主管的權威取向及其對部屬順從與畏懼的知覺對威權領導的預測效果

Exploring the Antecedents of Authoritarianism Leadership in Chinese Enterprises: The Predictive Effects of Supervisors’ Obedience-to-Authority Orientation and their Perception of their Subordinates’ Compliance and Fear

威權領導是華人企業主管特有的領導方式，它包含了專權作風、貶抑部屬能力、形象整飾及教誨行為等作風。過去有關威權領導的研究，多著重在探討威權領導所造成的後果，特別是部屬的反應與態度，但對於威權領導的前置因素，則少有探討。此外，家長式領導理論中提到主管威權領導會導致部屬的順從反應與畏懼反應；但是相反的，主管對部屬順從表現與畏懼表現的知覺，是否會強化或削減其威權領導作風，不得而知。有鑑於此，本研究旨在探討華人企業主管自身的遵從權威取向、及其對部屬順從表現與畏懼表現的知覺，是否與主管的威權領導行為有顯著的關聯性；此外，本研究亦試圖瞭解主管遵從權威取向的高低，是否可以調節主管對部屬知覺與威權領導之間的關係。本研究透過問卷調查法對台灣企業進行研究，共蒐集到510份主管－－部屬對偶資料。結果顯示，主管之遵從權威取向與威權領導行為的展現具有顯著正向關聯性。此外，主管對部屬順從表現與畏懼表現的知覺，確實可以顯著地預測其威權領導行為。當主管知覺到部屬展現出愈多順從表現時，會做出較少的威權領導行為，兩者具有負向關係。但是，當主管知覺到部屬展現愈多畏懼表現時，則會做出更多的威權領導行為，兩者具有正向關係。再者，主管遵從權威取向對於主管對部屬順從表現之知覺與威權領導的關係，並無顯著的調節效果；但是，主管遵從權威取向可以顯著調節主管對部屬畏懼表現之知覺與威權領導的關係。當主管遵從權威取向高時，不論其對部屬畏懼表現之知覺是高是低，主管都會展現出較多的威權領導行為；換言之，當主管遵從權威取向高時，主管對部屬畏懼表現之知覺與威權領導的關係較弱。當主管遵從權威取向低時，主管對部屬畏懼表現之知覺與威權領導的關係則較強。最後，研究結果之意涵、限制、未來研究方向及實務應用，將在最後提出討論。

Authoritarianism leadership is a style unique to Chinese supervisors. It consists of authority and control, underestimation of subordinate competence, image building, and didactic behavior. Past studies related to authoritarianism leadership have focused mostly on its consequences, with specific attention to the reactions and attitudes of subordinates. The antecedents of authoritarianism leadership have been seldom discussed. Further, although paternalistic leadership theories suggest that subordinates' compliant and fearful reactions are the result of authoritarianism leadership, whether a supervisor's perception of these reactions intensifies or reduces the authoritarianism behavior remains unknown. This study focuses on whether supervisors' obedience-to-authority orientation and perception of subordinates' compliance and fear predicts the level of their authoritarianism behavior. We also investigated whether supervisors' obedienceto- authority orientation moderates the relationship between supervisors' perception of subordinates' reactions and authoritarianism leadership. We administered surveys to employees in Taiwan and collected 510 Taiwanese manager-subordinate paired surveys. Supervisors' obedience-to-authority orientation and perception of subordinates' compliance and fear were found to significantly predict supervisors' authoritarianism leadership behavior. When supervisors had stronger obedience-to-authority orientation, they displayed more authoritarianism behaviors. When supervisors perceived more compliance from subordinates, they reacted with fewer authoritarianism behaviors. However, when supervisors perceived more fear, they reacted with more authoritarianism behaviors. Supervisors' obedience-to-authority orientation was not found to moderate the relationship between supervisors' perceptions of subordinates' compliance and authoritarianism leadership. It did significantly moderate the relationship between supervisors' perception of subordinates' fear and authoritarianism leadership. When supervisors' obedienceto- authority orientation was high, supervisors exhibited more authoritarianism behavior, despite the level of fear they perceive from their subordinates. In other words, for supervisors with a higher obedience-to-authority orientation, the relationship between their perception of subordinates' fear and their authoritarianism leadership was less strong. Supervisors with a lower obedienceto- authority orientation displayed a stronger relationship between their perception of subordinates' fear and their authoritarianism leadership. The implications, limitations, and direction for future research are discussed at the end of the paper.