"At its core, I am fascinated by how low-power individuals reconcile their agency with the constraints imposed by hierarchy and social pressure"
As a researcher, I am something of an intellectual wanderer—drawn almost compulsively toward tensions, contradictions, and unresolved puzzles in human behavior. Across my research, I repeatedly return to ONE central question: how low-power individuals reconcile their agency with the constraints imposed by hierarchy and social pressure? This question connects three intertwined streams of work:
How low-power individuals gain influence and navigate power dynamics (e.g., flattery, voice, motivation display, narrative);
The unintended moral and relational costs of their influence attempts (e.g., coworkers’ subtle undermining; personal reputation loss; leaders’ unethical behavior);
The often-overlooked value they bring to organizational life (e.g., underdog experiences; survivor stories).
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Chen, S., & Zhang, C. (2021) What Happens to a Black Sheep? Exploring How Multilevel LMX Differentiation Shapes the Organizational Altruism Behaviors of Low LMX Minority. Group & Organization Management, 46(6), 1073–1105. (ABS 3; ABDC-A)
Chen, S., Bashshsur, M. 2026. Right-Hand or Left-Hand Partner: How Ingratiatory Followers Shape Leader Power into Self-Interest. Poster accepted at the 86th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Philadelphia, USA.
Chen, S., & Bashshur, M. 2026. The Thin Crown is the Heaviest: When and Why Team Identification Drains Leaders. Extended abstract accepted by the 9th Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Leadership Symposium, Chania, Greece.
Chen, S., Bashshsur, M. 2025. The Hidden Evil of Flattery: How the Low Power Yes-people Corrupt Powerholders. Paper presented at the 85th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Chen, S., Lim, J.H., Yan, L.X. 2025. When Amplification Undermines: Self-centric Voice Amplification and Leadership Emergence. Paper presented at the 85th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Chen, S., Bashshsur, M., Schaerer, M. 2024. How Followers Corrupt Their Leaders with Opinion Conformity and Flattery. Paper presented at the 84th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Chicago, USA.
Chen, S., Bashshsur, M., Schaerer, M. 2024. The Low Power Corrupts. Paper presented at the 7th Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Leadership Symposium, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Chen, S., & Zhang, C. 2020. What Happens to A Black Sheep? The Effects of LMX Relational Separation on Organizational Altruism Behaviors and Relationship Conflicts. Paper presented at the 9th Biennial Conference of International Association for Chinese Management Research. (Online due to Coronavirus)
Zhang, C., & Chen, S. 2019. CEO Learning Goal Orientation and Firm Innovation: Examining the CEO-TMT Interface. Paper presented at the 79th Annual Meeting of Academy of Management, Boston.