What does it take to get ahead? Investigating boundary conditions in the relationships among career-related psychological needs, ingratiation and promotability
type: CreativeWork
description: Ingratiation, which is defined as "an attempt by individuals to increase their attractiveness in the eyes of others" (Liden & Mitchell, 1988, p. 572), can be used as a career influence tactic that enables career-motivated employees to achieve career-related benefits, such as positive performance evaluations, pay increases, and promotions (King, 2004). However, past research has disproportionately examined, predominantly separately, main-effect relationships between antecedents and ingratiation (Kacmar, Carlson & Bratton, 2004), and ingratiation and career-related outcomes (Wayne & Liden, 1995). Further, past studies that examined main-effect associations have been inconsistent at best (Ayree, Wyatt & Stone, 1996; Kacmar et al., 2004; Thacker & Wayne, 1995). Hence, what is currently missing from the literature on ingratiation is an understanding of the more complex processes involved in the performance of ingratiatory behaviours. These include (a) what contributes to one's conscious decision to ingratiate, and (b) what contributes to one's efficacy to ingratiate successfully (Liden & Mitchell, 1988). Accordingly, this thesis draws on a functional approach to motivation (Snyder, 1993) as a domain-specific theory to explain how ingratiation may serve as an intermediary mechanism in the relationship between career-related psychological needs (i.e., need for achievement, need for power) and promotability. This thesis also draws on Bandura's (1986) social cognitive theory (SCT) as an overarching theory to identify relevant boundary conditions that help explain inconsistent findings shown by past research. In particular, organisation-based self-esteem (OBSE) and political skill are identified as relevant boundary conditions. Finally, this thesis draws on an attribution theory (Kelley, 1967) as an additional domain-specific theory to help explain how OBSE and political skill may contribute to the effectiveness of ingratiatory behaviours exercised by employees in an attempt …
abstract: Ingratiation, which is defined as "an attempt by individuals to increase their attractiveness in the eyes of others" (Liden & Mitchell, 1988, p. 572), can be used as a career influence tactic that enables career-motivated employees to achieve career-related benefits, such as positive performance evaluations, pay increases, and promotions (King, 2004). However, past research has disproportionately examined, predominantly separately, main-effect relationships between antecedents and ingratiation (Kacmar, Carlson & Bratton, 2004), and ingratiation and career-related outcomes (Wayne & Liden, 1995). Further, past studies that examined main-effect associations have been inconsistent at best (Ayree, Wyatt & Stone, 1996; Kacmar et al., 2004; Thacker & Wayne, 1995). Hence, what is currently missing from the literature on ingratiation is an understanding of the more complex processes involved in the performance of ingratiatory behaviours. These include (a) what contributes to one's conscious decision to ingratiate, and (b) what contributes to one's efficacy to ingratiate successfully (Liden & Mitchell, 1988). Accordingly, this thesis draws on a functional approach to motivation (Snyder, 1993) as a domain-specific theory to explain how ingratiation may serve as an intermediary mechanism in the relationship between career-related psychological needs (i.e., need for achievement, need for power) and promotability. This thesis also draws on Bandura's (1986) social cognitive theory (SCT) as an overarching theory to identify relevant boundary conditions that help explain inconsistent findings shown by past research. In particular, organisation-based self-esteem (OBSE) and political skill are identified as relevant boundary conditions. Finally, this thesis draws on an attribution theory (Kelley, 1967) as an additional domain-specific theory to help explain how OBSE and political skill may contribute to the effectiveness of ingratiatory behaviours exercised by employees in an attempt …
author: Sibunruang, Hataya
date published: 2013
date modified: 2026-07-24T00:54:44Z
provider: Australian National University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Australian National University

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/1885/155855