ABSTRACT
For decades, social psychologists have debated the role of normative perceptions in individuals’ everyday actions (e.g., Berkowitz, 1972; Darley & Latané, 1970; Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975; Sherif, 1936). However, it is now clear that, across a wide variety of domains, social norms direct the behavior of individuals in predictable ways within organizational contexts as well as outside of them (Aarts & Dijksterhuis, 2003; Bettenhausen & Murnighan, 1985; Feldman, 1984; Kerr, 1995; Schultz, 1999; Terry & Hogg, 2000; Turner, 1991). Understanding how social norms operate is important for better understanding organizational behavior because there are norms for nearly every behavior at work, including the hours employees work, the clothes they wear, how projects are carried out, how resources are allocated, how and how often employees communicate with and help one another, and even how often they interact outside of the work environment (Goodman, Ravlin, & Schminke, 1987).
