In this article, the authors discuss their research on similarities and differences between professionals and nonprofessionals in their responses to managerial leadership behaviors and substitutes for leadership. Their study sample comprised workers at many organizational levels in several hospital and contract research organizations in the Southwest, and they used a multidimensional measure of professionalism to create subsamples of professionals and nonprofessionals. The authors used questionnaire data to test hypotheses regarding instrumental and supportive leadership behaviors and their substitutes. They found that role clarification and support from leaders were important predictors of workers'job satisfaction and organizational commitment for both subsamples, and that formal rules and procedures were an important supplement for instrumental leadership behaviors. Professionals differed from nonprofessionals in that intrinsically satisfying work tasks and importance placed on organizational rewards were strong substitutes for leaders' support. The authors conclude that worker professionalism is an important moderator variable for research on leadership and substitutes for leadership.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Arnold, H.J. (1982). Moderator variables: A clarification of conceptual, analytic, and psychometric issues. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 29, 143-174.
2.
Bass, B.M. (1981). Stogdill's handbook of leadership: A survey of theory and research. New York: Free Press.
3.
Evans, M.G. (1979). Leadership. In S. Kerr (Ed.), Organizational behavior(pp. 207-239). Columbus, OH: Grid.
4.
Ford, J.D. (1981). Departmental context and formal structure as constraints on leader behavior. Academy of Management Journal, 24,274-288.
5.
Hall, R. H. (1968). Professionalization and bureaucratization. American Sociological Review, 33, 92-104.
6.
House, R.J., & Dessler, G. (1974). The path-goal theory of leadership: Some post hoc and a priori tests. In J.G. Hunt & L.L. Larson (Eds.), Contingency approaches to leadership (pp. 29-55). Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press.
7.
House, R.J., & Mitchell, T.R. (1974). Path-goal theory of leadership. Journal of Contemporary Business, 3, 81-97.
8.
Howell, J.P., & Dorfman, P.W. (1981). Substitutes for leadership: Test of a construct. Academy of Management Journal, 24, 714-728.
9.
Jermier, J. M., & Berkes, L.J. (1979). Leader behavior in a police command bureaucracy: A closer look at the quasi military model. Administrative Science Quarterly, 24, 1-23.
10.
Katzell, R.A. (1979). Changing attitudes toward work. In C. Kerr & J. M. Rosow (Eds.), Work in America: The decade ahead (pp. 35-57). New York: Van Nostrand.
11.
Kerr, S. (1977). Substitutes for leadership: Some implications for organizational design. Organization and Administrative Science, 8, 135-146.
12.
Kerr, S., Von Glinow, M.A., & Schriesheim, J. (1977). Issues in the study of professionals in organizations: The case of scientists and engineers. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 18, 329-345.
13.
Kerr, S., & Jermier, J.M. (1978). Substitutes for leadership: Their meaning and measurement. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 22, 375-403.
14.
Kerr, S., & Slocum, J.W., Jr. (1981). Controlling the performances of people in organizations. In P.C. Nystrom & W.H. Starbuck (Eds.), Handbook of organizational design (pp. 116-134). New York: Oxford University Press.
15.
Locke, E.A. (1976). The nature and causes of job satisfaction. In M. Dunnette (Ed.), Handbook of industrial and organizationalpsychology (pp. 1297-1349). Chicago: Rand-McNally.
16.
Miles, R. H., & Petty, M.M. (1977). Leader effectiveness in small bureaucracies. Academy of Management Journal, 2, 238-250.
17.
Miner, J.B. (1982). The uncertain future of the leadership concept: Revisions and clarifications. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 18, 293-307.
18.
M orris, J. H., & Sherman, J. D. (1981). Generalizability of an organizational commitment model. Academy of Management Journal, 24, 512-526.
19.
Mowday, R.T., Steers, R.M., & Porter, L.W. (1978). The measurement of organizational commitment: A progress report (technical report). Eugene: University of Oregon.
20.
Nunnally, J.C. (1978). Psychometric theory (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
21.
Organ, D.W., & Greene, C.N. (1981). The effects of formalization on professional involvement: A compensatory approach. Administrative Science Quarterly, 26, 237-252.
22.
Podsakoff, P.M. (1982). Determinants of a supervisor's use of rewards and punishments: A literature review and suggestions for further research. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 29, 58-83.
23.
Porter, L.W., & Smith, F.W. (1970). The etiology of organizational commitment. Unpublished manuscript, University of California.
24.
Presthus, R. (1978). The organizational society. New York: St. Martin's Press.
25.
Schriesheim, C.A. (1978). Development, validation, and application of new leader behavior and expectancy research instruments. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University.
26.
Schriesheim, C.A., & Bish, J. (1974). The content validity ofform XII of the Ohio state leadership scales. Paper presented at the National Academy of Management Conference, Seattle.
27.
Schriesheim, C.A., & Schriesheim, IF. (1980). A test of the path-goal theory of leadership and some suggested directions for future research. Personnel Psychology, 33, 349-370.
28.
Tosi, H.L. (1982). Administration, leadership, organization structure and other factors that influence behavior: Why the concept of leadership is not powerful enough. In H. Tosi & W.C. Hammer (Eds.), Organizational behavior and management: A contingency approach (pp. 403-411). New York: Wiley.
29.
Von Glinow, M.A. (1978). Patterns of congruity and incongruity in professionalism research: A framework for analysis. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University.
30.
Weiss, D.J., Dawis, R.V., England, G.W., & Lofquist, L.H. (1967). Manual for the Minnesota satisfaction questionnaire (Minnesota studies in vocational rehabilitation, Vol. XXII). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, Industrial Relations Center.
31.
Wiener, Y., & Vardi, Y. (1980). Relationships between job, organization, and career commitments and work outcomes-An integrative approach. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 26, 81-96.
32.
Wigdor, L.A. (1969). Effectiveness of various management and organizational characteristics on employee satisfaction and performance as a function of the employee's needfor independence. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, City University of New York.
