Transformational and transactional leadership behaviors and ethical perceptions: the effects of sensory processing sensitivity
Journal of Management Development
ISSN: 0262-1711
Article publication date: 10 November 2023
Issue publication date: 6 February 2024
Abstract
Purpose
Sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) is a trait that affects people's thinking and behavior. People who are higher in SPS are more sensitive to internal and environmental stimuli. The present study examined the effects of transformational and transactional leadership behaviors on follower ethical cognition and perception and the role that follower SPS plays in that process.
Design/methodology/approach
Participants read vignettes in which their leader was described as transformational or transactional. Participants then qualitatively answered a series of four emails asking questions about an ethical problem. Then they completed measures of ethical perceptions and SPS. Qualitative data were content coded to evaluate ethical cognition.
Findings
Results indicated that people higher in SPS had lower ethical perceptions than people lower in SPS when their leader was transactional. However, when their leader was transformational, people higher in SPS had higher ethical perceptions than people lower in SPS. Results suggest that a match between a follower's SPS and a leader's behaviors can influence followers' ethical perceptions. Findings suggest that organizational leader and management development interventions should encourage leaders to use transformational behaviors to improve followers' ethical perceptions.
Originality/value
Previous research has examined the effects of transformational and transactional leadership on many outcomes for followers, including ethical attitudes and behaviors. The present study contributes to this literature by examining the effects of transformational and transactional leadership behaviors on ethical cognition and perceptions.
Keywords
Citation
Stenmark, C.K. (2024), "Transformational and transactional leadership behaviors and ethical perceptions: the effects of sensory processing sensitivity", Journal of Management Development, Vol. 43 No. 1, pp. 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMD-07-2023-0206
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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