What Are You Talking About? Follower Construal Level and Cognitive Appraisals of Visionary Leadership

Over the decades, visionary leadership has been considered as the core of successful leadership. On this note, scholars have argued that visionary leadership is generally well-received by followers, overlooking the possibility that visionary leadership can be a demand for followers. Drawing on the transactional theory of stress, I challenge this view and propose a more balanced theoretical model that frames visionary leadership as a unique job demand, which invokes a cognitive appraisal process within followers. Further, I argue that this cognitive appraisal process is influenced by follower construal level. That is, followers high in construal level (i.e., an abstract mindset) are more likely to evaluate visionary leadership as a challenge, which, in turn, leads to enhanced proactivity and adaptivity by high construal followers. In contrast, those low in construal level (i.e., a concrete mindset) are more likely to appraise the same visionary leadership as a hindrance, which leads to subsequent withdrawal by these followers. I tested the hypothesized theoretical model across one correlational study using field data and two experimental studies. Results from Study 1 suggested visionary leadership positively related to leader-rated follower proactivity (via challenge appraisals of visionary leadership) and that these effects were stronger for high construal followers than low construal followers. Moreover, visionary leadership negatively related to follower-rated withdrawal (via hindrance appraisals of visionary leadership), and this negative relationship was stronger for high construal followers than low construal followers. These results were partially replicated in experimental studies. Specifically, Study 2 failed to replicate results from Study 1, whereas results from Study 3 indicated that when leaders communicated a vision, high construal followers appraised it more as a challenge than those low construal followers. However, there was not an interactive effect of leader vision communication and follower construal level on follower hindrance appraisals. The theoretical model developed and tested in this dissertation contributes to the literature on visionary leadership, the transactional theory of stress, and research on construal level by highlighting the dual mechanisms through which visionary leadership leads to follower proactivity, adaptivity, and withdrawal, and a critical boundary condition.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Management

Grantor

Texas A&M University

Year dc:date.issued

2021

Author dc:creator

• Yim, Junhyok

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Courtright, Stephen H.
• Klotz, Anthony C.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Barrick, Murray R.
• Schleicher, Deidra J.
• Payne, Stephanie C.

• Visionary leadership
• cognitive appraisals
• construal level
• proactivity
• adaptivity
• withdrawal

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/195064

OAI record oai:identifier

https://oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/server/oai/request?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=dim&identifier=oai%3Aoaktrust.library.tamu.edu%3A1969.1%2F195064