Leadership by deans at German universities: An analysis using the full range of leadership

As the autonomy of Universities in Germany has increased, the importance of leadership has increased as well. University members in leading positions face the challenge of steering professors in compliance with overall goals of the University through suitable leadership behavior. Since rectors are unable to fulfill leadership requirements alone, the role of deans as leaders in middle-management positions has been increasing. To date, research has been unable to reliably identify which leadership behavior is effective in leading professors. In order to fill this gap, this study aimed to analyze the effectiveness of transformational, transactional and laissez-faire leadership using a sample of N = 211 professors from German Universities. The results show strong negative effects from laissez-faire leadership, while transactional and, in particular, transformational leadership show positive effects. The results are discussed here in terms of their practical relevance for universities.

30.09.2016 | Ewald Scherm & Benedict Jackenkroll (Hagen)