Developing business buccaneers: employer expectations of emergent leaders

This study investigates employer expectations of graduates to inform pedagogical practice within a context of industry–university collaboration. Employers’ views of graduates as future leaders are explored through interviews, focus groups and a survey, with a regional sample of 146 managers. Findings show employers have different understandings and diverse expectations of leadership traits and generic competencies. Employers anticipate future graduates will need greater adaptability and flexibility for volatile business contexts; with some highlighting rule breaking that implies a buccaneer approach rather than responsible leadership. The dissonance between an academic aim to educate socially responsible, global citizens and industry demands potentially undermines the coherence of partnership. Consequently, this study casts doubt on implicit assumptions that practice-informed, industry–university, collaboration will deliver better leaders. The main implications are that educators need to clearly communicate to employers how university learning transfers into actual work practice, and for graduates to better articulate their broad capabilities. The research offers fresh insight into on educators’ responsibility to nurture critical thinking in graduates with the learning agility to question and responsibly navigate organisational rules. The study also contributes to the industry–university partnership debate by revealing the academic complexity of developing future leaders given the multiple lenses of practice-informed views.     

领导高绩效期望的双面性:趋近-回避理论视角

传统观点认为,领导高绩效期望通常是激励下属、提升任务绩效的重要手段。本研究拓展了这一观点,认为领导高绩效期望的激励作用主要适用于绩效趋近目标导向这类员工;然而,对于绩效回避目标导向的员工,领导高绩效期望则会引发员工的回避行为,从而对任务绩效产生消极影响。鉴于此,本研究基于趋近-回避理论,建构了一个被调节的双中介模型来诠释领导高绩效期望的双刃剑效应。对221份三时间点的领导-员工配对数据进行路径分析,数据结果支持了本研究的设想。具体而言,对于绩效趋近目标导向的员工,领导高绩效期望会激发员工工作努力,进而提升员工任务绩效(趋近路径);对于绩效回避目标导向的员工,领导高绩效期望会导致员工回避领导,进而降低员工任务绩效(回避路径)。上述结果细化了学界对高绩效期望作用效果的认识,并对管理者实践中如何正确地传达高绩效期望有一定启示。     

The impact of blatant stereotype activation and group sex-composition on female leaders

The individual and combined impact of blatant stereotype activation and solo status or mixed-sex groups on the self-appraisals, performance, and anxiety of female leaders was examined across three laboratory studies. The first study utilized a two-condition, two-stage design in which female leaders were exposed to a blatant stereotype threat or control condition after which they completed a leadership task. In the second stage, the threatened leaders received a solo status manipulation (leading a group of men) while the control condition did not. In the second study a 2 (blatant threat, no blatant threat) by 2 (solo status, all-female group) fully factorial design was used to test the hypotheses. Finally, in Study 3, a similar factorial design was used with a mixed-sex, rather than solo, condition. Across the studies it was hypothesized and found that receiving a single stereotype threat would result in a positive, stereotype reactance, response. However, when both threats were combined a stereotype vulnerability response was elicited, as expected. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

The impact of positivity and transparency on trust in leaders and their perceived effectiveness

A critical challenge facing today's organizational leaders is gaining their followers' trust and having them view leaders as effective in addressing turmoil and change. Using a downsizing scenario as the context, this field experiment examined how a leader's positivity and transparency impacted followers' perceived trust, defined in terms of willingness to be vulnerable, and effectiveness of their leader. To test the hypotheses, 304 participants were randomly assigned to one of the four conditions of high (low) leader positivity × high (low) leader transparency. Results of our mixed methods study indicated both the leader's level of positivity and transparency impacted followers' perceived trust and evaluations of leader effectiveness. Besides limitations and suggestions for future research, we conclude with the practical implications that positive, transparent leaders may have on building trust and perceived effectiveness among their followers.     

Leadership across levels: Levels of leaders and their levels of impact

This article assesses 25 years of empirical leadership research in 11 top journals with the goal of understanding current practice and future needs for drawing solid conclusions about leadership at different hierarchical levels of the organization, as well as leadership’s effects on individuals, teams, units and organizations. We summarize the hierarchical level of leader and outcome level of analysis studied in different theoretical perspectives on leadership (traits, behavioral, transformational, LMX, strategic, shared) and by journal outlet. Among our findings, we observe that significantly less attention has been devoted to team- and unit-level emergent processes and outcomes, despite its conceptual relevance for leadership theory and practice. Four critical opportunities for advancing leadership science are presented.     

Preemptive or promotive: The differential impact of strategic leaders’ political connections on firm long-term investment in China

Research on corporate leaders' political connections has remained silent on the impact of heterogeneity of political resources on firm behaviors and of how strategic leaders differentially leverage these resources. We propose that a firm whose chair had ascribed bureaucratic connections as opposed to achieved political connections acquires different types of resources and chair differentially leverages the resources when making long-term investment. These effects are weaker when a firm is performing well. Our analyses of Chinese firms from 2003 to 2016 generally support these predictions. This study contributes to literature on political connections by providing greater specificity with respect to the heterogeneity of political resources and offering new insights into how strategic leaders leverage these resources. This study also contributes to the literature on board chairs and corporate governance by suggesting that when considering a firm's long-term plan, chair plays an important role and it is also important to monitor chair behaviors. Finally, it highlights the role of the interface between strategic leaders and state matters when considering the antecedents of long-term investment.     

Labels and leaders: The influence of framing on leadership emergence

In two studies, this paper examines the influence of task framing on leadership emergence in mixed-gender dyads. In Study 1, we found that males are more likely to emerge as leaders when a paper-folding task is framed as masculine (i.e., Building Project) relative to feminine (i.e., Art Project). Furthermore, females are more likely to emerge as leaders when a paper-folding task is framed as feminine relative to masculine. In Study 2, we conceptually replicate these results using a weaving task (framed as Knot-Tying Task vs. Hair-Braiding Task) and find that perceived competence is the mechanism through which task framing affects leadership emergence. Taken together, these results suggest that task framing can influence the emergence of leaders because of changes in perceptions of competence. These findings are discussed in the context of related theoretical findings and managerial implications are elaborated on.     

When leaders victimize: The role of charismatic leaders in facilitating group pressures

We present a conceptual model exploring the process by which employees seek out and process information from their social context in response to victimizing behaviors from their leader. In particular, we explore how charismatic leaders with personalized values can facilitate group processes whereby group members pressure the target into conforming. Followers of charismatic leaders have been found to ingratiate themselves with, and revere, their leader. This creates the potential for followers to prematurely comply with destructive behaviors from their leader. Research on social influence is drawn upon to theorize how targets who experience confusion about victimizing behaviors can become particularly susceptible to group pressures to conform. Through our theoretical model, we advance theory on the potential dark side of charismatic leadership, specifically how personalized charismatic leaders may trigger negative consequences for the target, group, and organization. We conclude with theoretical and practical implications and propose avenues for future research.     

To share or not to share: The role of affect in knowledge sharing by individuals in a diaspora

The diaspora is often credited with helping its homeland, especially when the country is less developed. Yet diasporans are also known to have complex feelings about the homeland. In a study of the South African diaspora, we find that positive affect about both the homeland and the migration experience is positively correlated with the willingness of diasporans to share knowledge with the homeland. But for negative affect there are inflection points, and different intensities of feelings such as guilt and a sense of loss have differing effects. Our findings suggest that an ongoing, beneficial engagement by a diaspora cannot be assumed. Given how individuals are increasingly shaping crossborder economic activity, our findings also suggest that international business research needs to pay greater attention to individuals and individual-level variables such as emotions.     

The age of exploration and exploitation: Younger-looking leaders endorsed for change and older-looking leaders endorsed for stability

The current contribution extends theorizing on leadership and the exploration–exploitation dilemma using an evolutionary perspective. A theoretical connection is made between the exploration–exploitation dilemma and age-biased leadership preferences for exploratory change versus stable exploitation. For the majority of human evolution our species was semi- or entirely nomadic and the trade-off between exploration versus exploitation had substantial physical- and experience-based requirements which align with leadership opportunities as moderated by age. Thus, given the consistency and importance of correctly assigning leadership for the exploration–exploitation dilemma, human evolution has likely selected for age-biased leadership endorsement. Across three experiments we find that younger-looking leaders are endorsed for times of exploratory change and older-looking leaders for stable exploitation. Further, our results indicated that older leaders are endorsed for leading conservative exploitation of nonrenewable resources and younger leaders for exploration of renewable alternatives (i.e., green leadership). The results introduce an age-biased leadership endorsement hypothesis.     

The servant identity: Influences on the cognition and behavior of servant leaders

This paper approaches the study of servant leadership by concentrating on the identity of servant leaders. An identity is important to one's sense of self and it influences the way a leader cognitively processes socially relevant information and exercises a particular leadership behavior in response to a situation. Unlike existing studies, which typically approach servant leadership as one of a number of possible leadership styles, and which merely describe its characteristics, this paper serves to explain the basis for individuals enacting this mode of leadership. This paper defines and elaborates on the servant identity by showing the psychological factors constituting it. Taking a socio-cognitive approach, the paper offers a theoretical framework for the servant identity. The framework encompasses the cognitive and behavioral disposition of leaders with servant identity and the organizational contexts that influence it. This new angle on servant leadership opens avenues for future research and practice.     

Organizational commitment and its outcomes: Differing effects of value commitment and continuance commitment on stress reactions, alienation and organization-serving behaviours

This study attempted to determine the differing effects of value commitment and continuance commitment on several outcome variables. Value commitment was predicted to show significantly stronger negative relationships with stress symptoms and alienation as well as stronger positive relationships with organization-serving behaviours than would continuance commitment. The study used a sample of 270 evening MBA students employed full-time in managerial or professional positions, and it provided a conservative test of the hypotheses by controlling for the intercorrelation between the two types of commitment. Results showed support for the hypothesized stronger relationships of value commitment with both psychological symptoms and personal alienation but not with the other outcome variables.     

The relationship between training outsourcing and employee commitment to organization

In many countries, the human resource practice of training outsourcing has emerged as one of the fastest growing segments of the broader business process outsourcing industry. In spite of the growing popularity in professional practice, training outsourcing continues to be subjected to critical review and ongoing debate with most attention focused on the decision to ‘outsource’ or ‘not to outsource’. However, there exists a shortage of research on training outsourcing as a human resource development (HRD) practice and the potential relationships with desired organizational outcomes including employee commitment. This exploratory international study extends previous research that has examined the relationship between training and organizational commitment by focusing exclusively on outsourced training. Data were collected from information technology firms in two countries: India and the United States. Results showed positive relationships between specific measures of employee perceptions of quality, usefulness and supervisor support for outsourced training with organizational commitment. Recommendations are made for future research as well as for professional practice to guide HRD practitioners involved in the rapidly growing global practice of training outsourcing.     

The role of leaders in inducing and maintaining cooperation: The CC strategy

I discuss recent findings from behavioral economic experiments in the lab and in the field on the role of leaders in human cooperation. Three implications for leadership are derived, which are summarized under the notion CC strategy. Firstly, leaders need to trust to not demotivate the motivated. Secondly, leaders need to punish to motivate the non-motivated. Finally, leaders shall (and can) attract motivated types. The discussion is embedded in a more general attempt to promote and stimulate interdisciplinary exchange of both methods and ideas in leadership research.     

Assassination of political leaders: The role of social conflict

Given human aggression and warfare are often described as the most pressing behavioral problems of our time, we focus on a related phenomenon, with large-scale social, political, and economic consequences: assassination of political leaders. We explore the role of social conflict as a predictor of political assassination and use historiometric methods and an extensive archival dataset to identify and code for contextual factors associated with social conflict and political homicide. Our results indicate an increase in social conflict increases the likelihood of assassination; moreover, environmental constraints and traditional culture predict leader assassination through social conflict. We discuss implications of these findings and suggest future research on contextual factors, assassination of political leaders, and their collective-level impact.     

The face of leadership: Perceiving leaders from facial expression

The aim of the two studies presented here was to add to our knowledge about the contribution of facial expression to the perception of leadership. We assessed participants' prototypes of leadership. In addition, participants were shown pictures of different facial expressions. First impressions of leadership from the facial expressions were compared to the participants' prototypes. The results indicate that the participants used all available information, including facial appearance, expression, context of communication, appropriateness, and authenticity of expression to form complex prototypes. When the facial expressions in the studies matched the participants' prototypes, first impressions of leadership were higher. Therefore, understanding what is inside the perceiver's mind is significant for understanding leadership perceptions. On the basis of these two studies, we recommend that leaders should be aware of the influence their facial expressions have on their followers' perception of their leader-likeness.     

Fairness and commitment to change in M&As: The mediating role of organizational identification

This paper examines the determinants of employees' affective commitment to change in the context of M&As. Based on the group engagement model (Tyler & Blader, 2000, 2003), we predicted that organizational identification with the newly formed organization mediates the positive impact of employees’ overall justice judgments and perceived change favorableness on affective commitment to change. We tested our predictions using data collected during an international merger. After controlling for country effects, results support our hypotheses. Implications for research and practice alike are discussed.     

Unlocking the mask: a look at the process by which authentic leaders impact follower attitudes and behaviors

The conceptual and empirical links between authentic leadership and follower attitudes, behaviors, and performance outcomes have not been fully developed. Although we have a number of articles developing the theory of authentic leadership and testing propositions that will appear in a forthcoming special issue of The Leadership Quarterly (Vol. 16, Issue 3, 2005), the focus of this article is to provide some of the initial foundation work for the broader theoretical framework of how authentic leaders influence follower attitudes, behaviors, and performance. Here, we draw from positive organizational behavior, trust, hope, emotion, identification, and identity theories to describe the processes by which authentic leaders exert their influence on followers' attitudes and behaviors. Research propositions based on the proposed theoretical model and implications for future theory building and research are presented.     

Understanding high school student leaders: II. Peer nominations of leaders and their correlates

The article represents a trait theory approach to the prediction of peer nominations of adolescent leaders in high school. It reports confirmation of earlier results [Leadership Q. 10 (1999) 609.] using teacher ratings of these same adolescents. Results generally confirmed the earlier results, finding similar significant predictors of peer leader nominations to those of the teacher ratings (over a 2-year time lag) in personality, interests, and academic ability domains. More specifically, (1) peer nominations of leaders and teacher ratings of leadership behavior are significantly correlated, (2) the predictors of peer nominations of leaders overlap with the predictors of teacher ratings, (3) peer nominations of leaders are only modestly related to peer nominations of friendship and popularity, (4) the personal attributes that are significant correlates of popularity and friendship are somewhat different from the correlates of leadership, and (5) the most consistent predictors unique to leadership (across time lags, ratings source, and facets of leadership) are the Judging–Perceiving (JP) dimension of the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and grade point average (GPA). A framework for understanding the present results in the context of the history of the trait prediction of leadership is presented with implications for further studies based on a trait theory perspective.