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Strategic Use of Unfriendly Leadership and Labor Market Competition: An Experimental Analysis

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Listed:
  • Anastasia Danilov
  • Ju Yeong Hong
  • Anja Schöttner

Abstract

A significant portion of the workforce experiences what we term `unfriendly leadership,' encompassing various forms of hostile behavior exhibited by managers. The motivations driving managers to adopt such behaviors are insufficiently understood. To explore this phenomenon, we conducted a laboratory experiment examining the relationship between managers' use of unfriendly leadership and labor market competition. We discern two labor market states: excess labor demand, where managers compete to hire workers, and excess labor supply, where workers compete to be hired. By perceiving unfriendly leadership as a performance-contingent punishment device inflicting discomfort on workers, we hypothesize that managers are less inclined to resort to unfriendly leadership when they compete to hire workers. We find that managers tend to engage in unfriendly leadership more frequently and intensely under excess labor supply, in comparison to excess labor demand. This trend is particularly pronounced among male participants. Additionally, workers display a decreased likelihood of accepting employment offers from more unfriendly managers and exert lower levels of effort when working under such managers, indicating that unfriendly leadership is costly.

Suggested Citation

  • Anastasia Danilov & Ju Yeong Hong & Anja Schöttner, 2024. "Strategic Use of Unfriendly Leadership and Labor Market Competition: An Experimental Analysis," Berlin School of Economics Discussion Papers 0042, Berlin School of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:bdp:dpaper:0042
    DOI: 10.48462/opus4-5547
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    leadership style; labor market competition; non-monetary incentives;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L20 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - General
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility
    • M55 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Labor Contracting Devices

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