As a trait, leader confidence has been examined in major leadership theories, such as transformational/charismatic, Pygmalion, and empowering leadership. However, how confidence affects leadership effectiveness remains an empirical... more
As a trait, leader confidence has been examined in major leadership theories, such as transformational/charismatic, Pygmalion, and empowering leadership. However, how confidence affects leadership effectiveness remains an empirical question. Conceptualizing leadership confidence in two behavioral approaches—demonstrating self-confidence (DC-self) and demonstrating confidence in followers (DC-follower)—this study tests the independent effects of the two DC behaviors as well as their interactive effects with firm environment on followers' commitment. Results of Hierarchal Linear Modeling analyses suggest that both DC behaviors have significant impact on follower commitment and their effects attenuate each other. Results also reveal that DC-self interacts with firm environment to influence follower commitment. The effect of DC-self on follower commitment is stronger in a more competitive environment. Those findings and their implications for leadership research and practice are discussed.
Leader-member exchange (LMX) and guanxi have been tested and linked to various antecedents and outcome variables, but the possible link of treating LMX and guanxi as mediators between perceived leadership influence behaviors and... more
Leader-member exchange (LMX) and guanxi have been tested and linked to various antecedents and outcome variables, but the possible link of treating LMX and guanxi as mediators between perceived leadership influence behaviors and attitudinal commitment has never been tested. The current study contributes to the literature by integrating a relational attribution model to our framework, and simultaneously investigating the culture effect in a sample of Chinese and Western cultural samples. The results demonstrate a mediating effect of both LMX and guanxi; the mediating effect of LMX between influence behaviors and organizational commitment is stronger than guanxi. The findings of the study also indicate no significant country differences, suggesting the theoretical framework is a universal model.