The development and empirical evaluation of a comprehensive leadership-unit performance structural model

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Organisations cannot exist without humans. The behaviour of the working man is not a random event and specific factors influence employees to excel. Not only is the behaviour of individual employees influenced by these factors, but the behaviour of a collective work unit as well. This study focuses on the impact of specific leadership competencies on the performance of the collective work unit within an organisation.A leader exerts pressure on a unit to perform. What leadership competencies lead to successful work unit performance? To answer this question in a valid and credible manner, the study focuses on the development of a structural model to indicate the relationship between leadership competencies and work unit performance.The leadership-for-performance framework designed by Spangenberg and Theron (2004) aspires to explicate the structural relationship existing between leader competencies and the dimensions of organisational unit performance. The Performance Index (PI) and the Leadership Behavioural Inventory (LBI) comprise the leadership-for-performance range of measures. The PI was developed as a comprehensive criterion measure of unit performance for which the unit leader could be held responsible. The basic PI structural model has been developed to explain the manner in which the various latent leadership dimensions measured by the LBI affect the eight unit performance latent variables that are assessed by the PI. As part of ongoing research of the leadership-for-performance range of measures designed by Spangenberg and Theron (2004), this study takes the initial steps towards establishing a comprehensive leadership-work unit performance structural model.The literature review aids in developing a logical argument that culminates in a complex hypothesis about the way work unit performance is influenced by leadership dimensions. The research methodology is then discussed. The results indicate that the proposed structural model fits the data quite well. Although the majority of the structural relationships between the unit performance dimensions received support, almost no support was found for the postulated structural relationships between the second-order leadership competencies and the unit performance dimensions.Additionally, suggestions for future research are made by indicating how the model can be elaborated and improved.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University