TY  - JOUR
AB  - Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the structure, implicit attitude and consequences of followers' implicit followership theories in the Chinese cultural context through three studies. Study 1 explores the structure of followers' implicit followership theories. Study 2 examines the implicit attitude of followers towards followers' implicit followership theories. Study 3 verifies the impact of followers' implicit followership theories on the quality of collegial relationships.Design/methodology/approach The data for study 1 (n = 321) and study 3 (n = 243) were collected through an online self-report questionnaire, and the data for study 2 (n = 30) were collected through the go/no-go association task.Findings The structure of followers' implicit followership theories includes two dimensions: positive followership prototypes and negative followership prototypes. Followers' implicit attitudes were more likely to match positive followership prototypes than negative followership prototypes. Positive followership prototypes had a significantly positive impact on the quality of collegial relationships, whereas negative followership prototypes had a significantly negative impact on the quality of collegial relationships.Research limitations/implications The psychology and behaviour of employees can be better understood by exploring followers' implicit followership theories.Practical implications Employees hold a relatively positive implicit attitude towards followers. Therefore, managers should provide positive feedback to improve employees' positive self-cognition so that employees can better serve the organization and better promote its development.Originality/value The paper is one of the few studies to explore followers' implicit followership theories in the Chinese cultural context.
VL  - 41
IS  - 4
SN  - 0143-7739
DO  - 10.1108/LODJ-05-2019-0225
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-05-2019-0225
AU  - Yang Yongyong
AU  - Shi Wendian
AU  - Zhang Beina
AU  - Song Youming
AU  - Xu Dezhen
PY  - 2020
Y1  - 2020/01/01
TI  - Implicit followership theories from the perspective of followers
T2  - Leadership & Organization Development Journal
PB  - Emerald Publishing Limited
SP  - 581
EP  - 596
Y2  - 2024/05/12
ER  -