Gary Schwarz

Participative Leadership and the Organizational Commitment of Civil Servants in China: The Mediating Effects of Trust in Supervisor

The present study examines whether participative leadership engenders organizational commitment amongst Chinese civil servants and analyses the mechanisms by which it transmits its effects. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling revealed that there was a significant relationship between supervisor‐level participative leadership and the affective and normative commitment of subordinates, but no relationship with continuance commitment. Affective trust was also identified as the mediator variable underlying the relationship between participative leadership and organizational commitment. We show that participative leadership of supervisors elicits higher levels of trust and leads subordinates to reciprocate through exhibiting higher levels of organizational commitment. Our study also reveals that Chinese civil servants who accept an unequal distribution of power between supervisors and subordinates typically exhibit lower levels of affective and normative commitment to the organization than those who do not. Our results provide greater support for the deepening of administrative reforms and the dissemination of participative leadership practices in Chinas new civil service system.

From self‐defeating to other defeating: Examining the effects of leader procrastination on follower work outcomes

This research examines the influence of leader procrastination on employee attitudes and behaviours. While previous studies have typically viewed procrastination as a form of self‐defeating behaviour, this research explores its effects on others in the workplace. In Study 1, using data collected from 290 employees, we demonstrate the discriminant and relative predictive validity of leader procrastination on leadership effectiveness compared with laissez‐faire leadership and directive leadership. In Study 2, based on dyadic data collected in three phases from 250 employees and their 23 supervisors, we found that leader procrastination was associated with follower discretionary behaviour (organizational citizenship behaviour and deviant behaviour). Additionally, job frustration was found to mediate the relationship between leader procrastination and follower outcomes. The quality of the leader–follower relationship, as a boundary condition, was shown to mitigate the detrimental effects of leader procrastination. Together, the findings suggest that leader procrastination is a distinct form of negative leadership behaviour that represents an important source of follower job frustration. Practitioner points Leader procrastination is different from laissez‐faire and directive leadership and can be detrimental to followers. Job frustration mediates the relationship between leader procrastination and follower discretionary behaviour. Organizations should facilitate high‐quality LMX relationships as a method for mitigating the negative effects of leader procrastination.

Transformational Leadership and Job Performance: The Role of Organizational Identification

While the link between transformational leadership and follower job performance has been established, the individual-level mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unclear. In this study, we investigate the salience of the mediating role of organizational identification in explaining the process by which transformational leaders elicit higher performance among followers. Based on social identity theory, we argue that transformational leadership positively affects the job performance of the employees who report to them as those feel a stronger emotional bond to their organization.