| 英文摘要 |
Differential leadership posits that leaders form perceptions of subordinates as either insiders or outsiders based on their behavior and the impressions formed through interactions. These perceptions then guide the leader in making differentiated resource allocation decisions. However, the messages they receive can change whether a leader views subordinates as insiders or outsiders. Accordingly, subordinates can use interpersonal interaction strategies, such as impression management and verbal or non-verbal methods, to actively transmit specific messages to influence leaders’perceptions of themselves. This process triggers the cognitive structure of the“insider identity label.”Based on this, the study posits that leaders can make cognitive judgments about whether subordinates are insiders or outsiders by observing and gathering information. Likewise, subordinates can proactively send impression messages to influence the leaders’interpretative outcomes. The key to whether impression management successfully guides the emergence of an insider or outsider lies in how the leader interprets the subordinate’s impression management and whether the subordinate displays good impression management quality. Due to their heightened sensitivity to the words and actions of others, leaders with low self-esteem are more receptive to subordinates’impression management behaviors. They tend to amplify the perceived intrinsic value behind these behaviors, which influences their interpretation and judgment of subordinates as insiders or outsiders.
On the other hand, when subordinates attempt to influence leaders’identity perceptions, their ability to display behaviors that meet the leaders’expectations and needs will affect the likelihood of their identity messages being accepted. If subordinates possess good self-monitoring abilities, they can immediately adjust their emotions and behaviors according to the current social context, facilitating positive interactions with the leader. This adaptability makes them more persuasive in the process of influencing the leader’s identity perception, thereby increasing the likelihood that the leader will accept the identity messages conveyed through impression management (i.e., perceiving them as insiders). This study then explored the relationship between subordinates’impression management and dual dimensions of differential leadership, incorporating leaders’self-esteem and subordinates’self-monitoring as moderators.
The research design adopted multiple sources (i.e., supervisors, subordinates, and colleagues) to obtain 208 analytical units. Each analytical unit is derived from three different sources, resulting in a total of 624 respondents from whom questionnaire data was collected. The results were as follows: (1) The subordinate’s supervisor-focused impression management was positively related to the leader’s affect-based differential leadership, and the subordinate’s self-focused impression management was also positively, albeit marginally, related to the leader’s work-based differential leadership. This shows that subordinates’impression management behaviors can indeed influence leaders to exhibit different types of differential leadership. It supports the study’s assertion that subordinates can use impression management strategies to guide leaders’identity message processing. In terms of moderating effects. (2) The subordinate’s supervisor-focused impression management was more positively related to the leader’s affect-based differential leadership when the subordinate’s self-monitoring was relatively high. (3) In addition, the subordinate’s job-focused impression management was negatively related to the leader’s affect-based differential leadership when the leader’s self-esteem was low. This result implies that subordinates’job-focused impression management may lead to leaders feeling a sense of status threat, making them less willing to grant work-related favoritism.
This study introduces the perspective of subordinates’impression management, illustrating that not only do leaders form identity perceptions of subordinates based on their behavior and interactions, but subordinates can also actively send behavioral cues through impression management. By employing different impression management strategies, subordinates can guide leaders’cognitive judgments to obtain the desired insider identity label. Additionally, this study breaks away from previous research that predominantly emphasizes the unilateral role of leaders in categorizing employees within differential leadership. It is considered that subordinates also have an active role in processing leaders’identity messages. Through social triggers of impression management strategies, subordinates can proactively influence leaders’cognitive judgments regarding categorizing them as insiders or outsiders, thereby exerting social influence.
Furthermore, through the exploration of this study, it was found that impression management is a precursor to differential leadership, addressing the gap in past research that has predominantly focused on the consequences of differential leadership while rarely discussing its antecedents. Finally, this study found that the personal attributes of both leaders and subordinates can change the relationship between impression management and differential leadership. This indicates that the processing outcomes of identity messages for employees are not solely dominated by one party; rather, both sides exert a certain degree of influence. In other words, both leaders and subordinates play a dominant role in the processing of insider or outsider identity messages, while also being influenced by the traits possessed by both parties. |
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