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Ingratiation and Favoritism in Organizations

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  • Agnieszka Rusinowska
  • Vassili Vergopoulos

Abstract

We study within one theoretical framework two related phenomena - ingratiation by subordinates and favoritism of superiors towards their employees. We express ingratiation by opinion conformity of the worker when reporting his opinion to the manager. Favoritism of the manager is inferred from a bias when reporting toa firm her observation of the worker's performance. We show interdependences of favoritism and ingratiation by investigating their influence on wages and profit. We study the more sophisticated manager and firm that try to infer the worker's opinion and the manager's observation. Such higher degrees of sophistication can mitigate the consequences of ingratiation and favoritism.

Suggested Citation

  • Agnieszka Rusinowska & Vassili Vergopoulos, 2020. "Ingratiation and Favoritism in Organizations," Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics (JITE), Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 176(3), pages 413-445.
    • Handle: RePEc:mhr:jinste:urn:doi:10.1628/jite-2020-0032
    DOI: 10.1628/jite-2020-0032
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    influence; ingratiation; opinion conformity; favoritism; organization;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D8 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty
    • D2 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations
    • L2 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior
    • C65 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Miscellaneous Mathematical Tools

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