As a trait, leader confidence has been examined in major leadership theories, such as transformational/charismatic, Pygmalion, and empowering leadership. However, how confidence affects leadership effectiveness remain...As a trait, leader confidence has been examined in major leadership theories, such as transformational/charismatic, Pygmalion, and empowering leadership. However, how confidence affects leadership effectiveness remains an empirical question. Conceptualizing leadership confidence in two behavioral approaches-emonstrating self-confidence （DC-self） and demonstrating confidence in followers （DC-follower）--this study tests the independent effects of the two DC behaviors as well as their interactive effects with firm environment on followers＇ commitment. Results of Hierarchal Linear Modeling analyses suggest that both DC behaviors have significant impact on follower commitment and their effects attenuate each other. Results also reveal that DC-self interacts with firm environment to influence follower commitment. The effect of DC-self on follower commitment is stronger in a more competitive environment. Those findings and their implications for leadership research and practice are discussed.展开更多
基金Acknowledgements We thank the Chinese University of Hong Kong （2070239/MR99/003/ 2070220） and the National Natural Science Foundation of China （71372160） for the grant that made this study possible. We thank Wei-ku Wu of Tsinghua University, Yong-gang Fu of Dalian Polytech University and Yong-kang Yang of Fudan University for helping collect the data.
文摘As a trait, leader confidence has been examined in major leadership theories, such as transformational/charismatic, Pygmalion, and empowering leadership. However, how confidence affects leadership effectiveness remains an empirical question. Conceptualizing leadership confidence in two behavioral approaches-emonstrating self-confidence （DC-self） and demonstrating confidence in followers （DC-follower）--this study tests the independent effects of the two DC behaviors as well as their interactive effects with firm environment on followers＇ commitment. Results of Hierarchal Linear Modeling analyses suggest that both DC behaviors have significant impact on follower commitment and their effects attenuate each other. Results also reveal that DC-self interacts with firm environment to influence follower commitment. The effect of DC-self on follower commitment is stronger in a more competitive environment. Those findings and their implications for leadership research and practice are discussed.
