The relationship between implicit person theory and transformational leadership
type: CreativeWork
description: Transformational leadership has been one of the most heavily researched theories of leadership of the past 25 years, largely because this style has been associated with a wide range of positive individual- and organizational-level outcomes. Despite the need for transformational leaders, the antecedents of transformational leadership behavior remain ambiguous. Numerous potential antecedents of transformational leadership have been identified in the past, but this research has focused on popularly addressed or commonly measured variables rather than characteristics with a strong theoretical link to transformational leadership. The current study expands on past research by examining a theoretically driven predictor of transformational leadership behavior. Specifically, the current study will examine whether a leader’s implicit person theory (IPT) will be a predictor of leadership behaviors. This theory was chosen as a potential antecedent because it centers on the concept of malleability or change, and as such shares a strong intuitive connection with transformational leadership (which itself places a heavy emphasis on change and growth). Results did not support our hypotheses, however, as regression analysis revealed that IPT failed to account for significant variation in leadership behavior after accounting for some of the most commonly examined predictors in the literature, (the Big Five personality traits). Limitations of the current study and opportunities for future research are discussed.
abstract: Transformational leadership has been one of the most heavily researched theories of leadership of the past 25 years, largely because this style has been associated with a wide range of positive individual- and organizational-level outcomes. Despite the need for transformational leaders, the antecedents of transformational leadership behavior remain ambiguous. Numerous potential antecedents of transformational leadership have been identified in the past, but this research has focused on popularly addressed or commonly measured variables rather than characteristics with a strong theoretical link to transformational leadership. The current study expands on past research by examining a theoretically driven predictor of transformational leadership behavior. Specifically, the current study will examine whether a leader’s implicit person theory (IPT) will be a predictor of leadership behaviors. This theory was chosen as a potential antecedent because it centers on the concept of malleability or change, and as such shares a strong intuitive connection with transformational leadership (which itself places a heavy emphasis on change and growth). Results did not support our hypotheses, however, as regression analysis revealed that IPT failed to account for significant variation in leadership behavior after accounting for some of the most commonly examined predictors in the literature, (the Big Five personality traits). Limitations of the current study and opportunities for future research are discussed.
author: Kale, Aron Justin
language: en_US
keywords: Transformational Leadership, Leadership, Implicit Person Theory
date published: 2013-12-10
date modified: 2026-07-24T02:41:19Z
provider: IUPUI
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: IUPUI

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: https://hdl.handle.net/1805/3746

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.7912/C2/1068