Toward a Theory of Reinstatement: Seven Motivations for Reinstatement as Relationship Repair Matthew W. McCarter & Arran Caza # Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2009 Abstract There is a long, interdisciplinary tradition of examining why organizations remove privileges from members as a part of disciplinary action. In contrast, little is known about why organizations return privileges after disciplinary action has occurred. Nonetheless, such reinstatement is ubiquitous in organizations. This paper provides a starting point for a theory of reinstatement by using the emerging theoretical domain of relationship repair. Treating reinstatement as relationship repair highlights the importance of causal attribution, social equilibrium, relationship structure, and power as means of relationship repair. The paper uses these four bases of relationship repair to develop a series of specific motivations for why managers might reinstate privileges. Key words reinstatement . employee discipline . organizational punishment . intra-organizational relations Introduction Recently, a Pennsylvanian surgeon was barred from performing specific types of cancer- related surgeries. The peer review committee to which he was subject informed him that he could not perform these surgical procedures, though he was able to continue all other Employ Respons Rights J DOI 10.1007/s10672-009-9131-5 Authors’ Note: This paper benefited from the helpful comments of Najung Kim, Huseyin Leblebici, Associate ERRJ Editor Melissa Parris, Mike Pratt, and two anonymous reviewers. This research was made possible by the generous funding of the Carol Ann Kostka Award and Mary Jane Neer Scholarship provided to the first author. Portions of this paper were presented at the 2008 Annual Academy of Management Conference in Anaheim, CA. M. W. McCarter (*) Argyros School of Business and Economics, Chapman University, 303H Beckman Hall, Orange, CA 92866, USA e-mail: mccarter@chapman.edu A. Caza Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, USA