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Article
Publication date: 26 August 2020

Why someone did not stop them? Aversive racism and the responsibility of bystanders

Audrey J. Murrell

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the impact of persistent racial bias, discrimination and racial violence is facilitated by otherwise well-intentioned…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the impact of persistent racial bias, discrimination and racial violence is facilitated by otherwise well-intentioned individuals who fail to act or intercede. Utilizing the aversive racism framework, the need to move beyond awareness raising to facilitate behavioral changes is discussed. Examining the unique lens provided by the aversive racism framework and existing research, the bystander effect provides important insights on recent acts of racial violence such as the murder of Mr. George Floyd. Some promise is shown by the work on effective bystander behavior training and highlights the need for shared responsibility in preventing the outcomes of racial violence and discrimination to create meaningful and long-lasting social change.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses literature based on the aversive racism framework together with the literature on the bystander effect to understand the factors, conditions and consequences for lack of intervention when the victim is African American. This paper also provides evidence and theory-based recommendations for strategies to change passive bystanders into active allies.

Findings

The use of the aversive racism framework provides a powerful lens to help explain the inconsistencies in the bystander effect based on the race of the victim. The implications for intervention models point to the need for behavioral and competency-based approaches that have been shown to provide meaningful change.

Practical implications

Several different approaches to address incidents of racial aggression and violence have been developed in the past. However, given the principles of aversive racism, a unique approach that considers the inconsistencies between self-perceptions and actions is needed. This sets a new agenda for future research and meaningful behavioral intervention programs that seek to equip bystanders to intercede in the future.

Social implications

The need to address and provide effective strategies to reduce the incidence of racial aggression and violence have wide-ranging benefits for individuals, communities and society.

Originality/value

By connecting the aversive racism framework to the bystander effect, the need for different models for developing responsive and active bystanders can be more effectively outlined.

Details

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-07-2020-0191
ISSN: 2040-7149

Keywords

  • Aversive racism
  • Bystander effect
  • Racial discrimination
  • Microaggressions
  • Macroaggressions

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Book part
Publication date: 1 October 2015

Reporting Fraud: An Examination of the Bystander Effect and Evidence Strength

Alisa Brink, C. Kevin Eller and Huiqi Gan

We conduct an experiment to examine the occurrence of the bystander effect on willingness to report a fraudulent act. Specifically, we investigate the impact of evidence…

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Abstract

We conduct an experiment to examine the occurrence of the bystander effect on willingness to report a fraudulent act. Specifically, we investigate the impact of evidence strength on managers’ decisions to blow the whistle in the presence and absence of other employees who have knowledge of the wrongdoing. Results indicate that when there is strong evidence indicating a fraudulent act, individuals with sole knowledge are more likely to report than when others are aware of the fraudulent act (the bystander effect). However, the bystander effect is not found when evidence of fraud is weak. Further, a mediated moderation analysis indicates that perceived personal responsibility to report mediates the relation between others’ awareness of the questionable act and reporting likelihood, suggesting that the bystander effect is driven by diffusion of responsibility. Our results have implications for all types of organizations that wish to mitigate the detrimental effect of fraud. Specifically, training or incentives may be necessary to overcome the bystander effect in an organization.

Details

Advances in Accounting Behavioral Research
Type: Book
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/S1475-148820150000018004
ISBN: 978-1-78441-635-5

Keywords

  • Whistleblowing
  • fraud
  • bystander effect
  • diffusion of responsibility
  • evidence strength

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Book part
Publication date: 24 September 2015

Factors that Influence Bystander Behavior in the Cyberbully Context ☆

Jessica Niblack and Jodie L. Hertzog

Despite growing attention to the prevalence and consequences of cyberbullying within the social sciences, research on cyber-bystander reactions has been largely…

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Abstract

Purpose

Despite growing attention to the prevalence and consequences of cyberbullying within the social sciences, research on cyber-bystander reactions has been largely overlooked. Drawing from Latane and Darley’s (1970) bystander engagement model, the current study sought to fill this gap by exploring how common it is for adolescents to encounter cyberbullying on social networking sites (SNS), how youth react to the cyberbullying witnessed on SNS, and most importantly to uncover factors that may be related to two potential bystander trajectories on SNS, namely traditional bystanding and prosocial bystander engagement.

Methodology/approach

Data was drawn from the 2011 Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project (Princeton Survey Research Associates International, 2011). The secondary analysis was restricted to only adolescents who ranged in age from 12 to 17. Grounded in existing research on face-to-face bystander behaviors, two Ordinary Least Squares regression models were run testing which independent variables (age, gender, frequency of SNS use, perceived peer norms, and prior cyberbully victimization) were related to traditional and to prosocial bystander behavior online.

Findings

Approximately 88% of youth reported they’ve witnessed a cyberbullying exchange on an SNS. Among these witnesses, the majority reported engaging in both prosocial (62%) and traditional (74%) bystander practices. Based on the regression analyses, a key factor for bystander practice online appears to be observed peer behavior.

Originality/value

The findings from this research provide an initial exploration into cyber-bystander behavior, with potential implications for both future research directions and cyberbully prevention programming.

Details

Technology and Youth: Growing Up in a Digital World
Type: Book
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/S1537-466120150000019002
ISBN: 978-1-78560-265-8

Keywords

  • Cyberbullying
  • bystander engagement
  • Adolescent technology use

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Book part
Publication date: 27 November 2014

Tweens, Cyberbullying, and Moral Reasoning: Separating the Upstanders from the Bystanders

Erhardt Graeff

To inform policy, curricula, and future research on cyberbullying through an exploration of the moral reasoning of digitally active 10–14-year olds (tweens) when witnesses…

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Abstract

Purpose

To inform policy, curricula, and future research on cyberbullying through an exploration of the moral reasoning of digitally active 10–14-year olds (tweens) when witnesses to digital abuse.

Methodology/approach

Conducted interviews with 41 tweens, asking participants to react as witnesses to two hypothetical scenarios of digital abuse. Through thematic analysis of the interviews, I developed and applied a new typology for classifying “upstanders” and “bystanders” to cyberbullying.

Findings

Identified three types of upstander and five types of bystander, along with five thinking processes that led participants to react in those different ways. Upstanders were more likely than bystanders to think through a scenario using high-order moral reasoning processes like disinterested perspective-taking. Moral reasoning, emotions, and contextual factors, as well as participant gender and home school district, all appeared to play a role in determining how participants responded to cyberbullying scenarios.

Research limitations/implications

Hypothetical scenarios posed in interviews cannot substitute for case studies of real events, but this qualitative analysis has produced a framework for classifying upstanding and bystanding behavior that can inform future studies and approaches to digital ethics education.

Originality

This study contributes to the literature on cyberbullying and moral reasoning through in-depth interviews with tweens that record the complexity and context-dependency of thinking processes like perspective-taking among an understudied but critical age group.

Details

Communication and Information Technologies Annual
Type: Book
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/S2050-206020140000008016
ISBN: 978-1-78350-629-3

Keywords

  • Cyberbulling
  • digital ethics
  • moral reasoning
  • tweens

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Article
Publication date: 8 April 2020

The interplay of management response and individual power in digital service environments from a bystander's perspective

Ran Huang and Sejin Ha

This study aims to investigate bystanders' perceptions and reactions to management responses to consumer complaints through digital service channels. Specific purposes are…

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate bystanders' perceptions and reactions to management responses to consumer complaints through digital service channels. Specific purposes are to examine how management response (i.e. warmth, competence) and individual differences (i.e. bystander power) work together to influence bystanders' information processing of service recovery.

Design/methodology/approach

This research consists of two main studies which employed web-based experiments. Both studies used a 2 (management response: warmth vs competence) × 2 (individual power: low vs high) between-subjects design. A total of 240 participants were recruited from Amazon's Mechanical Turk platform in Study 1, and 233 participants were recruited from a market research company in Study 2.

Findings

Study 1 suggested that for the high-power group, warmth-related responses increased service perceptions (perceived diagnosticity and perceived fairness), and for low-power group, competence-related responses enhanced service perceptions. Study 2 confirmed the results of Study 1 and further demonstrated bystanders' service perceptions as the underlying mechanisms to connect the interactive effect of management response and individual power on satisfaction with complaint handling and WOM intentions.

Practical implications

The current research demonstrates how companies can effectively manage customers' experiences (i.e. bystanders' experiences) with service recovery management on digital platforms by demonstrating effective management responses to consumer complaints through digital service channels.

Originality/value

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that explores bystanders' individual characteristics related to the information processing of service recovery through digital service channels.

Details

Journal of Service Management, vol. 31 no. 3
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-09-2018-0307
ISSN: 1757-5818

Keywords

  • Complaint handling
  • Digital service platforms
  • Bystanders
  • Management response
  • Power

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Article
Publication date: 4 November 2019

When and how vicarious abusive supervision leads to bystanders’ supervisor-directed deviance: A moderated–mediation model

Shu-Chen Chen and Na-Ting Liu

The purpose of this paper is to examine bystanders’ supervisor-directed deviance to vicarious abusive supervision by supervisor-directed attribution. Furthermore, this…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine bystanders’ supervisor-directed deviance to vicarious abusive supervision by supervisor-directed attribution. Furthermore, this study developed a moderated–mediation model to explore how LMX between bystander and his/her supervisor moderate the relationship between vicarious abusive supervision and the supervisor-directed attribution, which subsequently influences bystanders’ supervisor-directed deviance.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper tested the model using a sample of 336 workers using a two-wave survey. A moderated–mediation analysis was conducted with bootstrapping procedure to test the first stage moderated–mediation model in this study.

Findings

The results showed that LMX (between bystander and his/her supervisor) weakens the indirect relationship between vicarious abusive supervision and supervisor-directed deviance by bystanders’ supervisor-directed attribution.

Practical implications

Leadership training programs should be conducted to caution supervisors in terms of the deleterious consequences of vicarious abusive supervision. Organizations also should plan perception and communication training courses for leaders; such training would reduce bystanders’ responsibility attribution to them by providing timely explanations and communication. Furthermore, organizations should monitor supervisors by managers’ performance appraisal and formulate rules to punish abusive managers.

Originality/value

These results clarify the nature and consequences of LMX (dyadic relationships of bystanders–supervisor) for bystanders’ attribution process, and explain underlying attributional perceptions and reactions to vicarious abusive supervision. This study provides a more nuanced understanding of when and how vicarious abusive supervision leads to bystanders’ supervisor-directed deviance.

Details

Personnel Review, vol. 48 no. 7
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-09-2018-0368
ISSN: 0048-3486

Keywords

  • Quantitative
  • Abusive supervision
  • Leader–member exchange (LMX)
  • Attribution
  • Supervisor-directed deviance
  • Vicarious abusive supervision

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Article
Publication date: 26 April 2011

The limits to workplace friendship: Managerialist HRM and bystander behaviour in the context of workplace bullying

Premilla D'Cruz and Ernesto Noronha

This paper seeks to describe bystander behaviour including bystander decisions, actions and outcomes, in the context of workplace bullying.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper seeks to describe bystander behaviour including bystander decisions, actions and outcomes, in the context of workplace bullying.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on a study rooted in van Manen's hermeneutic phenomenology conducted with agents who witnessed workplace bullying in international‐facing call centres in Mumbai and Bangalore, India. Conversational interviews and sententious and selective thematic analyses were undertaken to explore participants' lived experiences.

Findings

Participants' experiences were captured by the core theme of “helpless helpfulness” which subsumes the major themes of “the primacy of friendship” and “the ascendance of the self”. Friendship prompted participants to completely protect targets and to fully resolve the bullying situation. Yet, participants, whose initial behaviour was in the desired direction, greatly curbed their efforts in response to supervisory reactions and organizational positions. Inclusivist and exclusivist HR strategies adopted by the employer organization constrained participants in their endeavours to support targets.

Research limitations/implications

The study achieves theoretical generalisability but further research is needed to establish statistical generalisability.

Practical implications

Bystander intervention is an important solution to workplace bullying. The study findings help in developing more effective bystander intervention training programmes, apart from advocating the engagement of HRM as a truly unitarist ideology, the development of effective employee redressal mechanisms and the relevance of pluralist approaches and collectivisation endeavours.

Originality/value

Bystander behaviour in the context of workplace bullying has received limited empirical attention. The study breaks new ground in uncovering the contribution of workplace friendship and organizational inclusivist and exclusivist HR strategies to bystander experiences. Further, workplace bullying remains largely unexplored in India.

Details

Employee Relations, vol. 33 no. 3
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/01425451111121777
ISSN: 0142-5455

Keywords

  • Workplace
  • Human resource management
  • Bullying
  • Social interaction
  • Call centres
  • India

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Book part
Publication date: 20 September 2014

The Dynamics of Backlash Online: Anonymous and the Battle for WikiLeaks

Jennifer Earl and Jessica L. Beyer

We analyze reactions to the U.S. government-led repression of WikiLeaks in late 2010 by actors such as Anonymous and the Pirate Parties to argue that the potential for…

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Abstract

We analyze reactions to the U.S. government-led repression of WikiLeaks in late 2010 by actors such as Anonymous and the Pirate Parties to argue that the potential for backlash, which has been so prominent offline, is also a potential repercussion of repression online. In doing so, we use existing research to identify different ways in which bystanders might be pulled into conflicts, and examine our case for evidence of any of these forms of backlash. We also hypothesize that the net observed effect of repression is really the result of competing and/or amplifying backlash and deterrence effects; when this net effect is in favor of backlash, we call it a “net backlash effect” to indicate that there was more backlash than deterrence. We argue that net backlash occurs when repression recruits more bystanders into a conflict than it is able to deter in terms of already active participants. We also argue that backlash is a very likely outcome when Internet activism is repressed.

Details

Intersectionality and Social Change
Type: Book
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/S0163-786X20140000037007
ISBN: 978-1-78441-105-3

Keywords

  • Online protest
  • repression
  • bystanders
  • WikiLeaks
  • Anonymous
  • Internet

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Article
Publication date: 1 November 1999

Multi‐rater feedback methods: personal and organizational implications

Paul Jansen and Daniël Vloeberghs

The conditions and implications for the use of multi‐rater feedback or “360‐degree” methods are studied from both a psychological and an organizational perspective…

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Abstract

The conditions and implications for the use of multi‐rater feedback or “360‐degree” methods are studied from both a psychological and an organizational perspective. Psychological research indicates that multi‐ratings cannot be put on the same footing as ratings obtained from more “objective” sources as for instance the assessment center. Multi‐rater feedback can be interpreted either as standing in the tradition of assessment centers, or originating from “total quality management”, but it seems more congenial to the TQM method of organizing “customer feedback”. Since multi‐rater feedback presupposes social interaction and consequently a work organization, the communicative conditions for such a feedback system are subsequently investigated from the perspective of organization science. It is investigated how various structural and cultural changes offer a fertile soil for the introduction of such kinds of feedback. However, the authors warn of the terror of “total feedback”.

Details

Journal of Managerial Psychology, vol. 14 no. 6
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/02683949910287903
ISSN: 0268-3946

Keywords

  • Feedback
  • Assessment centres
  • Total Quality Management
  • Corporate communications

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Article
Publication date: 12 September 2016

The influence of a “green” loyalty program on service encounter satisfaction

Stephanie Q. Liu and Anna S. Mattila

Presently, loyalty programs often offer preferential treatment to the firm’s best customers, and recently, service firms started to incorporate corporate social…

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Abstract

Purpose

Presently, loyalty programs often offer preferential treatment to the firm’s best customers, and recently, service firms started to incorporate corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives into the loyalty reward programs (e.g. Starwood’s “Make A Green Choice”). However, academic research advancing the understanding of the effectiveness of CSR-focused loyalty programs is lacking. To bridge that gap, this paper aims to examine the influence of a “green” loyalty program on members’ and bystanders’ service encounter satisfaction in light of preferential treatment. Furthermore, this paper investigates the psychological mechanisms (prosociality perceptions and status perceptions) that underlie these effects.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a 2 (loyalty program: green vs standard) × 2 (customer type: member vs bystander) × 2 (observability of preferential treatment: low vs high) between-subjects experimental design. Respondents were asked to read a hotel check-in scenario and then completed scales that measured their perceptions and evaluations of the service encounter.

Findings

Results from this study suggest that a green loyalty program can buffer the negative effect of preferential treatment on bystanders’ service encounter satisfaction. An examination of the underlying mechanism reveals that prosociality perceptions of the firm mediate the impact of loyalty programs on bystanders’ satisfaction. As expected, the results show that a green loyalty program is as effective as a standard program in elevating members’ satisfaction. Furthermore, findings from a moderated mediation analysis indicate that status perceptions mediate the impact of customer type on satisfaction. However, status perceptions have a greater leveraging power in satisfaction when observability of preferential treatment is high.

Originality/value

The results of this study have significant implications for service firms with loyalty programs and customer prioritization practices. By incorporating CSR into their loyalty programs, firms may be able to mitigate the negative bystander effect while maintaining the positive effects of preferential treatment on members’ service encounter satisfaction.

Details

Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 30 no. 6
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JSM-09-2015-0298
ISSN: 0887-6045

Keywords

  • Consumer behaviour
  • Corporate social responsibility
  • Status
  • Loyalty program
  • Experimental design
  • Prosociality

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