Social power tactics and subordinates' compliance at work: The role of need for cognitive closure

Abstract Introduction The present research highlights the importance of subordinates' motivation for compliance-related phenomena. Objectives The aim of this research was to examine subordinates' willingness to comply with their supervisors' harsh and soft power tactics as a function of subordinates' need for cognitive closure. Method Two cross-sectional studies were conducted in five different Italian organizations, namely, a bank, a federation of small businesses, a security company, an oil company, and a hospital. Results It was found that subordinates high (vs. low) on need for closure reported greater willingness to comply with harsh social power tactics, but lower willingness to comply with soft power tactics. Conclusion Our findings nuance prior research by showing that soft (vs. harsh) power tactics are not always the most effective power tactics in organizational setting (e.g., Pierro et al., 2004; Raven et al., 1998).