Dominance Hierarchy
Social ranking system where individuals have consistent dominant-subordinate relationships. Reduces conflict costs by establishing predictable outcomes without fighting.
Used in the Books
This term appears in 3 chapters:
"... is the biology of sustainable leadership: power maintained through benefit provision rather than threat enforcement. --- Part 1: The Biology of Dominance Hierarchies The Evolution of Leadership: From Despotism to Coalition Dominance hierarchies exist across the animal kingdom, from the simple pecking orders ..."
"Key sources for this chapter include Schjelderup-Ebbe's pecking order research in chickens, linear vs. non-transitive dominance hierarchies, side-blotched lizard mating strategies (rock-paper-scissors dynamics), winner effects and hierarchy establishment phases, Zahavi's handicap principl..."
"...l 2001, The Unified Neutral Theory of Biodiversity). Niche differentiation: If species differ in competitive ability or resource specialization, dominance hierarchies emerge, potentially generating log-normal or power law-like distributions. Disturbance and succession: Periodic disturbances create temporal het..."
Biological Context
Pecking orders in chickens, alpha wolves in packs, and dominance relationships in primate groups all reduce costly conflict. Hierarchies are established through initial contests and then maintained through ritualized displays. Position often determines resource access and mating opportunities.
Business Application
Organizational hierarchies serve similar functions: clarifying decision rights and reducing negotiation costs. The question is whether formal hierarchy matches actual influence and capability.