Emotional Contagion and its Relevance to Individual Behavior and Organizational Processes: A Position Paper

Emotions and emotional contagion are being increasingly recognized as crucial variables influencing individual behavior and organizational functioning. This position paper serves the function as a ready reckoner by reviewing and consolidating existing literature in the field of emotional contagion. The review is categorized into three broad headings: (a) individual, (b) interpersonal, and (c) contextual factors, based on their relationship with emotional contagion. The article focuses on analyzing and critiquing studies of emotional contagion conducted in several streams such as psychological processes, personality, organizational behavior, marketing, and consumer behavior. A conceptual framework of emotional contagion is presented, supplemented with research propositions. The phenomenon of emotional contagion in workplace and its effects on personal and group outcomes has emerged as a critical area of research. It has been firmly established in literature that spread of emotions, if not properly managed, is bound to influence work effectiveness. Importance of understanding the effects of transfer of emotions, for both academicians and practicing managers is one of the critical take-aways of this article. Suitable interventions are the need of the hour in order to ensure proper management of emotions. The contribution of the article is expected to be fourfold, in terms of: (a) presenting a structured and comprehensive review of literature on emotional contagion, (b) identifying gaps in the existing literature, (c) proposing a conceptual framework, and (d) developing propositions for future research.