Attributing “Third World Poverty” in Australia and Malawi: A Case of Donor Bias?1

Causal attributions for poverty in the developing world were examined from the perspectives of “actors” living in a “developing country” (Malawi) and “observers” living in a “developed country” (Australia). Ninety‐eight Malawian and 100 Australian weekend shoppers responded to the Causes of Third World Poverty Questionnaire (CTWPQ) and the Just World Scale (JWS), with Australian participants also providing information about their frequency of donating to foreign‐aid charities. Consistent with the actor–observer bias, Australians were more likely than were Malawians to attribute poverty to dispositional characteristics of the poor, rather than to situational factors. Among the Australians, situational attributions were in turn associated with frequency of donation behavior. The finding of a donor bias in this sample has important implications for the social marketing of foreign aid to Western donor publics.     

Engineering interaction: Structural change,locus of identification,and the formation and maintenance of cross-unit ties

Cross-unit ties–relationships that facilitate discretionary information sharing between individuals from different business units–offer a range of organizational benefits. Scholars argue that organizations can promote cross-unit ties by: (a) formally bringing together individuals from different business units into structural links (e.g., cross-unit strategic committees) to encourage the formation of new cross unit ties and, (b) transferring individuals across units, which can increase cross-unit interaction when ties to the prior unit are maintained. This study considers the notion that the success of these formal interventions in fostering cross-unit interaction is contingent on identification with the local unit relative to identification with the broader organization. Specifically, we propose that structural links are more likely to foster cross-unit ties when organizational identification is high and unit identification is low. In contrast, lateral transfers are more likely to result in cross-unit ties when both organizational identification and unit identification are high. We find general support for these propositions in data obtained from a sample of senior leaders of a Fortune 200 agribusiness company before and after a restructuring designed to stimulate cross-unit information sharing. Our model and results make important contributions to our understanding of the relationship between formal and informal structure and reconcile conflicting views regarding the moderating effect of unit identification on intergroup relations.