Nathan Eva

Creating future leaders: an examination of youth leadership development in Australia

Purpose – In light of the research‐practice gap in youth leadership development, the purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of youth leadership development in Australia, on the basis of a multidimensional and holistic framework of servant leadership.Design/methodology/approach – In total, three separate studies were conducted to achieve the above purpose, namely 33 interviews with student leaders; ten interviews with secondary college teachers and principals, as well as youth leadership facilitators; and 97 survey responses from recent secondary college graduates.Findings – There exists a significant gap between the perceptions of the students and those of the teachers/facilitators on what is being taught and what is required in youth leadership development programs. The study reveals that students have little exposure to ethics training throughout their leadership programs. The application of a holistic framework of servant leadership in youth leadership development programme is recommende...

The relationship between personal values, organizational formalization and employee work outcomes of compliance and innovation

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the interaction between personal values and the organizational context in influencing work behaviors. Specifically, it examines the relationships between two dimensions of personal values based on Schwartz’s value theory – self-direction and conformity; and two work behaviors – innovation and compliance. Design/methodology/approach - Survey data were collected from 187 employees in Australia. Multiple regression method was used to test the hypotheses. Findings - The results showed that organizational formalization moderated the relationship between self-direction values and innovative behaviors. As hypothesized, the positive effect of self-direction values on innovative behavior was strongest in less formalized organizations. the authors also found that conformity values predicted compliance behaviors, but no evidence of moderation by organizational formalization. Practical implications - It is important for organizations seeking particular work behaviors to ensure they are hiring employees with corresponding values and structuring the degree of formalization in the organization accordingly. Originality/value - This research contributes to the interactionist perspective, demonstrating that formalization interacts with employee values to influence work behaviors. Further, the authors extend previous studies on self-direction values and creative behaviors by understanding how personal values impact innovative behavior.

CEO Entrepreneurial Leadership and Performance Outcomes of Top Management Teams in Entrepreneurial Ventures: The Mediating Effects of Psychological Safety: JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

This study examines whether the exhibition of entrepreneurial leadership by CEOs within entrepreneurial ventures fosters higher levels of top management team performance and job performance of team members, and whether psychological safety explains such effects. Utilizing four waves of multisource, multilevel data from 262 team members across 56 top management teams, we find that the exercise of entrepreneurial leadership by the CEO leads to higher levels of performance at the team and individual levels, and that psychological safety mediates such relationships.