Deepening the Relationship Between the Need for Epistemic Certainty and People’s Compliance with Social Power: The Moderating Role of Work Unit Tightness

Daniela Di Santo (), Alessio Tesi, Antonio Aiello and Antonio Pierro
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Daniela Di Santo: Department of Political Sciences, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Alessio Tesi: Department of Political Sciences, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Antonio Aiello: Department of Political Sciences, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Antonio Pierro: Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy

Social Sciences, 2025, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: The present paper builds on previous research exploring the relationship between the need for cognitive closure (NCC) and employees’ compliance with harsh social power to propose a moderating role of perceived tightness within a work unit in organizational settings. Specifically, the study aimed to test the cross-level interaction between NCC and the perceived work unit tightness in fostering employee compliance with harsh power. Using a convenience sampling method, we enrolled 290 employees from pre-existing work units in Italian organizations in a cross-sectional study. We obtained employee scores on the NCC scale, willingness to comply with harsh social power tactics, and ratings of their perceived work unit tightness. Multilevel modeling was applied to test cross-level interaction. The model revealed a positive effect of NCC on the willingness to comply with harsh social power tactics when employees perceived their unit culture as tight. This study advances previous research by showing the role of tight culture in shaping the relationship between NCC and power compliance.

Keywords: need for cognitive closure; cultural tightness; social norms; social power (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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