Choice of Influence Strategies: Role of Need for Power, Need for Affiliation, and Inhibition

Abstract. This study looked at the relationship between need for power, need for affiliation and the level of inhibition on one hand, and the use of influence strategies on the other. The impact of all these on the speed in receiving promotions was also studied. Results indicate that those who have a high need for power use the influence strategy of reason more frequently, and those who have a high need for affiliation use friendliness more frequently. Contrary to what was hypothesized, speed in receiving promotions was negatively related to use of reason. Influence has been a much-discussed topic and the tactics used to exert influence on others have been looked upon with dread as well as with awe. Influence also raises many issues like the ethics of using a particular tactic, the match between the personality of an individual and the kind of tactic he or she would use, and the different tactics used in different situations (Westphal, 1998). Besides the process, the outcomes of an influence attempt have also been analyzed (Dulebohn & Ferris, 1999; Wayne, Liden, Graf & Ferris, 1997). Some studies deal with effectiveness of an influence attempt (Yukl, Kim & Falbe, 1996; Yukl & Tracey, 1992), whereas others talk abou