Job title inflation

Job titles are defined as socially reinforced symbols that are based on cooperation. Further, job title inflation (JTI) is defined as a deliberate violation of cooperative principle maxims that is intended to extract gains for an organization. The cooperative principle, which is borrowed from the theory of conversational implicature, is expanded to explain how job titles maintain social value, thus acting as important symbols. It is proposed that some organizations practice JTI because they tacitly understand that job titles possess symbolic value that can be leveraged for potential organizational benefit (e.g., increased productivity or sales). Further, three JTI formulas are offered that describe how JTI may be achieved, and a model that uses social exchange theory to describe how JTI ultimately leads to organizational level outcomes is presented. Implications and directions for future research are also discussed.