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Support for employment equity policies: A self-enhancement approach

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  • Hideg, Ivona
  • Ferris, D. Lance

Abstract

The effectiveness of employment equity (EE) policies has been hindered by negative reactions to these policies. We draw on the self-enhancement literature to expand self-interest accounts of reactions to EE policies to explain inconsistent findings showing that both nonbeneficiaries and beneficiaries react negatively to EE policies. Across four studies, we found that self-image threat influences reactions to gender-based EE policies. Studies 1 and 2 established that EE policies threaten the self-images of both men (nonbeneficiaries) and women (beneficiaries). Study 3 found that those least likely to experience self-image threat when faced with a gender-based EE policy are the most likely to show positive reactions to EE policies, while Study 4 showed that both men and women react more favorably to EE policies when self-images threats are mitigated through a self-affirmation task. Implications for our understanding of reactions to EE policies are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Hideg, Ivona & Ferris, D. Lance, 2014. "Support for employment equity policies: A self-enhancement approach," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 123(1), pages 49-64.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jobhdp:v:123:y:2014:i:1:p:49-64
    DOI: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2013.11.002
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jeffrey Pfeffer & Christina T. Fong, 2005. "Building Organization Theory from First Principles: The Self-Enhancement Motive and Understanding Power and Influence," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 16(4), pages 372-388, August.
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    3. Unzueta, Miguel M. & Lowery, Brian S. & Knowles, Eric D., 2008. "How believing in affirmative action quotas protects White men's self-esteem," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 105(1), pages 1-13, January.
    4. Loewenstein, George, 1996. "Out of Control: Visceral Influences on Behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 65(3), pages 272-292, March.
    5. Ferris, D. Lance & Brown, Douglas J. & Heller, Daniel, 2009. "Organizational supports and organizational deviance: The mediating role of organization-based self-esteem," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 108(2), pages 279-286, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Brockner, Joel & Wiesenfeld, Batia M., 2016. "Self-as-object and self-as-subject in the workplace," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 36-46.
    2. Arnett, Rachel D. & Sidanius, Jim, 2018. "Sacrificing status for social harmony: Concealing relatively high status identities from one’s peers," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 108-126.
    3. Hideg, Ivona & Wilson, Anne E., 2020. "History backfires: Reminders of past injustices against women undermine support for workplace policies promoting women," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 176-189.

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