Edward J. Lawler

Cornell University | CU · Department of Organizational Behavior

We examine how task jointness and group incentive structures bear on the nature and strength of the affective and cognitive ties that people forge to a group. The argument is that affective group ties have stronger effects on social order than cognitive group ties. There are two general hypotheses. First, joint tasks generate stronger cognitive and...

Research confirms the adage showing a linkage between superior human capital management practices and superior organizational performance. However, research also suggests that boards lack both the human resource (HR) information and expertise, and consistently fail to get them from outside experts, their human resource systems, and HR executives. O...

We theorize the problems of social order that are created by nested-group structures. Almost universally, people interact in local groups that are nested in larger more removed or distant groups. These structures often generate fragmented, balkanized social orders in part because people tend to develop stronger ties and commitments to local (proxim...

The English Enlightenment philosopher, Thomas Hobbes, originally asked: How is social order possible? He claimed that because people are venal, avaricious, and highly competitive, it is difficult for them to avoid a “war of all against all” when they try to create human communities. This is due to an inherent conflict between the interests or prefe...

Order and stability are tenuous and fragile. People have to work to create and sustain a semblance of stability and order in their lives and in their organizations and larger communities. Order on the Edge of Chaos compares different ideas about how we coordinate and cooperate. The ideas come from 'micro-sociology', and they offer new answers to th...

Order and stability are tenuous and fragile. People have to work to create and sustain a semblance of stability and order in their lives and in their organizations and larger communities. Order on the Edge of Chaos compares different ideas about how we coordinate and cooperate. The ideas come from 'micro-sociology', and they offer new answers to th...

This chapter is dedicated to featuring new ways of thinking about HR from eight academic leaders in the HR field, including John Boudreau, Wayne Cascio, Denver, Jay Conger, Ed Lawler, David Lewin, Dave Ulrich, Al Vicere, and Theresa Welbourne. These thought leaders prepared their contributions to this book independently, and their views are their o...

PurposeThis chapter analyzes the ways that individuals develop person-to-group ties. The chapter reviews the development and evidentiary basis of the theory of relational cohesion, the affect theory of social exchange, and the theory of social commitments. Methodology/ApproachWe survey twenty-five years of published literature on these theories, an...

Performance appraisals are often criticized and poorly done. However, they are not going away and should not go away. They are needed to effectively manage an organization’s talent. Our research suggests that performance management systems can be effective if they are designed and executed correctly. Performance management systems are effective whe...

This study examines how and when small networks of self-interested agents generate a group tie or affiliation at the network level. A group affiliation is formed when actors (a) perceive themselves as members of a group and (b) share resources with each other despite an underlying competitive structure. We apply a concept of structural cohesion to...

This chapter applies social exchange theory to corruption. If two parties exhibit corrupt behaviors, secrecy becomes a new joint good, making the two parties more dependent on each other (an increase in total power). Since no external enforcement mechanisms are available in illicit exchanges, the initial reciprocal exchange pattern shifts toward ne...

We extend current research examining synergies between information technology, process redesign, and firm performance in three ways: analyze a firm's entire IT and BPR portfolio, examine production and market value performance implications, and conduct analysis using a unique dataset of 228 firms between 1996 and 1999. We find a contingent associat...

Here I present a theory of collective action that emphasizes the role of status. I argue that collective action contributions earn individuals improved status by signaling their concern for the group's welfare relative to their own. Having received greater prestige for their contributions to group goals, individuals' actual motivation to help the g...

]Critical to the success of a high performance board is the ability of its directors to share leadership and to work as a dynamic team. Yet historically boardrooms have proven to be one of the most difficult places to build an effective team. Numerous factors work against boards operating as teams such as the small amount of time directors have tog...

Corporate boards are poorly equipped to deal with human capital management issues. Data from 116 firms show they lack expertise in human resources management and do not get information on the condition of their firms human capital.

Executive compensation, board compensation, and management succession are among the most important issues confronting corporate boards. Decisions in these areas should be informed by valid information and expert knowledge. An obvious source of information and knowledge is the HR function. HR leaders bring unique professional expertise and perspecti...

Introduction. Power is a crucial phenomenon in organizations, both pervasive and somewhat elusive. The study of power in organizations has a long tradition (Crozier 1964), yet the literature on power is fragmented and has been a central focus only intermittently over time. Fundamental assumptions about the role of power vary widely. On the one hand...

One of sociology's classic puzzles is how groups motivate their members to set aside self-interest and contribute to collective action. This article presents a solution to the problem based on status as a selective incentive motivating contribution. Contributors to collective action signal their motivation to help the group and consequently earn di...

As individuals' ties to community organizations and the companies they work for weaken, many analysts worry that the fabric of our society is deteriorating. But others counter that new social networks, especially those forming online, create important and possibly even stronger social bonds than those of the past. In Social Commitments in a Deperso...

The question of how social order is maintained given stratification is as old as sociology itself. This chapter deals with the general question of whether and how social-exchange processes generate order and stability in the context of social stratification. It examines the role of social exchange in the construction of microorder within status-dif...

Tomorrow's great ideas. What are the world's leading business minds working on and thinking about? And are among those offering anw ideas update.

For at least the last decade, it has been hard to pick up a business book, article, or corporate annual report without seeing statements that stress the importance of human capital. Surveys of executives confirm that many believe that finding and developing the right people should be one of their top priorities. However, it is one thing to stress t...

This study uses an affect theory of social exchange (Lawler 2001) to investigate how and when network structures generate “micro social orders.” Micro social order entails recurrent interactions, emotional reactions, perceptions of a group, and affective sentiments. The core theoretical argument is that micro orders, involving behavioral, cognitive...

The abstract for this document is available on CSA Illumina.To view the Abstract, click the Abstract button above the document title.

Previous research on organizational practices is replete with contradictory evidence regarding their effects. Here, the authors argue that these contradictory findings may have occurred because researchers have often examined complex practice combinations and have failed to investigate a broad variety of firm-level outcomes. Thus, past research may...

This paper theorizes the role of shared responsibility in the development of affective group attachments, interweaving ideas from social exchange and social identity theories. The main arguments are that (1) people engaged in task interaction experience positive or negative emotions from those interactions; (2) tasks that promote more sense of shar...

This paper examines the relationship between education, management style, and organizational effectiveness. The increasing education level in the society is pointed to as a strong force toward a more participative management style. However, it is stressed that much of the education which is taking place in the United States may not equip people to...

Research on job attitudes and motivation has shown that the relation between satisfaction and performance is a complex one. Satisfaction is an indicator of an employee's motivation to come to work but influences job performance very indirectly. Performance can under certain conditions directly influence satisfaction. Models for extrinsic motivation...

The question addressed by this research was, “When structural circumstances make revolutionary action likely, under what conditions will a cooptation strategy prevent subordinate revolts?” Experimental procedures established a group status hierarchy consisting of a leader and two subordinates. Groups earned collective outcomes, and the leader usurp...

This research examined the interaction of initial bargaining stance and later concession strategy in dyadic bargaining. Experimental procedures pitted subjects against a programmed opponent and manipulated thrcc variables: initial stance ot the opponent across the first two bargaining rounds (tough vs. soft), deadlock vs. no deadlock, and subsequen...

Network structures both enable and constrain the development of social relations. This research investigates these features by comparing the development of commitments in structurally enabled and structurally induced exchange relations. We integrate ideas from the theory of relational cohesion and the choice process theory of commitment. In an expe...

Emotions are likely to be produced when two or more people exchange valued outcomes (i.e., goods, rewards, payoffs). Emotions are internal events that occur within an actor and that stem from conditions or events external to the actor (e.g., the behavior of others, results of exchange, social context). These may take various forms, including genera...

This chapter organizes the other chapters of the volume around a fundamental status-affirmation principle, namely, that status differentials generate corresponding differences in performance expectations which, in turn, produce behaviors that affirm performance expectations. The chapters in this volume elaborate that proposition by showing how info...

The relationship between people and the organizations they work for is changing. Corporations no longer can offer the job security and career paths they used to. A new relationship needs to be developed that rewards performance and skills in ways that contribute to organizational effectiveness.

Creating an environment where both individuals and the organization achieve more and more of their goals.

▪ Abstract We analyze and review how research on emotion and emotional phenomena can elaborate and improve contemporary social exchange theory. After identifying six approaches from the psychology and sociology of emotion, we illustrate how these ideas bear on the context, process, and outcome of exchange in networks and groups. The paper reviews t...

This volume presents the findings of a 6-year longitudinal study on the function of HR organizations in large corporations. The results of the study, conducted by the Center for Effective Organizations at the University of Southern California, are distilled into a vision of how HR can become a contributor to organizational success in today’s...

In this paper we analyze and review the theory of relational cohesion and attendant program of research. Since the early 1990s, the theory has evolved to answer a number of basic questions regarding cohesion and commitment in social exchange relations. Drawing from the sociology of emotion and modern theories of social identity, the theory asserts...

Companies have, and new ideas still largely in the proposal stage may lead to further progress. Looking ahead, greater concern for multiple stakeholders may some day have a major impact on board practices and structure. The article shows that boards must have three key ingredients in order to be effective: knowledgeable members, up-to-date, company...

This article develops a theory that explains how and when emotions, produced by social exchange, generate stronger or weaker ties to relations, groups, or networks. It is argued that social exchange produces positive or negative global feelings, which are internally rewarding or punishing. The theory indicates that social units (relations, groups,...

This study refines and experimentally tests a theory of relational cohesion that explains how and when actors become committed to one another in the context of multiactor exchange. The theory asserts that frequent social exchange results in (1) positive emotions that solidify and strengthen the person-to-group bond and (2) uncertainty reduction tha...

Relying on the fact that many organizations exhibit nested organizational structures, we identify several basic principles for understanding what produces different levels of employee commitment to the nested units. The principles identify the importance of the unit's "distance" from the employee, the capacity of the more proximate units to produce...

In conflict and bargaining, unilateral initiatives can produce concessions by another and can set the stage for conflict resolution. Whether such tactics are effective depends on the impressions "given off." According to the theory tested here, power positions help to shape the impressions created by unilateral initiatives. On this basis, we hypoth...

This article describes the MBA concentration in Strategic Human Resource Management offered by the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California. Very few MBA programs offer such a concentration. We discuss the genesis of USC's program, its rationale, and its components. Launched in 1996, the program's success derives in larg...

Over the last two decades, the Center for Effective Organizations has been studying organizations considered to be leaders in the field of boardroom appraisals. Based on the studies conducted by the Center, this article first describes the positive outcomes that occur when CEO evaluations are implemented well and looks at what is needed for a board...

Rare is the company that does not periodically review the performance of its staff, business units, and suppliers. But rare, as well, is the company that does such a review of one of its most important contributors--its board of directors. Reviewing a board's performance is not an easy proposition: it has to be done by the members themselves, peopl...

We develop and test a theory of relational cohesion, which predicts how and when people in exchange become committed to their relationship. The theory focuses on dyads within networks and predicts that more equal power and greater total, or mutual, power promote exchanges that arouse positive emotions and create perceptions of the relation as a coh...

Compensation professionals are flocking to seminars on innovative reward practices, buying books, and reading journals. But what are the leading companies actually doing? This article summarizes data on reward innovations from a unique new study.

The application of TQM practices has rapidly increased in US organizations over the past six years, particularly in organizations facing severe competitive pressures. A survey of the 1,000 largest companies shows that these practices fall into two main categories: core practices and production-oriented practices. Companies perceive benefit in three...

Reports an error in the original article by E. J. Lawler ( Sociological Quarterly, 1992[Spr], Vol 33[1], 17–34). The author switched the first and last name of Yitzak Samuel in the reference section and in a citation on page 20. The correct author reference and the correct citation are provided. (The following abstract of this article originally ap...

We incorporate elements of a social-constructionist viewpoint into social-exchange theory and show how mutual dependence can produce expressive behavior in the form of gift giving. Exchange networks typically create varying degrees of mutual dependence in component dyads, and greater mutual dependence produces more frequent exchange. We propose tha...

A unique multilevel perspective-structural social psychology-is explicated to help build theoretical bridges between micro and macro levels of analysis in sociology. The perspective portrays actors (human or corporate) as having minimal properties of purposiveness and responsiveness, encounters as interaction episodes between multiple actors, micro...

This chapter reviews a program of work investigating how social power, defined as a structurally based capability, affects the tactics chosen in a conflict. A nonzero-sum approach to power stipulates that the total amount of power in a relationship can have effects distinct from those of relative power or power difference. This assumption is ground...

The abstract for this document is available on CSA Illumina.To view the Abstract, click the Abstract button above the document title.

This paper offers a theory linking choice processes with the experience of transitory emotion and the development of enduring affective attachments to nested collectivities, i.e., subgroups within a larger group, organization, or society. According to the theory, persons become emotionally attached to groups that strengthen their generalized sense...

This is a theoretical article that integrates and extends a particular program of work on power in bargaining relationships. Power is conceptualized as a structurally based capability, and power use as tactical action falling within either conciliatory or hostile categories. The core propositions are (1) the greater the total amount of power in a r...

This article analyzes the impact of conciliatory initiatives on conflict resolution in two- party bargaining. It specifically develops and tests a theory of unilateral initiatives derived from Osgood's (1962) notion of Graduated and Reciprocated Initiatives in Tension Reduction (GRIT). The major propositions of the theory indicate that, given a pat...

This research investigates how the magnitude of coercive power capability affects the use of punitive tactics in an explicit bargaining context. Two theories offer contradictory predictions for equal and unequal power situations. Bilateral deterrence theory predicts that when actors have equal power, higher levels of coercive capability will reduce...

Describes the structure, strengths, and problems associated with quality circles (i.e., a parallel-structure approach to getting employees involved in problem solving). The phases that quality circles typically go through—from very positive to significant disillusionment—where quality circles fit in with employee involvement, and the establishment...

This research examines the impact of the power relationship on tactical action (i.e., damage and concession tactics) in conflict. It tests a theory of bilateral deterrence and determines whether theoretical principles designed for punitive power extend to power dependence. The theoretical principles are that unequal power will produce more use of p...

A laboratory experiment examined the effects of time pressure on the process and outcome of integrative bargaining. Time pressure was operationalized in terms of the amount of time available to negotiate. As hypothesized, high time pressure produced nonagreements and poor negotiation outcomes only when negotiators adopted an individualistic orienta...

This research focuses on the effect of initial stance in bargaining. Following level-of-aspiration theory, the research examines whether the pattern of early concession making modifies the impact of tough vs. soft initial stance. The experiment manipulated opponent's concession pattern (decreasing, constant, increasing) in the early phase of bargai...