Leaders' Authoritarian Behaviors Induce Their Loneliness by Reducing Subordinates' Interest to Affiliate With Them

Cao Wei; Bai Shuyuan

doi:10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20240520

PDF(1146 KB)

Journal of Psychological Science ›› 2024, Vol. 47 ›› Issue (5) : 1213-1223. DOI: 10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20240520

Social，Personality & Organizational Psychology

Leaders' Authoritarian Behaviors Induce Their Loneliness by Reducing Subordinates' Interest to Affiliate With Them

Cao Wei, Bai Shuyuan

Author information +

History +

Abstract

Loneliness is an unpleasant psychological state that occurs when the need for interpersonal relationships is not satisfied. Research has shown that loneliness has negative effects on both the physical and mental health of individuals, such as an increased risk of death and a tendency toward depression. Research on loneliness in the workplace has linked loneliness to poor performance, decreased creativity, and poor decision making. A review of the existing literature reveals that research on workplace loneliness has predominantly focused on employees, with limited attention given to the leader loneliness. Sparse research on leader loneliness primarily emphasizes the effects it has on leaders themselves and employees, with a lack of exploration of the antecedents of leader loneliness.
The possession of power can heighten others' interest to affiliate with. However, we argue that the manner in which power is wielded also influences others' interest to affiliate with. For instance, authoritarian leadership behaviors, characterized by excessive control over subordinates through the reliance on position power, not only fail to increase others' interest to affiliate with, but actually decrease it. Therefore, this paper proposes that authoritarian leadership behaviors suppress subordinates' affiliation to with leaders, which in turn leads to leader loneliness. Furthermore, we propose that the team power distance climate plays a key role in the relationship between authoritarian leadership behaviors and subordinates' interest to affiliate with leaders. In a high team power distance climate, the negative effect of authoritarian leadership behaviors on subordinates' interest to affiliate with leaders is mitigated, which in turn weakens leader loneliness.
We test our hypotheses through a pilot study, two scenario experiments and a field study. First, the initial pilot study suggested the negative effect of authoritarian leadership behaviors on subordinates' affiliate to with leaders and leader loneliness. Second, the results of the first scenario experiment demonstrated that authoritarian leadership behaviors were negatively related with subordinates' interest to affiliate with leaders, and the team power distance climate weakens the negative relationship above. Then, the results of the second scenario experiment further validated the above conclusions, and revealed that authoritarian leadership behaviors increase the leader loneliness by reducing subordinates' interest to affiliate with leaders. Additionally, the team power distance climate moderates the mediating effect of authoritarian leadership behaviors on leader loneliness through subordinates' interest to affiliate with leaders. Finally, the three-wave self-report survey of leaders confirmed the conclusions drawn from the two scenario experiments, thereby increasing the external validity of this paper.
This paper makes three theoretical contributions. First, we integrate the literature on authoritarian leadership and loneliness, extending the research on the antecedents of leader loneliness. Second, we focus on the impact of authoritarian behaviors on leaders themselves, contributing to the authoritarian leadership literature. Lastly, we emphasize the situational role of the team power distance climate, exploring the boundaries of the impact of authoritarian leadership behaviors on subordinates' interest to affiliate with leaders.
This paper also offers two managerial implications. First, leaders should implement authoritarian leadership behaviors with caution. Second, the negative moderating effect of the team power distance climate suggests that leaders should consider the type of team climate in the leadership process.

Key words

authoritarian leadership behaviors / leader loneliness / subordinates' interest to affiliate with leaders / team power distance climate

Cite this article

EndNote

Ris (Procite)

Bibtex

Download Citations

Cao Wei, Bai Shuyuan. Leaders' Authoritarian Behaviors Induce Their Loneliness by Reducing Subordinates' Interest to Affiliate With Them[J]. Journal of Psychological Science. 2024, 47(5): 1213-1223 https://doi.org/10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20240520

References

[1] 樊亚凤, 张侠丹. (2022). 权力距离信念如何影响消费者行为: 研究述评与展望. 外国经济与管理, 44(8), 138-152.
[2] 郭理, 加锁锁, 李圭泉, 李蔓林. (2023). 高处不胜寒? 领导工作场所孤独感的多层次双刃剑效应. 心理科学进展, 31(4), 582-596.
[3] 岳思怡, 王怀勇. (2024). 社会排斥对消费者品牌依恋的影响: 孤独感和拒绝敏感性的作用. 心理科学, 47(3), 680-687.
[4] 章凯, 吴志豪, 陈黎梅. (2022). 领导与权力分界视野下威权领导本质的探索研究. 管理学报, 19(2), 187-196.
[5] 郑伯埙, 周丽芳, 樊景立. (2000). 家长式领导: 三元模式的建构与测量. 本土心理学研究, 14, 3-64.
[6] Bedi, A. (2020). A meta-analytic review of paternalistic leadership. Applied Psychology, 69(3), 960-1008.
[7] Bond M. H., Wan K. C., Leung K., & Giacalone R. A. (1985). How are responses to verbal insult related to cultural collectivism and power distance? Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 16(1), 111-127.
[8] Brock, J. K. U., & von Wangenheim, F. (2019). Demystifying AI: What digital transformation leaders can teach you about realistic artificial intelligence. California Management Review, 61(4), 110-134.
[9] Cacioppo J. T., Hawkley L. C., Ernst J. M., Burleson M., Berntson G. G., Nouriani B., & Spiegel D. (2006). Loneliness within a nomological net: An evolutionary perspective. Journal of Research in Personality, 40(6), 1054-1085.
[10] Chen X., Peng J., Lei X., & Zou Y. C. (2021). Leave or stay with a lonely leader? An investigation into whether, why, and when leader workplace loneliness increases team turnover intentions. Asian Business and Management, 20(2), 280-303.
[11] Chen X. P., Eberly M. B., Chiang T. J., Farh J. L., & Cheng B. S. (2014). Affective trust in Chinese leaders: Linking paternalistic leadership to employee performance. Journal of Management, 40(3), 796-819.
[12] Chen Y., Zhou X. H., & Klyver K. (2019). Collective efficacy: Linking paternalistic leadership to organizational commitment. Journal of Business Ethics, 159(2), 587-603.
[13] Cheng B. S., Boer D., Chou L. F., Huang M. P., Yoneyama S., Shim D., & Tsai C. Y. (2014). Paternalistic leadership in four East Asian societies: Generalizability and cultural differences of the triad model. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 45(1), 82-90.
[14] Cheng B. S., Chou L. F., Wu T. Y., Huang M. P., & Farh J. L. (2004). Paternalistic leadership and subordinate responses: Establishing a leadership model in Chinese organizations. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 7(1), 89-117.
[15] Chou W. J., Sibley C. G., Liu J. H., Lin T. T., & Cheng B. S. (2015). Paternalistic leadership profiles: A person-centered approach. Group and Organization Management, 40(5), 685-710.
[16] Dorfman, P. W., & Howell, J. P. (1988). Dimensions of national culture and effective leadership patterns: Hofstede revisited. Advances in International Comparative Management, 3, 127-150.
[17] Erzen, E., & Çikrikci, Ö. (2018). The effect of loneliness on depression: A meta-analysis. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 64(5), 427-435.
[18] Faul F., Erdfelder E., Buchner A., & Lang A. G. (2009). Statistical power analyses using G*Power 3.1: Tests for correlation and regression analyses. Behavior Research Methods, 41(4), 1149-1160.
[19] Firoz M., Chaudhary R., & Khan A. (2021). Desolated milieu: Exploring the trajectory of workplace loneliness (2006-2019). Management Research Review, 44(5), 757-780.
[20] Foulk T. A., De Pater, I. E. , Schaerer, M., du Plessis C., Lee R., & Erez A. (2020). It's lonely at the bottom (too): The effects of experienced powerlessness on social closeness and disengagement. Personnel Psychology, 73(2), 363-394.
[21] Gabriel A. S., Lanaj K., & Jennings R. E. (2021). Is one the loneliest number? A within-person examination of the adaptive and maladaptive consequences of leader loneliness at work. Journal of Applied Psychology, 106(10), 1517-1538.
[22] Gu Q. X., Hempel P. S., & Yu M. C. (2020). Tough love and creativity: How authoritarian leadership tempered by benevolence or morality influences employee creativity. British Journal of Management, 31(2), 305-324.
[23] Hadley, C. N., & Mortensen, M. (2021). Are your team members lonely? MIT Sloan Management Review, 62(2), 36-40.
[24] Holt-Lunstad J., Smith T. B., Baker M., Harris T., & Stephenson D. (2015). Loneliness and social isolation as risk factors for mortality: A meta-analytic review. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 10(2), 227-237.
[25] House R. J., Spangler W. D., & Woycke J. (1991). Personality and charisma in the U.S. presidency: A psychological theory of leader effectiveness. Administrative Science Quarterly, 36(3), 364-396.
[26] Hu J., Erdogan B., Jiang K. F., Bauer T. N., & Liu S. B. (2018). Leader humility and team creativity: The role of team information sharing, psychological safety, and power distance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 103(3), 313-323.
[27] Huang X., Xu E., Chiu W., Lam C., & Farh J. L. (2015). When authoritarian leaders outperform transformational leaders: Firm performance in a harsh economic environment. Academy of Management Discoveries, 1(2), 180-200.
[28] Lee C., Pillutla M., & Law K. S. (2000). Power-distance, gender and organizational justice. Journal of Management, 26(4), 685-704.
[29] Leung K., Su S., & Morris M. W. (2001). When is criticism not constructive? The roles of fairness perceptions and dispositional attributions in employee acceptance of critical supervisory feedback. Human Relations, 54(9), 1155-1187.
[30] Li R., Chen Z. J., Zhang H. H., & Luo J. L. (2021). How do authoritarian leadership and abusive supervision jointly thwart follower proactivity? A social control perspective. Journal of Management, 47(4), 930-956.
[31] Lian H. W., Ferris D. L., & Brown D. J. (2012). Does power distance exacerbate or mitigate the effects of abusive supervision? It depends on the outcome. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97(1), 107-123.
[32] Liu F. Z., Liang J., & Chen M. (2021). The danger of blindly following: Examining the relationship between authoritarian leadership and unethical pro-organizational behaviors. Management and Organization Review, 17(3), 524-550.
[33] Loi R., Mao Y. N., & Ngo H. Y. (2009). Linking leader-member exchange and employee work outcomes: The mediating role of organizational social and economic exchange. Management and Organization Review, 5(3), 401-422.
[34] Magee, J. C., & Smith, P. K. (2013). The social distance theory of power. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 17(2), 158-186.
[35] Mitchell, M. S., & Ambrose, M. L. (2007). Abusive supervision and workplace deviance and the moderating effects of negative reciprocity beliefs. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(4), 1159-1168.
[36] Mund M., Lüdtke O., & Neyer F. J. (2020). Owner of a lonely heart: The stability of loneliness across the life span. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 119(2), 497-516.
[37] Nambisan S., Lyytinen K., Majchrzak A., & Song M. (2017). Digital innovation management: Reinventing innovation management research in a digital world. MIS Quarterly, 41(1), 223-238.
[38] Neter J., Wasserman W., & Kutner M. H. (1985). Applied linear statistical models: Regression, analysis of variance, and experimental design. Richard D. Irwin.
[39] Nikitin, J., & Freund, A. M. (2008). The role of social approach and avoidance motives for subjective well-being and the successful transition to adulthood. Applied Psychology, 57(s1), 90-111.
[40] Ong, W. J. (2022). Gender-contingent effects of leadership on loneliness. Journal of Applied Psychology, 107(7), 1180-1202.
[41] Ozcelik, H., & Barsade, S. G. (2018). No employee an island: Workplace loneliness and job performance. Academy of Management Journal, 61(6), 2343-2366.
[42] Pellegrini, E. K., & Scandura, T. A. (2008). Paternalistic leadership: A review and agenda for future research. Journal of Management, 34(3), 566-593.
[43] Peng J., Chen Y. S., Xia Y., & Ran Y. X. (2017). Workplace loneliness, leader-member exchange and creativity: The cross-level moderating role of leader compassion. Personality and Individual Differences, 104, 510-515.
[44] Pieters, R. (2013). Bidirectional dynamics of materialism and loneliness: Not just a vicious cycle. Journal of Consumer Research, 40(4), 615-631.
[45] Pizzolitto E., Verna I., & Venditti M. (2023). Authoritarian leadership styles and performance: A systematic literature review and research agenda. Management Review Quarterly, 73(2), 841-871.
[46] Russell, D. W. (1996). UCLA loneliness scale (version 3): Reliability, validity, and factor structure. Journal of Personality Assessment, 66(1), 20-40.
[47] Schaubroeck J. M., Shen Y. M., & Chong S. (2017). A dual-stage moderated mediation model linking authoritarian leadership to follower outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 102(2), 203-214.
[48] Shen Y. M., Chou W. J., & Schaubroeck J. M. (2019). The roles of relational identification and workgroup cultural values in linking authoritarian leadership to employee performance. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 28(4), 498-509.
[49] Shih, H. A., & Nguyen, T. V. (2022). Effects of leader-follower congruence in humor on employee creativity: A broaden and build theory approach. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 31(5), 743-754.
[50] Tyler T. R., Lind E. A., & Huo Y. J. (2000). Cultural values and authority relations: The psychology of conflict resolution across cultures. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 6(4), 1138-1163.
[51] von Soest T., Luhmann M., Hansen T., & Gerstorf D. (2020). Development of loneliness in midlife and old age: Its nature and correlates. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 118(2), 388-406.
[52] Wang, A. C., & Cheng, B. S. (2010). When does benevolent leadership lead to creativity? The moderating role of creative role identity and job autonomy. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 31(1), 106-121.
[53] Wisse, B., & Sleebos, E. (2016). When the dark ones gain power: Perceived position power strengthens the effect of supervisor Machiavellianism on abusive supervision in work teams. Personality and Individual Differences, 99, 122-126.
[54] Wright S. L., Burt C. D. B., & Strongman K. T. (2006). Loneliness in the workplace: Construct definition and scale development. New Zealand Journal of Psychology, 35(2), 59-68.
[55] Wu L. Z., Yim F. H. K., Kwan H. K., & Zhang X. M. (2012). Coping with workplace ostracism: The roles of ingratiation and political skill in employee psychological distress. Journal of Management Studies, 49(1), 178-199.
[56] Yao L., Chen X. P., & Wei H. G. (2023). How do authoritarian and benevolent leadership affect employee work-family conflict? An emotional regulation perspective. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 40(4), 1525-1553.
[57] Zheng Y. Y., Graham L., Farh J. L., & Huang X. (2021). The impact of authoritarian leadership on ethical voice: A moderated mediation model of felt uncertainty and leader benevolence. Journal of Business Ethics, 170(1), 133-146.