Plato on Leadership

The purpose of this paper is to identify the various dimensions of leadership emerging in Plato'ss discussions on ideal political governance and then generalize them to fit in with current discussions. The consideration will also cover some areas of organizational ethics, managerial discourses on rhetoric, management of meaning an charismatic leadership are presented. Also the possibility to evaluate the ethically "dark" sides of leadership (like totalitarian and truth-manipulating aspects) is sketched.     

Servant leadership,organisational trust,and bank employee outcomes

Using servant leadership and social exchange theories as the theoretical frameworks, our study proposes and tests a research model that investigates trust in organisation (TIO) as a mediator of the impact of servant leadership on three critical outcomes. These outcomes are intention to be late for work (ILW), creative performance, and service recovery performance. Data obtained from frontline bank employees in three waves at one-week apart and their managers in Saint Petersburg in Russia were used to test the aforementioned relationships. The results demonstrate that TIO is an immediate outcome of servant leadership. TIO gives rise to lower ILW and higher creative and service recovery performances. The aforesaid findings reveal that servant leadership mitigates ILW and boosts both creative and service recovery performances only through TIO. Implications for theory and practice are discussed in our paper.     

Leadership and culture in the MENA region: An analysis of the GLOBE project

This paper focuses on leadership and culture in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, using data from the GLOBE Project. The results show that cultural practices are manifested by higher in-group collectivism and power distance, whilst cultural values are represented by a common desire for higher performance and future orientation. Examination of the leadership prototypes shows a preference for honest, just and inspirational leadership that encourages loyalty. Further examination of the leadership prototype using cluster analysis produced four sub-clusters of leadership profiles. These revealed the similarities and differences among the MENA region's leadership preferences. Opportunities for further research and implications for managers were discussed.     

Can “Real” Men Consume Ethically? How Ethical Consumption Leads to Unintended Observer Inference

Based on social cognitive theory, this paper explored the cognitive mechanism between ethical leadership and the followers’ extra-role performance. We tested a moderated mediation model in which general self-efficacy mediated the relationship between ethical leadership and the employee extra-role performance, while intrinsic motivation moderated the relationship between ethical leadership and subordinate’s general self-efficacy. Data were collected in two waves from 208 dyads. Results supported the time-lagged effect of ethical leadership on individual extra-role performance and the mediating role of general self-efficacy. Moreover, our findings revealed that intrinsic motivation positively moderated the effect of ethical leadership on general self-efficacy. Furthermore, intrinsic motivation also moderated the indirect effect of ethical leadership on extra-role performance via general self-efficacy. Theoretical and practical implications were further discussed.     

When Sales Managers and Salespeople Disagree in the Appreciation for Their Firm: The Phenomenon of Organizational Identification Tension

Marketing literature emphasizes the importance of organizational identification in the sales force. However, empirical research has so far focused on the separate analysis of the consequences of either sales managers’ or salespersons’ organizational identification, largely ignoring their interactive effects. This study seeks to address this research void by exploring the phenomena of organizational identification agreement and organizational identification tension in the sales manager–salesperson dyad. In contrast to organizational identification agreement, organizational identification tension occurs in a sales manager–salesperson dyad if the sales manager and the salesperson differ in the strength of their organizational identification. Analysis of a triadic data set using hierarchical linear modeling supports the authors’ hypotheses that increasing the level of organizational identification agreement is beneficial but increasing organizational identification tension can have severe negative consequences for the satisfaction of a salesperson's customers and the salesperson's performance. The study additionally explores how sales managers’ leadership styles (charismatic vs. transactional), combined with the appropriate control system (behavioral vs. outcome control), can be effective in avoiding organizational identification tension.     

Social influence model and electronic word of mouth

Compared with laptop or desktop computers, mobile devices offer greater flexibility in time and space, thus enabling consumers to be connected online more continually. In addition, their small size, portability and ease of use with location-based capabilities facilitate sending and receiving timely information in the right place. Drawing upon a social influence model proposed by Dholakia et al. (2004), this paper proposes a causal model for consumer participation in electronic word of mouth (eWOM), and compares the effects of PC-based and mobile-based eWOM (hereafter pcWOM and mWOM, respectively). The paper posits social identity, motivations (purposive value, social enhancement and intrinsic enjoyment), inherent novelty seeking and opinion leadership as antecedents affecting desire (individual-level driver) and social intention (grouplevel driver) to engage in eWOM. A total of 271 survey responses were collected from consumers in Japan. The proposed model fits the data reasonably well; all hypotheses are supported. The results reveal that desire only partially mediates the effects on social intention of social identity. Compared with pcWOM participants, mWOM participants exhibit significantly higher perceptions on social intention, intrinsic enjoyment and cognitive social identity. After recognising important limitations, theoretical implications are discussed and future research directions suggested.     

The End of Corporate Social Responsibility: Crisis & Critique,by Peter Fleming and Marc T. Jones

ABSTRACT

Purpose: Given the ever-increasing pressure put on sales organizations to improve performance, behave ethically and establish long-term customer relationships, this study seeks to better comprehend ethical leadership’s part in doing so. It proposes that perceived ethical leadership indirectly influences salesperson performance through trust in manager and ethical ambiguity.

Methodology/Approach: A survey of business-to-business salespeople was taken. Hypotheses are tested using structural equation modeling.

Findings: The results show that perceived ethical leadership influences salesperson performance through the mediating roles of trust in manager and ethical ambiguity. Salespeople’s perceptions of their supervisor’s ethical leadership behaviors positively impact their trust in manager and negatively influences their ethical ambiguity. In turn, trust in manager positively influences sales performance while ethical ambiguity negatively influences sales performance.

Research Implications: The results from testing the hypothesized model support mechanisms by which ethical leadership behavior may affect business-to-business salesperson job performance. It appears that ethical leadership works through ethical ambiguity and trust in manager to impact salesperson behavior performance, rather than directly impacting salesperson performance. Importantly the findings add to the literature an important consequence of ethical leadership, ethical ambiguity. This research likewise adds to the literature on role, and more specifically ethical, ambiguity by finding that reducing salesperson ethical ambiguity has a positive impact on salesperson behavior performance.

Practical Implications: This study finds that one important mechanism for reducing ethical ambiguity is for sales supervisors to practice ethical leadership. By reducing ethical ambiguity, sales managers can improve business-to-business salesperson performance. In addition, use of ethical leadership by sales managers can positively influence the business-to-business salesperson’s trust in manager, which subsequently leads to greater sales performance.

Originality/Value/Contribution: The results of this study add to our knowledge of ethical leadership by further developing its consequences. It also sheds light on a vastly under-researched construct, ethical ambiguity. Finally, it further validates the important role that trust in manager plays in the organization.     

Strategic orientation and performance measurement model in Taiwan's travel agencies

This longitudinal study attempts to examine those effects and relationships of various performance measuring dimensions using the balanced scorecard conceptual framework on travel agencies under different strategic orientations in Taiwan. A three-stage research design is adopted to explore a valid and reliable e-commerce strategy performance measuring model for travel agencies. The research also uses the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach to further empirically build up e-commerce cost leadership and differentiation strategy performance measurement models. The theoretical model identifies an underlying variable construct, dimensions, and their associated attributes which combine the traditional subjective or objective measures with operating measures of e-commerce strategy performances. According to this research, Taiwanese travel agencies consider five financial, three customer, four internal process, and three innovation and learning perspective indicators of performance measurement that also have cause-and-effect relationships among themselves under two different strategies. Finally, this paper proposes two optimal models that match the essential needs of e-commerce cost leadership and differentiation strategic development and overcomes the traditional performance measuring shortcomings.     

Do Perceptions of Ethical Conduct Matter During Organizational Change? Ethical Leadership and Employee Involvement

Ethical leadership matters in the context of organizational change due to the need for followers to trust the integrity of their leaders. Yet, there have been no studies investigating ethical leadership and organizational change. To fill this gap, we introduce a model of the moderating role of involvement in change. Organizational change and involvement in change are proposed as context-level moderators in the relationships of ethical leadership and work-related attitudes and performance. We employ a sample of 199 supervisor–subordinate pairs from a wide variety of organizations. Results support a three-way interaction (ethical leadership, organizational change, and involvement in change) for performance and OCBs. Our results have important implications for organizational change since ethical leadership appears to complement follower involvement when change is happening.     

Regional differences in a national culture and their effects on leadership effectiveness: A tale of two neighboring Chinese cities

We argue that regional differences in a large culture influence leadership effectiveness. Studying the differences and their consequences on leader–member exchange (LMX) and the employee performances in two neighboring Chinese cities, our empirical results show significant differences between group supervisors in Hong Kong and those in Shenzhen. Hong Kong supervisors apply the LMX technique more aggressively, and also more successfully than their Shenzhen counterparts in terms of improving employee performance and reducing turnover.     

The influence of culture on ethical perception held by business students in a New Zealand university

The demand for principled and transparent corporate moral judgement and ethical decision making in the workplace makes it necessary for business students as future managers to understand the expectations of ethical workplace conduct. Corporate scandals mean that there is enhanced interest in ensuring that ethical content is included in curricula in universities. In this study, we re‐visit the question of whether culture has an influence on ethical perceptions of workplace scenarios, using students enrolled in a College of Business in a New Zealand (NZ) university as respondents. Consistent with current research, this study demonstrated mixed results. However, we also found evidence to suggest some identifiable patterns in the data across cultural groups. Overall, Chinese and Other respondents were more likely than NZ European to consider the scenarios as ethical. On the other hand, Chinese respondents were significantly less likely to report that their peers would carry out ethically questionable actions.     

Virtual reality as a promotion tool for small independent stores

Based on flow theory, we examined whether, compared to conventional online stores, 360-degree based virtual reality (VR) videos of a small independent store can enhance customers' store experience and their responses to the store through heightened flow state. Two types of stimuli creating different experiences were used for the experiments. The first stimulus type was a 360-degree VR video experience where respondents experienced the store of a small fashion retailer. The second was a website experience exploring the website of the same store. Results indicate that customers' VR experience (i.e., exploring the physical store in a VR setting), compared to website experience (i.e., exploring the same store's online store), enhanced their flow state, which, in turn, increased interest and visit intention toward the store. The findings suggest that 360-degree VR videos can be an effective customer acquisition tool for small retailers with limited resources because the software and hardware required to operate 360-degree VR videos are inexpensive and less complicated for small companies.     

Employee experienced HPWPs and job performance: Roles of person-job fit and intrinsic motivation

The extant research on high performance work practices (HPWPs) mainly focuses on the organization level, with little research exploring employee experienced HPWPs and their impact on individual work outcomes. Whether and how employee experienced HPWPs contribute to individual job performance is investigated in this study, using three waves of data from 318 subordinate-supervisor dyads in three big auto manufacturing companies in China. Results show that HPWPs are positively related to individual job performance. Moreover, this relationship is fully mediated by employee person-job fit and intrinsic motivation.     

The Interactive Effect of Authentic Leadership and Leader Competency on Followers’ Job Performance: The Mediating Role of Work Engagement

The effect of authentic leadership and leader competency on employee job performance has received growing attention in the past decades; however, few studies have simultaneously integrated these two leadership perspectives. We have thus developed a mediated moderation model to test the interactive effect of authentic leadership and competency on followers’ job performance through work engagement. Based on a sample of 248 subordinate–supervisor pairs, hierarchical regression analyses reveal that (1) authentic leadership positively relates to followers’ task performance and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB); (2) leader competency moderates the relationship between authentic leadership and OCB; (3) and followers’ work engagement mediates the main effect of authentic leadership and the interactive effect of authentic leadership and competency on followers’ task performance and OCB. All the three results are consistent with our hypotheses.     

Perceived Leadership Integrity in the Manufacturing Industry

Ethics is a significant issue among those in leadership positions, especially since the ethical corporate scandals of the 1970s followed by corporate scandals in the 1980s and the S&L scandals of the 1980s and 1990s and most recently the global financial crisis of 2006–2009. The purpose of this research was to measure the perceived leadership integrity in today’s manufacturing environment, since the global financial crisis, as perceived by their employees. This study included 7,233 manufacturing employees in the United States. A total of 66 surveys were used to calculate data for this study. The Perceived Leader Integrity Scale (PLIS) was used to collect data from respondents that included demographic questions. The research addressed the following question: To what degree are leaders in the manufacturing industry considered “low ethical,” “moderate ethical,” and “high ethical” on the PLIS?     

A crisis of leadership: towards an anti-sovereign ethics of organisation

A common reaction to crises experienced within or brought about by business is to identify a corollary ‘crisis of leadership’ and to call for better (stronger, more thoughtful or, indeed, more ethical and responsible) leaders. This paper supports the idea that there is a crisis of leadership – but interprets it quite differently. Specifically, I argue that the most ethically debilitating crisis is the fact that we look to leadership to solve organisational ethical ills. There is, I argue, a pressing need to conceptualise a business ethics that is not constrained by the straitjacket of official hierarchy – a need to denaturalise ‘leadership’ as the normal or rightful locus of ethical regulation and renewal in business organisation. To this end, I explore a Levinasian ethico-politics of responsibility and proximity as the basis of an alternative, anti-sovereign, ethics of organisation.     

Ethical and Unethical Leadership: A Cross-Cultural and Cross-Sectoral Analysis

Current literature on ethical leadership and unethical leadership reflects a Western-based private sector perspective, pointing toward a compliance-oriented understanding of ethical and unethical leadership. As today’s executives increasingly have to ethically lead across different cultures and sectors, it becomes vitally important to develop a more holistic picture how ethical and unethical leadership is perceived in the Western and Eastern cultural cluster and the private and the public/social sector. Addressing this issue, the present study aims to identify cross-cultural and cross-sectoral commonalities and differences in international executives’ perceptions of ethical and unethical leadership. Findings from in-depth interviews (N = 36) with executives from Western and Eastern cultures working in the private or the public/social sector reveal collectively held perceptions of ethical leadership (including leader honesty, integrity, concern for responsibility/sustainability, and people orientation) and of unethical leadership (referring to leader dishonesty, corruption, egocentrism, and manipulation). Results indicate limited support for a compliance-oriented perspective on ethical and unethical leadership but yield a much greater trend toward a value-oriented perspective. Concrete practice examples illustrate these different perspectives. Cultural and sectoral particularities of executive perceptions of ethical and unethical leadership are discussed.     

Leadership styles and corporate social responsibility management: Analysis from a gender perspective

Companies' perceptions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) have been only partially analyzed from an individual perspective that focuses on personal characteristics and professional backgrounds. However, a gap exists in the research on manager leadership styles and CSR perceptions from a gender perspective. Therefore, this article analyzes differences in attitudes toward various dimensions of CSR by focusing on the leadership styles—transformational, dominance, and dual perspectives—of male and female managers in Spain. A total of 391 respondents in top management positions in Spain were surveyed. The findings revealed similarities and differences between genders with respect to leadership styles and CSR perceptions by dimension using a univariate analysis. A causal model that employed structural equation modeling was also estimated. The findings suggest that for transformational and dual leadership styles, Spanish women may be more adaptable and effective at pursuing company sustainability than Spanish men. However, dominance leadership was found to be the worst leadership style for deploying a CSR strategy. A number of conclusions for business management can be drawn, and some directions for future research are provided.     

Towards sustainable supply management: requisite governance and resilience capabilities

Sustainability entails avoiding net harm to natural or social systems while maintaining the buyer firm's economic performance over an extended time. Achieving this balance over the long term, however, may entail trade-offs. Existing literature falters at clarifying the roles of supply management (SM) in achieving effective trade-offs leading to a sustainable competitive advantage. This conceptual study aims to provide such clarification by exploring the necessary role of two contrasting aspects of SM resilience: engineering and ecological in making effective trade-offs. The proposed framework posits SM governance capabilities to determine SM engineering and ecological resilience and, ultimately, effective sustainability-related trade-offs. The study extends existing SM sustainability frameworks by introducing SM engineering and ecological resilience as the imperative of governance capabilities.