Leadership Research Summary:
- Bias and intergroup conflict frequently exist amongst subgroups that are nested within of a superordinate group. As an intergroup leader, the superordinate group’s leader is crucial in minimizing conflict under these circumstances. To be effective, an intergroup leader must avoid (2) being perceived by one or both groups as “one of them” rather than “one of us,” and (1) endangering the subgroups’ unique identities.
- According to the notion of intergroup leadership (Acad Manag Rev, 37, 2012a, 232), intergroup leaders can strengthen subgroup ties by enctheaging an intergroup relational identity. Whether an out-subgroup or in-subgroup leader might enhance intergroup views, even among strong subgroup identifiers, by advocating either an intergroup relational identity or a collective identity was the subject of two experiments (Ns = 178 and 223).
- In order to show the usefulness of an intergroup relational identity message for an out-subgroup leader in reducing ingroup prejudice, particularly among those with high subgroup identification, researchers postulated an interaction of these factors. The study’s findings validated the hypothesis and the intergroup leadership theory, showing that an intergroup relational identity is a successful tactic for enhancing intergroup connections (N = 401 in total).
Leaderships Research Findings:
- It is important to understand how effective intergroup leaders can successfully navigate social identity processes to improve intergroup relations and enhance intergroup cooperation.
- Traditional intergroup conflict theories and strategies do not account for this all too common inter-subgroup conflict within an intergroup leadership context. That context is prime for conflict escalation due to reactions towards dismissing real subgroup differences and the issue of the loyalties of an out-subgroup leader.
- Out-subgroup leaders are seen as ‘one of them’ rather than ‘one of us’. For instance, US President Donald Trump is perceived as ‘one of us’ with the Republican-controlled Senate, but he is perceived as ‘one of them’ by the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives.
- Resolving potential conflict among the different sides of Congress, therefore, would require a strategy that considers how the groups perceive him while he resolves conflict.
- On a smaller scale, effective intergroup leadership could be effective applied in businesses, particularly considering how frequently departments need to work with each other (e.g., van der Stoep et al., 2020) or joint ventures between businesses (Hambrick, Li, Xin, & Tsui, 2001).
- Intergroup leadership theory proposes that out-subgroup leaders will be more effective if they foster an intergroup relational identity among strongly identified group members (Hogg et al., 2012a).
- Across two studies, the researchers provided evidence to support this hypothesis: endorsing an intergroup relational identity effectively lowered ingroup bias for otherwise ardent defenders of the ingroup.
- Evoking an intergroup relational identity was effective for out-subgroup leaders when members identified strongly with their group.
- An out-subgroup leader in an intergroup context is an inevitable situation and understanding how inter-subgroup relations can be improved with such a leader would increase the understanding of intergroup conflict, bias, and discrimination.