it to the top: Imagined interactions with leaders elevates organizational identification. The Leadership Quarterly, 28 (5). pp. 621-638. ISSN 1048-9843

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Abstract

Organizational identification is an important predictor of workplace behavior. The more strongly an individual identifies with their employing organization, the more motivated they will be to behave in ways that promote its success. In this paper we develop a new approach to fostering organizational identification based on principles of mental simulation. Across seven experiments we demonstrate that imagining positive con- tact with an organizational leader increases identification with the organization they represent. Experiments 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B replicated the basic effect against progressively varied control conditions, utilizing both scenario and field experiments. Experiment 4 demonstrated that as a consequence of heightened organizational identification following the imagined contact task, participants reported greater intentions to engage in organizational citizenship behaviors. We conclude by discussing the potential application of this technique as a simple and effective way for organizations to foster employees' motivation and performance.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	organizational identification,social identity,leadership,mental simulation
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Psychology
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Centres > Centre for Behavioural and Experimental Social Sciences Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Social Cognition Research Group Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Cognition, Action and Perception
Depositing User:	Pure Connector
Date Deposited:	27 Jan 2017 02:11
Last Modified:	19 Apr 2023 19:31
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/62204
DOI:	10.1016/j.leaqua.2017.01.008

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