Building effective organizations: transformational leadership,collectivist orientation,work-related attitudes and withdrawal behaviours in three emerging economies

Abstract

Previous cross-cultural research on transformational leadership has focused mainly on replicating the augmentation effects of transformational leadership over transactional leadership on followers’ attitudes and behaviours. Relatively few studies have systematically examined cultural impacts in moderating the influence of transformational leadership on work-related outcomes taking a cross-cultural perspective. Using a field survey of 577 employees from banking and financial sectors in three emerging economies, namely: China, India and Kenya, we examined the moderating effect of collectivism on the relationships between transformational leadership, work-related attitudes and perceptions of withdrawal behaviours. Our results found support for the moderating effect of collectivism on the relationship between transformational leadership and work-related outcomes, such as facets of job satisfaction, organizational commitment and perceptions of organizational withdrawal behaviours. In addition, our results lend support to the view that transformational leadership might be effective across cultures. The implications of these findings for future research on transformational leadership and cross-cultural research are discussed.     

Transformational leadership and followers' attitudes: the mediating role of psychological empowerment

There is now strong evidence that transformational leadership substantially influences the work attitudes and behaviours of followers. However, the mechanisms by which transformational leaders influence their followers have not been studied in a systematic fashion. The purpose of the present study is, therefore, to analyse how transformational leadership promotes: i) job satisfaction among employees; and ii) affective commitment to the organization. In particular, the possible mediating role of psychological empowerment in these two relationships is conceptually hypothesised and empirically tested. The results demonstrate that psychological empowerment mediates the relationship between transformational leadership and employee attitudes.     

Transformational leadership and job involvement in the Middle East: the moderating role of individually held cultural values

This study examines whether individually held cultural values moderate the relationship between transformational leadership behavior of supervisors and the job involvement of subordinates in the Middle Eastern organizational context. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to analyze survey data from 229 employees of 10 organizations in the United Arab Emirates. In line with the findings of studies in Western countries, transformational leadership was found to influence job involvement positively. In addition, the cultural value orientations of individuals were found to moderate this relationship. Collectivism positively influenced the relationship between transformational leadership and job involvement, whereas uncertainty avoidance had a negative effect. These findings provide an insight into how transformational leadership may be used to motivate culturally diverse groups of employees within the Middle East. To enhance job involvement, organizations need to realize that the attitudinal response of subordinates to transformational leadership can depend on their cultural values. This has significant implications regarding the training and effective deployment of transformational leaders within Middle Eastern organizations.     

The Comparative Influences of Transformational Leadership and Leader–Member Exchange on Follower Engagement

Scholars of transformational leadership and leader–member exchange (LMX) have argued that leaders are able to positively influence the job attitudes and behaviors of followers by different means. Whereas transformational leadership focuses on the leaders’ ability to transform followers through a global inspiring vision that encourages positive change among all employees, LMX highlights the importance of the leaders’ unique relationships with followers as the driver of positive attitudes and behaviors. Using field data gathered from 280 full‐time employees, the current research compared the influence of these two leadership styles on follower engagement. The results suggested that rather than the influence derived from inspirational leadership behaviors, it is employees’ unique relationship with their leader that creates follower engagement. Additionally, the results indicated that follower engagement mediates the relationship between leadership and key employee outcomes (i.e., organizational citizenship behavior [OCB] and employee turnover intentions). Implications to theory and practice are discussed.     

Implementing Change in Public Organizations: The relationship between leadership and affective commitment to change in a public sector context

We propose and test a theoretical framework concerning the relationship between transformational leadership behaviour and affective commitment to change in a public sector context. We apply change management theory to explain how direct supervisors contribute to processes of organizational change, thereby increasing affective commitment to change among employees. While the change leadership literature emphasizes the role of executive managers during change, we conclude that the transformational leadership behaviour of direct supervisors is an important contribution to the successful implementation of change. Furthermore, the results show how the specific context of public organizations determines the transformational leadership behaviour of direct supervisors.     

Chinese paternalistic leadership and non-Chinese subordinates' psychological health

Past research on Chinese leadership, a style which is different from that practiced in the West, has demonstrated that paternalistic leadership within Chinese society is significantly related to employees' psychological health. This research contributes to the literature by providing results from the interaction between Chinese and non-Chinese society and examining the moderating role played by the cultural value of uncertainty avoidance (UA). Based on the bottom-up model of the subjective well-being theory, this study aims to disclose the relationship between Chinese leadership behavior and its effects on the psychological health of non-Chinese subordinates from cross-cultural and multi-national backgrounds. Results from the study sample of 160 non-Chinese subordinates from 31 overseas branches of the selected, large, Chinese multinational enterprise (MNE), showed that the moral and authoritarian styles of the Chinese paternalistic leadership contributed negatively to psychological health in the workplace, a different pattern of results from studies completed with Chinese subordinates in previous research. In addition, it also showed that UA partly moderated this unique leader-follower relationship. Specifically, when non-Chinese followers had a higher UA value orientation, the negative effects of their superior's moral style on their psychological health was weakened.     

Examining the influence of servant and entrepreneurial leadership on the work outcomes of employees in social enterprises

Abstract

The present study examines the relative influence of two distinct leadership styles, servant leadership and entrepreneurial leadership, on the organizational commitment and innovative behavior of employees working in social enterprises. Analyzing data from 169 employees and 42 social entrepreneurs, we found that, although servant leadership was positively related to followers’ organizational commitment, the relationship between entrepreneurial leadership and organizational commitment was insignificant. In contrast, whilst we found evidence that entrepreneurial leadership was positively related to followers’ innovative behavior, the relationship between servant leadership and employees’ innovative behavior was insignificant. Our research contributes to the underdeveloped literature on leadership in social enterprises by exploring the relative effectiveness of different leadership styles (namely an entrepreneurial leadership style and a servant leadership style) in promoting follower work attitudes and behaviors in social enterprises. In addition, our research demonstrates the importance of leadership over and above followers’ individual differences such as pro-social motivation and creative self-efficacy.     

How does growth need strength influence employee outcomes? The roles of hope,leadership, and cultural value

Abstract

Strong growth need is essential if an employee is to be motivated to complete complex and challenging jobs. It is important for organizations to attract employees with high growth need strength and help them achieve positive outcomes. However, limited research has been conducted to examine the mechanism underlying growth need strength’s positive effect on employee outcomes. Based on hope theory, we hypothesized that hope mediates the effect of growth need strength on job performance and affective commitment by transforming employees’ general desire for personal growth into goal-related cognitive thinking, comprising both ‘will’ and ‘ways’. We further hypothesized the moderating effect of transformational leadership, and the joint moderating effect of transformational leadership and individual power distance on the relationship between growth need strength and hope. We tested our hypotheses with data from a sample of 265 subordinate–supervisor dyads from China. Data analysis results supported the mediating role of hope. We found that growth need strength has a stronger effect on hope when transformational leadership is higher, and this effect is the strongest when both transformational leadership and individual power distance are simultaneously higher. The implications of these findings for human resource management research and practice are discussed.     

Implicit leadership in an intercultural context: theory extension and empirical investigation

Prior literature highlights that subordinates' identification with their leader is important for leader success. This study explores new mechanisms of implicit leadership and their effects on identification by subordinates. Using data from two sources – subordinates from five regional clusters and expatriate leaders – this study reveals that a leader's underfulfilment of subordinates' expectations of leadership harms their leader identification. Moreover, simple fulfilment of subordinates' expectations toward leadership does not affect their identification; to do so requires overfulfilment. Furthermore, the effects of underfulfilment strengthen with greater collectivism and low power distance, whereas overfulfilment effects are mitigated by these cultural dimensions.     

跨文化视角下中国工商管理教育的案例法应用

本文主要是从跨文化研究的视角探讨源自西方的案例法(包括案例教学、案例开发和案例学习)在中国工商管理教育的应用中所面临的文化上的挑战.作者具体地探讨了中西方在权力差距、个体主义和集体主义、对不确定性的规避、特殊主义和普遍主义、情绪中立和情绪外露等文化维度上的差异对案例教学的影响.最后,作者认为渗透着西方的"两分法"思维方...     

Matchmaking in organizational change: Does every employee value participatory leadership? An empirical study

Although leadership is generally considered an important lever to increase commitment during organizational change, empirical research has yet to unravel many of the underlying mechanisms. In this paper, we propose that the impact of participative leadership on affective commitment to change will be contingent on employees’ orientation toward leadership. In our empirical study in two police organizations, we find evidence that followers’ orientation toward leadership is a useful interacting variable. Participative leadership lowers affective commitment to change for individuals with high dominance orientation. In contrast, participative leadership increases affective commitment to change for employees with high development orientation toward leadership. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.     

从文化视角看中国会计改革进程

本文基于Hofstede的文化五维度模型和Gray的会计亚文化理论，探讨了文化对中国会计改革可能产生的影响。调查问卷的统计结果表明，不确定性规避、集体主义、权力距离等文化维度，都可以在不同程度上解释我国会计改革过去进展状况。笔者认为，文化是影响会计改革进程的一个不可忽视的因素，深入了解我国传统文化可以使人们以更加包容的心态去看待会计改革进程。     

The role of organizational culture in the relationship between leadership and organizational commitment: an empirical study in a Greek organization

The aim of this paper is to explore the nature of relationships between organizational culture and leadership behaviours in affecting employees' commitment to their work organization. Building on organizational commitment literature, this study used a survey methodology. Empirical evidence was obtained from 300 employees working in a large Greek service company. The analyses indicated that the culture orientations examined served as mediators in the relationship between leader behaviour and followers' affective and normative commitment to the organization. The findings also indicated that continuance commitment is a two-dimensional construct; the ‘personal sacrifices’ dimension was found to be related to organizational culture and transactional contingent reward. This research paper has key messages for practitioners contributing to the fields of commitment, organizational culture, leadership and human resource management.     

Moral judgment and ethical leadership in Chinese management: the role of Confucianism and collectivism

Moral judgment and ethical leadership are considered as two of the most important aspects in modern businesses in China. In this context the role of Confucianism and collectivism are highly significant in terms of increasing the path of development of Chinese society, culture, and economy. Confucianism and collectivism are together helping the country to a great extent to create a stronger society and culture by establishing a positive relationship with various issues related to moral judgment in the Chinese management system. The study explores the nature of Confucianism and describes the proposition that Confucianism leads to a strong perception in Chinese cultural context. The research also describes the role of collectivism in Chinese Management and develops the proposition that collectivism leads to a strong perception of Chinese management. By exploring the role of moral judgment, the paper develops the proposition that Confucianism and collectivism are positively related to Chinese management’s moral judgment. Finally, the study develops the proposition that Confucianism and collectivism are positively related to ethical leadership in Chinese management by describing the role of ethical leadership in Chinese management.     

谦卑与领导有效性：变革型领导的中介作用

谦卑于组织领导中的作用受到了学者们的广泛关注。本文通过对21家企业378名下属的调查问卷探讨了谦卑的领导与领导有效性之间的关系,并探讨了任务导向和关系导向的变革型领导在谦卑与领导有效性之间的中介作用。多元回归结果表明,谦卑能够有效预测变革型领导以及领导有效性,其中,关系导向和任务导向的变革型领导分别在谦卑与领导有效性中起到完全中介和不完全中介作用。     

Empowering leadership: leading people to be present through affective organizational commitment?*

Abstract

This study tested a mediation model in which empowering leadership was negatively related to three withdrawal behaviors: lateness, absenteeism, and turnover intention, with affective organizational commitment as a mediator. With 294 full‐time US employees, results from structural equation modeling indicated that empowering leader behaviors at one time were positively related to estimates of affective organizational commitment at a second time, which in turn was negatively related to absenteeism and turnover intention at a final time. Additionally, no significant direct effect was found between empowering leadership and withdrawal behaviors, further supporting the mediation model. However, neither empowering leadership nor affective commitment influenced followers' lateness. Empowering leadership, which provides employees with autonomy and developmental support, may have a favorable effect on employees' decisions to attend and stay in the organization, as well as their affective reaction to the organization in the form of psychological commitment. This study extended prior research models by examining a full range of withdrawal behaviors in relation to empowering leadership and showed that commitment may explain why empowering leader behaviors can affect employees' retention decisions.     

Growing Followers: Exploring the Effects of Leader Humility on Follower Self‐Expansion,Self‐Efficacy,and Performance

Although the effectiveness of leader humility has been well documented, our understanding of how leader humility influences followers psychologically is limited. Surpassing a mere leader‐centric understanding of the leader influence process by more fully understanding how leadership behavior shapes followers psychologically has been identified as a critical need by leadership scholars. Drawing on self‐expansion theory, we argue that leader humility triggers followers’ self‐expansion and that this psychological change enhances followers’ self‐efficacy, which in turn contributes to followers’ task performance. We also argue that the relationship between leader humility and followers’ self‐expansion is strengthened when leaders and followers are similar in age and gender. Using a time‐lagged research design with responses from 256 leader–follower dyads, we found support for our proposed model. We discuss the theoretical implications for our findings and suggest areas for future research.     

The moderating effect of leadership on perceived organizational justice and affective commitment: a study in China

While western literature proves the importance of procedural justice, interactional justice is found to have a greater impact on employees in China. This study investigates the effect of employees’ perceptions of organizational justice on affective commitment, and the moderating effect of leadership style in the relationship. The authors proposed that the positive association of interactional justice with affective commitment is stronger than the positive association of procedural and distributive justices with affective commitment. In addition, the authors hypothesized that leadership style in teams moderates the relationship between interactional justice and affective commitment. Data were collected from 10 companies in Shenzhen, Shanghai, Beijing, Wenzhou, Wuhan, and Qingdao, China. The results support the hypotheses stating that interactional justice has a robust impact on affective commitment and that leadership in teams moderates the relationship. These findings have important implications for human resource management. When setting up HR policy in China, putting the right HR procedures in place is essential. Employees’ affective commitment relies heavily on interactional justice and whether or not employees perceive that they are being treated fairly by their managers. We discuss the implications of these findings.     

企业基层领导者经济责任履约违规审计判断路径研究——以破坏型领导损组织行为为线索

以破坏型领导损组织行为为线索,以逻辑思辨的方式构建了"以人查事"的审计判断路径。个人化魅力型领导、自我化权力需求、自恋的领导个体特征;基本需求没有得到适度满足、自尊水平和自我效能感低、心理不成熟的下属特征;处于改革动荡期、人们对竞争威胁的明确感知、在强调不确定性规避、集体主义和权力距离大的组织文化、在相互制衡和制度缺失或制度机制操作不规范、形式主义严重等组织情景特征的企业基层领导者容易产生损组织行为,应成为审计重点监控对象。     

A study of follower's personality,implicit leadership perceptions,and leadership ratings

This research was designed to test the theoretical relationship between personality, implicit leadership, and leadership style suggested in past studies. Specifically, it was designed to link traits from the five‐factor model of personality (the Big Five), by utilizing the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP), to a follower's perception of the leadership style of George W. Bush, based on Bass and Avolio's (1997) MLQ5X. A voluntary sample was taken consisting of undergraduate and graduate students from three universities in southern Texas in 2006, with a sample size of N = 303. Respondents who scored high in neuroticism rated the leader as less transformational than those who did not. Also, the ancillary variable good leadership had a positive effect on the respondent's ratings of the leader as a transformational leader, and as a less passive leader, than subjects who did not rate the leader as being a good leader. There was a significant relationship found between respondents' political party affiliation and their transformational and passive leadership ratings. Implications of these findings are discussed in terms of the Obama versus McCain presidential race.