The Tip of the Iceberg: A Roadmap for Management Research on Tipping

Abstract

Tipping is a complex phenomenon with wide-ranging impacts on workers and organizations. Prior research has made important contributions to our understanding of why tipping happens and what its impacts are. Yet, we still have much to learn about these topics, particularly when it comes to the emergence, evolution, and diffusion of tipping norms, how organizations approach their decision-making about tipping practices, and the broader individual, organizational, and societal impacts of tipping. Despite management researchers’ limited attention to tipping to date, I argue that they have much to contribute to our understanding of these questions through their conceptual tools and lenses.