Year
2017
Authors
STRAUSS Karoline, ROFCANIN Y., KIEFER T.
Abstract
Idiosyncratic deals (I-deals) are work arrangements between an employee and a manager, aimed at meeting the employee’s specific work-related needs (Rousseau, 2005, I-deals: Idiosyncratic deals employees bargain for themselves, M. E. Sharpe, New York, NY). Studies to date have focused on the effects of successful I-deal negotiations, but have paid little attention to what determines whether negotiated I-deals are also obtained. We propose that managers play a crucial role in this process, and explore the role of managers’ emotions in translating negotiation into obtainment. We suggest that I-deals are more likely to be obtained when managers feel more positive and less negative about an employee’s I-deal process in the aftermath of the negotiation. We then aim to determine what shapes managers’ emotions about the I-deal process. Given that I-deals are intended to be beneficial for the entire team (Rousseau, 2005, I-deals: Idiosyncratic deals employees bargain for themselves, M. E. Sharpe, New York, NY), we expect that managers feel more positive about the I-deal process of employees who engage in socially connecting behaviours following their I-deal negotiation. In contrast, managers feel more negative about the I-deal process of employees who engage in socially disconnecting behaviours. Results from a two-wave study of employees and their managers supported our hypotheses. Our findings contribute to research on I-deals by distinguishing between the negotiation and obtainment of I-deals and by highlighting the role of managers’ emotions in translating negotiated I-deals into obtainment and the importance of employees’ socially connecting and disconnecting behaviours following I-deal negotiations.
ROFCANIN, Y., KIEFER, T. et STRAUSS, K. (2017). What Seals the I-Deal? Exploring the Role of Employees’ Behaviours and Managers’ Emotions. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 90(2), pp. 203-224.