Role Congruity Theory Research Articles

The Relationship between Transformational Leadership, Leader Effectiveness, and Turnover Intentions: Do Subordinate Gender Differences Exist?

The aim of this study was to examine gender differences among subordinates in the strength of relationships between transformational leadership, leader effectiveness, and voluntary organizational turnover intentions. The authors drew from various theoretical bases, including transformational leadership theory, social role theory, and role congruity theory, to undergird the research. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I male and female assistant coaches of women’s basketball, softball, and volleyball teams (N = 294) responded to the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) and turnover intention questionnaire. Structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed a noteworthy gender difference in the strength of relationship between leader effectiveness and voluntary organizational turnover intentions. Contributions and implications are discussed.

The Relationship between Transformational Leadership, Leader Effectiveness, and Turnover Intentions: Do Subordinate Gender Differences Exist?

The aim of this study was to examine gender differences among subordinates in the strength of relationships between transformational leadership, leader effectiveness, and voluntary organizational turnover intentions. The authors drew from various theoretical bases, including transformational leadership theory, social role theory, and role congruity theory, to undergird the research. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I male and female assistant coaches of women’s basketball, softball, and volleyball teams (N = 294) responded to the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) and turnover intention questionnaire. Structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed a noteworthy gender difference in the strength of relationship between leader effectiveness and voluntary organizational turnover intentions. Contributions and implications are discussed.

Perceptions of Christian Women Leaders in Church-Related Organizations

Research suggests that one's perceptions of an ideal leader do not always match one's perceptions of an ideal woman. The roles are incongruous. This study used a causal-comparative methodology to examine role congruity theory within Protestant evangelical nonprofit organizations in order to discover whether or not role incongruity posed as an obstacle for women leaders. Participants completed one of the seven versions of the revised Descriptive Index, in addition to providing basic demographic information. Similar to previous research, results indicated that role congruity emerged as an obstacle for women. Unlike previous research, role congruity emerged as an issue for men as well. Furthermore, male managers differed more from successful middle managers than did female managers.

Linking Gender To Creativity: Role of Risk Taking and Support For Creativity Towards Creative Potential of Employees

The purpose of this study is to lay its prime focus on the support for creativity that defines the self-analysis of creative capabilities and potential among men and women. Benefitting from the cross-level interactionist perspective, social role theory, and role congruity theory, this research developed an integrated multilevel model to examine gender differences in risk-taking behavior and determine how the contextual factor of support for creativity shapes employees' risk-taking and influences their creativity performance. Data for this study were collected from 347 employees and their respective 98 supervisors of a pharmaceutical company in Jakarta, Indonesia. The proposed cross-level moderated mediation model was tested using data obtained at two points in time from two data sources (subordinates and supervisors) working at a pharmaceutical company. The obtained data were then analyzed with Mplus. Our findings indicate that women may have lower risk-taking than men in organizational contexts. However, support for creativity restores parity between men and women through cross-level moderated mediation, such that support for creativity has a stronger effect on women's risk-taking than that of men, resulting in increased creative performance for women. Research contributions and future research directions are also discussed in the relevant sections.

Examining the Influence of Athletic Participation in Evaluation of Entry-Level Positions In Financial Services: An Application of Role Congruity Theory

Role congruity theory was utilized to examine whether a candidate’s participation in intercollegiate athletics influenced hiring preferences of managers in the financial services industry; an industry with a majority of leadership positions occupied by men. Participants were N = 163 (female n = 71, male n = 92) managers within the financial services industry. A simulated employment procedure was used with hiring managers evaluating mock applicant résumés for either male/female athletes or male/female non-athletes prior to answering questions about preferences for hiring candidates for entry-level employment. Results indicated female athlete candidates received similar scores to the male athlete candidates for hiring and competence. The female non-athlete candidate received the lowest scores for hiring and competence. Further, female athlete candidates received the highest scores overall for likeability. The findings indicate that participation in athletics provides women with a benefit in regard to hiring preference in the financial services industry.

Extending Role Congruity Theory of Prejudice to Men and Women With Sex-Typed Mental Illnesses

We tested role congruity theory, which states that prejudice arises from an incongruity between group stereotypes and role characteristics, by assessing prejudice toward men and women with a masculine or feminine mental illness. Across two studies, participants acting as a vocational counselor rated the suitability of each target individual in each role. Men and individuals with a masculine sex-typed illness were more suitable for agentic roles, whereas women and individuals with a feminine sex-typed illness were more suitable for communal roles. In addition, sex and mental illness sex-type were better predictors of prejudice than evaluations of the group.

Trust in Leadership: New Insights and Empirical Evidence

Trust in leadership has long been of great interest to management scholars due to its critical impact in leadership and organizational effectiveness. However, extant research has focused primarily on follower perceptions and trustee (i.e. leader) characteristics as predictors of trust in leadership. The four empirical papers in this symposium will contribute to literature on trust in leadership by highlighting leaders’ perceptions and follower factors that influence trust building processes and follower perceptions of leadership trustworthiness. The papers included in the symposium will draw on various theories (e.g. The lens model, meta-accuracy, role congruity theory of prejudice, social value orientation theory, fairness heuristics theory, and social information processing theory), employ strong methodologies (e.g. multi-source survey, time-lagged experiment), introduce novel constructs, and show paradoxical results that may result from trust in leadership. It is hoped that this symposium sparks novel ideas on conceptualization and methodology in conducting research on trust in leadership beyond more conventional approaches. This symposium will make a contribution to the 2014 Academy of Management Conference in terms of the research it adds to the field and the interesting discussions it will evoke. Supervisor Trust and the Interplay Between Self and Other-Oriented Proactive Behaviors Presenter: Emily Knecht Tarr; The Ohio State U. Presenter: Steffanie L. Wilk; The Ohio State U. Presenter: R David Lebel; U. of Pittsburgh Presenter: Nancy Rothbard; U. of Pennsylvania Gender Differences in the Effectiveness of Trust Repair Efforts of Leaders Presenter: Kristie Lynne McAlpine; Cornell U. Presenter: Haeseen Park; Cornell U. Presenter: Heeman Park; The Ohio State U. Presenter: Lisa Dragoni; Cornell U. Who Trusts You? Do You Know? Determinants and Implications of Meta- Accuracy Presenter: Rachel Campagna; U. of Pittsburgh Presenter: Kurt T Dirks; Washington U. in St. Louis Presenter: Sandra Robinson; U. of British Columbia Presenter: Ravi S. Kudesia; Washington U. in St. Louis Presenter: Craig D. Crossley; U. of Central Florida Concurrent Effects of Top-Down and Bottom-Up Processes on Justice Climate Presenter: Burak Oc; Pompeu Fabra U. Presenter: Michael Bashshur; Singapore Management U. Presenter: E. Layne Paddock; Singapore Management U.

Gender makes the difference: The moderating role of leader gender on the relationship between leadership styles and subordinate performance

Using a predominantly male research and development (R&D) sample and a predominantly female customer service personnel sample, we investigated how authoritarian and benevolent leadership styles interact with leader gender to influence subordinate performance (i.e., task performance, citizenship behavior, and creativity). Our research extends role congruity theory (Eagly & Karau, 2002) by adopting Kelley’s (1972a, 1972b) attribution principles to offer a more comprehensive framework for explaining how leader gender affects the impact of leadership styles on subordinate performance. Our results suggest that the negative relationship between authoritarian leadership and subordinate performance is stronger for female than for male leaders and that the positive relationship between benevolent leadership and subordinate performance is stronger for male than for female leaders. Accordingly, in addition to leaders’ engaging in gender-role congruent behaviors, a useful strategy is to adopt behaviors that are perceived as a positive deviation from their gender role.

Gender effects on entrepreneurial intention: a meta‐analytical structural equation model

PurposeAlthough the percentage of female entrepreneurs has increased over the past several years, it is far below the level of males. Drawing on the theory of planned behaviour and role congruity theory, the purpose of this paper is to specify a model in which the relationship between gender and entrepreneurial intention (EI) is mediated by three essential motivational constructs (i.e. attitude toward starting a business, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control (PBC)).Design/methodology/approachThe study specifies and tests a meta‐analytical structural equation model. The study aggregates the results of 30 studies (n=52,367).FindingsThe study reveals a higher average EI for men compared to women. However, although significant, the gender differences in EI and the motivational constructs were small and cannot sufficiently explain the substantial differences in actually starting a business. Furthermore, moderator analyses show differences in the gender‐EI relationship between Europe and the US and between students and non‐students.Research limitations/implicationsDifferences between men and women seem to be a consequence of differences in turning intentions into implementation. Researchers are called upon to investigate gender differences in hindrances as a potential explanation for different implementations and when and why women give up their entrepreneurial plans. Moreover, future research should investigate further motivational processes beyond those suggested by the theory of planned behavior.Originality/valueThe study analyses the relationship between gender and EI and the results show a weak relationship which indicates that the higher number of male entrepreneurs cannot solely be explained by differences in motivation.

If you're going to be a leader, at least act like it! Prejudice towards women who are tentative in leader roles

Role congruity theory predicts prejudice towards women who meet the agentic requirements of the leader role. In line with recent findings indicating greater acceptance of agentic behaviour from women, we find evidence for a more subtle form of prejudice towards women who fail to display agency in leader roles. Using a classic methodology, the agency of male and female leaders was manipulated using assertive or tentative speech, presented through written (Study 1, N=167) or verbal (Study 2, N=66) communications. Consistent with predictions, assertive women were as likeable and influential as assertive men, while being tentative in leadership reduced the likeability and influence of women, but not of men. Although approval of agentic behaviour from women in leadership reflects progress, evidence that women are quickly singled out for disapproval if they fail to show agency is important for understanding how they continue to be at a distinct disadvantage to men in leader roles.

The Matilda Effect in Science Communication

An experiment with 243 young communication scholars tested hypotheses derived from role congruity theory regarding impacts of author gender and gender typing of research topics on perceived quality of scientific publications and collaboration interest. Participants rated conference abstracts ostensibly authored by females or males, with author associations rotated. The abstracts fell into research areas perceived as gender-typed or gender-neutral to ascertain impacts from gender typing of topics. Publications from male authors were associated with greater scientific quality, in particular if the topic was male-typed. Collaboration interest was highest for male authors working on male-typed topics. Respondent sex did not influence these patterns.

The pattern and process of colonizing the interior of Australia

Extant research shows that female managers face significant hurdles in the attainment of top level positions in IT organizations. Recently there have been some examples to women breaking through the glass ceiling to reach to higher positions. However, there is only a limited knowledge of the obstacles women may face after they break through the glass ceiling to ascend to leadership positions. New studies suggest that women may be more likely to be assigned to riskier, more precarious leadership positions compared to men-a form of bias called the glass cliff. Drawing from role congruity theory, the present study examines whether men and women are differentially selected to leadership positions. Employing a 2 (organization performance: increasing or declining) x 2 (candidate gender: male or female) between subjects design with a sample of 281 Business Administration students did not find support for the glass cliff hypothesis that female leaders are more likely to be assigned to top positions when organizational performance is declining rather than increasing. Hence, this study did not replicate the glass cliff. More research is needed to investigate under what conditions this bias may occur.

Sexual Orientation and Gender-Typed Work: Combining Implicit Inversion and Role Congruity Theories

Research on gender-inconsistent employment calls attention to backlash and discrimination experienced by individuals engaged in such work. These phenomena, according to role congruity theory, occur...

Does gender bias against female leaders persist? Quantitative and qualitative data from a large-scale survey

The present study of 60,470 women and men examined evaluations of participants’ current managers as well as their preferences for male and female managers, in general. A cross-sex bias emerged in the ratings of one’s current boss, where men judged their female bosses more favorably and women judged male bosses more favorably. The quality of relationships between subordinates and managers were the same for competent male and female managers. A small majority (54%) of participants claimed to have no preference for the gender of their boss, but the remaining participants reported preferring male over female bosses by more than a 2:1 ratio. Qualitative analysis of the participants’ justifications for this preference are presented, and results are discussed within the framework of role congruity theory.

An Evaluation of the Impact of Role Congruity and Power Sharing Techniques on Perceived Leadership Effectiveness

Grounded in social role theory, role congruity theory evaluates gender roles and their importance in promoting behavioral differences between the sexes. Role congruity theory considers congruency between gender and other roles, and thus far, has focused mostly on leadership. Related to this, a leader's use of power may indicate whether (s)he is perceived as effective. Research indicates a "glass ceiling" still exists for women, which may be linked to role congruity theory and power sharing methods. Results of this study support the hypothesis: leaders portrayed as cooperative power sharers will be considered more effective than leaders who demonstrate competitive power sharing methods, however, no significant differences in the leader's sex selected given her/his power sharing technique were determined. This may suggest gender, more so than power sharing techniques, may be a better predictor of leadership expectations.

Gender Effects on Organizational Problems—Evidence from Non-Profit Sports Clubs in Germany

In sports organizations, women are still under-represented, especially compared with their share of the general population. This holds true for management and leadership positions in particular, which could be explained by the lack of congruence between the female gender role and leader role. Therefore, the theoretical framework underpinning this study is based on role congruity theory. The research question is whether the share of women on the board and among members influences the perceived severity of organizational problems faced by sports organizations. This postulation is examined for a representative sample of sports clubs in Germany (n = 13,068). Analyses of variance are conducted with the severity of organizational problems and the share of women on the board and among club members. The results show that the share of women on the board and among members has a significant negative impact on the severity of organizational problems. Sports clubs with a high share of women on the board and among members perceive the severity of organizational problems as smaller on average. This finding is related to female leadership style, which might serve as one possible explanation. Based on these results, it is recommended that sports clubs appoint more women to management positions. This study provides empirical evidence that the often postulated increase in the share of women can be beneficial to sports organizations.

The Matilda Effect—Role Congruity Effects on Scholarly Communication

Using role congruity theory as the basis for the study, an analysis of 1,020 articles published 1991-2005 in Communication Research and Journal of Communication, as well as the ISI citations these articles received and the citations these articles included, was conducted. In line with a hypothesized “Matilda effect” (underrecognition of female scientists), articles authored by female communication scientists received fewer citations than articles authored by males. Hypotheses on moderating impacts of research topic, author productivity, and citing author’s sex, as well as on change in the effect’s extent across time were derived from the theoretical framework. Networking conceptualizations led to an additional hypothesis. Five of six hypotheses were supported.

A Role Congruity Perspective on Prejudice Toward Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin

This research compares prejudice toward female politicians Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin through the lens of role congruity theory. We measured participants’ evaluations of stereotypicality, competence, warmth, and voting likelihood. Consistent with hypotheses, Clinton was evaluated as less stereotypically feminine and less warm than Palin, whereas Palin was evaluated as less competent than Clinton. Furthermore, participant gender, benevolent sexism, hostile sexism, and political orientation predicted differential voting likelihood for Clinton and Palin. Implications for role congruity, ambivalent sexism, and female politicians are discussed.

Are leader stereotypes masculine? A meta-analysis of three research paradigms.

This meta-analysis examined the extent to which stereotypes of leaders are culturally masculine. The primary studies fit into 1 of 3 paradigms: (a) In Schein's (1973) think manager-think male paradigm, 40 studies with 51 effect sizes compared the similarity of male and leader stereotypes and the similarity of female and leader stereotypes; (b) in Powell and Butterfield's (1979) agency-communion paradigm, 22 studies with 47 effect sizes compared stereotypes of leaders' agency and communion; and (c) in Shinar's (1975) masculinity-femininity paradigm, 7 studies with 101 effect sizes represented stereotypes of leadership-related occupations on a single masculinity-femininity dimension. Analyses implemented appropriate random and mixed effects models. All 3 paradigms demonstrated overall masculinity of leader stereotypes: (a) In the think manager-think male paradigm, intraclass correlation = .25 for the women-leaders similarity and intraclass correlation = .62 for the men-leaders similarity; (b) in the agency-communion paradigm, g = 1.55, indicating greater agency than communion; and (c) in the masculinity-femininity paradigm, g = 0.92, indicating greater masculinity than the androgynous scale midpoint. Subgroup and meta-regression analyses indicated that this masculine construal of leadership has decreased over time and was greater for male than female research participants. In addition, stereotypes portrayed leaders as less masculine in educational organizations than in other domains and in moderate- than in high-status leader roles. This article considers the relation of these findings to Eagly and Karau's (2002) role congruity theory, which proposed contextual influences on the incongruity between stereotypes of women and leaders. The implications for prejudice against women leaders are also considered.

Utilizing Role Congruity Theory to Examine the Hiring of Blacks for Entry Level Sports Management

The purpose of the study was to evaluate hiring preference for entry-level sport management positions based on race, gender, and athletic participation of the applicant. Simulated employment procedures were used in the present study. Specifically, White female and male athlete and non-athlete résumés and Black female and male athlete and non-athlete résumés were examined. Role congruity theory was utilized as the framework for this study. Results indicated overall that White applicants (both athletes and non-athletes) received significantly higher ratings when compared to Black applicants, but that White male athlete applicants did not receive significantly higher overall ratings.