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Contribution Details

Type Journal Article
Scope Discipline-based scholarship
Title Younger supervisors, older subordinates: An organizational-level study of age differences, emotions, and performance
Organization Unit
Authors
  • Florian Kunze
  • Jochen Menges
Item Subtype Original Work
Refereed Yes
Status Published in final form
Language
  • English
Journal Title Journal of Organizational Behavior
Publisher Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc.
Geographical Reach international
ISSN 0894-3796
Volume 38
Number 4
Page Range 461 - 486
Date 2017
Abstract Text Younger employees are often promoted into supervisory positions in which they then manage older subordinates. Do companies benefit or suffer when supervisors and subordinates have inverse age differences? In this study, we examine how average age differences between younger supervisors and older subordinates are linked to the emotions that prevail in the workforce, and to company performance. We propose that the average age differences determine how frequently older subordinates and their coworkers experience negative emotions, and that these emotion frequency levels in turn relate to company performance. The indirect relationship between age differences and performance occurs only if subordinates express their feelings toward their supervisor, but the association is neutralized if emotions are suppressed. We find consistent evidence for this theoretical model in a study of 61 companies with multiple respondents.
Official URL https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/job.2129
Digital Object Identifier 10.1002/job.2129
Other Identification Number merlin-id:17512
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