A 25-year perspective on levels of analysis in leadership research

The purpose of this article is to present a comprehensive 25-year review of the incorporation of levels of analysis into conceptual and empirical leadership research published within Leadership Quarterly throughout its history. We assessed the population of Leadership Quarterly's research (790 research articles) on four key levels of analysis-based issues: (1) explicit statement of the focal level(s) of analysis; (2) appropriate measurement given level of constructs; (3) use of a multi-level data analysis technique; and, (4) alignment of theory and data. Prior reviews regarding levels of analysis incorporation into leadership research have been limited to major research domains. Results revealed that while both conceptual and empirical articles only explicitly state the focal level of analysis in approximately one-third of the articles, appropriate levels-based measurement and alignment between theory and data are relatively strong areas of achievement for the articles within Leadership Quarterly. Multi-level data analysis techniques are used in less than one-fifth of all articles. Although there is room for improvement, there is evidence that Leadership Quarterly is a premier outlet for levels-based leadership research. Given the increasing complexity of organizational science with regard to groups, teams and collectives, Leadership Quarterly has an opportunity to model for organizational research on how to build and test complicated multi-level theories and models.     

Retraction of leadership articles: Causes and prevention

Occasionally, published articles must be retracted to protect the integrity of the scientific record. Recently, The Leadership Quarterly retracted several articles. In this editorial, we describe why these retractions were warranted and the process leading to them. The key considerations giving rise to retractions, that is, accuracy in describing method and accuracy in describing results, are noted. The actions that authors must take to ensure their articles are not subject to retraction are also discussed.     

What makes articles highly cited?

We examined drivers of article citations using 776 articles that were published from 1990 to 2012 in a broad-based and high-impact social sciences journal, The Leadership Quarterly. These articles had 1191 unique authors having published and received in total (at the time of their most recent article published in our dataset) 16,817 articles and 284,777 citations, respectively. Our models explained 66.6% of the variance in citations and showed that quantitative, review, method, and theory articles were significantly more cited than were qualitative articles or agent-based simulations. As concerns quantitative articles, which constituted the majority of the sample, our model explained 80.3% of the variance in citations; some methods (e.g., use of SEM) and designs (e.g., meta-analysis), as well as theoretical approaches (e.g., use of transformational, charismatic, or visionary type-leadership theories) predicted higher article citations. Regarding statistical conclusion validity of quantitative articles, articles having endogeneity threats received significantly fewer citations than did those using a more robust design or an estimation procedure that ensured correct causal estimation. We make several general recommendations on how to improve research practice and article citations.     

Doing better leadership science via replications and registered reports

In 2018, the Leadership Quarterly commissioned a Special Issue (SI) on replications of previously published studies in leadership. We adopted the Registered Reports path for this special issue to facilitate constructive reviewer feedback prior to data collection and to minimize any bias against non-significant findings in the publishing process. In this editorial, we reflect on how this approach worked, what we learned about replications, and identify three myths that we have seen throughout this process regarding the value and conduct of replications. We then offer actionable solutions to further advance replications in science. We close with a discussion of the six studies included in this SI and the implications of these studies for leadership science. We hope that this work continues to inspire replications and registered reports and in support The Leadership Quarterly offers an open call for such submissions.     

The Leadership Quarterly Yearly Review for 2010: A scholarly tribute to Bernard M. Bass and James G. Hunt

In this introduction to The Leadership Quarterly Yearly Review for 2010, an overview of the issue and the nine articles is presented. An attempt is made to emulate and integrate the writing styles of Bernard M. (Bernie) Bass (especially for the article overviews) and James G. (Jerry) Hunt (especially from prior Yearly Review introductions), as a tribute to their contributions to leadership research in general and The Leadership Quarterly in particular.     

Advances in leader and leadership development: A review of 25 years of research and theory

The development of effective leaders and leadership behavior is a prominent concern in organizations of all types. We review the theoretical and empirical literature on leader and leadership development published over the past 25 years, primarily focusing on research published in The Leadership Quarterly. Compared to the relatively long history of leadership research and theory, the systematic study of leadership development (broadly defined to also include leader development) has a moderately short history. We examine intrapersonal and interpersonal issues related to the phenomena that develop during the pursuit of effective leadership, describe how development emerges with an emphasis on multi-source or 360-degree feedback processes, review longitudinal studies of leadership development, and investigate methodological and analytical issues in leader and leadership development research. Future research directions to motivate and guide the study of leader and leadership development are also discussed.     

Meso-modeling of leadership: Following James G. (Jerry) Hunt's lead in integrating micro- and macro-perspectives of leadership

This introduction provides a tribute to James G. (Jerry) Hunt as leader of leadership scholars, along with an overview to The Leadership Quarterly special issue on meso-modeling of leadership. Our tribute traces Jerry's evolution from a right-brain, defrocked engineer to a pioneering leadership scholar. Through early and sustained scholarly contributions regarding the importance of context to leadership, Jerry paved the way for meso-modeling perspectives on leadership, such as those reflected in this special issue. We conclude by highlighting the contribution of nine articles that serve to further Jerry's legacy through the advancement of conceptual and empirical insights into meso-level leadership processes.     

Ten years of The leadership quarterly: Contributions and challenges for the future

This article reviews the founding of The Leadership Quarterly (LQ) and the 188 articles published in its first decade. Multiple methods were used to prepare this review including interviews with former and current LQ editors; quantitative techniques; and qualitative analysis to examine the themes, methods, and contributions of the journal during its first decade. Directions for future research are provided, which integrate a decade of LQ author directives with interviews of prominent leadership scholars and the current authors' opinions grounded in the literature review.     

The leadership trilogy: A review of the third decade of The Leadership Quarterly

The present research reviews the most recent ten years, 2010–2019, of the work published in The Leadership Quarterly (LQ). We follow on prior decade-focused reviews published in LQ, including the period 1990–1999 (Lowe & Gardner, 2000) and 2000–2009 (Gardner, Lowe, Cogliser, Moss & Mahoney, 2010). The present work complements and expands the first two reviews by documenting how the field has evolved with new characters, methodologies, and theories emerging while others decline and become less relevant. We extend the story of how LQ emerged from a start-up niche journal, evolved into the predominant outlet for leadership research and new theories, gained awareness of a growing need to reduce construct proliferation, and adopted increasingly sophisticated methodological techniques that call into question some of the field's prior research findings.     

Leading for innovation: Conclusions,issues, and directions

The need for innovation in organizations has resulted in a new focus on the role of leaders in shaping the nature and success of creative efforts. The various articles prepared for these special issues of The Leadership Quarterly on Leading for Innovation all, in one way or another, underscored the impact of leadership on the nature and success of creative efforts. These articles, however, also indicate that the leadership of creative efforts is an unusually complex activity. In the present article, the key conclusions emerging from the various articles presented in this two-part special issue are examined with respect to the nature of the leader, the leader's interactions with followers, the effective direction of followers' activities, and the leader's interactions with the organization. Directions for future research, along with certain metatheoretical issues, 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.     

Qualitative and historiometric methods in leadership research: A review of the first 25 years of The Leadership Quarterly

In the spirit of the 25th anniversary edition of The Leadership Quarterly, as the world's premier outlet for leadership research, we have reviewed qualitative and historiometric research across those 25 years. Qualitative research is a complex and cluttered area of scholarship. This is not because there is an inherent confusion about it. Rather, it is because ‘qualitative’ research is a cover-all term for a wide range of research strategies, paradigms, parent disciplines, sources of data, and methods of analysis for them. More so than in previous journal review articles, we explored variation in qualitative analysis as well as variety in qualitative data. In terms of methodologies, our efforts concentrated on case study, content analysis, grounded theory and historiometrics. We also examined trends toward post-positivism, post-modernity and liquid modernity, and their resultant benefits for researching leadership. Future directions for leadership research are posited.     

Scholarly leadership of the study of leadership: A review of The Leadership Quarterly's second decade, 2000–2009

In a reprise of Lowe and Gardner's (2000) review of The Leadership Quarterly's (LQ) first decade as a premier outlet for scholarly leadership research, we review 353 articles published in LQ during its second decade. Multiple methods were employed to prepare this review, including: interviews with the journal's current Senior Editor and Associate Editors; an assessment of LQ's impact, reputation, and most cited articles through citation analyses; a content analysis of article type (theory, empirical, and methods), contributors (e.g., discipline, nationality, and institutional affiliation), theoretical foundations, research strategies, sample location/type, data collection methods, and analytical procedures; survey and follow-up focus groups conducted with LQ Editorial Review Board members; and qualitative analyses to assess the prevalent themes, contributions, and trends reflected in LQ during its second decade. Drawing from these sources, we describe anticipated directions for future research.     

Facial appearance and leadership: An overview and challenges for new research

There is plenty of evidence showing that facial features predict success in politics, business and the military. Some of the papers providing this evidence are related to selection into leadership positions, others into how facial features predict performance in such a position. The purpose of this introduction is to provide an overview of The Leadership Quarterly special issue on Facial Appearance and Leadership, as well as to discuss the use of good looks as a heuristic, and difficulties related to establishing causal relationships in this area of research.     

Leadership theory and research in the new millennium: Current theoretical trends and changing perspectives

Scholarly research on the topic of leadership has witnessed a dramatic increase over the last decade, resulting in the development of diverse leadership theories. To take stock of established and developing theories since the beginning of the new millennium, we conducted an extensive qualitative review of leadership theory across 10 top-tier academic publishing outlets that included The Leadership Quarterly, Administrative Science Quarterly, American Psychologist, Journal of Management, Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Journal of Applied Psychology, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Organizational Science, and Personnel Psychology. We then combined two existing frameworks (Gardner, Lowe, Moss, Mahoney, & Cogliser, 2010; Lord & Dinh, 2012) to provide a process-oriented framework that emphasizes both forms of emergence and levels of analysis as a means to integrate diverse leadership theories. We then describe the implications of the findings for future leadership research and theory.     

Conceptualizing leadership with respect to its historical–contextual antecedents to power

An attempt is made here to build on the ideas and arguments presented in a recent Leadership Quarterly journal article written by Hunt and Dodge [Leadership Q. Yearly Overview Leadership 11 (2000) 435]. In their article, these authors argue that contemporary leadership researchers tend to neglect the historical–contextual antecedents of the field and as a result are developing many theories that reflect little more than a form of “academic amnesia” and “leadership déjà vu”. The importance of Hunt and Dodge's argument is reinforced through the use here of a form of deconstruction to reveal a lacuna in the leadership literature—the insufficient coverage of power, particularly at what is termed a deep structure level. With the current context of organizational change in mind, this lacuna is shown to have problematic consequences for leadership theory in general. More specifically, the increasing use of dispersed leadership strategies is shown to be particularly problematic. The article proposes a new conceptual framework that begins to address these problems and in so doing provides ideas and challenges for future research in the field.     

Economic perspectives on leadership: Concepts,causality, and context in leadership research

The fields of leadership and economics have interacted very little until now. The aim of this special issue on “economics and leadership” is to demonstrate the potential benefits of paying attention to and incorporating economic perspectives and methods into leadership research. Specifically, we argue that the field of economics can advance leadership research on three main topics: concepts, causality and context. For each topic, we summarize the state-of-the-art literature and showcase important insights, tools and findings. We also discuss possible critiques of the economic perspective on leadership. The timeliness of this issue is evident from recent discussions on the three C's within the field of leadership research, not least within The Leadership Quarterly itself. Our paper as well as the other six papers in this issue demonstrates that narrowing the gap between economics and leadership is not only beneficial and feasible, but also crucial for the progress of leadership research.