Transformational Leadership and Followers’ Objective Performance Over Time: Insights From German Basketball

The purpose of this present study is to gauge the usefulness of head coaches’ transformational leadership in predicting followers’ individual, objectively measured performance development over time. The sample encompassed data on 22 coaches and 200 players from German professional basketball. Each player's performance was captured for approximately 20 subsequent games resulting in a sample of 3,905 measurement points. Our analyses revealed significant effects from transformational leadership facets of Articulating a Vision, Fostering the Acceptance of Group Goals, and Providing Individualized Consideration on the development of players’ performance over time.     

Testing the dimensional comparison theory: When do students prefer dimensional comparisons to social and temporal comparisons?

Students compare their achievement in a subject with their classmates’ achievements (social comparison), their own prior achievements (temporal comparison), and their achievements in other subjects (dimensional comparison), which can each be better (upward comparison), equal (lateral comparison), or worse (downward comparison). Prior research has investigated the impact of different comparison motivations on the prevalence of social and temporal comparisons, but no study has examined the same for dimensional comparisons yet. The present study closes this gap: A total of 605 German high school students were presented with four situations, in which a fictitious student receives the same objective feedback for an exam in a certain subject, but is motivated either to evaluate, to enhance, to improve, or to differentiate himself. For each comparison motivation, the participants judged how likely the fictitious student was to draw dimensional, social, and temporal upward, lateral, and downward comparisons. As a central result, dimensional comparisons in all directions had the highest prevalences under the self-differentiation motivation. In contrast, the prevalences of dimensional comparisons were relatively low under the other three motivations. This finding complements the recently developed dimensional comparison theory. For the first time, we could empirically show that dimensional comparisons primarily serve self-differentiation motivations.     

Do Intentions Set Up Rational Defaults? Commitments,Reasons, and the Diachronic Dimension of Rationality

Suppose that you do not do what you have previously decided to do. Are you to be charged with irrationality? A number of otherwise divergent theories of practical rationality hold that by default, you are; there are rational pressures, it is claimed, that favor the long‐term stability and eventual execution of distal intentions. The article challenges this view by examining how these purported pressures can be spelled out. Is intention a normative commitment to act? Are intentions reasons for action – or at least for retaining one's intention until the time to act has come? Or is the rationality of ‘doing as you decide’ governed by diachronic wide‐scope norms, as Michael Bratman and John Broome suggest? All of these approaches are shown to raise severe problems, which suggests a more modest view: diachronic pressures on intending are at each point in time confined to the very next instant.     

Cognitive flexibility as a meta-competency / Flexibilidad cognitiva como meta-competencia

Abstract

There exists a large body of research that has studied cognitive flexibility as an executive function assessed through shifting and set-switching tasks. This approach has been criticized as overly narrow and reductionist, thereby undermining the relevance of cognitive flexibility beyond tightly controlled cognitive tasks. In light of such limitations, we review the extant literature and reflect on the understanding of cognitive flexibility as (1) an cognitive approach to novelty processing and (2) as a conative disposition towards novelty. We present a theoretical model of cognitive flexibility as a meta-competency reflected in adaptive performance which emerges as a strategic response to novelty in dynamic environments. This meta-competency draws on a confluence of cognitive and conative variables that are actively and adaptively harnessed by an individual under specific circumstances.     

Charismatic Leadership and Objective Performance Indicators

Recent empirical and theoretical work has advanced our understanding of charismatic leadership in organisations. Despite this progress, only a few studies have tested the hypothesis that charismatic leadership might be related to objective, organisationally relevant indicators. In order to address this research gap, the present study tested whether charismatic leadership was related to followers’ absenteeism, their training and development activities, as well as branch‐level profit. Charismatic leadership was defined according to Conger and Kanungo's (1998 ) theory. It could be demonstrated that facets of charismatic leadership were negatively related to followers’ absenteeism, but positively related to their training and development activity. Moreover, charismatic leadership showed a positive relationship to profit. In sum, the results contribute to theory and practice of charismatic leadership. Un travail empirique et théorique récent a fait progresser notre compréhension du leadership charismatique dans les organisations. Malgré ce progrès, seules quelques études ont testé l’hypothèse selon laquelle un leadership charismatique serait liéà des facteurs objectifs et pertinents pour l’organisation. Pour une compréhension plus approfondie des effets du leadership chatismatique, la présente étude teste si ce style de leadership est lié aux suiveurs, à l’absentéisme, aux activités de formation et de développement ainsi qu’aux bénéfices au niveau de la branche. Le leadership charismatique est défini en accord avec la théorie de Conger et Kanungo (1998). On a pu démontrer que les facettes du leadership charismatique sont liées négativement aux suiveurs, à l’absentéisme et positivement à l’activité de formation et de dévelpppement. En outre, le leadership charismatique montre une relation positive au profit. En somme, les résultats contribuent à la théorie et à la pratique du leadership charismatique.