Group-level Transformational Leadership Research Articles

A multi-level study on principals’ Guanxi-driven impact on teachers’ work and home life: insights from Malaysia

Purpose Guided by the conservation of resources theory, this study aims to present a comprehensive framework examining leadership, Guanxi, work-family conflict and work engagement. It specifically explores how group-level transformational leadership influences individual-level Guanxi and work-family conflict and how these factors, in turn, impact work engagement. Design/methodology/approach The study surveyed 473 teachers in the Klang Valley, Malaysia, and used hierarchical linear modelling. Findings The results reveal that transformational leadership directly enhances non-work relationships, reduces work-family conflict and indirectly predicts increased work engagement. This indirect influence occurs through the mediation of Guanxi and the work-family conflict. Notably, while stronger Guanxi is associated with greater work engagement in the professional sphere, it does not necessarily mitigate the work-family conflict in the personal domain. Originality/value These findings provide valuable insights into maintaining and enhancing work engagement by implementing transformational leadership through more effective channels, such as Guanxi and work-family conflict management.

The impact of group efficacy beliefs and transformational leadership on followers’ self-efficacy: a multilevel-longitudinal study

Using Social Cognitive Theory as our theoretical framework, we analyse how beliefs about group efficacy among team members, together with transformational leadership are two group-level constructs (aggregated members’ shared beliefs), which predicts individual members self-efficacy over time. We conducted a three-wave longitudinal study with 456 participants that were randomly distributed in 112 groups working in three simulated creative collective tasks. We computed random coefficient models in a lagged-effects design. Findings were as expected and group efficacy beliefs and group-level transformational leadership were relevant cross-level predictors of individual self-efficacy over time (even after controlling for baseline levels of individual self-efficacy). Results suggested that these group-level factors are relevant cross-level constructs that explain how individual self-efficacy among group members is developed over time.

The relationship between transformational leadership and follower sickness absence: the role of presenteeism

ABSTRACTThe impact of transformational leaders on employee health and well-being has received much attention. Less research has focused on the relationships between transformational leaders and followers’ sickness absenteeism. Transformational leaders promote a group climate that may lead to absenteeism, especially among vulnerable employees (those with high levels of presenteeism). In the present study we examined the relationships between presenteeism, group-level transformational leadership and sickness absence rates in a three-year longitudinal study of postal workers and their leaders in Denmark (N = 155). Group-level transformational leadership in year 1 predicted sickness absenteeism in year 2, but not in year 3. In examining conditions under which transformational leadership may be linked to higher levels of sickness absenteeism, we found that presenteeism in year 1 moderated the link between transformational leadership in year 1 and sickness absenteeism in year 3, such that followers working in groups with a transformational leader and who were high in presenteeism reported higher levels of sickness absenteeism. Our results suggest a complex picture of the relationship between transformational leadership and sickness absenteeism; transformational leaders may promote self-sacrifice of vulnerable followers by leading them to go to work while ill, leading to increased risks of sickness absence in the long term.

Pseudo-transformational Leadership is in the Eyes of the Subordinates

Based on attribution theory, this research defines pseudo-transformational leadership to be driven by the interaction between transformational leadership and the subordinates’ perception of their supervisor’s manipulative intention. We investigate the effects of pseudo-transformational leadership on contextual performance through organizational identification. The results of hierarchical linear modeling using a sample of 214 subordinates reporting to 66 supervisors show that when subordinates perceive that their supervisor has a high level of manipulative intention, the impact of group-level transformational leadership on the subordinates will be reduced. More specifically, when subordinates perceive the manipulative intention of transformational leadership, they are less likely to identify with the organization, which ultimately limits their willingness to demonstrate contextual performance activities. The implications of these findings for theory as well as managerial practice are discussed.

The Divergent Effects of Transformational Leadership on Individual and Team Innovation

Transformational leadership has consistently been argued to enhance team innovation, yet related research has generated ambiguous findings. We suggest that our understanding of leader impact on innovation would benefit from explicitly recognizing both group- and individual-focused transformational leadership dimensions and their distinct effects on team and individual innovation. In particular, we predict a novel contrasting effect in which group-focused transformational leader behavior has a positive impact on team innovation but a negative impact on individual innovation. We further argue that this divergence in leader effect is strengthened by task interdependence, which enhances the negative effects of group-level transformational leadership on individual innovation. Data from 195 members of 56 teams support our predicted pathways, which contribute to a clearer understanding of the complex, multilevel effects of leadership in innovation in teams, and highlight the importance of differentiating between team and individual leader dimensions and outcomes.

A Multilevel Investigation of Leadership and Turnover Behavior

This study extends the sparse research on the connection between leadership and follower turnover by investigating the effects of group-level transformational leadership on the withdrawal process. Through an examination of 375 Chinese employees from 96 work groups, we used hierarchical generalized linear modeling (HGLM) analyses to test our proposed model. Findings reveal that, even when we control for the effects of leader–member exchange and contingent reward leadership, transformational leadership predicts turnover through quit intentions. In addition, our test of cross-level moderation reveals that transformational leadership can weaken the effect of quit intentions on turnover. Thus, employees are less likely to carry out quit intentions when they have transformational leaders.

Does shared and differentiated transformational leadership predict followers' working conditions and well-being?

Transformational leadership has been widely researched and is associated with followers' performance, attitudes, and subjective well-being at the individual level. Less research has focused on transformational leadership as a group phenomenon. In a survey study (425 followers and 56 leaders), we examined how group-level and differentiated transformational leadership shape followers' perceptions of their working conditions and individual subjective well-being. There was stronger evidence that differentiated transformational leadership's relationships with indicators of well-being was mediated by perceptions of working conditions, in that 10 out of 20 tests for mediation using differentiated transformational leadership were significant, compared to just three out of 20 for group-level transformational leadership. The results suggest that transformational leadership needs to be studied as a group phenomenon considering how group-level perceptions may impact on followers' well-being and that leaders need to realize that there is an “I” in groups and addition to a “we” in groups.

Transformational leadership and commitment: A multilevel analysis of group-level influences and mediating processes

Researchers in the field of leadership have shown an increasing interest in examining the additional effect of consensus, which reflects on the variability of leadership perceptions in a team on outcomes. Based on theoretical assumptions with regard to social group processes and group-related mechanisms of transformational leadership it is hypothesized in this study that besides group-level transformational leadership, the consensus among group members will positively predict affective and normative commitment. In contrast, no relationship with continuance commitment was expected. Further we proposed that the influence of group-level transformational leadership is mediated by perceptions of meaningful tasks, whereas consensus is mediated by positive organizational climate. Multisource data were collected from 21 CEOs of small pharmacies and their subordinates. Subordinates (N = 105) rated their supervisors' transformational leadership, as well as their individual perceptions of task content, organizational climate, and organizational commitment, and CEOs rated their scope of influence. As expected, group-level transformational leadership and consensus were positively related to affective commitment. Further multilevel analyses revealed that meaningful task content mediated the influence of leadership on affective commitment. Positive organizational climate slightly mediated the relationship between consensus and affective commitment. Practical implications are discussed with regard to commitment management by promoting meaningful work and strengthening consensus and climate.

Mediating Role of Creative Identity in the Influence of Transformational Leadership on Creativity: Is There a Multilevel Effect?

In this study, the authors examined the relationships among transformational leadership, creative identity, and creativity from a multilevel perspective. They found that individual-level transformational leadership positively affected employees’ individual creativity indirectly through individual creative identity. Group creative identity instead mediated the relationship between group-level transformational leadership and group creativity. In addition, group creative identity mediated the relationship between group-level transformational leadership and individual creative identity. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.