Profiling leaders: using a profiling approach to examine the effects of multifactor leadership on follower deviance

PROFILING LEADERS: USING A PROFILING APPROACH TO EXAMINE THEEFFECTS OF MULTIFACTOR LEADERSHIP ON FOLLOWER DEVIANCEKEVIN T. WYNNEAugust 2012Advisor: Boris B. Baltes, PhDMajor: Psychology (Industrial/Organizational)Degree: Master of ArtsResearchers are only beginning to understand how leadership types affectimportant organizational outcomes at the individual level. Specifically, as a leadingtheoretical model, multifactor leadership theory has been used as a framework to studyvarious organizational phenomena. However, researchers have largely examinedleadership types in isolation, failing to explicitly acknowledge that leaders can and oftendo enact varying levels of multiple leadership types. The current thesis suggests thatleaders demonstrate a profile made up of different types of leadership and proposesfour specific leader profiles. This thesis also aimed to determine the conditions underwhich leadership profile types affect follower deviance. It was found that passivity-oriented leadership led to significantly more frequent follower deviance thantransformational-oriented leadership. Moreover, confirmatory factor analysis confirmeda revised typology. Lastly, organizational identification was not found to be a moderatingvariable, although its main effects explained variance in follower deviance.