This introduction to the special issue on leadership science briefly reviews the crucial need for theory testing and replication studies in the field of management broadly, and more specifically, the leadership field. After reviewing the need for this special issue, we review the four papers accepted for publication in Part 1 of this special issue.
AguinisH.JensenS. H.KrausS. (2022). Policy implications of organizational behavior and human resource management research. Academy of Management Perspectives, 36, 857–878. https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2020.0093
2.
AikenJ. J.LocklearL. R. (2026). Diverse differentiation: Empirical tests of an LMXD configurations framework. Journal of Management Scientific Reports, 4. https://doi.org/10.1177/2755031126141984
BanksG. C.GootyJ.RossR. L.WilliamsC. E.HarringtonN. T. (2018). Construct redundancy in leader behaviors: A review and agenda for the future. The Leadership Quarterly, 29, 236–251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2017.12.005
7.
BartunekJ. M.RynesS. L. (2010). The construction and contributions of “implications for practice": What's in them and what might they offer?Academy of Management Learning & Education, 9, 100–117. https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.2010.48661194
8.
BroucherH.SaefR. (2026). Boss up, but how? Legitimating versus collaborative claiming as pathways to gendered differences in leader identity strength. Journal of Management Scientific Reports, 4, https://doi.org/10.1177/27550311261432493.
DinhJ. E.LordR. G.GardnerW. L.MeuserJ. D.LidenR. C.HuJ. (2014). Leadership theory and research in the new millennium: Current theoretical trends and changing perspectives. The Leadership Quarterly, 25, 36–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2013.11.005
13.
EdwardsJ. R. (2010). Reconsidering theoretical progress in organizational and management research. Organizational Research Methods, 13, 615–619. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428110380468
14.
EdwardsJ. R.BerryJ. W. (2010). The presence of something or the absence of nothing: Increasing theoretical precision in management research. Organizational Research Methods, 13, 668–689. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428110380467
15.
EvaN.HowardJ. L.LidenR. C.MorinA. J. S.SchwarzG. (2025). An inconvenient truth: A comprehensive examination of the added value (or lack thereof) of leadership measures. Journal of Management Studies, 62, 3072–3117. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.13156
16.
FischerT.SitkinS. B. (2023). Leadership styles: A comprehensive assessment and way forward. Academy of Management Annals, 17, 331–372. https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2020.0340
17.
FordJ.HardingN.GilmoreS. (2023). Re/searching leadership: A critique in two agonies and nine fits. Human Relations, 76, 809–832. https://doi.org/10.1177/00187267221079167
18.
GardnerW. L.LoweK. B.MeuserJ. D.NoghaniF.GulliforD. P.CogliserC. C. (2020). The leadership trilogy: A review of the third decade of The Leadership Quarterly. The Leadership Quarterly, 31, Article 101379. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2019.101379
19.
GündemirS.CartonA. M.HomanA. C. (2019). The impact of organizational performance on the emergence of Asian American leaders. Journal of Applied Psychology, 104, 107–122. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000347
20.
GüntnerA. V.NieberleK. W. (2026). Determining the who and when of leading a following: A micro-temporal analysis of reciprocated claiming and granting patterns in dyads. Journal of Management Scientific Reports, 4. https://doi.org/10.1177/27550311261419848
KraimerM. L.MartinX.SchulzeW.SeibertS. E. (2023). What does it mean to test theory?Journal of Management Scientific Reports, 1, 8–17. https://doi.org/10.1177/27550311231153484
LeavittK.MitchellT. R.PetersonP. (2010). Theory pruning: Strategies to reduce our dense theoretical landscape. Organizational Research Methods, 13, 644–667. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428109345156
26.
LemoineG. J.HartnellC. A.LeroyH. (2019). Taking stock of moral approaches to leadership: An integrative review of ethical, authentic, and servant leadership. Academy of Management Annals, 13, 148–187. https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2016.0121
27.
LeroyH.RofcaninY.OgbonnayaC.BenischkeM. H.FainshmidtS. (2025). The devil is in the details: Zooming out in leadership research. Journal of Management Studies, 62, e1–e20. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.70013
28.
MaJ.PengA.SchaubroeckJ. S.LiY.ZengW. (2026). Look up and around: How leaders and peers jointly shape unethical behavior. Journal of Management Scientific Reports, 4(2), 161–184. https://doi.org/10.1177/27550311251391139
29.
McCauleyC. D.RudermanM. N.OhlottP. J.MorrowJ. E. (1994). Assessing the developmental components of managerial jobs. Journal of Applied Psychology, 79, 544–560. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.79.4.544
30.
National Academies of Sciences, Medicine, Policy, Global Affairs, Board on Research Data, Information, ... & Replicability in Science. (2019). Reproducibility and replicability in science. National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25303
31.
ObenauerW. G. (2026). Does organizational performance always impact the emergence of Asian American leaders? Using replication to examine how leadership prototypes impact perceptions of fit. Journal of Management Scientific Reports, 4(2), 185–204. https://doi.org/10.1177/27550311251396562
32.
PetskoC. D.RosetteA. S. (2023). Are leaders still presumed white by default? Racial bias in leader categorization revisited. Journal of Applied Psychology, 108, 330–340. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0001020
33.
SchleuJ. E.KlasmeierK. N.MazeiJ.GriepY.HuffmeierJ. (2026). From star player to star coach? The longitudinal validity of performance-based promotion in the NBA. Journal of Management Scientific Reports, 4.
34.
SeibertS. E.SargentL. D.KraimerM. L.KiazadK. (2017). Linking developmental experiences to leader effectiveness and promotability: The mediating role of leadership self-efficacy and mentor network. Personnel Psychology, 70, 357–397. https://doi.org/10.1111/peps.12145
35.
TrevinoL. K.NelsonK. A. (2021). Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do it right. John Wiley & Sons.
36.
van KnippenbergD.DwertmannD. J. G. (2022). Interacting elements of leadership: Key to integration but looking for integrative theory. Journal of Management, 48, 1695–1723. https://doi.org/10.1177/01492063211073069
37.
WulffJ. N.SajonsG. B.PogrebnaG.LonatiS.BastardozN.BanksG. C.AntonakisJ. (2023). Common methodological mistakes. The Leadership Quarterly, 34(1), 101677. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2023.101677
38.
YangB.JinF.TsaiC.-Y.LiuY.TarasV.DionneS. D. (2026). Personality and leader emergence in virtual teams: A temporal and interactive perspective. Journal of Management Scientific Reports, 4(2), 205–235. https://doi.org/10.1177/2755031125140493