The challenge of leading on unstable ground

Triggers that activate social identity faultlines

Datos Bibliográficos

ID9889232
AutoresDonna Chrobot‐Mason (University of Cincinnati, autor de correspondencia), Donna Chrobot-Mason (Center for Organizational Leadership at the University of Cincinnati), Marian N Ruderman (0000-0002-7070-9846, Center for Creative Leadership, autor de correspondencia), Todd J Weber (0000-0002-1491-3316, Leadership Institute at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, autor de correspondencia), Chris Ernst (Center for Creative Leadership, autor de correspondencia)
Año2009
Volumen62
Número11
Páginas1763-1794
Fecha de publicación2009-11-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaHuman Relations (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0018-7267 • E-ISSN: 1741-282X
EditorialSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0018726709346376
OpenAlexW2109021466
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas19
Referencias citadas45

Today’s leaders face unprecedented challenges in attempting to manage interactions between social identity group members with a history of tension in society at large. Research on faultlines suggests that social identity groups often polarize in response to events that make social identity salient, resulting in negative work outcomes. The current research extends the faultlines literature by examining precipitating events (triggers) that activate a faultline. Qualitative interview data were collected from two samples of employees working in multiple countries to identify events that had resulted in social identity conflicts. In the first study (35 events), an exploratory approach yielded a typology of five types of triggers: differential treatment, different values, assimilation, insult or humiliating action, and simple contact. A second qualitative study (99 events) involved a more geographically varied sample. Research findings are discussed in terms of implications for the faultlines literature and for practicing leaders

Collective identity · Exploratory research · Identity (music · Political science · Qualitative research · Salient · Social group · Social identity approach · Social identity theory · Social science · Sociology · Typology · Cultural Differences and Values · Gender Diversity and Inequality · Psychology · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology