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Abstract

This study was designed to investigate the relationship between the behavior pattern of leaders and the willingness of their subordinates to share information. Measures of information sharing norms were obtained from 250 individuals within business organizations along with assessments of the leadership behaviors of their supervisors. Factor analysis of the information sharing measures revealed five information categories. Factor analysis of the leadership measures yielded two dimensions of leadership behavior. Leaders who gave greater emphasis to their personal relationships with subordinates in their leadership patterns were found to have subordinates with greater willingness to share information than leaders who were not oriented to personal relationships. As the degree of control exercised by the leader over his subordinates increased, the tendency for the subordinates to share information decreased.

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The Relationship of Information Sharing Norms and Leader Behavior

Abstract

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References