When one speaks for many: The influence of social identification on group advocacy in organizations.

Abstract

What leads some people to promote the perspectives of their group, when others do not? This study investigated how individuals' self-definitions as members of a group--their social identification (Tajfel, 1978; Turner, 1984)--influenced their level of advocacy on behalf of that group within their organization. Group advocacy was defined as an individual's efforts to promote the interests of their group within an organization. Through advocacy, individuals seek to change the distribution of influence, resources and rewards within their organization so that their group might benefit. Sixty-one women in an advertising agency participated in interviews and completed questionnaires to generate quantitative and qualitative data. Measures assessed with regard to the group (Women) included social identification, social distinctiveness, ability to represent, responsibility, advocacy, organizational climate towards the group, and climate toward change. Multiple regression analyses provided strong support for the hypotheses that social identification leads to group advocacy, that belief in ability to represent the group partially mediates between social identification and advocacy and that feeling responsible to the group fully mediates between social identification and advocacy. The hypothesis that belief in the group's social distinctiveness mediates between social identification and advocacy was not supported. Qualitative data analysis demonstrated that participants advocated though their individual comportment, their managerial roles and their functional roles. Qualitative analysis also suggested that the content of participants' social identities as Women reinforced the effect of responsibility on advocacy, and that the negative organizational climate towards the group and towards group-based differences encouraged participants to downplay the group's social distinctiveness. These interpretations point out social identity theory's limited ability to explain how identity content and social context influence social identification. This study provides one of few empirical tests within an organizational context of any links between social identification and behaviors. It establishes advocacy as an important subset of organizational participation, and demonstrates that individuals promote the interests of groups other than their organization through their individual behavior at work. Moreover, this study suggests that organizations can increase the level of group advocacy by encouraging members to identify with valued social groups and to feel responsible to their groups.