Status Incongruence In Supervisor Subordinate Dyads: The Effects On Subordinate Job Satisfaction and Creative Performance

Abstract

Extant research on status incongruence has begun to explore the resulting
tensions it may engender between supervisor and subordinate, yet it excludes the
role of other demographic factors beyond age which influence status perceptions.
We draw on role congruity theory to examine how organizational culture influences
whether supervisor-subordinate dyadic status incongruence has a negative or
positive impact on subordinate job satisfaction and creative performance. We find
that status incongruence reduces job satisfaction when supervisor-subordinate dyads
work in a hierarchical organizational culture (i.e. low clan organizational culture),
and job satisfaction increases for supervisor-subordinate dyads that work in a clan
organizational culture (i.e. high clan organizational culture). Furthermore, these
effects on job satisfaction ultimately impacted subordinate creative job performance,
supporting a moderated-mediation model. Implications for future research on status
incongruence are discussed.