Author: Sebastián Steizel
Programme: Doctoral Programme on the Information and Knowledge Society
Language: Spanish
Supervisor: Dra. Eva Rimbau Gilabert
Faculty / Institute: Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3)
Key words: Upward influence tactics, Virtual work, Dyadic virtual relationship
Summary
This work has been focused to discuss how virtual workers adapt their behavior to influence their distant leaders compared with virtual workers; and how they use information technology to carry out this task. Qualitative and quantitative analysis were conducted to analyze the process of interpersonal upward influence. The qualitative study identified a new influence tactic called intermediation. In the quantitative study, results showed that traditional workers begin the event of influence with a face-to-face interaction, through tactics of reason and ingratiation, and then continue through email with hard tactics. On the other side, virtual workers begin the influence process through asynchronous media, with reason and ingratiation tactics; and continue synchronously with tactics that involve third agents. This work contributes to the field of interpersonal influence tactics and to the ICT Succession Theory (Stephens, 2007).