This thesis explores engagement in organizational politics among managers.
There is increasing recognition that organizational politics are ubiquitous in
organizational life and critically important in managerial roles. Drawing on micro
perspectives in extant literature on organizational politics, this research
attempts to better understand managerial engagement in politics by focusing
not only on managers’ ability to engage in politics, but also on their willingness
to do so. As such, the research examines what managerial political will and
political skill entail, as well as how political will and skill develop. In doing so,
special consideration is paid to gender, an aspect largely ignored in extant
research on organizational politics. Adopting a qualitative exploratory approach,
the empirical study consisted of semi-structured interviews with 38 managers
(20 women and 18 men) in two global companies.
The thesis makes four key theoretical contributions. First, it conceptualizes and
identifies three dimensions political will, a previously neglected factor pertaining
to managerial political engagement. Second, the study reconciles and refines
the dimensionality of political skill, as related to existing models in field. Third,
the thesis introduces a novel developmental perspective on political will and
skill, proposing an initial model of political maturation. This model outlines three
stages of political maturation by mapping out developmental patterns in
managers’ political will and skill. The model also identifies triggers of political
maturation. Finally, the thesis unpacks the role of gender in managers’ political
will, skill and their maturation, demonstrating the importance of making gender
visible and voiced when investigating managers’ engagement in organizational
politics. In articulating these contributions, the study thoroughly accounts for the
impact of organizational context on the political will, skill and maturation journey
of male and female managers