Theorising the dark side of interorganizational relationships: an extension

Purpose: This paper aims to propose mechanisms of the dark side of interorganizational relationships from a social psychological perspective. The purpose is to understand the role of boundary spanners’ social psychological processes that may trigger the dark side effects. Design/methodology/approach: Multple mechanisms are developed through three social psychological theories, namely, social identity theory, system justification theory and social learning theory. Findings: Boundary spanners’ social psychological processes can trigger the dark side of interorganizational relationships via mechanisms such as excessive cooperation, reification, system justification and path dependence in learning. Practical implications: This paper concludes with a discussion that offers a new perspective on research on dark side effects and the managerial implications of the present analysis. Originality/value: This paper contributes to the current literature by extending the interpersonal social psychological processes that could explain the dark side of interorganizational relationships. This paper is a step forward to answer the calls for multilevel considerations of the dark side effects and inspire future research on the role of social psychological processes in dark side effects.