A theoretical and empirical examination of the transactional and non-leadership dimensions of the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ)

Abstract

Bass and his colleagues initiated the empirical investigation of transformational and transactional leadership two decades ago. They proposed that transformational leadership is comprised of four dimensions, that transactional leadership is composed of three dimensions, and that an additional category of non-leadership exists (laissez-faire leadership). The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) has been developed to assess these dimensions and much has been learned about the positive effects of transformational leadership. However, far less attention has been paid to transactional leadership and non-leadership. The current study examined the theoretical and empirical properties of each MLQ transactional leadership and non-leadership measure. We first looked at the four measures together, then examined the measures separately and subjected them to a number of additional analyses that varied depending on the issues of concern. Based on our findings, we offer recommendations about scale refinement and the need for new theory concerning the four transactional leadership and non-leadership dimensions of the MLQ.