Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

The Nature, Measurement and Nomological Network of Environmentally Specific Transformational Leadership

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Business Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Previous research reveals that when leaders enact environmentally specific transformational leadership, they positively affect corporate environmental responsibility. While this research provides important insights into how leaders create and shape corporate environmental responsibility, confidence in the validity of these findings is limited because the psychometric properties of the measurement of environmentally specific transformational leadership has not yet been assessed. The goal of the current research was to develop and validate a measure of environmentally specific transformational leadership. To this end, four studies were conducted, which together produced a reliable and valid scale from which future research can stem. Theoretical and practical limitations are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Due to copyright restrictions, sample items from the MLQ or the modified version of the MLQ cannot be provided.

  2. Results from the Levene’s test revealed unequal variances between the three conditions for all items, except ETFL 6, 10 and 13. In these cases, the Welch’s F statistic was used.

  3. Due to copyright restrictions, sample items from the MLQ cannot be provided.

  4. Given the insignificant findings from the correlational analyses that tested the relationships between gender and all of the ETFL sub-scales and the short-form scale, the t test was conducted using the overall measure only.

References

  • Aguinis, H., & Glavas, A. (2012). What we know and don’t know about corporate social responsibility a review and research agenda. Journal of Management, 38, 932–968.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andersson, L., Jackson, S. E., & Russell, S. V. (2013). Greening organizational behavior: An introduction to the special issue. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 34, 151–155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Avolio, B. J., Bass, B. M., & Jung, D. I. (1999). Re-examining the components of transformational and transactional leadership using the multifactor leadership. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 72, 441–462.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barling, J., Christie, A., & Hoption, C. (2010). Leadership. In S. Zedeck (Ed.), Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology. Washington, DC: APA Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barling, J., Loughlin, C., & Kelloway, E. K. (2002). Development and test of a model linking safety-specific transformational leadership and occupational safety. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 488–496.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barling, J., Slater, F., & Kevin Kelloway, E. (2000). Transformational leadership and emotional intelligence: An exploratory study. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 21, 157–161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bass, B. M. (1999). Two decades of research and development in transformational leadership. European journal of work and organizational psychology, 8(1), 9–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bass, B. M., & Avolio, B. J. (2000). MLQ multifactor leadership questionnaire. Redwood City: Mind Garden.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bass, B. M., & Riggio, R. E. (2006). Transformational Leadership (2nd ed.). NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beauchamp, M. R., Barling, J., Li, Z., Morton, K. L., Keith, S. E., & Zumbo, B. D. (2010). Development and psychometric properties of the transformational teaching questionnaire. Journal of Health Psychology, 15, 1123–1134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boiral, O. (2009). Greening the corporation through organizational citizenship behaviors. Journal of Business Ethics, 87, 221–236.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boiral, O., Talbot, D., & Paillé, P. (2015). Leading by example: A model of organizational citizenship behavior for the environment. Business Strategy and the Environment, 24, 532–550.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brammer, S. J., & Pavelin, S. (2006). Corporate reputation and social performance: The importance of fit. Journal of Management Studies, 43, 435–455.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bycio, P., Hackett, R. D., & Allen, J. S. (1995). Further assessments of Bass’s (1985) conceptualization of transactional and transformational leadership. Journal of Applied Psychology, 80, 468–478.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carless, S. A., Wearing, A. J., & Mann, L. (2000). A short measure of transformational leadership. Journal of Business and Psychology, 14, 389–405.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Christensen, L. J., Mackey, A., & Whetten, D. (2014). Taking responsibility for corporate social responsibility: The role of leaders in creating, implementing, sustaining, or avoiding socially responsible firm behaviors. The Academy of Management Perspectives, 28, 164–178.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cleveland, M., Kalamas, M., & Laroche, M. (2005). Shades of green: Linking environmental locus of control and pro-environmental behaviors. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 22(4), 198–212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Conchie, S. M., & Donald, I. J. (2009). The moderating role of safety-specific trust on the relation between safety-specific leadership and safety citizenship behaviors. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 14, 137–147.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, W. H., & Richardson, A. J. (1986). Unfair comparisons. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71, 179–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dahlsrud, A. (2008). How corporate social responsibility is defined: An analysis of 37 definitions. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 15, 1–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeVellis, R. F. (2003). Scale development: Theory and applications (2nd ed.). CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Doty, G. H., & Glick, W. H. (1998). Common methods bias: Does common method variance really bias results? Organizational Research Methods, 1, 374–406.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eagly, A. H., Johannesen-Schmidt, M. C., & Van Engen, M. L. (2003). Transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership styles: A meta-analysis comparing women and men. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 569.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eagly, A. H., Wood, W., & Diekman, A. B. (2000). Social role theory of sex differences and similarities: A current appraisal. In T. Eckes & H. M. Trautner (Eds.), The developmental social psychology of gender (pp. 123–174). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

  • Egri, C. P., & Herman, S. (2000). Leadership in the North American environmental sector: Values, leadership styles, and contexts of environmental leaders and their organizations. Academy of Management Journal, 43, 571–604.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erdogan, B., Bauer, T. N., & Taylor, S. (2015). Management commitment to the ecological environment and employees: Implications for employee attitudes and citizenship behaviors. Human Relations, 68, 1669–1691.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fabrigar, L. R., & Wegener, D. T. (2011). Exploratory factor analysis: Understanding statistics. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Lang, A.-G., & Buchner, A. (2007). G*Power 3: A flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 39, 175–191.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graves, L. M., Sarkis, J., & Zhu, Q. (2013). How transformational leadership and employee motivation combine to predict employee proenvironmental behaviors in China. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 35, 81–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hawcroft, L. J., & Milfont, T. L. (2010). The use (and abuse) of the new environmental paradigm scale over the last 30 years: A meta-analysis. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 30, 143–158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henson, R. K., & Roberts, J. K. (2006). Use of exploratory factor analysis in published research: Common errors and some comment on improved practice. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 66, 393–416.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hille, P., Walsh, G., & Cleveland, M. (2015). Consumer fear of online identity theft: Scale development and validation. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 30, 1–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hinkin, T. R. (1998). A brief tutorial on the development of measures for the use in survey questionnaires. Organizational Research Methods, 1, 104–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hinkin, T. R., & Schriesheim, C. A. (2008a). A theoretical and empirical examination of the transactional and non-leadership dimensions of the multifactor leadership questionnaire (MLQ). The Leadership Quarterly, 19, 501–513.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hinkin, T. R., & Schriesheim, C. A. (2008b). An examination of nonleadership: From laissez-faire leadership to leaders reward omission and punishment omission. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93, 1234–1248.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hinkin, T. R., & Tracey, J. B. (1999). An analysis of variance approach to content validation. Organizational Research Methods, 2, 175–186.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Howell, J. M., & Avolio, B. J. (1993). Transformational leadership, transactional leadership, locus of control, and support for innovation: Key predictors of consolidated-business-unit performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78, 891.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hu, L. T., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6, 1–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hunter, L. M., Hatch, A., & Johnson, A. (2004). Cross-national gender variation in environmental behaviors. Social Science Quarterly, 85, 677–694.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Judge, T. A., & Bono, J. E. (2000). Five-factor model of personality and transformational leadership. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85, 751.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Judge, T. A., & Piccolo, R. F. (2004). Transformational and transactional leadership: A meta-analytic test of their relative validity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89, 755.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaiser, H. F. (1970). A second-generation little jiffy. Psychometrika, 39, 31–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindell, M. K., & Brandt, C. J. (2000). Climate quality and climate consensus as mediators of the relationship between organizational antecedents and outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85, 331–348.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindell, M. K., & Whitney, D. J. (2001). Accounting for common method variance in cross-sectional research designs. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 114–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacCallum, R. C., Browne, M. W., & Sugawara, H. M. (1996). Power analysis and determination of sample size for covariance structure modeling. Psychological Methods, 1, 130–149.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morgeson, F. P., Aguinis, H., Waldman, D. A., & Siegel, D. S. (2013). Extending corporate social responsibility research to the human resource management and organizational behavior domains: A look to the future. Personnel Psychology, 66, 805–824.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morton, K. L., Barling, J., Rhodes, R. E., Mâsse, L. C., Zumbo, B. D., & Beauchamp, M. R. (2011). The application of transformational leadership theory to parenting: Questionnaire development and implications for adolescent self-regulatory efficacy and life satisfaction. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 33, 688–709.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ng, E., & Burke, R. (2010). Predictor of business students’ attitudes toward sustainable business practices. Journal of Business Ethics, 95, 603–615.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Orlitzky, M., Schmidt, F. L., & Rynes, S. L. (2003). Corporate social and financial performance: A meta-analysis. Organization Studies, 24, 403–441.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oshagbemi, T. (2004). Age influences on the leadership styles and behaviour of managers. Employee Relations, 26, 14–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2012). Sources of method bias in social science research and recommendations on how to control it. Annual Review of Psychology, 65, 539–569.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ramus, C. A., & Steger, U. (2000). The roles of supervisory support behaviors and environmental policy in employee eco-initiatives at leading-edge European companies. Academy of Management Journal, 43, 605–626.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robertson, J. L., & Barling, J. (2013). Greening organizations through leaders’ influence on employees’ pro-environmental behaviors. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 34, 176–194.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robertson, J. L., & Barling, J. (2015). The role of leadership in promoting workplace pro-environmental behaviors. In J. L. Robertson & J. Barling (Eds.), The psychology of green organizations. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Robertson, J. L., & Barling, J. (2017a). Contrasting the nature and effects of environmentally-specific and general transformational leadership. Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 38, 22–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robertson, J. L., & Barling, J. (2017b). Toward a new measure of organizational environmental citizenship behavior. Journal of Business Research, 75, 57–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rupp, D. E., Shao, R., Thornton, M. A., & Skarlicki, D. P. (2013). Applicants’ and employees’ reactions to corporate social responsibility: The moderating effects of first party justice perceptions and moral identity. Personnel Psychology, 66, 895–933.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seguin, C., Pelletier, L. G., & Hunsley, J. (1998). Toward a model of environmental activism. Environment and Behavior, 30, 628–652.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spector, P. E. (2006). Method variance in organizational research: Truth or urban legend? Organizational Research Methods, 9, 221–232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tindall, D. B., Davies, S., & Mauboules, C. (2003). Activism and conservation behavior in an environmental movement: The contradictory effects of gender. Society & Natural Resources, 16, 909–932.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xiao, C., & McCright, A. M. (2014). A test of the biographical availability argument for gender differences in environmental behaviors. Environment and Behavior, 46, 241–263.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Funding was provided by Social Science and Humanities Research Board Seed Research Grant. Awarded by Western Strategic Support for SSHRC Success, Research Development and Services, Western University.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jennifer L. Robertson.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Robertson, J.L. The Nature, Measurement and Nomological Network of Environmentally Specific Transformational Leadership. J Bus Ethics 151, 961–975 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-017-3569-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-017-3569-4

Keywords

Navigation