The term Constructive Deviance is growing within the literature on management and organizations, becoming an umbrella label to collect a host of non-normative behaviors, examined at the individual level, that scholars believe may result in constructive benefit to the organization. While researchers use the term to describe instances where deviation is an innovative, even rewarding behavior, they neglect the group-level perspective and fail to address the ethical, pro-organizational, non-normative behavior that violates significant group norms. This gap has also contributed to mis-categorizing non-normative behaviors as deviant when they are often culturally and contextually acceptable behaviors, seen as deviations instead of violations. To gain greater clarity on the phenomenon of Constructive Deviance and more insight into how organizations might encourage constructive, ethical, non-normative behavior, this thesis investigates the nature of Constructive Deviance. We review the literature and identify key conceptualizations that are overlooked. We address allied concepts and define Constructive Deviance. We then conduct two studies: The first uses a mixed-methods, multi-dimensional scaling approach to construct an empirical typology of Constructive Deviance, and the second uses a quasi-experimental, within-subjects design to test in-group reactions to Constructive Deviance. Our findings and typology reveal that Constructive Deviance spans from simple deviation without any side effects to social violation that triggers negative sanctioning from within the reference group and derogation of the violator. These findings address the typological, group-level, epistemological, and empirical gaps in the literature concerning Constructive Deviance and provide valuable perspectives for managers and reference groups facing prototypical in-group members engaging in anti-normative behavior.
Date of Award | 6 Jan 2025 |
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Original language | English |
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Awarding Institution | - The University of Manchester
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Supervisor | John Hassard (Supervisor) & Alex Gunz (Supervisor) |
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- Constructive Deviance
- Deviance
- Pro-organizational behavior
- Multi-dimensional scaling
- Typology
- Norm violation
- Significant norms
An Investigation into Constructive Deviance: Reactionist Roots and Empirical Typology Building
Tennis, P. (Author). 6 Jan 2025
Student thesis: Doctor of Business Administration