Bad to the bone: Empirically defining and measuring negative leadership
Open Access
- Author:
- Tate, Brian William
- Graduate Program:
- Psychology
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- June 16, 2009
- Committee Members:
- Rick R Jacobs, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Rick R Jacobs, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
James Lewis Farr, Committee Member
Samuel Todd Hunter, Committee Member
Susan Mohammed, Committee Member
Linda K Trevino, Committee Member - Keywords:
- leadership
counterproductive work behavior
antisocial work behavior
taxonomy
scale development - Abstract:
- Research on negative leadership has grown in popularity in recent years. This proliferation is not surprising given the frequency with which instances of negative leadership occur and the severity of its consequences. Despite the increased attention given to the topic however, the area still suffers from a lack of attempts to define and measure negative leader behavior as a broad-level construct. The present research project addressed both issues through four studies. In Study 1, a comprehensive inventory of negative leader behavior was generated. Using multidimensional scaling, in Study 2, three dimensions were found to underlie the inventory of behaviors, including “organization-directed/subordinate-directed,” “insidiously-damaging/immediately-damaging,” and “norm-violating/rule-violating” dimensions. Study 3’s confirmatory factor analysis identified three negative leader behavior factors, including “subordinate-directed,” “organization-directed,” and “sexual harassment” factors. Finally, in Study 4, evidence of the construct and criterion validity of the new measure of negative leader behavior was obtained. Based on findings across the four studies, the similarities and differences between negative leader behavior, as a broad-level construct, and other forms of leader and non-leader-specific negative workplace behavior are discussed, along with implications of the project for future research and potential practical applications.