University of Hagen

Power constitutes a central yet often overlooked factor in organizational decision-making. In companies, it shapes not only formal decision processes but also informal structures and the distribution of influence within hierarchies. This study examines how structural changes in formal organizational hierarchies affect the distribution of power. Building on an entropy-based modeling framework, directed authority relations are translated into a cardinal measure of structural power. The analysis employs the expert system Shell-SPIRIT to derive power potentials from probabilistic representations of organizational structures. Using systematically varied organizational scenarios under ceteris paribus conditions, the study quantitatively substantiates three general theses on steering power through organizational design. The results demonstrate how intuitive mechanisms of power formation can be formally measured and compared, thereby providing a transparent analytical foundation for integrating structural power into organizational analysis and decision-making. • Introduce a cardinal-scale method for measuring relational power in decision-making. • Quantify power dynamics using an entropy-based data-driven evaluation model. • Examine how hierarchical shifts affect power distribution within dynamic organizations. • Present strategic insights for steering power potential in organizational structures. • Derive actionable theses for managing power in complex decision environments.

Understanding our relation to animals is essential to tackle global challenges that arise out of the prioritization of human over nonhuman animal interests, like in the case of meat consumption. Meat is linked to ethically questionable animal agriculture practices, climate change, biodiversity loss, and pandemics. To understand the prioritization and legitimization of the human–animal relation, we utilized the ingroup projection model for human–animal relations. In a correlational study ( N 1 = 652) and an experiment ( N 2 = 309), we investigated ingroup projection—the process in which humans project “their” traits onto the superordinate category of the animal kingdom. Ingroup projection was associated with less speciesism and less meat consumption justification. Opposite to interhuman relations, for those high in supremacy beliefs, diversity perception was related to reduced ingroup projection. Experimental evidence for the effect of diversity perception was inconsistent. However, ingroup projection was associated with less legitimizing beliefs across both studies. Based on these findings, we introduce the (ingroup projection model for human–animal relations as a special case of the ingroup projection model, which bridges research on human–animal relations with dehumanization and anthropomorphization research. Our work provides a further step towards an interdependent understanding of our connectedness to and detachment from the animal kingdom.

Der Beitrag untersucht, wie ein männlich geprägtes Bild von Führung in der BWL-Ausbildung durch Auseinandersetzung mit alternativen Rollenmodellen in TV-Serien und Filmen erweitert werden kann. Auf Basis einer strukturierten Lernaktivität wurden qualitativ affektive und emotionale Prozesse in der Identitätsarbeit wie Anschluss, Dekonstruktion, Rekonstruktion identifiziert, sowie Ergebnisse zum Lerntransfer. Deren verkörperte und affektive Umsetzung wiederum könnte transformativ Führung verändern. This article explores how traditionally masculine images of leadership in business education can be transformed through engagement with alternative role models in TV series and films. Based on a structured learning activity, qualitative affective and emotional processes in identity work (such as connection, deconstruction, and reconstruction) were identified, along with learning outcomes. Their implementation in everyday interaction, in turn, could transform how leadership is embodied.