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NTU Management Review Vol. 33 No. 3 Dec. 2023

(Stevenson et al., 1985).
Once organizational members perceive their interests and discuss issues, the coalition
begins to form and conflicts among members are emerged. The answer to what decisions
will be made lies in examining who has the power in a particular decision context (Pfeffer

and Salancik, 1974; Pettigrew, 2009). Salancik and Pfeffer (1974) indicate that when
there are differences in the objectives and preferences of organizational participants, the
associated problem becomes whose interests are served and who controls and initiates

organizational action. They show that, when organizational resources are limited and
critical to organizational subunits, power becomes a significant factor (variable) in
explaining resource allocation decisions. Power influences resource allocation decisions
and processes that are directed toward an organization’s subunits when resources are
limited and function as a vital input for accomplishing goals (Pfeffer and Salancik, 2003;

Pfeffer, 1981).
In a hierarchical organization, power is normally determined by the role rather than
the person’s attribution (Salancik and Pfeffer, 1977). A supervisor, therefore, can produce

the desired outcomes, and accomplish the subunits’ goals by controlling the resources
on which the subunit depends. The hierarchical arrangement of position implies that the
organization gives more power, information, resources, control and authority to more
highly placed members. Lending further support to this view, Stevenson et al. (1985)
point out that the organizational position largely determines the information and resources

available to members; thus, formal position gives some actors a great deal more leverage
in bargaining situations than others. Supervisors, therefore, are expected to have greater
opportunities to create a dominant coalition and control the availability of resources

between subordinates who are part of the dominant coalition and those who are part of a
non-dominant coalition.
Supervisors own preferences concerning certain tasks may be driven by supervisors
overemphasizing the need to provide input to tasks they prefer (Delfgaauw and
Souverijn, 2016; Feichter, 2023). Studies have shown that a decision maker’s desire to

reach a particular outcome influences their judgments, behaviors, and decisions (Epley
and Gilovich, 2016; Boiney, Kennedy, and Nye, 1997). To fulfill their preferred goals,
supervisors may use authority to allocate resources, mainly to control other subunits to

achieve goals that conform with their own goals. Specifically, supervisors are more likely

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