The Intentional Distortion of Information in Organizational Communication: A Laboratory and Field Investigation

Abstract

This report summarizes the results of several laboratory andfield studies in-vestigating antecedents to and consequences of the intentional distortion of information by senders in organizational communication networks. Lab-oratory studies were used to examine the impact of two interpersonal vari-ables (trust in the receiver, perceived influence of the receiver over the sender) and directionality of information flow (upward, lateral, and down-ward) on senders' propensities to block or suppress information. Field studies were used to establish the external validity of the laboratory investi-gations and to relate information distortion by senders to job satisfaction and performance. Results of these studies demonstrate that (1) a bias exists towards screening certain types of information from upward transmission; (2) low trust in the receiver of a message results in significantly more sup-pression by senders of information, especially information which reflects unfavorably on the senders; and (3) a measure of information distortion is significantly and inversely associated with job satisfaction and individual and group performance. Results of these studies differ in several respects from previous studies of organizational communication. Implications of the results reported here for decision-making are discussed and a model relating antecedents and consequences to information distortion is pre-sented.