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PurposeRecent studies suggest that 84 percent of employees are affected in some manner by workplace bullies. The current study aims to integrate theory from social information processing and political skill to explain how bullies can successfully navigate the social and political organizational environment and achieve higher ratings of performance.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire, archival performance data, and social networks methodology were employed in a health services organization in order to capture the individual differences and social perception of bullies in the workplace.FindingsWhile victims are usually targeted due to their social incompetence, on some occasions bullies can possess high levels of social ability. Due to their social competence, they are able to strategically abuse coworkers and yet be evaluated positively by their supervisor.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is the first attempt to measure the high performance of bullies who thrive in the workplace. Future research could investigate the ways in which bullies select their targets and the role of an abusive organizational climate in their subsequent effectiveness.Practical implicationsCompanies and researchers should consider how organizational interventions could serve to balance bullying behavior in a manner that limits deviant behavior while rewarding high performers.Originality/valueThe current paper applies a social effectiveness framework (social information processing (SIP)) as a lens through which to explain bullies who maintain high levels of performance ratings. The application of this theory to bullying leads to a functional perspective of workplace deviance.

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Purpose -The current paper seeks to bring the political perspective to gender differences in promotion decisions, a phenomenon with great longevity in research and practice. Specifically, the degree to which gender role-congruent and counterstereotypical influence behavior is related to liking as moderated by political skill. Design/methodology/approach -Using a sample of n ¼ 136, these hypotheses were tested in retail organizations in the Northeast and Southwest. Findings -Political skill significantly moderates the relationship between ingratiation and liking, such that use of ingratiation was positively related to liking when women were high in political skill. However, the relationship between assertiveness and liking was unchanged by political skill level and was unrelated to liking. Liking was consistently found to be positively related to promotability ratings. Research limitations/implications -Questionnaire data collection is used exclusively; however, the subordinate and supervisor data were collected at two different times. Practical implications -The results are relevant for employees in that they imply a need for them to be cognizant of their behavior as it relates to social role expectations and for supervisors to understand the factors that could contribute to lower ratings. Social implications -The current results suggest that gender role-congruent influence behavior is positively related to socially relevant evaluations (i.e. liking); thus, women whose behavior is consistent with social expectations may be more positively evaluated. Originality/value -This study provides a political explanation for differences in women's promotability and also investigates mechanisms that may be related to reducing promotability disparity.

Quota-based selection systems are viewed as a way to overcome biases; however, they may produce negative effects on the individuals as well as on the organizations that enact said procedures. To date, the processes underlying these negative effects have been relatively neglected in the literature and thus warrant further investigation. The current paper specifically seeks to address the process through which quota-based selection policies influence applicant evaluations of the organization and ultimately their decision to pursue employment. We demonstrate that quota-based selection policies negatively impact procedural justice perceptions, which in turn influenced perceptions of anticipated organizational support, organizational prestige, and organizational attractiveness. Ultimately, these organizational evaluations worked together to predict job pursuit intentions. The findings suggest that organizations need to carefully consider how they present their selection policies to applicant pools as they may harm organizational attractiveness and job pursuit intentions. The present study comes at a timely point in the discussion and implementation of quotas in Europe, and specifically in Germany, and provides some initial insights into how organizations are likely to be affected by such policies.

Women in academia face unique challenges when it comes to advancing to professorship. Using latest research about gender and academic leadership, we present a training curriculum that is sensitive to the unique demands of women in and aspiring to leadership positions in academia. The context-specific and evidence-based approach and a focus on self-directed leadership development are unique characteristics of the training. It aims to enhance women's motivation to lead, increase their knowledge about academic leadership, and empower them to seek the support they need to proactively work toward appointment to a professorship. We also delineate an evaluation framework, which addresses these targeted outcomes. The findings from a pilot program in Germany confirmed that the curriculum is effective in developing women as academic leaders. The discussion highlights the significance of a context-specific and evidence-based approach to women's leadership development in academia.

Informal leadership has been a topic of growing interest in recent years, with the recognition that much remains to be known about this phenomenon. In the present study, an integrative social-political conceptualization of informal leadership is proposed and tested. The research question was tested through individual self-report survey questions, a network-based consensus informal leadership measure whereby each employee identified informal leaders in their network, and individual performance provided by the organization. Specifically, the mediated moderation test demonstrated that employees high in political will, as operationalized by power motivation, were more likely to be collectively recognized as informal leaders than those low in political will, and the performance of these informal leaders was found to be contingent on their political skill. By capturing informal leadership using a consensus measure, the results of this study provide a first look at informal leadership in an organizational setting, not team or group. Furthermore, the current research offers a social networkpolitical conceptualization of informal leadership in organizations that contributes to theory, research, and practice.

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