Abstract
Despite qualitative evidence suggesting that changes in informal
hierarchy strength likely impact performance, informal hierarchy
strength changes have received little theoretical or empirical
attention. We address this by extending structural adaptation theory
(SAT) to develop and test a theoretical model of why informal hierarchy
strength changes and how those changes impact performance. Building on
SAT’s principle that teams can become more ordered following
stimulation, we propose that pressure subsequently increases informal
hierarchy strength. In project teams where pressure starts low and
increases at the midpoint, informal hierarchy should weaken early in
project life and strengthen after the midpoint. We also extend SAT’s
asymmetric adaptability principle to consider not just the direction but
also the rate of the changes. We hypothesize that sharply strengthening
informal hierarchy harms performance, but informal hierarchy
strengthening gradually improves performance. SAT also implies that
gradual change is promoted by inclusive discussions. Because most
influential extraverts tend to squelch inclusive discussions where most
influential neurotics tend to be inclusive, teams with most influential
extraverts strengthen their informal hierarchy quickly where teams with
most influential neurotics strengthen their informal hierarchy
gradually. We find support for our theoretical model using longitudinal
data and client performance ratings on self-managed project teams. Our
results contribute to SAT by showing its application to informal,
unplanned changes and introducing the rate of change to its asymmetric
adaptability principle. Our findings also highlight the importance of
shifting informal hierarchy strength research away from the predominant
static approach and towards studying informal hierarchy strength
changes.