ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a review and synthesis of research on dyadic social influence in organizations, defined as the communication processes through which an individual participant within a complex organization elicits cognitive, emotional, and behavioral change from another individual in the pursuit of social objectives. Distinct streams of dyadic influence research have developed in various literatures and rely on divergent methods; this analysis crosses disciplinary boundaries to include work in communication theory, social and industrial/organizational psychology, and sociology, among others. The review considers (a) conceptual models of the process of dyadic influence, (b) efforts to identify and catalog influence-seeking methods, and (c) empirical studies of the antecedents, correlates, and consequences of influence method selection. Within each section, research issues, trends, and limitations that are specifically relevant to understanding influence in organizations are discussed. The authors introduce a framework of dyadic social influence that integrates and extends the various approaches and perspectives examined in the review.
