Abstract
From the foundation of self-determination theory and existing literature on forms of power, we empirically explored relationships between followers' perceptions of their leader's use of various forms of power, followers' self-reported motivational outlooks, and followers' favorable work intentions. Using survey data collected from two studies of working professionals, we apply path analysis and hierarchical multiple regression to analyze variance among constructs of interest. We found that followers' perceptions of hard power use by their leaders (i.e., reward, coercive, and legitimate power) was often related to higher levels of sub-optimal motivation in followers (i.e., amotivation, external regulation, and introjected regulation). However, followers who perceived their leaders used soft power (i.e., expert, referent, and informational power) often experienced higher levels of optimal motivation (i.e., identified regulation and intrinsic motivation), but further investigation of soft power use is warranted. The quality of followers' motivational outlooks was also related to intentions to perform favorably for their organizations.
Highlights
This study merges two fields of investigation: forms of leadership power stemming from empirical research on the psychology of power over the last five decades, and motivational outlooks from research on self-determination theory (SDT) over the last 40 years
A highly notable finding was that leaders’ use of multiple kinds of hard power together will correlate with all types of sub-optimal motivational outlooks in followers, and the strength of this relationship for external regulation is important for practice
The magnitude of the relationships between followers’ optimal motivational outlooks and work intentions is relevant for practice; these findings suggest that leading in a manner that encourages others to form and maintain identified and intrinsic motivational outlooks is a practice that sounds ideal in principle, but it is a practice that could add great value to workplace outcomes
Summary
This study merges two fields of investigation: forms of leadership power stemming from empirical research on the psychology of power over the last five decades, and motivational outlooks from research on self-determination theory (SDT) over the last 40 years Researchers in both areas have called for greater in-depth exploration of the relationship between leadership and motivation in organizational settings (eg., Elias, 2008; Stone et al, 2009; Meyer et al, 2010; Randolph and Kemery, 2011; Anderson and Brion, 2014). Elias (2008) identified a need for more research on specific criteria that facilitate leaders’ decisions regarding the kind of power they should exercise In response to these calls and other apparent gaps in the literature, studies began to appear. Pierro et al (2013) found positive relationships between transformational/charismatic leadership and subordinates’ inclinations to comply with soft power, which was indicative of higher levels of affective organizational commitment
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