Research found that expert, referent, and reward power were positively related to satisfaction with the supervisor, but legitimate and coercive power were not.

A meta-analytic review found that legitimate power exerts little influence on either job satisfaction or performance. Similarly, reward power does not significantly affect satisfaction, but it does have a positive influence on performance. In contrast, coercive power seems unrelated to performance but does negatively affect satisfaction.

With regard to the personal power bases, referent power most strongly influences satisfaction, and expert power positively influences both satisfaction and performance.

• Commitment— also known as internalization; a strong effort made and enthusiastically carries out the request. Both attitudes and behaviours change.
• Compliance—willing to complete the request but does so in an apathetic manner giving minimal effort; only behaviour changes.
• Resistance—opposed to the request and refuses to do it. They may explain why they can’t complete it, try to change it, get superiors to change it, delay it, or even sabotage the task by doing it wrong; no change in attitude or behaviour toward the request.

There exists a “zone of indifference” in each individual within which orders are acceptable without conscious questioning of their authority. The zone of indifference will be wider or narrower depending upon the degree to which the inducements exceed the burdens and sacrifices which determine the individual’s adhesion to the organization.