Publication Type
PhD Dissertation
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
5-2025
Abstract
This dissertation examines managerial power transfer as a core mechanism through which less-hierarchical management unfolds in organizations. While traditional management research has emphasized formal authority and top-down control, emerging organizational forms increasingly call on managers to share power with subordinates. Despite growing interest in constructs like empowerment, delegation, and participative leadership, the phenomenon of power transfer remains conceptually fragmented and undertheorized.
To address this, the dissertation defines power transfer as the intentional redistribution of authority, control, or resources by powerholders to lower-power individuals. Chapter 1 develops a typology of power transfer behaviors, organized along two key dimensions: extent of control retained by managers and scope of influence (individual vs. collective). This typology clarifies how power transfer varies across contexts and offers a foundation for future research.
Chapters 2 and 3 focus on a novel yet overlooked leader behavior—downward deference, where leaders lower themselves to be equal to their subordinates. Chapter 2 examines how downward deference enhances perceived leader effectiveness through dual mechanisms of warmth and competence, particularly in uncertain environments or when subordinates have high expertise. Chapter 3 explores potential downsides, showing that downward deference can either reduce or increase deviant behavior, depending on its effects on role ambiguity. Together, these studies demonstrate that power transfer can be strategic, partial, and context-dependent—with both positive and unintended consequences.
Overall, this dissertation contributes to the literatures on power, leadership, and organizational behavior by offering a more nuanced and actionable understanding of how managerial power is shared, withheld, or recalibrated in today’s evolving workplace.
Keywords
power, deference, leadership
Degree Awarded
PhD in Business (OBHR)
Discipline
Leadership Studies | Organizational Behavior and Theory
Supervisor(s)
SCHAERER, Michael
First Page
1
Last Page
156
Publisher
Singapore Management University
City or Country
Singapore
Citation
NGUYEN, Hoang Bao My.
The dynamics of power transfer in organizations: Examining downward deference and its workplace consequences. (2025). 1-156.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/etd_coll/760
Copyright Owner and License
Author
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.