Roles in Networked Organizations
Lecture 1: Introduction
Role comes from a part you can play in a movie, or in a theatre à dramaturgical metaphor
In the lecture, Joost is playing the role of professor. Meaning he has some set of behaviors
and expectations that are related to this role.
What is an organization?
Þ “A group of people working together to reach a common goal”
Þ People collaborate together, because alone it would be more difficult to reach the goal,
and all people have their own roles that add something to reach that goal
Þ Organizations can be profit (Shell) or non-profit (the Salvation Army), but it can also be
the Ministry, or amateur sports clubs; all organizations have a common goal and the
people that work in that organization have a role
Þ Organizations have changed: now there are platforms (Uber: bring together people that are
not even formally part of the organization (work individually, but are of importance for
Uber)), movements that protest and demonstrate (Yellow Vest Movement)
Þ Organizations can dissolve quickly when they have reached their goal
Þ According to scholars: organizations can dissolve when there is no communication
What is a role?
Þ “A core set of behavioral expectations tied to a social group or category that defines
appropriate and permitted forms of behavior for group members” (Anglin et al., 2022)
Þ Roles are expected of people, and you learn these roles (maybe unconsciously)
Þ People know that there are consequences to role violations
Social Role Theory (Eagly, 1987)
Þ When people approve of a certain role, then they are generally motivated to confirm to
that role norms and they will punish others who will violate these role norms
Þ Agents confirm to role expectations, because the anticipation of rewards (in case of role
conformity) and punishments (in case of noncompliance) and because the satisfaction
behaving of in a prosocial way
Þ But role has changed: changed conditions can render a social role outdated or illegitimate
o Example: presence à because of the pandemic, the role of presence has changed.
Before, not showing up at work would lead to weird faces of collegeaus and the
boss, but now, people are working more from home and presence at the office is
less important
Which roles do you play?
Þ Student, family role, co-worker, employee, member of a student association, housemate,
teammate, neighbor, trainer, friend
Þ Separation between private and professional roles à but some can overlap: such as
gender and nationality
Þ Roles can be embedded in ‘role sets’
o Secretary: note taker, telephone operator, office supply management, bureaucratic
support employee
o People that perform roles, might put more emphasis on certain points than on other
points
,Types of roles
Þ Occupational roles
Þ Gender roles à receive a lot of attention right now, because there is a set of expectations
how males and females should behave; it gets complicated when the occupational role
comes on top of the gender role
Þ Family roles à work-life conflict, boundary management; can get in conflict with
occupational roles
Þ Social-type roles: rebel, grumpy old men, or joker
o People respond in a way to the role someone plays
o After a while, roles can become established à people expect that you always play
that role
Role accumulation
Þ People play multiple roles simultaneously
Þ Role enrichment: taking new roles in order to fulfill your life
Þ Role conflict: but too many roles can lead to conflicts between these roles à role
overload can cause stress and eventually even a burn-out
Dramaturgical metaphor: Shakespeare
Þ “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits
and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages”
Þ People got a piece of paper with their role à metaphor for how organizations work
Þ On- and off-stage in organizations
o Example of Holland Casino: the gambling rooms etc. all look neat and nice, but in
the back, it is a mess. There was a sign when going in the gambling rooms that
said “Smile, you’re on stage”
o There are different roles expected of you on- and off-stage
Two perspectives towards roles
Þ Structural-functionalist approach
o Roles provide stability and predictability
o There is a shared understanding of how somebody performs in a certain role and
that makes a behavior predictable and people more willing to collaborate
Þ Interactional approach/symbolic interactionism
o Roles may be dynamic and develop over time
o People may have different understandings of the same occupational role à the
way people behave in a certain role is different
Structural/functionalist perspective of roles
Þ The script is institutionalized, and roles are rather static
Þ Role expectations are part of the organizations ‘collective memory’
o Waiter shows you your table, brings a menu and then asks what you want to drink
Þ Roles demarcate appropriate and inappropriate behavior
Þ Roles disciplines members because of rewards, and of punishments (backlash effect)
Þ Roles facilitate collaboration because they make actions predictable
Scientific Management/Taylorism
Þ When people specialize in one task, they will become very good at that task
, Þ Everybody takes on that individual role, and only doing that one role, so they become
very good at that
Symbolic-interactional approach
Þ Roles are more dynamic than the structuralist approach suggest à roles are not fixed, not
learned and you do not have to enact them as they are
Þ The script emerges from interaction, and it is not stored in our collective memory, so there
is no script available before the action takes place
Þ Employees improvise and adapt role expectations à shape to own preferences and
behaviors
Þ Also considers the flexibility of roles and how they affect each other
Roles, image and identity
Þ Role identity theory: people act in a certain way based on how they like to see themselves
and how they like to be seen by others when operating in particular roles
Þ Role identity: “the cognitive schema, or internal framework, that stores the information
and meaning attached to a role to guide behavior and interpretation of the role
expectations” à constant evaluations of yourself, your skills, others
o Consists of maintenance, individual factors, oneself, construction/negotiation,
situational factors and others
Roles help define ‘who we are’
Þ Roles that you play can tell a lot about that person
Þ A role can be attached to a structural position or occupation, but people may provide
different meanings to such a role
Þ Roles also provide the individual with a sense of who one is
Þ But important: not all roles are equally important
Role identity salience
Þ = the importance people give to roles central to their life and identity
Þ Roles are ranked in a hierarchy, and the higher, the more time you spent in that role
Þ Employees choose between enacting one role or the others, and factors that play a role
here are passion, commitment, and aspirations
Role conflict
Þ Occurs when different roles are searching for you in different ways
Þ Functional role demands
Þ Work and personal expectations
Þ Outcomes of role conflict: tension between employees, higher turnover, individual
anxiety, and lower employee performance
Today’s workspace
Þ Roles predict behavior and success of behavior
Þ Role expectations are largely beyond the direct control of management
o More fluid, decentralized organizations
o Employees value autonomy
Þ Role enactment is more challenging than ever, because of:
o Nature of work: flex work/gig work, work for multiple employees in multiple roles
o Technology use has faded boundaries between roles (e.g., home/work)
Lecture 1: Introduction
Role comes from a part you can play in a movie, or in a theatre à dramaturgical metaphor
In the lecture, Joost is playing the role of professor. Meaning he has some set of behaviors
and expectations that are related to this role.
What is an organization?
Þ “A group of people working together to reach a common goal”
Þ People collaborate together, because alone it would be more difficult to reach the goal,
and all people have their own roles that add something to reach that goal
Þ Organizations can be profit (Shell) or non-profit (the Salvation Army), but it can also be
the Ministry, or amateur sports clubs; all organizations have a common goal and the
people that work in that organization have a role
Þ Organizations have changed: now there are platforms (Uber: bring together people that are
not even formally part of the organization (work individually, but are of importance for
Uber)), movements that protest and demonstrate (Yellow Vest Movement)
Þ Organizations can dissolve quickly when they have reached their goal
Þ According to scholars: organizations can dissolve when there is no communication
What is a role?
Þ “A core set of behavioral expectations tied to a social group or category that defines
appropriate and permitted forms of behavior for group members” (Anglin et al., 2022)
Þ Roles are expected of people, and you learn these roles (maybe unconsciously)
Þ People know that there are consequences to role violations
Social Role Theory (Eagly, 1987)
Þ When people approve of a certain role, then they are generally motivated to confirm to
that role norms and they will punish others who will violate these role norms
Þ Agents confirm to role expectations, because the anticipation of rewards (in case of role
conformity) and punishments (in case of noncompliance) and because the satisfaction
behaving of in a prosocial way
Þ But role has changed: changed conditions can render a social role outdated or illegitimate
o Example: presence à because of the pandemic, the role of presence has changed.
Before, not showing up at work would lead to weird faces of collegeaus and the
boss, but now, people are working more from home and presence at the office is
less important
Which roles do you play?
Þ Student, family role, co-worker, employee, member of a student association, housemate,
teammate, neighbor, trainer, friend
Þ Separation between private and professional roles à but some can overlap: such as
gender and nationality
Þ Roles can be embedded in ‘role sets’
o Secretary: note taker, telephone operator, office supply management, bureaucratic
support employee
o People that perform roles, might put more emphasis on certain points than on other
points
,Types of roles
Þ Occupational roles
Þ Gender roles à receive a lot of attention right now, because there is a set of expectations
how males and females should behave; it gets complicated when the occupational role
comes on top of the gender role
Þ Family roles à work-life conflict, boundary management; can get in conflict with
occupational roles
Þ Social-type roles: rebel, grumpy old men, or joker
o People respond in a way to the role someone plays
o After a while, roles can become established à people expect that you always play
that role
Role accumulation
Þ People play multiple roles simultaneously
Þ Role enrichment: taking new roles in order to fulfill your life
Þ Role conflict: but too many roles can lead to conflicts between these roles à role
overload can cause stress and eventually even a burn-out
Dramaturgical metaphor: Shakespeare
Þ “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits
and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages”
Þ People got a piece of paper with their role à metaphor for how organizations work
Þ On- and off-stage in organizations
o Example of Holland Casino: the gambling rooms etc. all look neat and nice, but in
the back, it is a mess. There was a sign when going in the gambling rooms that
said “Smile, you’re on stage”
o There are different roles expected of you on- and off-stage
Two perspectives towards roles
Þ Structural-functionalist approach
o Roles provide stability and predictability
o There is a shared understanding of how somebody performs in a certain role and
that makes a behavior predictable and people more willing to collaborate
Þ Interactional approach/symbolic interactionism
o Roles may be dynamic and develop over time
o People may have different understandings of the same occupational role à the
way people behave in a certain role is different
Structural/functionalist perspective of roles
Þ The script is institutionalized, and roles are rather static
Þ Role expectations are part of the organizations ‘collective memory’
o Waiter shows you your table, brings a menu and then asks what you want to drink
Þ Roles demarcate appropriate and inappropriate behavior
Þ Roles disciplines members because of rewards, and of punishments (backlash effect)
Þ Roles facilitate collaboration because they make actions predictable
Scientific Management/Taylorism
Þ When people specialize in one task, they will become very good at that task
, Þ Everybody takes on that individual role, and only doing that one role, so they become
very good at that
Symbolic-interactional approach
Þ Roles are more dynamic than the structuralist approach suggest à roles are not fixed, not
learned and you do not have to enact them as they are
Þ The script emerges from interaction, and it is not stored in our collective memory, so there
is no script available before the action takes place
Þ Employees improvise and adapt role expectations à shape to own preferences and
behaviors
Þ Also considers the flexibility of roles and how they affect each other
Roles, image and identity
Þ Role identity theory: people act in a certain way based on how they like to see themselves
and how they like to be seen by others when operating in particular roles
Þ Role identity: “the cognitive schema, or internal framework, that stores the information
and meaning attached to a role to guide behavior and interpretation of the role
expectations” à constant evaluations of yourself, your skills, others
o Consists of maintenance, individual factors, oneself, construction/negotiation,
situational factors and others
Roles help define ‘who we are’
Þ Roles that you play can tell a lot about that person
Þ A role can be attached to a structural position or occupation, but people may provide
different meanings to such a role
Þ Roles also provide the individual with a sense of who one is
Þ But important: not all roles are equally important
Role identity salience
Þ = the importance people give to roles central to their life and identity
Þ Roles are ranked in a hierarchy, and the higher, the more time you spent in that role
Þ Employees choose between enacting one role or the others, and factors that play a role
here are passion, commitment, and aspirations
Role conflict
Þ Occurs when different roles are searching for you in different ways
Þ Functional role demands
Þ Work and personal expectations
Þ Outcomes of role conflict: tension between employees, higher turnover, individual
anxiety, and lower employee performance
Today’s workspace
Þ Roles predict behavior and success of behavior
Þ Role expectations are largely beyond the direct control of management
o More fluid, decentralized organizations
o Employees value autonomy
Þ Role enactment is more challenging than ever, because of:
o Nature of work: flex work/gig work, work for multiple employees in multiple roles
o Technology use has faded boundaries between roles (e.g., home/work)
