Political skill in organizations: paths of an evolving concept

Moraes, Romulo Matos de; Istoe, Rosalee Santos Crespo; Miranda, Valtair Afonso

doi:10.5902/1983465971331

Romulo Matos de Moraes E-mail: romuloifes@gmail.com

The authors have stated that there is no conflict of interest.

Definition of research problem

Development of hypotheses or research questions (empirical studies)

Development of theoretical propositions (theoretical work)

Theoretical foundation / Literature review

Definition of methodological procedures

Data collection

Statistical analysis

Analysis and interpretation of data

Critical revision of the manuscript

Instituto Federal do Espiríto Santo, Vitória, ES, Brazil

https://orcid.org/0000-2357-2357-0869

Rosalee Santos Crespo Istoe E-mail: rosaleeistoe@gmail.com

The authors have stated that there is no conflict of interest.

Definition of research problem

Development of hypotheses or research questions (empirical studies)

Development of theoretical propositions (theoretical work)

Critical revision of the manuscript

Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro, Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ, Brazil

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8959-9280

Valtair Afonso Miranda E-mail: valtairmiranda@gmail.com

The authors have stated that there is no conflict of interest.

Definition of research problem

Theoretical foundation / Literature review

Definition of methodological procedures

Analysis and interpretation of data

Critical revision of the manuscript

Manuscript writing

Faculdade Batista do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4556-2253

E-mail: romuloifes@gmail.com

E-mail: rosaleeistoe@gmail.com

E-mail: valtairmiranda@gmail.com

Source	Publisher	Number of publications	CiteScore	JCR
Journal of Vocational Behavior	Elsevier	15	8.4	6.0
Frontiers in Psychology	Frontiers Media	15	4.0	4.2
Journal of Management	Sage Publications	14	21.4	11.8
Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies	Sage Publications	12	4.8	3.9
Career Development International	Emerald Group	12	4.2	4.0
Journal of Organizational Behavior	John Wiley & Sons	10	11.8	8.2
Journal of Managerial Psychology	Emerald Group	9	3.8	4.3

Period	Number of publications	Average publications/year
1958 - 2001	104	3
2002 - 2006	58	12
2007 - 2011	143	29
2012 - 2016	206	41
2017 - 2022	336	56

Theme	Scope	Authors
Leader political skill	It is opening new avenues considering the importance of political skill in the face of phenomena such as Machiavellianism and narcissism. The interaction of the concept with organizational commitment and its impact on career success are other examples of the aspects under development.	(Treadway, Seitz, Xu, Hochwarter, Ferris, & Buckley, 2021Treadway, Darren C.; Seitz, Stephanie R.; Xu, Ning; Hochwarter, Wayne A.; Ferris, Gerald R.; and Buckley, M. Ronald, “Moderating Effects of Leader Narcissism on the Relationships Between Leader Political Skill and Follower LMX and Affective Commitment” (2021). Articles & Book Chapters. 542. https://digitalcommons.daemen.edu/faculty_scholar/542; Genau, Blickle, Schütte, & Meurs, 2021; Chen, Jiang, & Wu, 2021; Chang, Tang, Cheng, 2022Chang, M. L., Tang, A. D., Cheng, C. F., & Chen, W. K. (2022). The bright side of environmental uncertainty for organizational learning: the moderating role of political skill. Asian Business & Management, 1-30. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41291-022-00185-3 https://doi.org/10.1057/s41291-022-00185... )
Stress	The emerging role of PSO in the assessment of stressors and coping mechanisms brings a broader perspective to studies on challenges and obstacles in the work environment.	(Haq, Zainab, Jan, Anwar, & Sharif, 2021Haq, I. U., Zainab, B., Jan, J. A., Anwar, F., & Sharif, I. (2021). Hindrance Stressors and Job Outcomes: The Moderating Role of Political Skills. Journal of Employment Counseling, 58(3), 98-118. https://doi.org/10.1002/joec.12168 https://doi.org/10.1002/joec.12168... ; Clarke & Higgs, 2020Clarke, N., & Higgs, M. (2020). Political skill and role overload as antecedents of innovative work behavior in the public sector. Public Personnel Management, 49(3), 444-469. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0091026019863450 https://doi.org/10.1177\%2F0091026019863... ; Summers, Munyon, Brouer, Pahng, & Ferris, 2020Summers, J. K., Munyon, T. P., Brouer, R. L., Pahng, P., & Ferris, G. R. (2020). Political skill in the stressor-strain relationship: A meta-analytic update and extension. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 118, 103372. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2019.103372 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2019.10337... )
Impression management	Individuals care about the images others have of them, as impression management processes allow individuals to adapt to social norms, avoid blame or gain credit, maintain or improve their self-concept, and strategically exercise social power and influence. Impression management strategies and political skills are the tools used together by employees in organizations.	(Chen & Gao, 2020; Kim, LePine, & Chun, 2020; Maher, Gallagher, Rossi, Ferris, & Perrewé, 2018; Tedeschi, 2013Tedeschi, J. T. (Ed.). (2013). Impression management theory and social psychological research. Cambridge, MA: Academic Press.)

Theme	Scope	Authors
Job Performance	The presence or absence of factors that influence employee performance is a recurring research problem in PSO approaches, especially in terms of personality traits and skill development.	(Halbesleben & Bowler, 2007; Smith & Webster, 2017; Blickle, Meurs, Zettler, Solga, & Ferris, 2008; Wihler, Blickle, Ewen, & Mützel, 2022)
Organizational Politics	Politics in organizations permeates relationships and is interpreted as a result of the perception that individuals have of their work environment. Because of this characteristic, it is considered both dysfunctional and beneficial to the development of company goals.	(Munyon, Summers, Thompson, & Ferris, 2015; Brouer, Harris, & Kacmar, 2011; Meisler, 2022; Atinc, Darrat, Fuller, & Parker, 2010; Kaur & Kank, 2022)
Power	Power is considered a crucial factor for organizational actors. It is related to greater security, better financial rewards, and the ability to influence others more easily and perform work more effectively.	(Magee & Galinsky, 2008; Shaughnessy, Treadway, Breland, & Perrewé, 2017; O’Reilly & Pfeffer, 2021; Genau et al., 2022)
Leadership	The need to assume intermediation roles and transit through different organizational locus makes leadership issues strongly related to political skill.	(Gardner, Fischer, & Hunt, 2009; Hall, Blass, Ferris, & Massengale, 2004; Dietl, & Reb, 2021; Genau, Blickle, Schütte, & Meurs, 2021)

Theme

Scope

Authors

Career success

Highlights that Political skills significantly correlated with career success. However, there are gaps regarding these differences across cultures, sectors of the economy, hierarchical levels, and groups.

Research moves towards guiding the practice of business management and individuals to improve their political skills in a targeted way in order to

promote their career success.

(Chen, Jiang, & Wu, 2021Chen, H., Jiang, S., & Wu, M. (2021). How important are political skills for career success? A systematic review and meta-analysis. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2021.1949626
https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2021.19... ;BLICKLE; OERDER; SUMMERS ( 2010Blickle, G., Oerder, K., & Summers, J. K. (2010). The impact of political skill on career success of employees’ representatives. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 77(3), 383-390. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2010.05.007
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2010.05.00... ; LEE; YUN; KIM ( 2019Lee, K. J., Yun, Y. J., & Kim, E. Y. (2019). Political skills and career success of R&D personnel: a comparative mediation analysis between perceived supervisor support and perceived organisational support. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 31(11), 1270-1282. https://doi.org/10.1080/09537325.2019.1605051
https://doi.org/10.1080/09537325.2019.16... ; Kaur & Kang, 2022Kaur, N., & Kang, L. S. (2022). Perception of organizational politics, knowledge hiding and organizational citizenship behavior: the moderating effect of political skill. Personnel Review. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-08-2020-0607
https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-08-2020-0607... )

Job satisfaction

Organizational politics recurrently provoke significant emotional reactions, which have immediate effects on the level of satisfaction experienced at work. Consequently, job satisfaction represents the most frequently studied attitudinal outcome concerning political perceptions. Even

so, the research field has spaces to fill when considering the PSO and its relation to new

constructs linked to satisfaction.

WANG; MCCHAMP ( 2019Wang, C. H., & McChamp, M. (2019). Looking at both sides of leader and follower political skill on work outcomes: the mediating role of job satisfaction. Economic research-Ekonomska istraživanja, 32(1), 824-849. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2019.1585269
https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2019.15... ; LI; MA 2019Li, Y., & Ma, M. (2019, January). From individual resource to social capital: How political skill and popularity affect work outcomes. In Proceedings of the 2019 3rd International Conference on Management Engineering, Software Engineering and Service Sciences (pp. 156-163).; GALLAGHER; LAIRD 2008Gallagher, V. C., & Laird, M. D. (2008). The Combined Effect of Political Skill and Political Decision Making on Job Satisfaction. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 38(9), 2336-2360. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2008.00394.x
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2008... ; Atshan et al., 2022Atshan, N. A., Al‐Abrrow, H., Abdullah, H. O., Khaw, K. W., Alnoor, A., & Abbas, S. (2022). The effect of perceived organizational politics on responses to job dissatisfaction: the moderating roles of self‐efficacy and political skill. Global Business and Organizational Excellence, 41(2), 43-54. https://doi.org/10.1002/joe.22141
https://doi.org/10.1002/joe.22141... )

Social networks

Political skill directly influences the way employees build and use social networking in the performance of their activities. This relationship, in addition

to being an important source of resources and information, also creates a social identity that encourages a strong sense of belonging and

cohesion among individuals in the organization.

WEI; CHIANG; WU ( 2012Wei, L. Q., Chiang, F. F., & Wu, L. Z. (2012). Developing and utilizing network resources: Roles of political skill. Journal of Management Studies, 49(2), 381-402. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2010.00987.x
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2010... ; FANG et al. 2015Fang, R., Chi, L., Chen, M., & Baron, R. A. (2015). Bringing political skill into social networks: Findings from a field study of entrepreneurs. Journal of Management Studies, 52(2), 175-212. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12107
https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12107... ; Munyon et al., 2021Munyon, T. P., Frieder, R. E., Satornino, C. B., Carnes, A. M., Bolander, W., & Ferris, G. R. (2021). Selling your network: how political skill builds social capital and enhances salesperson performance. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 41(3), 233-249. https://doi.org/10.1080/08853134.2020.1866589
https://doi.org/10.1080/08853134.2020.18... ; Jiang et al., 2022Jiang, H., Wang, Z., Gao, S., Chen, K., & Sheng, F. (2022). Enhancing technology innovation performance through alliance capability: The role of standard alliance network and political skill of TMTs. Frontiers in Psychology, 6180. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1008857
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.10088... )

Author	h-indexI	Affiliation	publications	%
Ferris, G.R.	76	Florida State University (USA)	78	10%
Blickle, G.	24	Universität Bonn (Germany)	33	4%
Treadway, D.C.	32	University of Mississippi (USA)	29	4%
Perrewé, P.L.	46	Florida State University (USA)	21	3%
Hochwarter, W.A.	49	Florida State University (USA)	17	2%
Brouer, R.L.	19	Florida State University (USA)	15	2%
Meurs, J.A.	17	University of Mississippi (USA)	14	2%
Harris, K.J.	35	Indiana University (USA)	14	2%
Wihler, A.	14	Universität Bonn (Germany)	12	2%
Summers, J.K.	16	Iowa State University (USA)	10	1%

Article	Citations	Research Synthesis	Authors
Leader political skill and employee reactions	173	Presents empirical results about the effect of organizational leaders' political skill on employee reaction.	TREADWAY et al. ( 2004Treadway, D. C., Hochwarter, W. A., Ferris, G. R., Kacmar, C. J., Douglas, C., Ammeter, A. P., & Buckley, M. R. (2004). Leader political skill and employee reactions. The Leadership Quarterly, 15(4), 493-513. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2004.05.004 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2004.05... )
Political will, political skill, and political behavior	162	Relates Political Skill, Political Will, and Political Behaviors at work and their effects on intrinsic motivation and need for achievement.	TREADWAY et al. ( 2005Treadway, D. C., Hochwarter, W. A., Kacmar, C. J., & Ferris, G. R. (2005). Political will, political skill, and political behavior. Journal of Organizational Behavior: The International Journal of Industrial, Occupational and Organizational Psychology and Behavior, 26(3), 229- 245. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.310 https://doi.org/10.1002/job.310... )
Political Skill and Work Outcomes: A Theoretical Extension, Meta-Analytic Investigation, and Agenda for the Future	191	Meta-analytic study. Points out the positive relationships of PSO with factors such as self- efficacy, job satisfaction, commitment, and job productivity.	MUNYON et al. ( 2015Munyon, T. P., Summers, J. K., Thompson, K. M., & Ferris, G. R. (2015). Political skill and work outcomes: A theoretical extension, meta‐analytic investigation, and agenda for the future. Personnel psychology, 68(1), 143-184. https://doi.org/10.1111/peps.12066 https://doi.org/10.1111/peps.12066... )
Social networks within sales organizations: Their development and importance for salesperson performance	182	Explores the role of political skill in the development of intra-organizational relationships and the performance of salespeople.	BOLANDER et al. ( 2015aBolander, W., Satornino, C. B., Hughes, D. E., & Ferris, G. R. (2015). Social networks within sales organizations: Their development and importance for salesperson performance. Journal of Marketing, 79(6), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1509%2Fjm.14.0444 https://doi.org/10.1509\%2Fjm.14.0444... )

Context	Research subjects	Journal	Reference	Citescore	JCR
United States	Employees in leadership roles	Human Relations	Dietl and Reb (2021)	7,1	7,1
China	Nurses	Human Relations	Sun et al. (2021)Sun, S., Burke, M., Chen, H., Tan, Y., Zhang, J., & Hou, L. (2022). Mitigating the psychologically detrimental effects of supervisor undermining: Joint effects of voice and political skill. Human Relations, 75(1), 87-112. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0018726721992849 https://doi.org/10.1177\%2F0018726721992...	7,1	7,1
Netherlands	Supervisors and subordinates	Applied Psychology	Fong et al. (2021)Fong, C. Y. M., Tims, M., Khapova, S. N., & Beijer, S. (2021). Supervisor reactions to avoidance job crafting: The role of political skill and approach job crafting. Applied Psychology, 70(3), 1209-1241. https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12273 https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12273...	5.3	3,2
Western Europe	Managers and employees	Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology	Hamstra et al. (2021)	5,1	4,6
China	Employees in technical and administrative areas	Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology	Wu et al. (2021)Wu, C. H., Kwan, H. K., Liu, J., & Lee, C. (2021). When and how favour rendering ameliorates workplace ostracism over time: Moderating effect of self‐monitoring and mediating effect of popularity enhancement. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 94(1), 107-131. https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12328 https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12328...	5,1	4,6

[1] E-mail: romuloifes@gmail.com

Brasil

Brasil

Political skill in organizations: paths of an evolving concept

Habilidade política nas organizações: caminhos de um conceito em evolução

ABSTRACT

Purpose:

Methodology:

Findings:

Originality: