The paradox of structural empowerment: How and when structural empowerment fuels psychological entitlement and undermines resource sharing.

Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol 111(9), Sep 2026, 1188-1210; doi:10.1037/apl0001377
In recent decades, many organizations have been restructuring in ways that formally decentralize the necessary resources, information, and sociopolitical support, which is labeled “structural empowerment.” Although prior research suggests that structural empowerment enhances resource exchanges, I challenge this conventional wisdom by theorizing its potential drawbacks for resource sharing. Integrating the evolutionary perspective of work design and the dominance–prestige model, I developed a comprehensive model of how and when structural empowerment can hinder employees’ resource sharing via psychological entitlement. I employed multiwave (Study 1) and multisource (Studies 2 and 3) field surveys and experimental methodology (Study 4) to test my hypotheses. The results reveal that dominance-oriented individuals are more likely to feel entitled in response to structural empowerment. Moreover, psychological entitlement decreases resource sharing. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)