Authorities' Coercive and Legitimate Power

Author(s)

Eva Hofmann, Barbara Hartl, Katharina Gangl, Martina Hartner-Tiefenthaler, Erico Kirchler

Abstract

The execution of coercive and legitimate power by an authority assures cooperation and prohibits free-riding. While coercive power can be comprised of severe punishment and strict monitoring, legitimate power covers expert, and informative procedures. The perception of these powers wielded by authorities stimulates specific cognitions: trust, relational climates, and motives. With four experiments, the single and combined impact of coercive and legitimate power on these processes and on intended cooperation of n1 = 120, n2 = 130, n3 = 368, and n4 = 102 student participants is investigated within two exemplary contexts (tax contributions, insurance claims). Findings reveal that coercive power increases an antagonistic climate and enforced compliance, whereas legitimate power increases reason-based trust, a service climate, and voluntary cooperation. Unexpectedly, legitimate power is additionally having a negative effect on an antagonistic climate and a positive effect on enforced compliance; these findings lead to a modification of theoretical assumptions. However, solely reason-based trust, but not climate perceptions and motives, mediates the relationship between power and intended cooperation. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Organisation(s)

Department of Occupational, Economic and Social Psychology

External organisation(s)

Coventry University, Johannes Kepler Universität Linz, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Technische Universität Wien

Journal

Frontiers in Psychology

Volume

8

No. of pages

15

DOI

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00005

Publication date

01-2017

Peer reviewed

Yes

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

501029 Economic psychology

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General Psychology

Portal url

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/4ab37936-0798-4ccd-b93b-75893e0a7ec1