Title
The Missing Link Between Leaders Personality and Followers Outcome: A Multilevel Perspective of the Paradoxical Leaders Behavior
Abstract
The purpose of this dissertation was to extend existing literature on paradoxical leader behavior (PLB) in people management by studying its antecedents, related outcomes and boundary conditions associated with these relationships. For this purpose multilevel modeling involving Two-model investigation was conducted. Model 1 examined leaders Big Five personality traits as the antecedents and followers in-role and innovative performance as outcomes of PLB in people management. Moderating effect of followers psychological capital on leaders personality and PLB relationship as well as PLB and followers outcomes relationship was also examined. Moderated mediation of PLB and followers psychological capital was also assessed for leaders personality and followers outcomes relationship. Drawing on the Trait theory, Trait activation theory and Social identity theory, to derive hypotheses, predictions of current study were tested with a sample of 131 managers and 609 employees working in banking sector of Pakistan. By and large, support for predictions was found. More specifically, leaders traits of extraversion and openness to experience were positively related to followers PLB ratings. Conversely, agreeableness, conscientiousness and neuroticism among leaders were negatively related to followers PLB ratings. PLB in turn was positively related to followers in-role and innovative performance outcomes. Followers psychological capital was found to moderate the relationship between agreeableness, openness to experience and PLB and also between PLB and followers in-role performance. Current study also demonstrated that PLB mediates the relationship between leaders personality and followers outcomes, a link missing from the literature so far. Followers psychological capital was found to moderately mediating the relationship between leaders agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness to experience and followers in-role performance and also between leaders agreeableness, openness to experience and followers innovative performance. Model 2 on other hand aimed at extending the line of multilevel research to the domain of PLB by studying impact of PLB not just at individual level but also at group level. Drawn on social identity theory, PLB was found to predict both group performance and group innovation positively and such relationship was mediated by individuals performance and innovation outcomes. Followers psychological capital moderated the relationship between PLB and group performance mediated through followers in-role performance. Overall, findings of this study will help researchers and practitioners understand what types of leader engage in PLB, what type of followers are most suitable for PLB and also effectiveness of PLB at multilevel, our findings thus have implications for organizations succession, selection and training and development practices.