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The Power Behind Empowerment: Implications for Research and Practice

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Human Relations

Abstract

The 1990s have been called the“empowerment era,” yet growing evidencesuggests that empowerment programs often fail to meetthe expectations of both managers and employees. Toprovide a better understanding as to why empowerment programs often fail andto suggest how such failures may be averted, we examinethe power behind empowerment. Ironically, although powerand empowerment are inextricably linked, much of the work on empowerment in the businessliterature has been devoid of any discussion of power.We present a four-dimensional model which shows themultifaceted way in which power works. In it, we observe the similarities and differences in the waysthat different theorists have approached the study ofpower, notably those ascribing to mainstream , critical, and Foucauldian perspectives. We then use this power model as a lens with which to examineempowerment practices in business. This analysissuggests a number of possible reasons for the failure ofbusiness empowerment programs and provides directions for future research and practice which mightaddress these shortcomings.

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Authors
  1. Cynthia Hardy
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  2. Sharon Leiba-O'Sullivan
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Hardy, C., Leiba-O'Sullivan, S. The Power Behind Empowerment: Implications for Research and Practice. Human Relations 51, 451–483 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016989830806

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