Authentic leadership: A systematic review and research agenda

Year 2024, Volume: 24 Issue: 3, 369 - 390, 11.07.2024

Eray Polat , Hasan Evrim Arıcı , Hüseyin Arasli

https://doi.org/10.21121/eab.240302

Abstract

There has been a growing interest in authentic leadership as a distinctive style of leadership and a dynamic research topic. In this direction, the aim of this study is multifaceted. First, we focus on providing a comprehensive overview of research on authentic leadership (AL), which has attracted substantial research interest in the last few years. Second, we outline the theoretical and nomological network of AL, highlighting antecedents, outcomes, moderators, and mediators. Third, we offer an elaborated future research agenda to enable advances in theory and empirics. We systematically reviewed 182 articles issued in the business management and psychology literature between 2005 and 2021. Interest in AL is growing, and 2020 is the golden year. Developed countries dominate the field. After a rigorous review, we offer a future research agenda with four key themes. The study highlights that AL is critical to the emergence and growth of valuable behaviours, attitudes, and performance at individual, team, and organisational levels. The study provides new research ideas and further conceptualization of AL. We also provide a comprehensive review of why managers should continue to practice AL, where the literature has been, and where it may be headed in the future.

Keywords

Authentic leadership, leadership, authenticity, systematic literature review

References

• Ahmed, F. et al. (2018). Roles of leadership styles and relationship-based employee governance in open service innovation. LODJ, 39(3), 353–374.
• Alilyyania, B., Wong, C., & Cummings, G. (2018). Antecedents, mediators, and outcomes of authentic leadership in healthcare. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 83, 34–64.
• Arici, H., Arasli, H., & Cakmakoglu, A. (2020). The effect of nepotism on tolerance to workplace incivility: mediating role of psychological contract violation and moderating role of authentic leadership. LODJ, 41(4), 597–613.
• Avolio, B. & Gardner, W. (2005). Authentic leadership development: Getting to the root of positive forms of leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 16(3), 315–338.
• Avolio, B. et al. (2004). Unlocking the mask: a look at the process by which authentic leaders impact follower attitudes and behaviors. The Leadership Quarterly, 15(6), 801–823.
• Azanza, G. et al. (2015). The effects of authentic leadership on turnover intention. LODJ, 36(8), 955–971.
• Azanza, G. et al. (2018). Influencing salespeople’s work outcomes through authentic leadership. LODJ, 39(7), 926–944.
• Banks, G. et al. (2016). A meta-analytic review of authentic and transformational leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 27(4), 634–652.
• Bass, B. & Avolio, B. (1997). Full range leadership development: Manual for the multifactor leadership questionnaire. Palo Alto: Mind Garden.
• Brown, M. & Treviño, L. (2006). Ethical leadership: A review and future directions. The Leadership Quarterly, 17(6), 595–616.
• Cerne, M., Jaklic, M. & Skerlavaj, M. (2013). Authentic leadership, innovation and creativity. Leadership, 9(1), 63–85.
• Chen, G. & Xiao, L. (2016). Selecting publication keywords for domain analysis in bibliometrics. Journal of Informetrics, 10(1), 212–223.
• Duarte, A. et al. (2021). Authentic Leadership and Improved Individual Performance: Affective Commitment and Individual Creativity’s Sequential Mediation, Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 1660.
• Farid, T. et al. (2020). The Impact of Authentic Leadership on Organizational Citizenship Behaviors. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 9.
• Fortin, C., Doucet, O., & Hennebert, M. (2017). Relative influence of authentic and transformational leadership of local union representatives on the adoption of union citizenship behaviors. LODJ, 38(6), 794–811.
• Gardner, W. et al. (2011). Authentic leadership: A review of the literature and research agenda. The Leadership Quarterly, 22(6), 1120–1145.
• Gardner, W. et al. (2021). Authentic leadership theory: The case for and against. The Leadership Quarterly, 101495.
• George, B. (2003). Authentic leadership: Rediscovering the secrets to creating lasting value, Wiley: Jossey-Bass.
• Gigol, T. (2021). Leadership, religiousness, state ownership of an enterprise and unethical proorganizational behavior. PLoS ONE, 16(5), e0251465.
• Gill, C. et al. (2018). Using theory on authentic leadership to build a strong human resource management system. Human Resource Management Review, 28(3), 304–318.
• Gordon, A. & Yukl, G. (2004). The future of leadership research. German Journal of Human Resource Management, 18(3), 359–365.
• Henderson, J. & Hoy, W. (1983). Leader authenticity: The development and test. Educational and Psychological Research, 3(2), 63–75.
• Hirst, G. et al. (2016). A Multi-level Investigation of Authentic Leadership as an Antecedent of Helping Behavior, JBE, 139(3), 485–499.
• Hmieleski, K., Cole, M., & Baron, R. (2012). Shared Authentic Leadership and New Venture Performance, Journal of Management, 38(5), 1476–1499.
• Hoch, J. et al. (2018). Do Ethical, Authentic, and Servant Leadership Explain Variance Above and Beyond Transformational Leadership? Journal of Management, 44(2), 501–529.
• Hsiung, H. (2012). Authentic Leadership and Employee Voice Behavior. JBE, 107(3), 349–361.
• Hu, Y. et al. (2018). Authentic Leadership and Proactive Behavior: The Role of Psychological Capital and Compassion at Work. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 2470.
• Intesarach, R. & Ueasangkomsate, P. (2021). Conceptualization and Research Trends on Authentic Leadership, in 2021 Joint International Conference on Digital Arts, Media and Technology,69–72.
• Kalay, E. & Ilan, Y. & Kantor, J. (2020). Authentic leadership outcomes in detail-oriented occupations: Commitment, role-stress, and intentions to leave, Journal of Management & Organization, 26(5), 832–849.
• Kanter, R. (1993). Men and women of the corporation: New edition. Basic books, New York.
• Kernis, M. (2003). Toward a Conceptualisation of Optimal Self-Esteem, Psychological Inquiry, 14(1), 1–26.
• Kim, C. et al. (2018). A systematic analysis of review papers in the hospitality and tourism literature, International Journal of Hospitality Management, 70, 49–58.
• Laschinger, H. & Fida, R. (2014). A time-lagged analysis of the effect of authentic leadership on workplace bullying, burnout, and occupational turnover intentions, EJWOP, 23(5), 739–753.
• Lei, S. et al. (2021). The impact of authentic leadership on individual and team creativity. LODJ, 42(4), 644-662.
• Leroy, H., Palanski, M., & Simons, T. (2012). Authentic Leadership and Behavioral Integrity as Drivers of Follower Commitment and Performance. JBE, 107(3), 255–264.
• Levesque-Côté, J. et al. (2018). Refining the Assessment of Authentic Leadership Using Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM). Journal of Business and Psychology, 33(5), 611–628.
• Levesque-Côté, J. et al. (2021). On the motivational nature of authentic leadership practices: a latent profile analysis based on self-determination theory, LODJ, 42(2), 178–194.
• Liang, S. (2017). Linking leader authentic personality to employee voice behaviour: a multilevel mediation model of authentic leadership development, EJWOP, 26(3), 434–443.
• Lin, C. & Chen, Y. (2016). Modeling Team Performance: The Moderating Role of Passion, Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 23(1), 96–107.
• Liu, Y. et al. (2018). Linking authentic leadership to subordinate behaviors. LODJ, 39(2), 218–233.
• Luthans, F., & Avolio, B. (2003). Authentic Leadership Development, in K.Camareron, J.Dutton, R.Quinn, (Eds.), Positive Organizational Scholarship: Foundations of a New Discipline (pp. 241–258). USA: Berrett-Koehler.
• Lux, A., Grover, S., & Teo, S. (2019). Reframing commitment in authentic leadership. Journal of Management & Organization, pp. 1–19.
• Margiadi, B., Wibowo, A. (2020). Authentic Leadership: A Bibliometric Analysis, In W.Barnett, B.Sergi, (Eds) Advanced Issues in the Economics of Emerging Markets (pp. 49-62). Emerald.
• Maziero, V. et al. (2020). Positive aspects of authentic leadership in nursing work. Revista Brasileira de Enfermagem, 73(6), e20190118.
• Mehmood, Q., Hamstra, M., & Schreurs, B. (2019). Employees’ perceptions of their manager’s authentic leadership. Personnel Review, 49(1), 202-214.
• Miao, C., Humphrey, R., & Qian, S. (2018). Emotional intelligence and authentic leadership. LODJ, 39(5), 679–690.
• Milic, B., Nesic, L., Kuzmanović, B., & Delic, M. (2017). The influence of authentic leadership on the learning organization at the organizational level: The mediating role of employees’ affective commitment. Journal of East European Management Studies, 22(1), 9-38.
• Monzani, L. et al. (2015a). The Synergistic Effect of Prototypicality and Authenticity in the Relation Between Leaders’ Biological Gender and Their Organisational Identification. JBE, 132(4), 737–752.
• Monzani, L., Ripoll, P., & Peiró, J. (2015b). The moderator role of followers’ personality traits in the relations between leadership styles, two types of task performance and work result satisfaction, EJWOP, 24(3), 444–461.
• Neider, L., & Schriesheim, C. (2011). The Authentic Leadership Inventory (ALI): Development and empirical tests. The Leadership Quarterly, 22(6), 1146–1164.
• Nichols, T., & Erakovich, R. (2013). Authentic leadership and implicit theory. LODJ, 34(2), 182–195.
• Nielsen, M. et al. (2013). Authentic leadership and its relationship with risk perception and safety climate. LODJ, 34(4), 308–325.
• Niu, W. et al. (2018). Authentic leadership and employee job behaviors: The mediating role of relational and organisational identification and the moderating role of LMX. Current Psychology, 37(4), 982–994.
• Oh, J., Cho, D., Lim, D. (2018). Authentic leadership and work engagement: the mediating effect of practicing core values, LODJ, 39(2), 276–290.
• Oh, J. & Oh, S. (2017). Authentic leadership and turnover intention: does organisational size matter? LODJ, 38(7), 912–926.
• Petersen, K. & Youssef, C. (2018). The “left side” of authentic leadership: contributions of climate and psychological capital. LODJ, 39(3), 436–452.
• Peus, C. et al. (2012). Authentic Leadership: An Empirical Test of Its Antecedents, Consequences, and Mediating Mechanisms, JBE, 107(3), 331–348.
• Polat, E., Çelik, F., Ibrahim, B., & Köseoglu, M.A. (2023). Unpacking the power of user-generated videos in hospitality and tourism: a systematic literature review and future direction. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 40(9), 894-914.
• Polat, E., Çelik, F., Ibrahim, B., & Gursoy, D. (2024). Past, present, and future scene of influencer marketing in hospitality and tourism management. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 41(3), 322-343.
• Qiu, S. et al. (2019). The effects of authentic leadership on trust in leaders, organisational citizenship behavior, and service quality. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 40, 77–87.
• Qu, Y. et al. (2019). Should Authentic Leaders ValuePower? A Study of Leaders’ Values and Perceived Value Congruence. JBE, 156(4), 1027–1044.
• Rahimnia, F. & Sharifirad, M. (2015). Authentic Leadership and Employee Well-Being: The Mediating Role of Attachment Insecurity. JBE, 132(2), 363–377.
• Rego, A., Júnior, D. & Cunha, M. (2015). Authentic Leaders Promoting Store Performance: The Mediating Roles of Virtuousness and Potency. JBE, 128(3), 617–634.
• Ryan, R. & Deci, E. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55, 68-78.
• Shahzad, K., Raja, U. & Hashmi, S. (2021). Impact of Big Five personality traits on authentic leadership. LODJ, 42(2), 208–218.
• Steffens, N. et al. (2016). True to what We stand for: Championing collective interests as a path to authentic leadership, The Leadership Quarterly, 27(5), 726–744.
• Steffens, N. et al. (2021). Personal and collective selfawareness enhances authentic leadership and leader endorsement. The Leadership Quarterly, 101498.
• Strom, T. (2020). Authentic leadership and relational power increasing employee performance: A systematic review of “leadership and power”. Journal of Small Business Strategy, 30(3), 86–101.
• Valle, R. et al. (2021). The relationship between the authentic leadership of nurses and structural empowerment. Revista da Escola de Enfermagem, 55, e03667.
• Vries, M. (1994). The leadership mystique, Academy of Management Perspectives, 8(3), 73–89.
• Walumbwa, F. et al. (2008). Authentic Leadership: Development and Validation of a Theory-Based Measure, Journal of Management, 34(1), 89–126.
• Wang, Z. & Xie, Y. (2020). Authentic leadership and employees’ emotional labour in the hospitality industry. IJCHM, 32(2), 797–814.
• Wei, F. et al. (2018). The Interactive Effect of Authentic Leadership and Leader Competency on Followers’ Job Performance. JBE, 153(3), 763–773.
• Xu, B. et al. (2017). Authentic leadership and employee creativity: testing the multilevel mediation model. LODJ, 38(3), 482–498.
• Yagil, D. & Liraz, H. (2014). Authentic Leadership, Emotional Expression, and Employee Authenticity. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 21(1), 59–70.
• Zhang, J. et al. (2020a). Follower Mindfulness and WellBeing: The Mediating Role of Perceived Authentic Leadership and the Moderating Role of Leader Mindfulness, Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 879.
• Zhang, Z., Liang, Q., & Li, J. (2020b). Understanding managerial response to employee voice: a social persuasion perspective, International Journal of Manpower, 41(3), 273–288.
• Zhang, Y. et al. (2021). Antecedents and outcomes of authentic leadership across culture: A meta-analytic review, Asia Pacific Journal of Management. doi:10.1007/s10490-021-09762-0.