Leader values as predictors of employee affect and work passion intentions

The purpose of this study was to examine the empirical connection between employee perceptions of their leaders’ values orientation, employee job-specific affect, and the resultant impact these two constructs have on employee work passion intentions. Seven hundred forty-seven respondent surveys were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) to assess the study’s proposed theoretical model. The latent constructs tested included cognition (i.e., perceptions of interpersonal work experience), affect, and intentions. Perceived leader self-concern showed a significant direct correlation with negative job-specific affect as well as a negative relationship with intent to stay. Leader other-orientation showed sizeable, direct, significant correlations with employee positive job-specific affect and resultant work passion intentions such as intent to endorse, intent to perform, intent to stay, intention to use discretionary effort, and intention to be an organizational citizen.Published versio

Examining the relationship between leaders' power use, followers' motivational outlooks, and followers' work intentions

From the foundation of self-determination theory and existing literature on forms of power, we empirically explored relationships between followers' perceptions of their leader's use of various forms of power, followers' self-reported motivational outlooks, and followers' favorable work intentions. Using survey data collected from two studies of working professionals, we apply path analysis and hierarchical multiple regression to analyze variance among constructs of interest. We found that followers' perceptions of hard power use by their leaders (i.e., reward, coercive, and legitimate power) was often related to higher levels of sub-optimal motivation in followers (i.e., amotivation, external regulation, and introjected regulation). However, followers who perceived their leaders used soft power (i.e., expert, referent, and informational power) often experienced higher levels of optimal motivation (i.e., identified regulation and intrinsic motivation), but further investigation of soft power use is warranted. The quality of followers' motivational outlooks was also related to intentions to perform favorably for their organizations.Published versio

Examining the Relationship Between Leaders' Power Use, Followers' Motivational Outlooks, and Followers' Work Intentions

From the foundation of self-determination theory and existing literature on forms of power, we empirically explored relationships between followers' perceptions of their leader's use of various forms of power, followers' self-reported motivational outlooks, and followers' favorable work intentions. Using survey data collected from two studies of working professionals, we apply path analysis and hierarchical multiple regression to analyze variance among constructs of interest. We found that followers' perceptions of hard power use by their leaders (i.e., reward, coercive, and legitimate power) was often related to higher levels of sub-optimal motivation in followers (i.e., amotivation, external regulation, and introjected regulation). However, followers who perceived their leaders used soft power (i.e., expert, referent, and informational power) often experienced higher levels of optimal motivation (i.e., identified regulation and intrinsic motivation), but further investigation of soft power use is warranted. The quality of followers' motivational outlooks was also related to intentions to perform favorably for their organizations

Employee perceptions of their work environment, work passion, and work intentions: A replication study using three samples.

This study contributes to the emerging literature on the employee work passion appraisal (EWPA) model, by replicating structural equation modeling across three samples (total n= 4613). We examine passion for work as a mediator of employees’ work environment characteristics and work intentions. Our data fit the structure of the EWPA model in three samples. As expected, work environment characteristics were strongly and positively correlated with harmonious passion, but contrary to our expectations, work environment characteristics were moderately and positively correlated with obsessive passion. Harmonious passion was positively correlated with work intentions, but the connection between obsessive passion and work intentions yielded mixed results. The overall results support harmonious passion, and less so obsessive passion, as partial mediators of employees’ perceptions of their work environment characteristics and favorable work intentions. This study has limitations in that it uses a cross-sectional, single-source, self-report design. Practical implications of the study are also presented.Accepted manuscrip

Employee Perspectives of Leader Value Orientations, Affect, Trust, and Work Intentions

This empirical study on employee perspectives of latent leader value orientations (LVOs), employee psychological job states, and work intentions deployed an online survey to 944 employees within global organizations. Empirical analysis using structural equation modeling confirmed that employee job state positive affect fully mediated relations between LVOs and employee work intentions more so than employee job state negative affect and cognitive-based and affective-based trust in leader. LVO1 (low self-concern and high other-orientation) triggered positive employee psychological job states of greater magnitude than LVO2 (high self-concern and high other-orientation). This finding offers new insight relating to the influence of high leader other-orientation on employee psychological experiences of work considering LVO2 had been reported as ideal. LVO3 (high self-concern and low other-orientation) had the strongest differential associations with employee psychological job states implying that leaders who are perceived by employees to be driven by high self-concern, even in the presence of low other-orientation, evoke strong negative employee psychological responses. Implications for theory and practical strategies to develop leader other-orientation in organizations are presented