Title: Setting the stage for a contextual leadership theory: the moderating effects of hierarchical levels, job experience, and organisational tenure

Authors: Teresa C. Lacerda

Addresses: ISEG, Lisbon School of Economics and Management, Universidade de Lisboa, Rua Miguel Lupi, 20, 1249-078, Lisbon, Portugal

Abstract: Previous research on the impact of top-down leadership and levels of experience and tenure on organisational effectiveness is still controversial. This paper fills this gap in the literature by investigating whether dimensions of leadership influence organisational effectiveness, and by understanding and clarifying how organisational effectiveness is moderated by leader hierarchical level, job experience, and organisational tenure. Using a quantitative approach, we collected 381 questionnaires from two different samples targeting corporate leaders to capture their self-perceptions on leadership effectiveness. Results show that the impact of effective leadership behaviours on organisational effectiveness is moderated by these contextual variables. These findings contribute to advancing the previous debate on the effects of contextual factors where leadership effectiveness plays a key role in organisational effectiveness and adds to the extant research by clarifying which combination of leadership behaviours is exhibited by the different levels.

Keywords: organisational effectiveness; leadership behaviours; leader hierarchical level; job experience; organisational tenure; contextual factors; contextual leadership theory; human capital theory; workplace learning theory.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHRDM.2023.131628

International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management, 2023 Vol.23 No.2, pp.93 - 114

Accepted: 18 Jul 2022
Published online: 21 Jun 2023 *

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