Social-cognitive, relational, and identity-based approaches to leadership

A trickle-down model of organizational embodiment and the impact of supervisor neuroticism

The majority of supervisor organizational embodiment (SOE) research has focused on its role as an important boundary condition in the context of leadership and management studies. In a multi-source field study, we seek to extend this research stream by examining an antecedent and outcome of SOE. Specifically, we leverage social cognitive theory to develop and test a trickle-down model of organizational embodiment across three organizational levels (i.e., upper-level managers, middle-level supervisors, and lower-level employees). Subsequently, we propose and demonstrate that manager organizational embodiment (MOE) trickles down and positively impacts SOE. In turn, SOE trickles down and positively impacts employee organizational embodiment. Furthermore, supervisor neuroticism strengthens the relationship between MOE and SOE when supervisor neuroticism is relatively high compared to relatively low. The findings provide evidence for a trickle-down model of organizational embodiment. Theoretical contributions, practical implications, and future research are discussed.

Relational Dynamics of Leadership: Problems and Prospects

Relationships are central to understanding what occurs in the workplace. The leader-member exchange (LMX) approach dominates the literature on relational dynamics of leadership. Research supports LMX as a mediator between leadership and outcomes, and this reflects the centrality of relationships at work. However, LMX is not a leadership theory. We critically review the literature on LMX, with discussion of the requirements for “good” theory and how LMX falls short. We acknowledge some attempts through the years to develop theory to guide LMX research. The concept of “exchange” was not original to LMX. Our review of social exchange theory reveals that, contrary to the common approach, LMX is not consonant with exchange theory. Other attempts at theory offer partial explanations that do not capture leader-member relational dynamics. Some promising approaches to studying leader-member relationships have emerged in recent years. We offer suggestions for future theory and research and advocate for a return to role theory and the development of emotional sociocognitive approaches.

The Science of Leadership: A Theoretical Model and Research Agenda

I review the empirical literature on leadership, focusing on papers published since 2010. To do so, I introduce a framework composed of two features: whether theories ( a) involve the study of leaders or leading (i.e., the person versus the process) and ( b) conceptualize leadership as a cause or a consequence (i.e., an independent versus dependent variable). This framework can enable future research to accumulate in a more programmatic fashion and help scholars determine where their own studies are located within the landscape of leadership research. I end the review by critically evaluating existing work, arguing that the most popular subcategory of leadership research—lumped conceptualizations of leading, in which scholars examine multiple leader behaviors within a single construct—has significant limitations and may need to be replaced by a greater focus on split conceptualizations of leading, wherein scholars isolate single leader behaviors.

A Conceptual Framework of How Meeting Mindsets Shape and Are Shaped by Leader–Follower Interactions in Meetings

In this conceptual paper, we define a person's meeting mindset as the individual belief that meetings represent opportunities to realize goals falling into one of three categories: personal, relational, and collective. We propose that in alignment with their respective meeting mindsets, managers use specific leadership claiming behaviors in team meetings and express these behaviors in alignment with the meeting setting (virtual or face-to-face) and their prior experiences with their employees. Employees’ responses, however, are also influenced by their meeting mindsets, the meeting setting, and prior experiences with their managers. The interplay between managers’ leadership claiming behavior and their employees’ responses shapes leader–follower relations. Embedded in the team context, the emerging leader–follower relations impact the meaning of meetings. We outline match/mismatch combinations of manager–employee meeting mindsets and discuss the influence that a manager and employee can have on each other's meeting mindset through their behavior in a meeting. Plain Language Summary Have you ever had the experience of entering a team meeting and quickly realizing that your idea of how the meeting conversation should be approached did not align with your boss's understanding of the meeting purpose? This is indeed a common experience in meetings between managers and their employees. While we understand much about the communication dynamics that occur in meetings, we know less about what motivates people to communicate in certain ways in meetings. In this conceptual paper, we classify people's understanding of meetings as being driven by one of three purposes: [1] to strategically position and promote themselves (which reflects a personal meeting mindset), [2] to shape collaborations and to ensure reciprocation (which reflects a relational meeting mindset), or [3] to strengthen the team identity and increase the willingness to go the extra mile for the team (which reflects a collective meeting mindset). Meeting mindsets shape how people enact their leader or follower role in meetings—that is, how a manager exhibits leadership and how employees react. However, managers’ and employees’ meeting mindsets may not necessarily match, which can trigger tensions and may ultimately change the way in which managers or employees define the meaning of meetings. Our research helps managers to comprehend the reasoning behind their own and other people's meeting behavior and may promote reflection on one's leadership approach, particularly in a team meeting context. It can also help employees to grasp the power they can have in terms of actively shaping their managers’ meeting mindsets.

Being an ethical leader during the apocalypse: Lessons from the walking dead to face the COVID-19 crisis

This article draws on Gareth Morgan's theory of organizational metaphors. Using imaginization, this research examines practices of ethical leadership during a crisis, using The Walking Dead television series as a reference. The Walking Dead offers an artistic representation of different leadership styles, with business organizations likened to groups of survivors. Its post-apocalyptic setting offers something of an analogy to the COVID-19 crisis. Each firm's struggle for survival in the face of external threats is paralleled with each community's struggle to protect members' lives, preserve resources, and pursue development. The practices of the leaders in the program are compared to those of the leaders of firms such as P&G, Boeing, GM, Renault-Nissan, IBM, BP, GE, Berkshire Hathaway, Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, Ali Baba, Netflix, Airbnb, Uber, and SpaceX. This paper illustrates why ethical leadership goes far beyond charisma and competencies to involve deep motivations and sincere emotions and why it is accessible to everyone through a process of learning and transformation. The study shows the need to adapt leadership style to context. Good leaders know when to step back, meditate, and be lucid. They balance consultation and initiative. They do not fear other leaders and mentor new ones.

Human Resource Practice Management for Knowledge Intensive Team: IMPACT on Team Innovation Performance and Substitution Effect of Empowerment Leadership

As an important factor in society development, human resource management is crucial to enhance the effectiveness of an organization. In this paper, the research focuses on the human resource management practice in knowledge-intensive teams, and studies the relationship between knowledge sharing and team innovation performance in combination with the practice of ability improvement, opportunity improvement and motivation improvement, aiming at verifying the various research hypotheses, practical policy suggestions are proposed to improve the enterprises management. A leadership substitution model is used to introduce empowerment leadership as the boundary condition to the analysis framework, and the regulatory effect of the empowerment leadership on human resource management practice and team knowledge sharing are discussed through the method of empirical analysis. The analysis results showed the substitution effect between cross-level empowerment leadership and human resource management practice and proved an alternative role between human resource management practice and empowerment leadership in a knowledge-intensive team, which provides a preliminary research basis for later research. The results fully demonstrate that for knowledge-intensive teams, more targeted human resource management practice is needed as the theoretical support. Based on leadership substitution theory, this study explored the relationship between human resource practice and innovation, trying to extend the reverse effect of leadership substitution theory. A cross-layer model is discussed as the paper distinguished implementation of human resource management practices and perceived human resource management practice.

Locus of Control and Leader-Member Exchange: A Dimensional, Contextualized, and Prospective Analysis

Since the relationship between leaders and subordinates has important implications for organizations, exploring how high-quality leader–member exchange (LMX) relationships develop over time is a critical research objective. However, LMX research has essentially focused on leader-centric approaches to describe how leaders develop differential relationships with subordinates and has devoted little attention to the influence of subordinate characteristics. This study contends that subordinates’ individual differences may act as drivers of LMX relationships. Specifically, we posited that individuals with an internal work locus of control, owing to their sense of control over the work environment, are more prone to develop high LMX relationships over time. Moreover, we expected this effect to be enhanced when these individuals are given clear expectations about their work role because such conditions would ease their sense of agency. Further, we suggested that these effects may partly depend on the dimension of LMX (i.e., affect, loyalty, contribution, and professional respect) under consideration. We argued that the effect of internal work locus of control would generalize to all LMX dimensions but that its interaction with role clarity would primarily impact the loyalty and contribution dimensions of LMX as their behavioral orientation would result in valued outcomes for internals. Data were collected through questionnaires among a sample of 424 employees working in various industries. Through a two-wave study and controlling for the autoregressive effects of LMX, subordinates’ internal work locus of control was found to enhance LMX relationships over time. Using a multidimensional approach to LMX, our results further show that the effect of internal work locus of control generalized to all dimensions of LMX. Using a contextualized view of the development of LMX, we also found that role clarity moderated the positive relationship between internal work locus of control and LMX over time such that the relationship was stronger when role clarity was high. However, from a dimensional perspective, role clarity only accentuated the relationship between work locus of control and LMX’s loyalty dimension. The implications of these findings for LMX research are discussed.

Learning from your leaders and helping your coworkers: the trickle-down effect of leader helping behavior

Purpose

Based on the social cognitive theory, this research analyzed the helping behavior of leaders and its trickle-down effect on an employee's helping behavior. Additionally, this study analyzed the relationship between an employee's helping behavior and thriving at work.

Design/methodology/approach

Cellphones were used to collect data using the experience sampling method from 74 participants over five consecutive days (N = 370), and the conceptual model was analyzed at the episode level.

Findings

This research examined the helping behavior of employees and its role in mediating the relationship between a leader's helping behavior and an employee's thriving at work. Psychological availability moderates this indirect relationship; and high psychological availability increases the indirect influence of a leader's helping behavior on an employee's helping behavior, which in turn increases employee's thriving at work.

Originality/value

The findings of this research shed light on a new social cognitive mechanism through which the helping behavior of leaders enhances an employee's thriving at work.

Leadership Styles, Absorptive Capacity and Firm's Innovation

The aim of this article is to investigate the relationship between leadership styles, absorptive capacity and firm's innovation in the Jordanian Pharmaceutical sector. It is a knowledge-intensive industry and one where effective leadership has been very substantial. Findings reveal that transformational leadership style and transactional leadership style are antecedents to absorptive capacity and a firm's innovation. The results confirm a significant and direct relationship between both leadership styles and firm innovation, and indirectly through absorptive capacity. Overall, the research's findings provide valuable insights for managers to foster absorptive capacity and innovation of their firms.

In Search of Identity Leadership: An ethnographic study of emergent influence in an interorganizational R&D team

Recent trends in the leadership literature have advanced a relational and processual perspective that sheds light on the way leadership emerges and evolves in dynamic and flexible organizations. However, very few empirical studies have explored these processes over an extended period. To address this lacuna, we report findings from a three-year ethnographic study that explored the emergence and development of leadership in a self-managed interorganizational R&D team. Findings show that in the context of various events that impacted on the team, leadership emerged through interactions, processes and practices that were perceived by team members to develop and advance shared goals and shared identity. Leadership responses to uncertainty surrounding the project were generally legitimated by team members’ background and expertise in relation to this shared identity, while a lack of perceived legitimacy also compromised leadership. These observations are consistent with arguments that leadership revolves around the creation and enactment of shared social identity. However, they also suggest that the form and nature of leadership is hard to predict because it is heavily structured by specific identity-relevant practices and perceptions that arise in the context of unforeseeable events.

Relationships between followers' behaviors and job satisfaction in a sample of nurses

The study investigated two followership behaviors, followers’ active engagement and followers’ independent critical thinking, and their relationship with job satisfaction in a sample of nurses. In addition, the study also considered a number of control variables and classical job demands and job resources—workload and emotional dissonance for job demands, and meaningful work for job resources—which have an impact on well-being at work. A paper-and-pencil questionnaire was administered to 425 nurses in an Italian hospital, and a hierarchical multiple regression was used to test the hypotheses. In addition to the job demands and job resources considered, followers’ active engagement had a significant impact on job satisfaction. Moreover, it showed a significant linear and curvilinear relationship with the outcome variable. Followers’ independent critical thinking has a non significant relationship with job satisfaction, confirming the mixed results obtained in the past for this dimension. These findings bore out the importance of analyzing followers’ behaviors as potential resources that people can use on the job to increase their own well-being. Looking at followers not just as passive recipients but as active and proactive employees can also benefit the organization.