Organizational Competition: A Catalyst for Workplace Diversity and Desires for Uniqueness

Competition is prevalent in organizations. For example, people often compete against their colleagues for status and recognition in the workplace or for opportunities for advancement. Workers also compete against others to get hired into organizations in the first place. It is thus both practically and theoretically important to understand the interpersonal consequences of competition–broadly construed–in organizations. We present five empirical papers that examine understudied or poorly understood areas of research related to organizational competition and provide novel insights into the consequences of competition on important organizational outcomes such as hiring, group decision making, organizational fit perceptions, and negotiation outcomes. The first paper draws on theories from the realm of the psychological consequences of competition and optimal distinctiveness to shed light on instances when workers are more likely to join groups in which their salient identities will be underrepresented. The second paper significantly extends rivalry theory by integrating it with other theories of motivation and performance and uncovers two key moderators of the effects of rivalry on performance. The third paper examines how feelings of (in)authenticity shape the experiences and behaviors of individuals following a status gain. The fourth paper draws on theories of regulatory focus and attribution to examine the impact that being an alternate choice has on newcomer socialization behaviors and outcomes, such as feedback seeking and performance. The fifth paper expands upon the conflict expression theoretical framework, evidencing why status claims may backfire and how challengers can manage the defender’s perceptions of the status negotiation. Together, we hope the papers in this symposium provide important insights into the consequences of competition in organizations and provide actionable insights for managers, while also spurring future research by academics.