Date of Award

5-2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

Department

Bisk College of Business

First Advisor

Ivonne A. Delgado-Perez

Second Advisor

Troy Glassman

Third Advisor

Marshall Jones

Fourth Advisor

Denise Siegfeldt

Abstract

This dissertation examines followership style, leadership behaviors, and LMX-quality from the follower’s perspective. This research used Kelley’s followership framework, the full range leadership model, and the LMX-6 instrument to analyze each dimension of the leader-follower relationship. Using a sample of 89 followers from various backgrounds, the study collected data regarding each of the followers’ unique relationships with their leader. These data provided insights into the followers’ current followership style (i.e., their current levels of independent critical thinking and active engagement), their leaders ‘behaviors, and the quality of their individual leader-follower relationship. The researcher used the statistical program JASP to measure the existence and strength of relationships between these dimensions separately and together. The data presented weak, statistically significant relationships between transactional leadership behaviors and both followership dimensions when controlling for LMX-quality. The data also presented a weak statistically significant relationship between the active engagement dimension of followership style and LMX-quality when controlling for leadership behaviors. Data analysis then proceeded with no control variables. The analysis identified a weak, statistically significant relationship between transformational leadership behaviors and independent critical thinking and a strong, statistically significant relationship between transformational leadership and active engagement. There was also a strong statistically significant relationship between LMX-quality and active engagement. These findings provide a theoretical linkage between the three elements of the leader-follower relationship and help clarify the role of each within the relationship. The findings help explain the role of all leadership behaviors across the full range leadership model to influence followership style. LMX-quality did not appear to have a relationship with the independent critical thinking dimension of followership style but consistently had a positive relationship with active engagement. When examining the data together, the study identified a compounding, positive relationship between transformational leadership, LMX-quality, and followership dimensions.

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