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Senior Pastor Servant Leadership, Leader Likability, and Church Attender Outcomes

Abstract

The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the relationship between senior pastor servant leadership behavior, senior pastor leader likability, and church attender organizational commitment, attendance, volunteerism, and giving. A sample of 329 active church attenders recruited from Facebook completed the survey. Analyzing the data using hierarchical multiple regression, the findings demonstrated that senior pastor leader likability predicted church attender organizational commitment (H1), church attender attendance (H2), and church attender volunteerism (H3) but did not predict church attender giving (H4). The findings also indicated that senior pastor servant leadership behavior independent of senior pastor leader likability predicted church attender organizational commitment (H5) and church attender giving (H8) but did not predict church attender attendance (H6) or church attender volunteerism (H7). The findings have implications for researchers in that the study expands the theory of servant leadership and leadership theory in general while introducing leader likability as a competing explanation for church attender outcomes. The findings have practical implications for church leaders and practitioners given the strong relationship between servant leadership, leader likability, and church attender outcomes.

Measuring Organizational Arrogance: Development and Validation of a Theory-Based Instrument

Abstract

This research described the formation of an emerging concept, organizational arrogance, and the development of an instrument designed to measure this organizational behavior phenomenon. This dissertation was completed in response to the established need for empirical evidence examining arrogant behaviors and their negative impact on organizational members and organizations in general. This study defined organizational arrogance as an organizational environment where leaders shaped a culture in which organizational members behaved with a sense of superiority, leading to overconfidence in organizational capabilities, dismissiveness toward internal and external needs, and disparagement of intraorganizational and interorganizational members. Using existing theories, this research developed and validated a 5-item measurement scale for organizational arrogance with a Cronbach alpha of .922, indicating a reliable instrument. Ongoing research reported findings on a variety of factors that played into organizational failure, including level of job satisfaction, employee engagement, morale, workplace stress, organizational culture, and ineffective leadership and followership styles. Findings from this study provided the body of knowledge opportunities for new exploration to gain further understanding of how organizational arrogance and its associated traits contributed to or birth from the dark side of leadership. The practical significance of this study was that it reinforced the idea that organizational culture remained a leader responsibility that required keen attention, astute observations, and immediate action to eliminate any signs of organizational arrogance.

Spirituality and Authentic Leadership Development in Neo-Charismatic Christians of Latin America Working in Nonreligious Organizations: A Phenomenological Study

Abstract

Authentic leadership (AL) theory is a field of great interest due to its positive influence in an important number of leader, individual, group, and organizational outcomes. Spirituality can be an important element of AL development in order to facilitate a harmonic relationship between the individual’s identities (Klenke, 2007). This study explored the relationship between the leader’s religious beliefs and practices and the development of AL with an emphasis in theological reflection (TR). The researcher interviewed and analyzed the leadership experiences of five members of the Neo-Charismatic Christian (NCC) tradition who work in nonreligious organizations based in Latin America. The researcher employed phenomenological inquiry to elucidate how leaders incorporate their religious-based spirituality into their leadership development processes. To triangulate the information, the researcher used theory on AL and interviewed two subordinates per leader, except for one case where only one subordinate was interviewed. Findings indicated that the five components more frequently described in AL theory and all the positive-oriented behaviors (POBs) were observed in participants’ experiences, which support the presence and cultural affinity of AL in the Latin American context. Findings also showed that inputs related to spirituality were present among the clusters corresponding to four of the five AL components and within four of the six POBs, highlighting the importance of religious-based spirituality in the enactment of AL. Analysis of the emerging themes, indicated the possible existence of a different subidentity, self-tradition merge, operating within the spiritual identity system. Overall, when the leader has developed a spiritual identity, self-awareness and the other AL components will necessarily be developed partly in connection to elements of the spiritual beliefs and practices. These relationships were explicated in a model of TR for AL development based on Christian values and beliefs.

Broken Faith: A Qualitative Analysis of the Impact of Involuntary Termination of Pastoral Staff on Organizational Trust and Personal Spirituality

Abstract

Involuntary termination is the removal from employment unilaterally by the employer, where the employee was able and willing to continue providing services. Previous data showed that termination had negative social, psychological, and physical impacts on followers, and these impacts spread through the follower’s family. When funding dictates, pastors must be removed from their position to maintain the financial viability of the church. The purpose of this study was to understand how involuntary termination of a pastor, who was a spiritual leader and follower in the same spiritual organization, influenced their spiritual life and their trust in their local church, or even the ecclesia overall. Using a phenomenology of faith, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 12 participants with data collected on 13 terminations. The average age was 54.3 ± 11.7 years and an average time in ministry of 16.7 ± 8.5 years. All churches were congregationalist in nature. Analysis showed both denominational and team leadership organizational stressors. A senior pastor as authoritarian leader was associated with a lack of organizational checks and balances, a lack of denominational authority, a non-functional organizational structure, and a lack of overall leadership maturity. A circle of 2 or 3 (a small minority of leaders who change the course of the organization) reflected the highest density in antecedent and consequent events. Participants felt wounded by the church and reported looking to God for justice. Theological interpretation of the termination was not negatively impacted; the event was part of God’s sovereign plan, and God was asking for a change in their life. However, the termination was painful, as participants felt betrayed either by the church or by members, with churches challenging their theology or morality. Participants noted a decrease in organizational trust, either in the local organization or in the denomination. The most frequent PTs involved a change in feelings of trust in the church, a loss of trust in leadership, and a loss of trust in congregational governance. Involuntary terminations may happen, but church leaders should ask how they enact involuntary termination so that it authentically represents the love of Jesus Christ.

An Exploratory Quantitative Comparison of Direct Reports

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to test for empirical evidence to distinguish the entrepreneurial leadership behaviors of the biotech entrepreneur. A review of the literature showed that Shimasaki (2014) proffered that the biotechnology (biotech) entrepreneur is unique from all other entrepreneurs because the biotech entrepreneur not only has entrepreneurial skills but additional characteristics, such as being an accomplished life science business person, scientist, bioengineer, or physician. Unfortunately, no empirical data support exists for whether these additional characteristics would affect entrepreneur leadership behavior. The study methodology closely followed Thornberry (2006) who developed an Entrepreneurial Leadership Questionnaire (ELQ) to assess the various behaviors that each founder must have. The statistical software GPower 3.0 was used to determine that a minimum of 70 survey participants would be needed for each of the groups to achieve the 90% confidence interval. There was complete confidentiality and anonymity for the responses and names of the organizations. Data were collected via an online SurveyMonkey survey and then uploaded and analyzed with SPSS software. T tests were conducted on the data to confirm hypotheses. Four alternative hypotheses showed statistically significant differences at the 90% confidence level. The explorer importance, accelerator importance, miner importance, and miner frequency were identified as variables where the results were higher for biotech founders than nonbiotech founders. The research contributions for this study may initiate and expand the importance of understanding what founders of biotech firms may need to consider in entrepreneurial training and development.

Entrepreneurial Leadership in the Coffee Industry in Africa: A Phenomenological Analysis of the Relationship Between Leadership and Innovation in the African Coffee Value Chain

Abstract

This doctoral dissertation focuses on the relationship between entrepreneurial leadership and innovation in the African coffee value chain. The argument is that despite its unique status as the birthplace of both commercial varieties of Arabica and Robusta coffee, the innovations and consequently the benefits in the sector have been external to Africa. The study responds to the research question: What are the underlying issues of entrepreneurial leadership that have held back innovativeness in the African coffee value chain and need identification and tackling if Africa is to realize the benefits of its resource? The study investigated the key characteristics of entrepreneurial leaders in the African coffee sector that could strategically position them to take advantage of opportunities and bring out significant innovations. In addressing the research question, a review of relevant literature examined entrepreneurial leadership, organizational culture, knowledge creation, creativity, innovation, and design thinking. A case study based on a purposive sample of 12 firms and drawn from the East African region, which accounts for more than 70% of Africa’s coffee exports, was conducted using a phenomenological design. Most respondents articulated their critical roles as entrepreneurial leaders, though in practice many were preoccupied with operational matters and were noted as giving less attention to issues of strategy. All leaders indicated a high level of exposure through international engagements and various networks, though such knowledge did not seem to lead to significant transformational innovations. There was limited evidence of application of disruptive approaches to the current status quo in the African coffee value chain. From looking at the strengths and deficiencies, unfortunately, only a minority showed evidence of fitting the accurate description of entrepreneurial leaders. The study pointed out areas of significant deficiencies, which if addressed could improve the entrepreneurial leadership in the sector. The study recommended areas of further research.

Facilitating Academic Entrepreneurial Education and Entrepreneurship Through Mentoring: Exploring the Potential Role of Professors at German Universities

Abstract

Under the label of the “third mission,” the new requirement for European and German universities is to contribute actively to the future growth and prosperity of regions through the commercialization of research. Academic spin-offs are the flagship of the commercialization of research with those involved being mainly students. Due to the high failure rates of academic spin-offs, mentoring has been recognized as an effective means of entrepreneurship education and of reducing the failure rate significantly. While external mentors are visibly involved as mentors in the German context, the involvement of the professors that are closest to the new ventures is not researched at all. I explored the mental and structural determinants of professorial mentoring within academic spin-offs in Germany, which was the first study of that kind in Germany. The results of the study indicated entrepreneurial mentoring functions that could be provided by faculty members, at least as effectively as by external business mentors. Data were gathered through explorative qualitative interviews with 18 professors from different types of universities, national states, and faculties and a focus group with 5 higher education representatives. The data were analyzed through content analysis, combining a deductive and inductive approach. The interviewees reported that, while being open to interesting mentoring projects, most professors in Germany prioritized research and teaching instead of commercialization activities and mentoring. Participants stated most German professors were not suited to be ASO mentors. Even suited and motivated professors adopted a passive stance because traditional activities promised more reputation and career opportunities. Most students in Germany decide to become employed; therefore, there is a low demand for mentoring within academic spin-offs because few academic spin-offs are founded. The resistance of German higher education leaders and professors toward the third mission must be solved before mentoring can play out its strengths in entrepreneurial education. The results of the study indicated suggestions for European and German policy makers and university leaders to facilitate commercialization within German academia.

Followership and the Relationship Between Kelley

Abstract

Kelley (1988), considered to be a pioneer in the field of followership, stated, “Followership dominates our lives and organizations, but not our thinking because our preoccupation with leadership keeps us from considering the nature and the importance of the follower” (p. 143). The lack of interest and/or research in followership has caused misunderstandings of the follower. Because many leadership theories incorporate personality traits that can “explain people’s behavior across different situations” (Barrick, Parks, & Mount, 2005, p. 745), the current research determined the relationship between an individual’s personality traits and followership characteristics. An instrument consisting of demographic questions; the 20-item Kelley’s Followership Questionnaire, which measures active engagement and independent thinking; and the 20-item Mini-International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) personality test, which measures a person’s Big Five personality levels of extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience was sent to 238 full-time working adults in the United States through SurveyMonkey®. With the survey data, a Pearson product-moment correlation was done to determine the strength of a linear association between each of the five personality types in relation to the two followership characteristics. A positive relationship was found between the personality characteristics of extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience with the followership attributes of active engagement and independent thinking. The correlation strength ranged from .136 to .374 with all but one significant at the p < .01 level. Neuroticism was negatively correlated to both active engagement and independent thinking at the -.120 and -.133 levels, respectively. Although the research population was diverse, based on geographical location, age, organizational level, and work experience, the respondents indicated an ethnicity of 84% White/Caucasian. Future research should include a longitudinal study to determine if changes occur over time—research to determine if various demographic characteristics, including international cultures, would have an impact on the relationships.

Psychological Ownership: The Mediating Effects of Participative Decision-Making on Employees

Abstract

The possessions we choose to surround ourselves with in the workplace can influence the way we think not only about ourselves but how we think about the people around us (Dittmar, 1992). Employees create relationships with objects through a conscious owning and/or through a physical possession of the object(s) or felt as a relationship between person and nonphysical entities such as ideas, words, artistic creations, as well as other people (Pierce, Kostova, & Dirks, 2001). Expanding this knowledge of employee ownership in the workplace can offer leaders a route towards creating a more effective culture supporting and motivating workers as effective members of the organization. This study advances the psychological ownership literature by examining the effects of employee ownership in three ways: (a) looking at the effects of employees’ taking part in the decision-making process as a mediator of the relationship between psychological ownership and employee perceived control, (b) the effects of employees being part of the decision-making process as a mediator of the relationship between psychological ownership and organizational identification, and (c) evaluating the mediating effect of participative decision-making on the relationship between psychological ownership and perceived control and organizational identification. This study is important for leaders to help understand different factors motivating employees in the workplace. This study explored the relationship between psychological ownership, perceived control, and organizational identification when mediated by participative decision-making in a sample of U.S. government employees (N = 82). The results indicate that psychological ownership positively influences perceived control, and participative decision-making mediates the positive influence on perceived control. No significant relationship was found between psychological ownership and organizational identification or influence of the mediator in the relationship between the variables. It concludes with a discussion of the theoretical and practical implications of these findings, along with study limitations and recommendations for future research. This research helps to build a better picture for helping to understand how ownership and involvement in decision-making influences employees in the workplace.

Exploring Servant Leadership in a Top-Down Environment

Abstract

This study used both Greenleaf’s (1977) theory of servant leadership and Spears’s (1995) ten characteristics of servant leadership to explore the concept in a top-down environment. The study proposed to answer the research question: To what extent, if any, is a mayor of a metropolitan area in the Northeast region of the USA displaying at work the ten characteristics of servant leadership as defined by Spears? Twenty selected studies relevant to the current subject were reviewed. This study used an exploratory single-case study design and purposeful sampling techniques. The methodology consisted of in-depth, semistructured, open-ended interview with leaders from the community and employees from each of the various departments throughout City Hall. Thirteen participants who represented a diverse selection of community leaders and employees were interviewed because saturation occurred quicker than expected. Interviews, observation, and archival data were the primary sources of data collection. The key finding of this study revealed that four of the ten servant leadership characteristics as defined by Spears were dominant characteristics with regard to the mayor’s leadership style: building community, commitment to the growth of people, empathy, and stewardship. The scope of this research was limited to the mayor of a metropolitan area in the Northeast region of the USA. Future research should examine other mayors and governors in other regions of the USA using the framework of Greenleaf’s (1977) theory of servant leadership and as defined by Spears to explore if the themes found in this case study are found in other case situations.