Dynamic Interpersonal Processes at Work: Taking Social Interactions Seriously

Abstract

Dynamic interpersonal processes are the core foundation of many phenomena of interest to organizational psychology and organizational behavior scholars. This article views the organization as a system of social interaction. From this vantage point, I present a selective review of the current literature that supports a behavioral interaction perspective of interpersonal processes at work. I organize insights into phenomena such as (emergent) leadership, team processes, change management, coaching, selection, and negotiation according to the respective interaction constellation (i.e., dyadic, group, or across the organizational boundary). For each of these constellations, I highlight key empirical insights into behavioral interaction dynamics at the core of each interpersonal phenomenon. I discuss gaps and derive commonalities across different interaction constellations. To promote the consistent pursuit of a social interaction perspective and theory-method alignment, I derive a future research agenda including methodological recommendations for identifying meaningful patterns of social interaction at work.