David A. Waldman

Does Leadership Matter? CEO Leadership Attributes and Profitability Under Conditions of Perceived Environmental Uncertainty

Using data from 48 Fortune 500 firms, the authors assessed transactional and charismatic CEO leadership as predictors of financial performance. The authors also hypothesized that the relationship b...

Commercial knowledge transfers from universities to firms: improving the effectiveness of university-industry collaboration.

There has been a rapid rise in commercial knowledge transfers from universities to practitioners or university–industry technology transfer (UITT), through licensing agreements, research joint ventures, and start-ups. The purpose of this study was to analyze the UITT process and its outcomes. Based on 98 structured interviews of key UITT stakeholders (i.e., university administrators, academic and industry scientists, business managers, and entrepreneurs) at five research universities in two regions of the US, we conclude that these stakeholders have different perspectives on the desired outputs of UITT. More importantly, numerous barriers to effective UITT were identified, including culture clashes, bureaucratic inflexibility, poorly designed reward systems, and ineffective management of university technology transfer offices (TTOs). Based on this qualitative evidence, we provide numerous recommendations for improving the UITT process.

Components of CEO Transformational Leadership and Corporate Social Responsibility

abstract We use transformational leadership theory to explore the role of CEOs in determining the extent to which their firms engage in corporate social responsibility (CSR). We test this theory using data from 56 US and Canadian firms. CEO intellectual stimulation (but not CEO charismatic leadership) is found to be significantly associated with the propensity of the firm to engage in ‘strategic’ CSR, or those CSR activities that are most likely to be related to the firms corporate and business‐level strategies. Thus, studies that ignore the role of leadership in CSR may yield imprecise conclusions regarding the antecedents and consequences of these activities. We also critique transformational leadership theory, in terms of its overemphasis on charismatic forms of leadership. This leads to a reconceptualization of transformational leadership, which emphasizes the intellectual stimulation component in the context of CSR.

Transformational Leadership and the Falling Dominoes Effect

This investigation examined the practice of tranformational leadership at two levels of management in a New Zealand government agency. Transformational leadership was defined as the extent to which a manager is seen as charismatic, as treating each subordinate as an individual, and as intellectually stimulating. Like falling dominoes, transformational leadership at a higher level of management was expected to appear concomitantly at the next lower level. Analyses of leadership behavior questionnaire data collected independently at the two levels of management generally provided support for this falling dominoes effect. However, one exception was that more charismatic first-level supervisors said they required less charisma in the second- level managers to whom they directly reported. implications were drawn con cerning the importance of developing transformational leadership abilities at upper levels of management to enhance the likelihood of such leadership at lower levels.

Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Sustainability

The authors review three theoretical approaches to strategic corporate social responsibility (CSR), which can be defined as voluntary CSR actions that enhance a firm’s competitiveness and reputation. The end result of such activities should be an improvement in financial and economic performance. Based on an overview of recent empirical evidence, the authors conclude that economic theories of strategic CSR have the greatest potential for advancing this field of inquiry, although theories of strategic leadership should also be incorporated into this perspective. In the remainder of the article, they provide focused summaries of the articles presented in this special issue and outline an agenda for future research on strategic CSR and environmental sustainability.

Leading in the 1990s: The Four I's of Transformational Leadership

The characteristics which differentiate transactional from transformational leadership are discussed, highlighting the differences between managers and leaders. Four distinct characteristics – the Fours I′s – associated with transformational leadership are described with respect to their evolution and influence on follower development, effort and performance. The advantages of combining transactional and transformational leadership styles into an overall framework of leadership development for leading in the 1990s are also discussed.

Adding to Contingent-Reward Behavior The Augmenting Effect of Charismatic Leadership

Contingent-reward behavior and charismatic leadership were examined in this study of 186 United States Navy officers. As expected, contingent-reward behavior was significantly related to multiple measures of leader effectiveness. Hierarchical regression was used to show how charisma added unique variance beyond that of contingent-reward behavior for understanding leader effectiveness. Conversely, contingent-reward behavior had no effect beyond that of charisma. Results were discussed in terms of the potential need for charismatic leadership at various management levels to ensure effectiveness.

Transformational Leadership in a Management Game Simulation: Impacting the bottom line

This investigation examined the practices of transformational and transactional leadership in a management simulation game that spanned a 3-month period. Transformational and transactional leadership were measured by using Basss (1985) Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (Form 4). Participants were second-year, part- time and full-time MBA students who worked in teams, each composed of seven to nine members. Each team represented the senior management of a hypothetical manufacturing organization. Data were collected from 27 teams on the perceived leadership of team presidents and the financial performance of their respective teams. Financial performance was based on five traditional indicators of organi zational effectiveness,that is, market share, stock price, earnings per share, return on assets, and debt-to-equity ratio. Analyses of leadership data collected independently of financial performance demonstrated significant and positive relationships be tween active transactional leadership, transformational leadership, and organi zational effectiveness.

Age and Work Performance in Nonmanagerial Jobs: The Effects of Experience and Occupational Type

This study examined the relative explanatory powers of age and total years of experience in an occupation for predicting supervisory ratings of work performance. As predicted, results indicated that experience was a better predictor of performance than age. A breakdown of jobs into five occupational groupings revealed a moderating effect for occupational type. Findings also showed that age and experience exhibit nonlinear relationships with performance.

How leaders cultivate social capital and nurture employee vigor: implications for job performance.

This study examined how leader relational behaviors (i.e., relational leadership) cultivate bonding social capital among organizational members and the way bonding social capital augments feelings of vigor at work. In addition, the authors examined how vigor enhances employee job performance. Using a sample of 209 participants in Israeli community centers, the results of structural equation modeling indicate a 2-stage mediation model in which leader relational behaviors are positively related to bonding social capital; this, in turn, results in feelings of vigor, which are positively associated with manager ratings of employee job performance.