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Exploring the Social, Psychological, and Organizational Factors Affecting Founder/Executive Departure

Abstract

Executive/Founder transition is a phenomenon that occurs in every organization. While organizations are aware of the need to plan for transition, the common experience of this change is negative for both the leader and organization. Existing studies predominantly have focused on the mechanics and practical outcomes of change with some research assessing the emotional and psychological state of stakeholders. However, theoretically grounded thinking that assesses the wider dynamics and motivations that shape the phenomenon beneath the emotion and psychology of change are obvious in their omission. The stakes of organizational leader transition are too high not to develop a broader theoretical model for how the process is experienced by the departing leader and his or her organization. This thesis frames executive/founder transition in a conceptual framework that draws on anthropological, sociological, psychological, and new scientific theories regarding transitional dynamics. Using a case study methodology, six organizations were investigated to interrogate positive and negative exemplars of transition against six theoretical propositions. The research found that the notion of transitional alignment in the structure, heart, and dynamics of the process are precursors to more positively experienced executive/founder transition. Conversely, where less transitional alignment is present, the process will be more negatively experienced.

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Willingness to Take Risk and Psychological Ownership as Moderators of the Team Climate for Innovation to Innovative Work Behavior Relationship

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The purpose of this team innovation research was to investigate two understudied variables (willingness to take risk and psychological ownership) as moderators of the team climate for innovation (TCI) to innovative work behavior (IWB) relationship. This study built on the team innovation research started by West (1990). The research tested the significance of two innovation literature threads. First, it has become normative in the innovation literature that employees with psychological ownership, or a stake, in the business take better care of, have more pride in, and have more motivation to innovate (Avey, Avolio, Crossley, & Luthans, 2009). Second, innovation is an inherently risk-based process, enhanced by individual willingness to take risk that challenges the group (Kheng, Mahmood, & Beris, 2013; Saleh & Wang, 1993). Seven self-report instruments were used to collect data (N = 142) from engineering design build and financial companies in the southeastern United States. Nine hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated the willingness to take risk moderated the task orientation to IWB relationship, and stake moderated the task orientation and support to IWB relationships. The results bear support for the willingness to take risk and stake as important variables in the TCI model. This research added to the understanding of TCI as a descriptive and prescriptive tool. The team innovation theoretical model is complex with risk and stake being but two parts of the puzzle. The theoretical implications built on Bain, Mann, and Pirola-Merlo’s (2001) work that TCI could be expanded to include a context-sensitive basket of IWB indicators. Leaders who modelled these behaviors and had development programs to create a sense of ownership had higher team IWB (Seshadri & Tripathy, 2006) and willingness to stand up and confront the group with new ideas. Innovation is one of a limited number of tools that are sources of competitive advantage—a key to long-term organizational survival (Christensen, 1997). Toward this end, the practical implications included measuring, training, and modelling as a leader’s practical tools to enhance the willingness to take risk and stake to strengthen the TCI–IWB relationship. Recommendations for future research are provided.

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Steward Followership Measurement

Abstract

Undergraduate leadership institutions pride themselves on their ability to produce graduates with the requisite leadership tools to navigate the organizational milieu their fledgling leaders will encounter. However, gaps in the theoretical underpinnings of leadership, particularly followership, likely leave the recent leadership graduate without the necessary tools to navigate the leadership requirements in today’s organization (Chaleff, 2009; Kelley, 2010; Uhl-Bien, Riggio, Lowe, & Carsten, 2014). The purpose of this dissertation is to establish the steward follower as a theoretical outworking of courageous, exemplary, implicit, and ethical followership together with coproduction of leadership established within a steward leader paradigm (Carsten & Uhl-Bien, 2012, 2013; Chaleff, 2009; Kelley, 1992; Rich, 2012; Rodin, 2010; Sy, 2010). Following the conceptual establishment of the steward follower, an instrument originally proposed as a three-dimension followership measure (Kaak, Reynolds, & Whyte, 2013) is redesigned into the two-construct Steward Followership Measurement contrasting steward and egoistic followership. The instrument was rewritten as a result of the original design not meeting reliability and validity standards determined through statistical testing. The first survey of 1,576 cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA) in August 2014 (Warton & O’Donnell, 2014) found that the dimensions of maturity and compliant followers factored to a single dimension describing the traits of the steward follower. The dimension of resistant follower was found to be unreliable and, therefore, rewritten for a subsequent survey in October 2015 of 1,146 cadets and renamed the Egoistic Follower Scale (Warton & O’Donnell, 2015). The results from the second survey utilizing the Steward Followership Measurement containing the steward follower and egoistic follower scales were determined to be both reliable and valid. Further, the results of the two surveys are instructive to the USAFA and others beyond the scope of this research focus.

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Effects of Innovation Training on Innovative Work Behaviors

Abstract

This study examined the effects of innovation training on innovative work behaviors. Anderson, Potocnik, and Zhou’s (2014) comprehensive state-of-the-science review identified a gap in the existing body of knowledge concerning innovation training and its use in an organizational setting to improve individual innovativeness. Argyris’ (1970) intervention theory, where effective and successful interventions produce behavioral changes in people, and Kirton’s (1976) adoption-innovation theory, where everyone is located on a continuum that ranges from adaptiveness (i.e., doing things better) to innovativeness (i.e., doing things differently), are the theoretical frameworks for this study. The literature review covered the theoretical framework, innovation, creative problem solving, innovation training, self-efficacy, and innovative work behaviors. The research question asked: To what extent does innovation training affect innovative work behaviors? I presented three research hypotheses to test the differences of innovative work behaviors and self-efficacy among groups who received innovation training compared to groups who did not. I used a Solomon Four-Group design where I introduced a proprietary innovation training curriculum as a treatment to individuals in a regional health care organization that employs over 6,000 people. I used a two-way analysis of variance to determine the effects of innovation training on individual innovative work behaviors using DeJong’s (2006) Innovative Work Behavior Questionnaire as well as modified it to measure a participant’s self-efficacy toward innovative work behaviors, which I called the Innovative Work Behavior Appraisal Inventory. The findings indicated there was no statistically significant difference among groups who received innovation training compared to groups who did not for innovative work behaviors or self-efficacy. However, the knowledge gained from this seminal research created a foundation for which to build future research studies.

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The Relationship of Professional Values and Spirituality with Motivation to Lead: The Mediating Effect of Social Justice Importance

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Motivation to lead (MTL) is an individual differences construct used as a measurement of an individual’s motivation to take on leadership roles and responsibilities (Chan & Drasgow, 2001). The current exploratory study examined the values of a professional organization—the National Association of Social Workers (NASW)—and individual spirituality as predictors of the four forms of MTL—affective identity (AIMTL), social normative (SNMTL), noncalculative (NCMTL), and ideological (Amit, Lisak, Popper, & Gal, 2007; Chan & Drasgow, 2001). In previous studies using military samples, researchers have controlled for attitudes toward military service (Chan & Drasgow, 2001; Clemmons & Fields, 2011), but the norms of a professional organization have not been previously studied as a predictor of MTL. Previous studies have explored spirituality as a predictor of MTL, finding both positive and negative correlation with the Chan and Drasgow (2001) forms (AIMTL, SNMTL, NCMTL) of the MTL construct (Clemmons, 2008; Porter, 2011; Smith, 2010). Ideological MTL had not been studied using professional norms or spirituality as independent variables. The current study further explored the importance of social justice as a mediator of the relationship between professional norms, spirituality, and the four forms of MTL. The sample participants were professional social workers (N = 302) who by virtue of their education as social workers adhere to the NASW (2008) Code of Ethics. The Code of Ethics is a guide for social workers’ conduct and the promotion of social justice inherent to the mission of social work (NASW, 2008). This study used quantitative measures to examine the relationships among the variables. Theoretical and practical implications are addressed as well as limitations, delimitations, and direction for future research.

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Internal Factors That Enable Positive Deviance to Occur in Leaders: A Phenomenological Description

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While Spreitzer and Sonenshein (2003, 2004) and Lavine (2012) provided a strong conceptual foundation from the existing literature regarding positive deviance, Lavine noted that little has been done to date to build upon this initial work. The current phenomenological study explored the internal factors that enable positive deviance to occur in leaders. In-depth interviews were utilized to capture the lived experience across six leaders who were deemed positively deviant by a referent group of eight followers. Data were explicated and resulted in an articulation of the following internal factors that enable positive deviance to occur in leaders: values (prioritization and care for others, values driven, growth and reproduction mind-set, sense of meaning, courageous action, shared approach to leadership, emotional intelligence, integrity), behaviors (connection and care for others, growth and reproduction mind-set, learning and improvement mind-set, courageous action, creativity, shared approach to leadership, emotional intelligence), and attitudes (positivity, humility, abundance, visionary, courage, gratitude). Research and practitioner reflections are presented along with limitations and recommendations for future research.

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The Impact of Servant Leadership on Courageous Followership and Supervisor-Related Commitment

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This study helped determine the extent to which perceived servant leadership behaviors in an immediate supervisor encouraged courageous followership behaviors and supervisor-related commitment in their subordinates. This relationship was expected to be moderated by organizational proximity to the leader and the length of time working for that same supervisor. This study measured the perceived servant leadership behaviors of supervisors using The Servant Leadership Survey (Van Dierendonck & Nuijten, 2011), the followers’ courageous followership levels were measured by the Followership Profile (Dixon, 2003), and their supervisor-related commitment was measured by the Supervisor-Related Commitment Scale (Becker, Billings, Eveleth, & Gilbert, 1996). The relationship between the dimensions of servant leadership and both the dimensions of courageous followership and supervisor-related commitment were analyzed using multiple regression analysis moderated by the organizational proximity to the supervisor and length of time spent with the supervisor. While the predicted moderating effects were largely unsupported by the findings, all hypotheses were partially supported and at least one servant leadership behavior was found to be a significant predictor of each aspect of courageous followership and each aspect of supervisor-related commitment. Organizational proximity was also found to be a significant predictor of supervisor-related commitment.

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An Empirical Comparative Examination of the Relationships Among School Leadership Behaviors and Teacher Commitment to Students in Malawi

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This cross-sectional quantitative research examined the extent to which a model relating leadership behaviors and teacher commitment previously investigated in the United States of America by Freeman (2014) applies in Malawi, a culture differing from the USA on several dimensions. Freeman found that transactional leadership behavior of school principals in the USA has a positive and significant relationship with teacher commitment to students. In addition, he found that collective efficacy fully mediated the relationship between transactional leadership behavior of school principals and teacher commitment to students’ academic achievement and social well-being. No previous study had examined the external validity of these findings. Utilizing a sample of 184 teachers from public primary and secondary schools in Malawi, Freeman demonstrated results that did not support these findings. In fact, this research found the following: (a) intellectual stimulation behavior of school principals, a dimension of transformational leadership behavior, was positively and significantly related to teacher commitment to both students’ academic achievement and students’ social well-being; (b) transactional leadership did not have any effects on teacher commitment to students, and (c) no mediating effects were present for either organizational trust or collective efficacy in Malawi. Implications of the study findings, research methodologies, limitations of the study, and recommendations for future research are discussed.

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Spirituality in Law Enforcement: An Exploration of Possible Correlations of Spirituality to Burnout and Job Satisfaction for Police Officers

Abstract

The vocation of policing is considered a spiritual calling (G. Charles, 2009), yet the day-in-and-day-out stressors of professional police work can lead to depleted spirituality (Friedman, 2005), burnout (Martinussen, Richardson, & Burke, 2007), and reduced job satisfaction (McCreary & Thompson, 2006). This quantitative study fills the existing gap in the quantitative theoretical research on spirituality in policing (G. L. Patton, 1998) to increase understanding and support in the field for spirituality in police officers (Ursitti, 2011) and inform the field on ways to address health and fitness issues of police officers, including officer burnout (J. A. Smith & Charles, 2010). Specifically, this study used correlation analysis, t tests, and analyses of variance to analyze survey results and test for correlations between spirituality and burnout and between spirituality and job satisfaction from a sample of 312 full-time police officers from a midsized urban police department in the state of New York. Results support the existence of a strong positive correlation between spirituality (measured through meaning in life) and job satisfaction; a small negative correlation between spirituality and two dimensions of job burnout, emotional exhaustion and depersonalization; and a moderate positive correlation between spirituality and the personal accomplishment dimension of burnout. The study points to the need for police executives to take the spirituality of their officers into account when considering the overall health and welfare of their officers. Additional studies are needed to further explore spirituality to determine whether it can predict job satisfaction or burnout and whether spiritual experiences can reverse the negative effects of the toxicity of policing and enhance the officers’ overall well-being as suggested by Travis (2009).

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Exploring the Relationship Between Learner Autonomy and Leadership Effectiveness in the Healthcare System

Abstract

Leadership and learning are two essential concepts within modern organizations. There has been much investigation, research, and inquiry into finding a deeper understanding of both of the constructs of leadership and adult learning. Investigation of specific relationships between leadership and self-efficacious autonomous learning builds upon the collective body of knowledge for both constructs and the link between leadership and learning. A central focus of the study is what Vaill (1996) called the learning premise, which asserts that “leadership is not learned . . . leadership is [emphasis added] learning” (pp. 126-127). The purpose of this study is to address the identified gap in the existing academic literature by examining the relationship between autonomous learning and leadership effectiveness. The study examines leaders within the healthcare industry and examines the relationship between the leader’s level of learner autonomy (self-reported) and their effectiveness as a leader (subordinate-reported). The findings of the study indicated no statistically significant relationship existed between learner autonomy and leadership effectiveness. There were no differences found in the effectiveness of leaders when comparing groups with functional and dysfunctional levels of learner autonomy. Limitations of the study include sample size, which met statistical criteria and was valid although a larger size may improve external validity. Other recommendations for further research include replication of the study in other industries than healthcare, possible further investigation using the additional scales found in the instruments utilized in this study, and research utilizing the individual component inventories that make up the learner autonomy profile.

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