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1 – 10 of over 3000Yenming Zhang, Tzu‐Bin Lin and Suan Fong Foo
The concept of “servant leadership” becomes increasingly relevant in organizations while the “authoritative leadership” style continues to be in place as one of the effective…
Abstract
Purpose
The concept of “servant leadership” becomes increasingly relevant in organizations while the “authoritative leadership” style continues to be in place as one of the effective styles. The purpose of this paper is to explore which leadership style is perceived a preferred one in the public sector in Singapore. Empirical data come from a survey with school leaders in several school clusters in Singapore, with instruments designed by the researchers.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is written up on the data drawn from the authors' research project. Both quantitative and qualitative analysis approaches were applied to analyzing the preference between “Servant leadership” and “Authoritative leadership” styles.
Findings
It was found in the study that servant leadership is more acceptable than authoritative leadership and that servant leadership is more effective because it reflects a better use of leaders' power. The findings are displayed in this paper to demonstrate comparisons in the acceptability of servant and authoritative styles.
Practical implications
The paper demonstrates the perceptions of organizational members towards the leadership styles with positive impact on their professional life. Drawing on the insights from the analyses, the paper provides organizational leaders with insights on the relevance and effectiveness of their leadership styles.
Originality/value
The paper is original and is the product of empirical research, with instruments designed by the researchers.
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Jianfeng Jia, Shunyi Zhou, Long Zhang and Xiaoxiao Jiang
Drawn upon the perspective of implicit voice theory, the purpose of this paper is to explore the underlying mechanism as well as the boundary effect in the relationship between…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawn upon the perspective of implicit voice theory, the purpose of this paper is to explore the underlying mechanism as well as the boundary effect in the relationship between paternalistic leadership and voice behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
Multiple-wave survey data from a sample of 368 employees in China were used to test the hypothesized moderated mediation model.
Findings
The findings show that both benevolent leadership and moral leadership related positively to voice behavior, whereas authoritative leadership played a negative role in influencing voice behavior. Employees’ implicit voice belief played a partial mediating role between paternalistic leadership and voice behavior. Furthermore, perceived HRM strength weakens both the mediation relationship among benevolent leadership, implicit voice belief and voice behavior, and the mediation relationship among moral leadership, implicit voice belief and voice behavior. However, the moderated mediation effect of implicit voice belief on the relationship between authoritative leadership and voice behavior is not significant.
Practical implications
Leaders are encouraged to behave benevolently and morally whereas to avoid excessive authoritative style at work, so that employees can be encouraged to speak out. Organizations are advised to introduce management practices like training and development sessions and to improve employees’ perceived HRM strength so that the implicit voice belief can be reduced, and the voice behavior can be stimulated.
Originality/value
The research provided a fresh theoretical perspective on the underlying mechanism between paternalistic leadership and employees’ voice behavior by unveiling employee implicit voice belief’s partial mediating role between paternalistic leadership and employee voice behavior. Furthermore, the study contributed to the literature of voice by adopting a more integrative perspective and exploring the role of the implementation of the organization’s system, i.e., perceived HRM strength that provided a boundary condition in the above mediation model.
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Drawing upon social-exchange, social-cognitive and leadership theory, this study explores whether and how a cross-level mechanism connects team-level traditional Chinese…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing upon social-exchange, social-cognitive and leadership theory, this study explores whether and how a cross-level mechanism connects team-level traditional Chinese leadership (i.e. paternalistic leadership) to individual-level voice behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data were collected from 421 employees of 108 branches of four service-industry chains in Taiwan. Multilevel path models and hypotheses were tested using Mplus structural equation modeling software.
Findings
One subtype of team-level paternalistic leadership, benevolent leadership, was positively related to voice behavior, whereas another – authoritative leadership – had a negative relationship to it. Additionally, employees' voice self-efficacy and felt accountability each played a cross-level mediating role between team-level paternalistic leadership and voice behavior.
Practical implications
It is recommended that team leaders behave benevolently, and avoid excessive authoritativeness at work, as this will tend to encourage their employees to voice opinions. Organizations, meanwhile, are advised to introduce training and development sessions aimed at improving both felt accountability and voice self-efficacy among their employees, so that such voice behavior can be stimulated and strengthened.
Originality/value
This study provides a useful social-cognitive analysis of the mechanism underlying paternalistic leadership and employee voice behavior, and specifically, reveals that employees' felt accountability and voice self-efficacy play a mediating role in that relationship. This extends understanding of the leadership–voice relationship and adds value to traditional Chinese leadership literature.
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Dimitrios Kafetzopoulos and Katerina Gotzamani
This study aims to develop a framework that examines how different leadership styles influence talent management (TM) and how these leadership styles and TM influence firms’…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to develop a framework that examines how different leadership styles influence talent management (TM) and how these leadership styles and TM influence firms’ sustainable performance considering the moderating role of environmental dynamism.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve these objectives, an empirical survey was conducted among 480 participant firms in Greece. Hierarchical regression was performed to test the hypotheses.
Findings
This study reveals the significance of authoritative and transformational leadership on TM. The results also show the positive effect of talent development on sustainability. Moreover, entrepreneurial leadership is found to be the most influential style for economic sustainability, whereas transformational and transactional leaderships are the most influential leadership styles for social and environmental sustainability performance.
Research limitations/implications
The data was collected at only one point in time, while sustainability is a continuous process. Moreover, only four leadership styles were addressed.
Practical implications
Proper leadership style should be selected to facilitate different sustainability dimensions. Talent development is a valuable investment toward sustainable performance of firms.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the upper echelon theory, identifying whether and how different leadership styles affect TM and sustainability. The study also advances the human recourse development literature by critically reviewing and identifying the influence of TM on firms’ sustainable performance. Moreover, the role of environmental dynamism is revealed on all the above relationships.
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Wai Kwan Lau, Loan N.T. Pham and Lam Dang Nguyen
The purpose of this paper is to lay the necessary conceptual and empirical groundwork that advances knowledge about paternalistic leadership (PL). PL is reinterpreted as a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to lay the necessary conceptual and empirical groundwork that advances knowledge about paternalistic leadership (PL). PL is reinterpreted as a leadership style consisting of authoritative, moral and benevolent leadership. The mediating role of trust is examined, and a formal, unified construct model of PL is suggested through evidence of construct validity.
Design/methodology/approach
An on-site survey was used to collect data from 312 full-time employees in nine organizations in China. Factor analysis, reliability and validity test, and an analysis of bivariate correlations were conducted.
Findings
The new construct of PL achieved a positive alignment and coherence among the three dimensions. Subordinates’ trust was found to be critical for paternalistic leaders to be perceived as effective leaders.
Research limitations/implications
Leadership and its effectiveness were examined only at the dyadic level. The levels of the supervisors and their effectiveness differ because some were from middle management, whereas others were from first line managers.
Practical implications
Trust is an important explanatory mechanism for the relationship between PL and employee performance, especially in China. It is a key factor that creates loyalty and builds a good relationship between leaders and subordinates.
Social implications
Trust signals a strong sense of sharing within the relationship. It induces positive emotional feelings in their leader by the subordinates and, therefore, taps into positive evaluations about the effectiveness of their leader.
Originality/value
This study developed the theoretical underpinnings and provided measurement instruments for PL. It offered a formal, unified construct model of PL.
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Irsa Kanwal, Rab Nawaz Lodhi and Muhammad Kashif
The purpose of this study is to examine critical associations of transformational leadership, Laissez-faire leadership, transactional leadership, and authoritative leadership…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine critical associations of transformational leadership, Laissez-faire leadership, transactional leadership, and authoritative leadership styles to predict perceived workplace ostracism among frontline employees (FLEs).
Design/methodology/approach
A snow-ball sampling technique is employed to collect data from 250 FLEs working in the telecommunication sector of Pakistan. The data are collected by means of a self-reported questionnaire.
Findings
All of the hypotheses are supported by the results. The authoritative leadership, transactional leadership, and Laissez-Faire leadership styles are found to positively relate to workplace ostracism while transformational leadership style is found to negatively relate to workplace ostracism.
Practical implications
The managers working in customer service organizations in general and telecom sector in particular should offer leadership training programs to transform supervisors (i.e., in their roles as being the leaders) by re-shaping their thinking as visionary leaders of future. Furthermore, the study has implications to strengthen the communication mechanisms by seeking opinions from FLEs about the leadership styles of their supervisors. This is to ensure that leaders actually transform themselves from being a highly traditional leader to more participative and positive leaders.
Originality/value
The relationships of different leadership styles to study their impact on workplace ostracism and the context of telecommunication service sector of Pakistan are unique to this study.
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Dongil Jung, Francis Chan, Gongmeng Chen and Chee Chow
The unique cultural and historical background of Chinese firms makes it likely that Western‐based findings on the nature and effects of chief operating officer (CEO) leadership…
Abstract
The unique cultural and historical background of Chinese firms makes it likely that Western‐based findings on the nature and effects of chief operating officer (CEO) leadership may not generalize to them. Recently, Tsui et al. (2004) have identified four distinct leadership styles among Chinese CEOs based on a set of leadership behaviors that reflect the Chinese cultural framework. They further inferred from an analysis of 25 successful firms that all four leadership styles can be effective in the current Chinese context. The objective of this study is to test the robustness of Tsui et al.'s (2004) findings—especially their inference about leadership styles' effects. Survey data from mid‐ to high‐level managers of 116 listed Chinese firms are combined with these firms' publicly available financial statements. The results strongly support the existence of Tsui et al.'s (2004) four CEO leadership styles. However, they also reveal that leadership style and environmental uncertainty have a significant interaction effect on firm performance. This finding implies that each leadership style's performance effects may be dampened or magnified by select firm characteristics.
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Buriata Eti-Tofinga, Heather Douglas and Gurmeet Singh
The purpose of this paper is to examine how leadership is shaped by a changing cultural context.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how leadership is shaped by a changing cultural context.
Design/methodology/approach
This is an exploratory study based on semi-structured interviews with leaders of Fijian cooperatives.
Findings
The political and cultural environment in Fiji has changed over time, and these changing arrangements shape expectations of what is considered to be appropriate leadership in Fijian cooperatives. To be consistent with changing societal values, leaders of Fijian cooperatives employ a context-sensitive hybrid leadership style in which legitimacy is an important dimension.
Research implications
Researchers need to examine the cultural context as a dynamic influencing element of leadership.
Practical implications
Leaders of cooperatives and similar values-based organizations would benefit from applying a legitimate and context-sensitive hybrid leadership style.
Originality/value
This study contributes new understandings of the cultural influences on organizational leadership.
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Monowar Mahmood, Md. Aftab Uddin, Alexandr Ostrovskiy and Nurlan Orazalin
Based on the tenets of the conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study investigated the influence of different leadership styles on organizational performance in the…
Abstract
Purpose
Based on the tenets of the conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study investigated the influence of different leadership styles on organizational performance in the context of a Eurasian country (i.e. Kazakhstan). It further examined the moderating role of corporate culture in the leadership-organizational performance relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the quantitative survey method, the study collected data from 321 managerial employees working in local and multinational corporations in Kazakhstan. The collected data were analysed using SPSS software, and factor analysis, path analysis and hierarchical regression analysis were conducted to validate the hypotheses. Furthermore, structural equation modelling was developed to assess the moderating effects of the variables.
Findings
The findings reveal that among different leadership styles, transformational, transactional and paternal leadership have higher influences on organizational performance. Among different corporate cultures, clan culture appears to have higher moderating effects on the leadership-organizational performance relationship. The moderating role of corporate culture on the leadership influence-organizational performance relationship supports the “resource caravan” effects of the composition model theory.
Research implications
Based on the premises of the COR theory, this study suggests developing multiple leadership competencies among managerial employees to be more effective in any given organizational or country context. As a result of the inclusiveness of multiple competencies, the study further suggests the consideration of an “integrated leadership approach” in the Eurasian context. Consistent with the national cultural syndrome, and as preferred by employees, managers could focus on developing a clan or group culture to strengthen their influencing power on employees.
Originality/value
The study adopts the COR theory by considering leadership competencies as unique resources of individual managers, which suggests the development of an “integrated leadership approach” for better management development and improved organizational performance. Furthermore, the study contributes by validating the applicability of the “conservation of resources” and the “composition model” theories in leadership studies.
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Mahdi Salehi, Alireza Ghaderi, Habibe Hashemisima and Zohreh Zahedi
This paper aims to assess the effect of different leadership types, the client's identity and auditors' self-confidence on auditors' impartiality.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to assess the effect of different leadership types, the client's identity and auditors' self-confidence on auditors' impartiality.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is a descriptive-survey type, and the collected data are based on a predesigned questionnaire distributed in January 2020. The PLS software is used for data analysis, and the statistical population of this paper includes employed auditors in enlisted audit firms on the Official Association of Auditors. When the parameters were insignificant, the obtained probability from the model fitting was used for hypothesis testing, and the appropriateness of the model was assessed via the structural equations.
Findings
The results show a significant relationship between charismatic, transformational, participatory, delegating and bureaucratic leadership and auditors' impartiality. There is also an association between the client's identity and the auditor's impartiality. The client's identity mediates the relationship between transformational leadership and the auditor's impartiality. Moreover, there is a significant relationship between self-confidence and auditor's impartiality.
Originality/value
This paper enjoys an innovative method in the field of behavioural auditing. The effect of transformational leadership on auditor's impartiality with the mediatory role of the client's identity shows the in-depth client–auditor relationship has been taken for granted and not examined previously, so the results of this paper can lend a helping hand to audit firms to enhance the organisational performance.
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