Working paper: in preparation for submission to Human Relations

A Power-With and Power-Over Framework of Leadership Behaviors and Creativity: A Meta-Analytic Examination

Hongguo Wei, Hae Sang Park, Claire Wu, Bilimoria Diana, Shaobing Li

Time: 1:30 PM on December 24th 

Venue: 1610, Rear Main Building, Beijing Normal University

Abstract

In this study, we aim to understand how the power-over versus power-with relationship brings a resistant or a generative force for employee creativity through informing leadership behaviors. Different from power-over that highlights dominance and control, the power-with framework emphasizes sharing with, empowering, and developing employees through cooperation. We argue the power-over and power-with framework respectively initiates positive relations-oriented leadership behaviors and task-oriented leadership behaviors. Building on this framework, we hypothesize that positive relations-oriented and task-oriented leadership impact employee creativity through employee psychological empowerment. National power distance moderates how the power-over versus power-with framework functions in shaping employee creativity. A meta-analytic study with 143 independent samples (N =40,023) reveals that positive-relations oriented leadership was positively related to employee creativity, and contrary to our hypothesis, task-oriented leadership was positively related to employee creativity. In addition, Meta-SEM results indicate that psychological empowerment mediated the relationship between positive relations-oriented leadership and employee creativity, and between task-oriented leadership and employee creativity, with the former mediating effect stronger than the latter. National power distance moderated the impacts of positive relations-oriented leadership and task-oriented leadership on employee creativity through psychological empowerment in opposite directions. Our further robust analysis with self-rated and other-rated creativity substantiates the above findings.

Keywords: power-over; power-with; positive relations-oriented leadership; task-oriented leadership; employee creativity; national power distance

Introduction:

Wei Hongguo received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in business Administration from Beijing Normal University in 2008 and 2011.  She received her Ph.D. in organizational behavior from Case Western Reserve University in 2017.  He is an assistant professor at the University of Central Oklahoma. His research interests include leadership, work relationships, emotions, and caring behavior and has published papers in The Journal of Business Ethics, Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Management and Organization Review,  Journal of Management Education, And Frontiers in Psychology.