Despite strong evidence that task group status hierarchy instability is dysfunctional, little research has considered … hierarchy that is expressed as status conflict in the contexts of groups with varying levels of consensus about the status … hierarchy. We find that group hierarchies are least stable when there is both a high level of status conflict and low consensus …

individuals’ sociometric status (e.g., status conferrals based on positive interpersonal affect and perceived competence, and … status degradations based on negative interpersonal affect) and their attempts to directly control their peers’ behaviour … over a year's time. Results show that multiple informal sociometric status hierarchies develop early in the organization …

identify with, individuals appreciate high social status and a group stereotype to which they have a small social distance. A … group's social status and stereotype are shaped by the (exogenous) individual attributes of its members and hence endogenous … individuals with attributes that contribute little to group status would like to join high-status groups, thereby diluting the …