Authoritarian leadership

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between authoritarian leadership and OCBS and authoritarian leadership and organizational deviance.Design/methodology/approachData was gathered from the responses to a questionnaire survey of 240 employee- supervisor pairs in four manufacturing and three service organizations in Pakistan.FindingsThe results suggest that authoritarian leadership and OCBS do have a curvilinear relationship and moderate levels of authoritarian leadership minimize organizational deviance. A benevolent climate has a positive moderating effect on the curvilinear relationship between authoritarian leadership and OCBS but does not have a moderating effect on the curvilinear relationship between authoritarian leadership and organizational deviance.Practical implicationsModerate use of authoritarian leadership should be utilized to maximize OCBS and minimize organizational deviance and a climate of benevolence in the workplace should be developed to strengthen bonds and optimize performance.Originality/valueThis paper has an original approach in examining a curvilinear relationship between authoritarian leadership, OCBS and organizational deviance.