Influence tactics and objectives in upward, downward, and lateral influence attempts.
Abstract
Two studies were conducted to replicate and extend previous exploratory research by Kipnis, Schmidt, and Wilkinson (1980) on influence tactics and objectives in organizations. A new questionnaire was developed that included measures of important influence tactics and objectives omitted in the earlier research. Whereas the earlier research used only agent self-reports of influence behavior, the present research used both agent and target reports. Differences in downward, lateral, and upward influence attempts were replicated more for data from agents than for data from targets. Direction of influence had a stronger effect on influence objectives than on influence tactics. Despite some differences due to data source and direction of influence, the relative frequency of use for the 8 influence tactics was remarkably similar across conditions. Consultation and rational persuasion were the tactics used most frequently, regardless of the direction of influence.
Cited by (20)
- A Review of Scale Development Practices in the Study of OrganizationsHinkin, Timothy R. · 1995 · Journal of Management
- CONFIGURATIONAL APPROACHES TO ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS.MEYER, A. D., TSUI, A. S., HININGS, C. R. · 1993 · Academy of Management Journal
- Followership theory: A review and research agendaUhl-Bien, Mary, Riggio, Ronald E., Lowe, Kevin B., Carsten, Melissa K. · 2014 · The Leadership Quarterly
- Charisma, positive emotions and mood contagionBono, Joyce E., Ilies, Remus · 2006 · The Leadership Quarterly
- Influence tactics and work outcomes: a meta analysisHiggins, Chad A., Judge, Timothy A., Ferris, Gerald R. · 2003 · Journal of Organizational Behavior
How to cite
Cite CoChat for the checks on this page, and the paper for its own findings.
- This page
- CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Influence tactics and objectives in upward, downward, and lateral influence attempts. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1037//0021-9010.75.2.132
- The paper
- Yukl, G., & Falbe, C. M. (1990). Influence tactics and objectives in upward, downward, and lateral influence attempts. Journal of Applied Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037//0021-9010.75.2.132
Data sources
Bibliographic data: Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex, Crossref.
Contains information from the Semantic Scholar Academic Graph Datasets, made available under the ODC Attribution License (ODC-BY 1.0).
Semantic Scholar’s data is described in: Kinney, R., et al. (2023). The Semantic Scholar Open Data Platform. arXiv:2301.10140.