Abstract: “In recent organizational studies, attention to organizational politics and political behavior has been increasing. This study explored the process of political behaviors within organizations using qualitative research of a sample of workers in Japanese firms. Through grounded theory approach, this study identified three constructs of political behaviors: (a) political use of non-political interpersonal networks, (b) leveraging social capital, and (c) other-face-saving behaviors. This study revealed the process of networking and the political use of interpersonal networks, which previous studies on political behaviors have not sufficiently investigated. Moreover, the results of this study can integrate the literature on political behavior and that of facework, which few prior studies have examined in the context of organizational politics.”

Keywords: —organizational politics, political behavior, networking, facework, social capital