Jolted into Dominance or Prestige? How Jolts to Groups Affect Status-Striving and Status Conferral.

In this paper we explore the process of status mobility in groups with an established hierarchy. Specifically, we investigate how and why jolts - external, disruptive events that promote reevaluation of the group's internal processes - may initiate status mobility in work groups. We propose that group member's initial status interacts with the jolt to influence perceptions of status mobility (opportunity versus threat) and consequently influence status-striving behaviors and subsequent status conferral. In a quasi-experimental field study we find that members with high initial status interpret the jolt as a status mobility threat, leading them to engage in more dominance status-striving behaviors that are ultimately counterproductive in a post-jolt environment. Conversely, members with low initial status interpret the situation as a status mobility opportunity, leading them to engage in more prestige status-striving behaviors that ultimately increase their status in a post-jolt environment. We conclude with a discussion on how these findings on jolt will extend the literature on status mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]