How Do Leaders vs. Followers Construct Followership? A Field Study of implicit followership theories and Work-Related Affect Using Latent Profile Analysis

In this study, we integrate follower categorization theory with affective events theory (AET) to investigate the extent to which within-person patterns of implicit followership theories (IFTs) and work-related affect predict job satisfaction for leaders versus followers. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to identify and to describe distinct profiles of IFTs and work-related affect for leaders versus followers. For the sample of 242 leaders, two profiles with distinct patterns of IFTs and work-related affect ( Proactive and Alienated) were found. Leaders with Proactive views of followers showed above-average ratings of work-related affect, while leaders with Alienated views of followers showed lower ratings of work-related affect. In the sample of 240 followers, there were four profiles of followers with distinct patterns of IFTs and work-related affect ( Conforming, Alienated, Proactive, and Negative). Despite showing a similar pattern of IFTs, followers with Alienated views of their own role showed below-average ratings of work-related affect, while followers with Negative views of their own role showed the highest ratings of work-related affect. These findings suggest that IFTs and work-related affect show unique within-person interaction for followers. Furthermore, for followers, profile membership of IFTs and work-related affect significantly predicted mean levels of job satisfaction. Implications are discussed.

Implicit followership theories and resistance to leaders’ unethical requests: the mediating role of organizational citizenship behavior

Purpose This study aims to adopt a follower-centric approach in leadership and ethics research by investigating the impact of implicit followership theories (IFTs) on followers’ constructive resistance to leaders’ unethical requests. Specifically, it analyzes the mediating role of organizational citizenship behavior in the relationship between IFTs and constructive resistance. Indeed, this study aims to examine whether followers with more positive beliefs about the characteristics that a follower should have IFTs are more likely to resist unethical leadership and whether this relationship is mediated by organizational citizenship behavior as volunteering acts that exceed the formal job requirements. Design/methodology/approach The proposed hypotheses were tested using survey data from 273 employees working in a steel manufacturer company in Iran. The variance-based structural equation modeling technique was used to analyze data. Findings The results show that followership antiprototype negatively affects both follower’s constructive resistance and organizational citizenship behavior. Furthermore, organizational citizenship behavior mediates the relationship between IFTs and follower’s constructive resistance. Also, both followership prototype and organizational citizenship behavior have a positive effect on follower’s constructive resistance. Originality/value Contrary to the dominant leader-centric approach in leadership and organizational ethics research, few studies have examined the role of followers and their characteristics. The results of this study provide important insights into the role of followers in resistance against the leader’s unethical request.

The Power of Followers That do not Follow: Investigating the Effects of Follower Resistance, Leader Implicit Followership Theories and Leader Negative Affect on the Emergence of Destructive Leader Behavior

This study focuses on follower resistance as a potential antecedent of destructive leader behavior and examines leader-related moderators and mediators to help explain the relationship between follower resistance and destructive leader behavior. Drawing from implicit followership theories, we propose that the relationship between follower resistance and destructive leader behavior is moderated by leaders’ Theory X schema. Furthermore, we build on affective events theory to hypothesize that follower resistance increases destructive leader behavior via leaders’ negative affect. We tested our hypotheses in a within-subjects online field experiment. Our study findings demonstrate that follower resistance increases destructive leader behavior and that this relationship is mediated through leaders’ negative affect and moderated by leaders’ Theory X schema. We discuss theoretical implications regarding the impact of (resistant) follower behavior on destructive leadership and offer methodological advances in terms of research design and analytical approaches to deal with endogeneity issues and derive causal inferences. Lastly, we derive practical implications for utilizing follower resistance.

“Mommy and Me”: raising implicit followership theories

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the antecedents to implicit followership theories (IFTs) and make recommendations for developing positive IFTs. Female transformational parenting is highlighted, showing that although followership is typically associated with one’s role in an organization, its development is not relegated to that context. Accordingly, this paper encourages transformational-parenting training and features activities for current leader-training programs to enlighten trainees about their IFTs. Design/methodology/approach Through one online and one paper survey, participants self-defined “follower,” rated their female primary caregivers’ transformational leadership during adolescence, reported their IFTs and provided demographic information. Findings Qualitative and quantitative data analyses found that the degree to which female primary caregivers demonstrated transformational leadership related to children’s positive IFTs and positive definitions about followers in young adulthood. Research limitations/implications Future research should test female caregivers’ influence on IFTs at more advanced stages of one’s career, examine their influence over participants’ followership behavior and incorporate external ratings of leadership and followership. Practical implications Recommendations for embedding IFTs into transformational-leadership-training programs are provided, falling into the categories of feedback, reflection/introspection and mentoring/coaching. In the spirit of contemporary approaches to leadership, recommendations require trainees to recognize their biases/knowledge of followers and followership and use that knowledge to facilitate collaboration between leaders and followers. Originality/value Findings spotlight female leadership, an often-overlooked source of power in organizations, and go beyond leader/follower dichotomies by insisting on IFTs awareness and development for both parties.

Exploring the Bounds of Pygmalion Effects: Congruence of Implicit Followership Theories Drives and Binds Leader Performance Expectations and Follower Work Engagement

The topic of work engagement is moving up on the managerial agenda as it sets the stage for numerous beneficial outcomes for both organizations and their employees. It is clear, however, that not all employees are equally engaged in their job. The current study taps into theory on positive self-fulfilling prophecies induced by leaders’ high expectations of followers (i.e., the Pygmalion effect) and examines their potential to facilitate follower work engagement. By integrating literature on implicit followership theories with the Pygmalion model, we investigate the assumption that leaders’ high expectations are universally perceived as and therefore foster the same desirable results for all employees. We argue and find that the extent to which followers’ work engagement benefits from high leader expectations depends on their implicit followership theory of industry (IFTI; i.e., the general belief that employees are hardworking, productive, and willing to go above and beyond). We also find that when followers hold a high IFTI but feel that their leader does not convey high expectations, their engagement at work suffers. In addition, we examine whether leaders’ IFTI forms the origin of naturally occurring Pygmalion effects. Our results show that a positive IFTI among leaders is especially interpreted as high/positive expectations by followers who also hold a high/positive IFTI. Our study introduces boundary conditions to the Pygmalion-at-work model by revealing the interactive role of leaders’ and followers’ implicit followership theory of industry. We contribute to the advancement of cognitive, follower-centric perspectives on leadership and provide evidence for the importance of schema congruence.

Cultural variations in whether, why, how, and at what cost people are proactive: A followership perspective

The objective of this conceptual article is to illustrate how differences in societal culture may affect employees’ proactive work behaviors (PWBs) and to develop a research agenda to guide future research on cross-cultural differences in PWBs. We propose that the societal cultural dimensions of power distance, individualism–collectivism, future orientation, and uncertainty avoidance shape individuals’ implicit followership theories (IFTs). We discuss how these cross-cultural differences in individuals’ IFTs relate to differences in the mean-level of PWB individuals show ( whether), in the motivational states driving individuals’ PWBs ( why), in the way individuals’ enact PWBs ( how), and in the evaluation of PWBs by others ( at what cost). We recommend how future research can extend this theorizing and unpack the proposed cross-cultural differences in PWBs, for example, by exploring how culture and other contextual variables interact to affect PWBs.

Implicit followership theories from the perspective of followers

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the structure, implicit attitude and consequences of followers' implicit followership theories in the Chinese cultural context through three studies. Study 1 explores the structure of followers' implicit followership theories. Study 2 examines the implicit attitude of followers towards followers' implicit followership theories. Study 3 verifies the impact of followers' implicit followership theories on the quality of collegial relationships.Design/methodology/approachThe data for study 1 (n = 321) and study 3 (n = 243) were collected through an online self-report questionnaire, and the data for study 2 (n = 30) were collected through the go/no-go association task.FindingsThe structure of followers' implicit followership theories includes two dimensions: positive followership prototypes and negative followership prototypes. Followers' implicit attitudes were more likely to match positive followership prototypes than negative followership prototypes. Positive followership prototypes had a significantly positive impact on the quality of collegial relationships, whereas negative followership prototypes had a significantly negative impact on the quality of collegial relationships.Research limitations/implicationsThe psychology and behaviour of employees can be better understood by exploring followers' implicit followership theories.Practical implicationsEmployees hold a relatively positive implicit attitude towards followers. Therefore, managers should provide positive feedback to improve employees' positive self-cognition so that employees can better serve the organization and better promote its development.Originality/valueThe paper is one of the few studies to explore followers' implicit followership theories in the Chinese cultural context.