Interfirm use of power

Abstract

Attempted to identify the tactics of influence used by organizations in their attempts to influence other organizations. The experiment also examined conditions under which organizations used various tactics of influence. 67 graduate business students enrolled in evening courses described an incident in which their organization attempted to get its ways with another organization. The reason for attempting to exercise influence and the tactics of influence used were tabulated. 20 tactics were identified. It was found that strong and controlling tactics of influence were used significantly more often when (a) the target company resisted being influenced, (b) the target firm was less powerful than the influencing firm, and (c) the influencing firm was reacting to some initial action of the target firm rather than attempting to change the behavior of the target firm. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)