Role Negotiation: A Communicative Perspective

Four popular conceptualizations explore individual and contextual factors associated with role change efforts - job crafting, dyadic organizing, taking charge, or i-deals - largely overlook message exchange and interaction dynamics necessary for gaining managerial approval for role change. In failing to consider the interactive, negotiated aspects of role change, interaction, these popular conceptualizations fail to explain why some individuals are able to modify their roles and others are not. This manuscript critiques these conceptualizations, identifies how a communication perspective can enhance theoretical explanations of negotiated processes and differential outcomes, and sets forth propositions to guide future research.