German Journal of Human Resource Management: Zeitschrift für Personalforschung

The model of transformational leadership, proposed by Bass (1985), has been widely used in the United States in applied research as well as in practice for more than twenty years. In Germany, as well, this approach has received increasing attention since the late nineties. This article aims to offer a rough introduction to the model proposed by Bass and to provide a general survey on recent German research dealing with this paradigm. First of all, the transferability of the concept to Germany will be discussed. Similarities with results obtained in America are shown and differences thoroughly conferred. Although some limitations and restrictions have to be considered, it can be shown that the concept of transformational leadership is a fruitful approach for leadership research in Germany. Moreover, interesting implications for managerial practice are derived. Furthermore, advanced research questions concerning antecedences and consequences of transformational leadership in Germany are examined. Furthermore, recent findings show that the self-rater version of the MLQ provides additional information concerning the quality of leadership. A detailed look is taken at the relation between leadership and different facets of commitment. It could be shown that there are significant contributions of transformational leadership to affective and normative commitment. Interesting differences appear, if one considers the different contexts. Another direction of current research focuses on the role of followers for the perception and maintenance of transformational leadership. Results indicate that followers' characteristics, such as personality traits and implicit leadership theories, influence the perception and acceptance of transformational leadership.

In this theoretical paper, we investigate the importance of nonverbal behaviour in the context of leadership. Research on the decoding of social interactions has shown that the quality or type of relationship as well as relationally relevant emotional states are transmitted nonverbally. With this in mind, we review the existing literature on nonverbal leadership behaviour, such as research on Pygmalion leadership or political leadership. The nonverbal behaviours examined in these research areas show remarkable consistency and we therefore conclude that it is possible to deduce about effective nonverbal leadership behaviours. Still, many points remain open for further research and discussion. For example, no information is available concerning nonverbal behaviour in negative feedback processes. We conclude by outlining fruitful research directions in the area of nonverbal behaviour in leadership.

This paper sketches a theory of computer-mediated leadership, drawing on research on computer-mediated communication (CMC) and leadership. The forecast it makes for computer-mediated forms of leadership is mixed. Leadership interactions that focus on the personal and dyadic level are predicted to be deficient under conditions of CMC as compared with face-to-face interaction. Two notable exceptions are identified. If message or task equivocality is low, CMC can be more efficient than face-to-face interaction. The second exception concerns attributions of charisma: For leaders who present themselves skilfully and strategically in CMC, followers' impressions are hypothesised to become accentuated or ‘hypercharismatic’. The above effects are all hypothesised to occur under conditions of high salience of the personal identities of both leader and follower. If, however, the leader and follower belong to the same salient and positively evaluated group, the effects of CMC are hypothesised to be positive. These effects are a direct result of integrating the SIDE-theory of computer-mediated communication and Hogg's social identity theory of leadership.

In this paper we bring together two worlds that are usually strictly separated in research: leadership and customers. Until now leadership research has concentrated particularly on internal organizational processes, whereas customers were analyzed preferably in the context of marketing and service management. Research shows that the range of roles and functions of customers as key company stakeholders has changed dramatically in the last few years. Especially in service companies, customers (and communities), thought of as prosumers (producers and consumers), are active players, which can exert significant influence particularly on customer contact employees and on employee leadership. As only few of the established leadership concepts are open to an inclusion of customers, we choose Kerr/Jermier's (1978) substitute for leadership theory to show how the relationship between boundary spanning employees and customers can be linked to the relationship between an employee (as a follower) and his supervisor (as a leader). The analysis of this interrelatedness shows that customers can actually assume some leadership functions which subsequently will not only affect the behavior of the employees but also that of leaders. If leadership research wants to take up this challenge, it has to rethink its concepts to include new context factors relevant to the organisation. Corresponding implications and future directions for leadership research and practice are outlined.

Leadership scholars are faced with pressing methodological issues that challenge our current scholarship. In this paper, we discuss methodological concerns such as multilevel hypothesis testing, construct validity of group-level scales, sampling countries in cross-cultural research, self-report measurement — issues that are endemic to organizational leadership research. We point out the methodological challenges facing modern leadership researchers, and point to possible solutions that can provide opportunities for future progress in our field.

For over a half century, leadership researchers have attempted to identify the aspects of leadership that improve organizational performance, yet the answer is still elusive. In this commentary, we discuss several reasons for the slow progress. There is a lack of collaborative effort between academics and practitioners, and the leadership theory and research has lacked adequate emphasis on strategic issues, explanatory processes, and the moderating effects of the situation. We discuss these shortcomings and ways to remedy them.