Laissez-faire Research Articles

Leadership Styles and their Influence on Employees’ Job Motivation in Ludewa District Council

The purpose of this paper is to look into how Tanzania's Ludewa District Council employees feel about their jobs and the impact of leadership styles. In today's society, it is difficult for firms to make the necessary investments to develop their leadership capabilities. This study aims to ascertain how Ludewa District Council employees' job motivation is impacted by the leadership styles used by the organization. Few researches are done in rural locations like Ludewa District. Studies from more urbanized locations may not fully represent the manner in which the socioeconomic, cultural, and infrastructure aspects of Ludewa District influence leadership styles and their effect on employee performance. The study specifically looks at how employees' motivation for their jobs is affected by democratic, transformational, and laissez-faire leadership philosophies. Purposive sampling was used to select representatives from among the 80 respondents whose responses were obtained through questionnaires. The analysis section uses the Statistical Package for Social Sciences software to examine research goals. The dependent variable was in the nominal scale of measurement. The study demonstrates that a democratic style of a leader inspires more motivation among Ludewa District Council staff members. It illustrates how a democratic leadership style allows for group engagement and offers all employees an equal chance of conceiving the understanding and achievement of corporate goals. In order to better suit the work environment and boost employee motivation, which in turn increases job productivity, the study advises management and leaders at the Council to adopt certain leadership styles.

Leadership’s impact on SME performance: A systematic review of its role in enterprise

ABSTRACT In small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), leadership is crucial for business success. This review analyses how democratic, autocratic, laissez-faire, and transformational leadership styles impact SME performance, examining 32 studies from Scopus and Web of Science (2020–2023). Findings reveal that leadership significantly influences profitability, employee productivity, growth, and sustainability. Democratic leadership encourages innovation and inclusivity but can slow decision making. Autocratic leadership facilitates swift action under pressure but may hinder employee engagement. Laissez-faire leadership promotes autonomy, ideal for creative industries, although it risks lack of direction if poorly managed. Transformational leadership drives high performance and innovation, although excessive use can lead to burnout. This study synthesizes recent literature, offering practical recommendations for SME leaders, consultants, and policy makers, emphasizing the importance of flexible leadership styles tailored to specific organizational needs and market conditions.

Impact of Leadership Styles on Employee Engagement in Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Industry: A Quantitative Analysis

This study investigates the impact of different leadership styles—transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire—on employee engagement within the Nigerian oil and gas industry. Recognizing the industry’s complexity and its critical role in Nigeria’s economy, this research aims to fill the existing gap in empirical studies focusing on leadership’s influence on employee engagement in this specific context. The investigation utilizes a quantitative approach, surveying 100 employees across various job positions within the industry. The findings indicate that both transformational and transactional leadership styles have significant favorable effects on employee engagement, with transformational leadership explaining 31.4% of the variance and transactional leadership explaining 28.8% of the variance in engagement levels. Conversely, laissez-faire leadership style shows a significant negative influence, accounting for 6% of the variance. These outcomes highlight the significance of proactive and involved leadership practices in fostering employee engagement. The research contributes to the broader organizational management literature by highlighting the critical role of leadership styles in enhancing workforce engagement and suggests practical recommendations for industry leaders to adopt transformational and transactional leadership behaviors to boost engagement and drive organizational success. Additionally, the study advocates for further research to explore other variables influencing employee engagement and to extend the findings to other industries and geographical contexts.

The Role Of Leader In Work Addiction

Over-attachment to work is an increasingly common phenomenon in the lives of people in organisations, and can also be a condition of work addiction. Whoever becomes involved in an organisation, be it a subordinate or even a manager, work addiction has a number of negative consequences at both individual and organisational level. Without being exhaustive, work addiction can have an impact on organisational performance, organisational effectiveness, workplace conflict, career prospects, health maintenance. In this paper, we aim to highlight the most relevant publications from the last five years to report on the impact in an organisation when work addiction arises among subordinates or managers, and how different leadership styles are associated with work addiction among organisational members. The publications were retrieved from Google Scholar and Scopus, and the results of 19 articles are presented in this paper after a review of 263 papers retrieved. The results show that transformational, servant and ethical leadership styles have ambiguous effects on work addiction, unlike laissez-faire or abusive leadership styles, the former enhancing and the latter reducing the incidence of work addiction in an organisation. Work addiction of managers also has a dual effect: on the one hand, it can enhance creativity, but it can also increase turnover among subordinates. Social support from the manager can be an antidote to subordinates' work addiction, but this effect may be modified by the quantity and quality of interaction between manager and subordinate, the sense of meaningfulness of the work, or even the organisational culture. Overall, the manager, as a key actor, can have an impact on work addiction in the organisation, but there is not always a consistent position in the research on the cases and the way in which this is done, which calls for further research in the future.

The effect of leadership styles on employee’s performance in Ethiopian sports organizations with mediating and moderating roles

The research explored the impacts of diverse leadership styles on employee performance in Ethiopian sports organizations. It specifically examined the mediating effects of job satisfaction and the moderating impact of education level. In this study a cross-sectional survey design was employed, with 463 participants from various sports organizations. Validated scales were used for the data collection of leadership styles, job satisfaction, and employee performance. The analysis of the data was conducted using descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling with software SPSS and Smart PLS4. The findings indicated that the perceived transformational leadership approach showed the strongest positive correlation with job satisfaction and employee performance, followed by the transactional leadership approach. In contrast, the laissez-faire leadership interaction with both employee job satisfaction and performance was demonstrated negatively. Job satisfaction was partially mediated in the relation between all three leadership styles and employee performance. Moreover, education level moderated the interaction between transformational leadership and job satisfaction. Drawing upon these findings, recommendations were provided for Ethiopian sports organizations to improve leadership styles and enhance employee performance, with a focus on understanding the mediating effect of job satisfaction and moderating effect of education level.

Coding with Those Who Show Up

This paper considers our library’s attempt at applying a “laissez-faire leadership” model to technical committee work. Since its introduction in the 1990s, scholarship on laissez-faire leadership has historically viewed the concept very negatively. However, we argue here that many of these perspectives are straw man arguments that do not adequately consider the possibilities of a laissez-faire model. Following some dissenting voices in the literature, we would like to reclaim the laissez-faire model as a way to facilitate library technical work under certain very specific circumstances. This paper will describe the organizational context where these laissez-faire methods worked for us. Our conclusion is that this approach can promote autonomy, responsibility, and productivity. We feel that this reevaluation of this concept can provide an important framework for self-organization when doing technical work.

“No Magic in Being Lost”: Conservative Sentiment in Ling Ma’s Severance

Abstract Ling Ma’s post-apocalyptic novel Severance (2018), like many examples of the genre, has generally been interpreted as a progressive work. This essay contends, however, that it expresses a conservative disposition as English philosopher Michael Oakeshott defined it, with clear preferences for the familiar over the unknown and a disdain for utopias. A close reading of Severance through the lens of Oakeshott’s philosophy reveals that change is shown as negative, since both the world after a deadly pandemic strikes and pre-2010 New York are portrayed as diminished by disruption – and as devoid of a sense of adventure that might otherwise turn disruption interesting. Furthermore, the novel warns of ideology and teleology: the apocalypse remains unexplained and is not used to communicate criticism or lessons, while the progressive and totalitarian characters that aim to impose a grand vision on the rest are ridiculed, and the personal and the private appear as tantamount. Finally, laissez-faire capitalism and the neo-liberal state are criticized not so much for their inherent exploitation, but for forcing a lifestyle onto people that is without alternative, that they did not choose, that (through the hegemony of work) leads to a profanation of life, and that causes an erosion of tradition.

Leadership, Team Performance, and Professional Development Among Chinese College Dance Instructors

This study explores the relationship between leadership style, team performance, and professional development among college dance teachers in China. Involving 410 dance teachers, mostly aged 26 to 40 with master’s degrees and extensive teaching experience, the research highlights the crucial role of effective leadership in fostering teamwork, personal growth, and high-quality arts education. Key findings indicate that transformational leadership—marked by inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and personalized consideration—is strongly linked to improved team performance and professional development. In contrast, transactional leadership shows mixed results in fostering creativity and long-term career growth, while laissez-faire leadership hampers team performance and career opportunities. Respondents emphasized the need for a balanced integration of teaching, academic research, and artistic creation for continued professional growth. The study also underscores the importance of emotional intelligence (EQ) in leadership, enhancing teaching management and team coaching. Significant differences were observed across demographics, with a positive correlation between strong leadership, team dynamics, and professional growth. The study recommends targeted training for dance teachers, adoption of transformational leadership, and comprehensive development programs to enhance team performance and individual growth, thereby improving the quality and global competitiveness of Chinese dance education

Effect of Leadership Styles on Employee Productivity in Nepalese Commercial Banks

Different leadership styles can significantly affect organizational outcomes and employee well-being. There are many distinct leadership philosophies, and a leader may choose to implement a certain style depending on their inclinations, the circumstances, and the demands of their group. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of different leadership styles on employee productivity in the banking sector. The study employed a descriptive and causal comparative research design. This quantitative research aimed to establish the relationships between dependent and independent variables. The population consisted of employees from Nepalese commercial banks, with 384 complete responses gathered through a judgmental sampling method from initial 390 questionnaires distributed. The findings shows the transformational leadership, transactional leadership, charismatic leadership and laissez-faire leadership are all positive and statistically significant on the employee productivity. The consistency in the positive effects of transformational charismatic leadership and laissez-faire leadership across different contexts suggests that these styles may be universally beneficial, although the degree of impact may vary depending on the organizational environment and culture. Transactional leadership, while effective, may need to be complemented with other styles, especially transformational and charismatic, to achieve optimal outcomes.

The silent potential: coworkers’ voicing in workplace meetings

PurposeThis study aims to propose a novel theoretical model that connects leadership and followership styles. The primary objective is to develop and validate an instrument capable of measuring these constructs. The study then applies factor and correlation analyses to investigate the relationships among leadership and followership styles across diverse cultural contexts, represented by respondents from Armenia, Denmark, Germany and the United States of America.Design/methodology/approachThe study employs a mixed-method approach, beginning with the development and validation of an instrument to measure leadership and followership styles. Following instrument development, factor and correlation analyses are conducted on data collected from 271 respondents from four different countries. This methodology allows for the identification of distinct leadership (autocratic, democratic and laissez-faire) and followership (compliant, collaborating and initiating) styles as well as the examination of their interrelationships.FindingsFactor analysis reveals three distinct leadership and followership styles. Autocratic leadership positively correlates with compliant followership, while democratic leadership shows a positive association with collaborating followership. However, no significant correlation is found between laissez-faire leadership and initiating followership. Notably, collaborative followership demonstrates a positive association with all three leadership styles. These findings provide insights into the complex dynamics between leadership and followership styles across different cultural contexts.Originality/valueThis study offers a contribution by introducing a comprehensive theoretical model that illustrates the relationship between leadership and followership styles. Its innovative approach includes the development and validation of a unique instrument to measure these constructs across diverse cultural backgrounds. By uncovering distinct leadership and followership styles and their correlations, this study provides valuable insights for both academics and practitioners.

Exploring the Effect of Leadership Styles on Financial Management Practices in Tertiary Healthcare Institutions in South-South Nigeria

Leadership in healthcare institutions has a significant effect on financial management practices, which are crucial for ensuring the sustainability and efficiency of service delivery. This study explores the effect of various leadership styles—autocratic, democratic, laissez-faire, bureaucratic, transformational, and transactional—on financial management practices, specifically financial accountability and budgeting, in two tertiary healthcare institutions in South-South Nigeria: University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) and Rivers State University Teaching Hospital (RSUTH). Using a cross-sectional design approach, quantitative data were collected through structured questionnaires administered to 195 participants from UPTH and 115 from RSUTH. The data were analyzed using Descriptive statistics and Spearman’s rank-order correlation. The results revealed that at RSUTH, transformational and autocratic leadership styles positively influenced financial accountability, with transformational leaders fostering transparency and ethical practices, while autocratic leaders ensured compliance with financial standards. In terms of budgeting, democratic and transactional leadership styles were positively associated with budgeting practices at RSUTH, supporting inclusive and structured financial planning. At UPTH, laissez-faire and bureaucratic leadership styles unexpectedly showed positive correlations with budgeting, suggesting that decentralized decision-making and procedural rigor may encourage employee engagement in financial planning. These findings highlight the importance of adaptable leadership that balances compliance with collaborative and innovative approaches to financial management. The study concludes that healthcare institutions should prioritize transformational and democratic leadership styles, which promote transparency, accountability, and participatory decision-making. Implementing leadership development programs to equip leaders with adaptable skills based on situational needs is recommended. Future research should investigate the long-term effects of leadership styles on financial sustainability across diverse healthcare contexts.

Navigating values: leadership behaviors for enhancing police organizational identity

PurposeThis study investigates the differential effectiveness of leadership styles within the German Federal Police Office, focusing on how these styles interact with employees' personal values to influence organizational identification (OI). Thus, we investigate the augmentation hypothesis and explore the moderating effects of personal values on leadership effectiveness regarding OI.Design/methodology/approachUtilizing a quantitative cross-sectional design, the study analyzes responses from 1,816 police employees via the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire and Portraits Value Questionnaire. Hierarchical regressions are used to analyze the hypothesized associations.FindingsThe results indicate that transformational leadership significantly enhances OI more than transactional or laissez-faire leadership. Moderating effects of personal values reveal complex interactions: while transformational leadership consistently predicts higher OI, transactional leadership’s effectiveness varies according to the employees' values such as Conformity and Tradition enhancing OI, Universalism and Benevolence diminishing it. These findings suggest that leadership effectiveness in policing is contingent on aligning leadership style with the personal values of the employees.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the understanding of how personal values modulate the impact of leadership styles on organizational outcomes within police organizations. It underscores the necessity for police leaders to consider the value profiles of their employees to optimize OI and effectiveness. The study is among the first to systematically explore these dynamics within a law enforcement context, providing empirical evidence to inform targeted leadership development and policy-making in policing.

Unveiling Leadership Styles in Work Life Balance: Insights from a Systematic Literature Review

The current study analyzed various leadership styles in the context of their impact on work-life balance (WLB) in organizational contexts. In this regard, a systematic literature review was conducted, where 19 peer-reviewed articles were analyzed, and published from 2003 to 2020. Whereas, relevant literature was identified through a systematic search on databases, such as Google Scholar, JSTOR, and PubMed, while utilizing keywords like 'leadership styles' and 'work-life balance.' It was revealed in the findings that transformational leadership is the most effective approach to cultivating a healthy work-life atmosphere while improving satisfaction and engagement. Whereas, Transactional leadership, emphasizes task completion and rewards, and is less promising for work-life balance, favoring organizational objectives over individual well-being frequently. Moreover, Laissez-faire leadership, known as limited direction, is connected with lower satisfaction and commitment. Consequently, the study emphasized gender-based research to handle the distinct work-life balance challenges, encountered by both men and women. It is also recommended to focus on leadership dynamics specific to organizations, especially in areas where work-life balance is vital. Additionally, essential policy proposals encompass the advancement of transformational leadership, gender-centric research, and adaptable work policies. Whereas, this review contributes to understanding the vital role leadership plays in enhancing employee well-being and organizational success.

Effects of Leadership Styles on Employees Job Performance: A Case Study of a Public Sector Organization in Ghana

Institutions are supervised by managers who are expected to direct their subordinates towards the achievements of organizational goals. Achievement of goals in an organization largely depends on the relationship between the supervisors and subordinates. Leadership styles play a crucial role in every organization in terms of industrial harmony and achievement of goals. Managers depending on the situation could employ democratic, autocratic or laissez-faire leadership styles to get organizational goals and objectives achieved. Primary data from public sector employees was used for this study based on the objectives of the study. Data was gathered from 50 employees using closed-ended questionnaires. The number of respondents was selected randomly from a population of 135 and determined using Yamane, 1974 formula and Browly proportional formula as indicated by Kumar 1976. The questionnaire were divided into three sections thus background characteristics of the respondents, respondents’ perception of their superiors’ leadership styles, employees’ assessment of their job performance respectively. The leadership styles were categorized autocratic, democratic and laissez-faire. The leadership and performance scales were measured using a 5-point Likert scale thus, 5=strongly agree; 4=agree; 3=undecided; 2=disagree; 1=strongly disagree. The outcome of the research was to the effect leadership exist in organizations have positive or negative impact on the job performance of workers. The results showed that a democratic leadership style has a significant positive impact on job performance within an organization, while autocratic and laissez-faire leadership styles contribute to apathy and lower work performance. Moreover, it was suggested among other things that the use of laissez-faire and autocratic styles should be discouraged since they are could be a recipe of creating lawless working environment which could result in low productivity.

Leadership Styles of Headteachers, Teacher Commitment and Academic Performance within Ejisu Municipality

This was a survey study aimed at finding out the relationship between leadership styles, teacher commitment, and academic performance within the Ejisu Municipality. The researchers selected 50 headteachers purposively and 210 teachers, using the sample size calculator by Raosoft. A set of closed-ended questionnaires was used, and this comprised 67 items for the respondents. The data was analyzed, using descriptive statistics, t-tests, and correlation analysis. The study discovered, among other things, that leadership styles such as democratic, transactional, autocratic, situational, and laissez-faire significantly influenced teacher commitment in the schools selected for the study. However, laissez-faire leadership style had a negative influence on teacher commitment. It was also revealed that democratic and transactional leadership styles had a positive effect on academic performance and it was statistically significant. The study, therefore, recommended that the Municipal Education Directorate should organise seminars on leadership styles, teacher commitment, and academic performance for headteachers, their assistants, and all heads of department so they to know not only the influence these leadership styles have on teacher commitment, and academic performance but also the positive relationships between these concepts in the management of any school system in terms of positive academic performance.

Responding to platform firm power: differing national responses

ABSTRACT Aware of the power of platform firms and the risks of the platform economy, governments are reconsidering the dominant laissez faire approach in favour of strategies that regulate the power of platform firms. transnational dynamics play an important role in shaping emerging national regimes, but we argue that governments are also influenced by three factors that operate primarily at domestic level: the agency of platform firms, the impact of first-mover US platforms, and domestic politics. We illustrate our approach through an analysis of the trajectories and regulatory measures of four economies: the US, the EU, China, and India. As governance efforts expand to emerging technologies such as AI, our analysis presages broader changes to the structure of what was, with a few important exceptions, a relatively borderless global online economy.

The harmful side of absent leaders: Multifactor leadership and employees’ job-stress-related presenteeism

Abstract This study tests the role of the full range leadership model’s leadership styles in employees’ job-stress-related presenteeism (JSRP). Further, the study tests a model that introduces mediating variables in the relationship between absent leaders and JSRP. Employees from four different types of organizations: police (N = 148), public service (N = 479, not-for-profit (N = 96), and construction (N = 214) completed the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire on their direct supervisor, as well as a self-report measures of JSRP, psychological distress, and work–life balance. Correlations and hierarchical linear regression models showed that laissez-faire leadership had the strongest influence on JSRP for all four organizations. The parallel mediation model results showed that both employee psychological distress and work–life balance partially mediated the relationship between laissez-faire leadership style and employees’ JSRP. These results underscore the importance of looking at absent leaders and how they affect employees negatively.

Leadership in Sports Organizations: An Overview of Indonesia

This study discusses various leadership approaches that affect organizational performance and human resource development. In this context, the two main approaches analyzed are behavioral and transformational approaches. The behavioral approach focuses on the behavior patterns of leaders which are divided into four systems, ranging from authoritarian exploitation to participative. Meanwhile, the transformational approach emphasizes the ability of leaders to empower their subordinates through changes in values, beliefs, and needs, with the aim of leading the organization towards future success. This study also explores various types of leadership, such as charismatic, paternalistic, militaristic, autocratic, laissez faire, populist, administrative, and democratic, each of which has different characteristics and influences in leading an organization. The concept of effective leadership is considered key to building and maintaining a healthy corporate culture, which in turn can improve overall organizational performance. In the context of sports management, leadership also plays an important role in building character and social skills through sports. The conclusion of this study shows that good leadership can have a positive impact on the organization, by building good relationships between leaders and subordinates and creating a conducive working atmosphere to achieve common goals.

Comparative Analysis of Leadership Styles in Public vs. Private Secondary Schools

The study's goals were to determine how leadership styles—transformational, transactional, authoritarian, democratic, and laissez-faire—differ between public and private secondary schools. Leadership styles encompass various approaches that influence team dynamics and organizational effectiveness. Understanding these styles is essential for fostering employee engagement and achieving strategic goals. The population was drawn from every high school in the Kasur district. To gather the data, multistage sampling approaches were employed. Data was gathered via a questionnaire. SPSS was used to analyze the data. Inferential statistics (Independent sample t-test) were employed. With the exception of laissez-faire leadership, the study's results showed a highly significant difference in leadership styles. Future studies should examine how environmental and cultural elements affect the efficacy of different leadership philosophies in diverse organisational contexts. Longitudinal studies could also look at how leadership philosophies change over time and how they affect workers' performance and happiness over the long run.

The Laissez-Faire Leadership Style in Higher Education Institutions: A Systematic Literature Review

Given the growing interest in laissez-faire leadership in higher education since 2014, this study was conducted to review scholarly publications on laissez-faire leadership in educational research, drawing on a database of 69 studies published between 2014 and 2024. Descriptive methods, including the volume of publication, journal and geographic distribution, types of studies, authorship trends, citation impact, research methods, and identified outcomes associated with laissez-faire leadership, were utilized to identify the main characteristics of the literature. The review revealed that the majority of published research consists of empirical studies, with a notable increase in qualitative approaches in recent years. Key findings highlighted significant relationships between laissez-faire leadership and various outcomes, such as academic performance, faculty satisfaction, innovation, and institutional effectiveness. Additionally, the review underscores the importance of contextual factors, including institutional culture and regional differences, in shaping the effectiveness of laissez-faire leadership. Recommendations were provided to increase the quality and depth of research on laissez-faire leadership in higher education, particularly in addressing gaps in cross-cultural and longitudinal studies.