| Abstract: | Some scholars have argued and found that the relationship between transformational or charismatic leadership and outcomes can be moderated by subordinate or situational characteristics (e.g. Bass & Avolio, 1990; Podsakoff, MacKenzie, & Bommer, 1996). Still, there is insufficient evidence on this issue. In this article we examine need for leadership (De Vries, 1997) as a moderator of the relation between a measure of charismatic leadership (Bass, 1985a; Den Hartog, Van Muijen, & Koopman, 1994) and subordinate outcomes. Need for leadership is found to moderate the relation between charismatic leadership and three out of four subordinate outcomes. Furthermore, we examine the relationship between charismatic leadership and need for leadership. Although it has been asserted that transformational or socialized charismatic leaders are able to empower and develop subordinates to become leaders themselves (e.g. Bass & Avolio, 1990; Kuhnert, 1994; Yammarino, 1994), we find a positive relationship between charismatic leadership and need for leadership, which suggests that subordinates are more, instead of less, dependent when a charismatic leader is present. |
