Supervisory Power Bases, Styles of Handling Conflict with Subordinates, and Subordinate Compliance and Satisfaction

Abstract

ABSTRACT Data from 301 American students of business administration who had at least 1 year of full-time work experience with their present supervisors showed that a reward power base was positively correlated with integrating and avoiding styles of handling conflict with subordinates; legitimate power was positively correlated with dominating style; expert power was positively correlated with integrating and dominating styles but negatively correlated with avoiding style; and referent power was positively correlated with integrating, obliging, and compromising styles but negatively correlated with dominating style. Legitimate power was positively correlated with behavioral and attitudinal compliance, and in addition, referent power was positively correlated with satisfaction with supervision. Integrating style was positively correlated with attitudinal and behavioral compliance and satisfaction with supervision; obliging style was positively correlated with attitudinal compliance; and compromising style was inversely related to behavioral compliance.