Managers as informal third parties: The impact of supervisor-subordinate relationships on interventions

This research focuses on the distinctions between formal and informal third parties articulated by Kolb and Sheppard (1985), the most important of which is the relationship that exists between the third party and the disputants. Several hypotheses are advanced regarding the consequences of a sudden change in the relationship on the process and outcomes of the intervention. An experimental simulation of a supervisor-subordinate discussion (about a dispute among subordinates) is conducted with 62 undergraduate volunteers as participants. The supervisors in the experimental group receive negative affective information about the subordinate prior to the meeting, which is expected to influence the relationship and hence the intervention. Results indicate that in the experimental condition performance evaluations were lower, ratings of trust were lower, and the atmosphere in the discussion was rated as less friendly. Interestingly, in dyads where the negative information was discussed openly each of the ratings was higher than when the negative information was not discussed, as was the satisfaction reported by each of the participants. The implications of these findings for future research are discussed.