Sources of legitimation and the formation and flexibility of group routines /
An underlying and often taken for granted process in the creation of social structure is legitimation - the process by which a social object is adhered to, deferred to, or supported even in the absence of obvious incentives to do so. A formal theory, which draws from theories of legitimation, expec...
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| Format: | Thesis Book |
| Language: | English |
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[Place of publication not identified] :
[publisher not identified] ;
2001.
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://proxy.library.tamu.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=726089311&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=2945&RQT=309&VName=PQD |
| Summary: | An underlying and often taken for granted process in the creation of social structure is legitimation - the process by which a social object is adhered to, deferred to, or supported even in the absence of obvious incentives to do so. A formal theory, which draws from theories of legitimation, expectation states theory, and institutional theory tests three sources of legitimation: a referential belief structure about expertise and leadership, authorization (support by a superordinate), and endorsement (support by group). The main questions addressed in this research are: 1) how different sources of legitimation make groups more or less hierarchical; and 2) how the different sources of legitimation make group routines more or less flexible. Predictions were based on theoretical derivations specifying that sources of legitimation vary in strength and their effects are additive. To test the predictions, forty-eight groups were randomly assigned to four conditions. The 2x2 experimental design manipulates two sources of legitimation - authorization and endorsement - to be either consistent or inconsistent with the referential belief structure. Groups interacted on two very different tasks, over two time periods. Group interactions were videotaped. Based on the videotapes, speaking time for each group member was measured and interaction was coded for various measures of hierarchy and group routines. Results demonstrate that authorization and endorsement were rarely additive, but rather had independent main effects. Authorization was often found to be redundant with the referential structure; endorsement was a stronger source of legitimation. One condition in particular, the endorsed but not authorized condition, demonstrated relative instability and cohesion building activity on the part of the group leader. Results indicate that different sources of legitimation do have different effects within the group even when the same potent referential structure is evoked. In particular, endorsed groups tended to be more hierarchical. Furthermore, more hierarchical groups were less likely to change their routines, even when faced with a very different task from the ones in which the routines were developed. |
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| Item Description: | Vita. "Major Subject: Sociology". |
| Physical Description: | xiv, 167 leaves : illustrations ; 28 cm. Issued also on microfiche from University Microfilm Inc. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (leaves 121-126). |