Date
4-26-2024
Department
School of Behavioral Sciences
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)
Chair
Jerry Green
Keywords
psychological capital, situational leadership, authentic leadership, servant leadership, transformational leadership
Disciplines
Psychology
Recommended Citation
Clark, Matthew Austin, "Exploring the Relationship between Leadership Style and Psychological Capital Constructs" (2024). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 5493.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/5493
Abstract
There is currently a gap in knowledge regarding how leadership styles relate to employee psychological capital. Leaders can use this knowledge to emphasize employee health. It will also help organizations by promoting employee development and retention. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between each leadership style of situational leadership, servant leadership, authentic leadership, transformational leadership and levels of employee psychological capital. This research also examined whether age acted as a moderator in the relationship. The research questions that guided this study were does leadership style have a relationship with employee psychological capital, and does age act as a moderator in that relationship. This study used a quantitative design. This study included participants from the United States who were not managers. Participants completed a survey that assessed the relationship between their own level of psychological capital and the leadership styles of their managers. Multiple regression analysis was used to analyze the data of the research. This study found that a leader’s use of the servant, authentic, and transformational leadership styles did have a positive relationship with employee psychological capital. This study found that servant leadership, authentic leadership, and transformational leadership did have a positive relationship with employee psychological capital, with each explaining 21%, 27%, and 38% of the variation in psychological capital, respectively. Situational leadership was also significant, but only explained 3.2% of the variation in psychological capital. These findings emphasize the importance of leadership training in organizations.
