Antagonism and work outcomes: Implicit and explicit considerations

This chapter provides a brief overview of the study of antagonism in organizational contexts. It begins by introducing the two primary research traditions for studying trait antagonism within the organizational sciences: explicit and implicit approaches. The bulk of the chapter provides empirical evidence linking the explicit component of trait antagonism to workplace outcomes (i.e., job performance, job attitudes, and leadership). We then describe the current research around the implicit component of trait antagonism in the workplace. The chapter concludes by promoting the future development and use of theory which integrates the explicit and implicit personality components by providing examples of successful integration through the use of channeling models (. James & LeBreton, 2010; Winter, John, Stewart, Klohnen, & Duncan, 1998).