TY - JOUR
T1 - Followers’ HEXACO personality traits and preference for charismatic, relationship-oriented, and task-oriented leadership
AU - Breevaart, Kimberley
AU - de Vries, Reinout E.
PY - 2021/4
Y1 - 2021/4
N2 - The aim of the current study was to examine the HEXACO personality traits in relation to followers’ preference for charismatic, relationship-oriented, and task-oriented leadership. Based on the similarity perspective, we expected followers high on Honesty-Humility, Extraversion, and Openness to Experience to prefer a charismatic leader, and those followers high on conscientiousness and low on Openness to Experience to prefer a task-oriented leader. In addition, from a need fulfillment perspective, we expected followers high on Emotionality to prefer a task- and a relationship-oriented leader. We examined these expectations using paper vignette methodology in a sample of 272 undergraduates. The results showed that most participants preferred a relationship-oriented leader over a charismatic or task-oriented leader. In addition, we found support for all our hypotheses, with the exception of the relations between Honesty-Humility and preference for charismatic leadership, and Conscientiousness and preference for task-oriented leadership. Our findings contribute to the nomological network of the role of follower characteristics in the leader-follower relationship. Implications and suggestions for research on charismatic leadership are provided.
AB - The aim of the current study was to examine the HEXACO personality traits in relation to followers’ preference for charismatic, relationship-oriented, and task-oriented leadership. Based on the similarity perspective, we expected followers high on Honesty-Humility, Extraversion, and Openness to Experience to prefer a charismatic leader, and those followers high on conscientiousness and low on Openness to Experience to prefer a task-oriented leader. In addition, from a need fulfillment perspective, we expected followers high on Emotionality to prefer a task- and a relationship-oriented leader. We examined these expectations using paper vignette methodology in a sample of 272 undergraduates. The results showed that most participants preferred a relationship-oriented leader over a charismatic or task-oriented leader. In addition, we found support for all our hypotheses, with the exception of the relations between Honesty-Humility and preference for charismatic leadership, and Conscientiousness and preference for task-oriented leadership. Our findings contribute to the nomological network of the role of follower characteristics in the leader-follower relationship. Implications and suggestions for research on charismatic leadership are provided.
KW - Big Five
KW - Charismatic leadership
KW - HEXACO
KW - Leadership
KW - Preference for leadership
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85077157519&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10869-019-09671-6
DO - 10.1007/s10869-019-09671-6
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85077157519
SN - 0889-3268
VL - 36
SP - 253
EP - 265
JO - Journal of business and psychology
JF - Journal of business and psychology
IS - 2
ER -