Situational leadership theory revisited: A test of an across-jobs perspective

Abstract

In a replication and extension of prior studies of Situational Leadership Theory (Hersey & Blanchard, 1993), data from 332 university employees and 32 supervisors were collected on dimensions of leader behavior and follower maturity in order to test predictions for the outcomes of employee performance, satisfaction, and quality of leader-member exchange. The primary goals of the analyses were a replication of prior tests of a within-jobs view of the theory, and an across-jobs test of the theory wherein job level was used as a predictor of optimal leadership style. Evidence demonstrated that the theory, as originally formulated, has little descriptive utility. However, further analyses suggested that supervisory monitoring and consideration may interact with job level such that monitoring has a positive impact for lower level employees, while consideration has a more positive impact for higher level employees. The interaction suggests that some of the intuitively-appealing aspects of the theory may be correct, but that couching these processes in terms of readiness/maturity and the Ohio State dimensions of initiation structure and consideration is incorrect.