| The purpose of the current dissertation was to examine various differences between close and distant charismatic and contingent reward leadership. Those differences were defined and investigated in terms of distinctive leader-influence mechanisms and followers' leadership perceptions and multiple levels-of-analysis effects for close and distant leader-follower relationships.;First, by integrating the literature on dual-mode information processing with the literature on charismatic and contingent reward leadership, a conceptual model of close and distant charismatic and contingent reward leadership was developed. There were two key points of the conceptualization: (a) two different attitude consequences in terms of strength emerge (i.e., strong attitude toward close leaders and weak attitude toward distant leaders); and (b) attitude strength moderates the attitude-mediating relationship between leadership and follower outcomes. Building on the conceptual model of close and distant charismatic and contingent reward leadership, four research models across three levels of management were developed for empirical investigation: (a) close charismatic and contingent reward leadership at upper levels; (b) close charismatic and contingent reward leadership at lower levels; (c) bypass-distant charismatic and contingent reward leadership; and (d) cascading-distant charismatic and contingent reward leadership.;Second, close and distant leadership situations involving multiple layers of management inherently raise the issue of multiple levels of analysis. The dynamics in the substantive relationships among variables for close and distant leadership were tested rigorously by incorporating a multiple levels-of-analysis technique---Multivariate Within- And Between-entities Analysis (MWABA). To test the hypothesized relationships in conjunction with multiple levels of analysis and management, a matched-report data set was obtained from 27 department heads, 77 managers, and 218 staff members from 13 large Korean companies in various industries.;Results of this empirical investigation yielded several conclusions. First, followers' commitment to the leader fully, or at least partially, mediated the relationships between charismatic and contingent reward leadership and followers' outcomes in close leadership situations at upper (department head-manager) and lower (manager-staff member) levels of management. Second, compared to close situations, distant followers' commitment to the leader did not mediate, or at best partially mediated, the relationships between leadership and followers' outcomes (bypass-distant model: department head-staff member). Third, the department head's charismatic and contingent reward leadership was significantly related to the corresponding leadership of managers (cascading-distant model: department head-managers). Fourth, interaction effects of the department head and manager leadership were not supported, confirming the bypass and cascading model of distant leadership. Fifth, from single- and multiple-rating sources, various multiple-level effects in charismatic and contingent reward leadership phenomena were found, differing by levels of management and for different outcomes. Sixth, there were significant cross-level effects found for close leadership situations. Theoretical, methodological, and practical implications as well as limitations of this study are discussed. |
