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For the Good or the Bad? Interactive Effects of Transformational Leadership with Moral and Authoritarian Leadership Behaviors

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  • Sebastian Schuh
  • Xin-an Zhang
  • Peng Tian

Abstract

Although the ethical aspects of transformational leadership have attracted considerable attention, very little is known about followers’ reactions to the moral and immoral conduct of transformational leaders. Against this background, this study examined whether and how transformational leadership interacts with moral and authoritarian leadership behaviors in predicting followers’ in-role and extra-role efforts. Building on attribution theory, we hypothesized that the positive and negative effects of these leadership behaviors would be particularly pronounced for highly transformational leaders given that this leadership style elicits strong attention and sense-making efforts among followers. We tested our model in a sample of 228 individuals comprising 114 leader–follower dyads from a wide range of organizations and industries. In line with our hypotheses, results revealed that for highly transformational leaders, moral leadership behaviors related positively to employees’ in-role and extra-role efforts whereas authoritarian leadership behaviors related negatively to employees’ in-role and extra-role efforts. In contrast, moral and authoritarian leadership behaviors did not significantly affect followers’ reactions to leaders low in transformational leadership. Taken together, these findings suggest that transformational leadership, contrary to its largely positive perception in the literature, can be a rather mixed blessing. Implications for theory, future research, and managerial practice are discussed. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2013

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  • Sebastian Schuh & Xin-an Zhang & Peng Tian, 2013. "For the Good or the Bad? Interactive Effects of Transformational Leadership with Moral and Authoritarian Leadership Behaviors," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 116(3), pages 629-640, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:116:y:2013:i:3:p:629-640
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-012-1486-0
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    4. Nadežda Jankelová & Zuzana Joniaková & Ildikó Némethová & Jana Blštáková, 2020. "How to Support the Effect of Transformational Leadership on Performance in Agricultural Enterprises," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-17, September.
    5. Qinxuan Gu & Thomas Tang & Wan Jiang, 2015. "Does Moral Leadership Enhance Employee Creativity? Employee Identification with Leader and Leader–Member Exchange (LMX) in the Chinese Context," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 126(3), pages 513-529, February.
    6. Karakitapoğlu-Aygün, Zahide & Gumusluoglu, Lale & Erturk, Alper & Scandura, Terri A., 2023. "What if authoritarian to all or to some? A multi-level investigation of within-team differentiation in authoritarian leadership," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    7. Huaiyong Wang & Guangli Lu & Yongfang Liu, 2017. "Ethical Leadership and Loyalty to Supervisor in China: The Roles of Interactional Justice and Collectivistic Orientation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 146(3), pages 529-543, December.
    8. Syed, Fauzia & Naseer, Saima & Nawaz, Javaria & Shah, Syed Zulfiqar Ali, 2021. "When the victim becomes vicious: Combined effects of pseudo transformational leadership and epistemic motivation on contempt and deviant behaviors," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 236-246.
    9. Maynes, Timothy D. & Podsakoff, Philip M. & Podsakoff, Nathan P. & Yoo, Amber N., 2024. "Harnessing the power of employee voice for individual and organizational effectiveness," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 67(3), pages 283-298.
    10. Leni Chen & Xu Huang & Jian-min Sun & Yuyan Zheng & Les Graham & Judy Jiang, 2024. "The virtue of a controlling leadership style: Authoritarian leadership, work stressors, and leader power distance orientation," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 41(2), pages 507-547, June.
    11. Junghyun (Jessie) Lee & Jeewon Cho & Yoonjung Baek & Rajnandini Pillai & Se Hyung Oh, 2019. "Does ethical leadership predict follower outcomes above and beyond the full-range leadership model and authentic leadership?: An organizational commitment perspective," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 36(3), pages 821-847, September.
    12. Muhammad Aqib Shabbir & Zunaira Ishtiaq & Muhammad Zia-ud-Din, 2017. "The Impact of Hybrid leadership on Employee performance in Textile Sector of Pakistan," International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, vol. 7(4), pages 359-374, April.
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