Abstract
Complementing theory and evidence for the positive effects of paradoxical leadership, we argue that paradoxical leadership can also result in tensions from the awareness it raises of conflicting paradoxical demands and the expectation that subordinates strive to maximize on these demands even when they are conflicting. Such tensions may result in counterproductive behavior. This gives rise to the question of how these negative effects of paradoxical leadership may be attenuated. Addressing this issue, we argue that higher consistency of paradoxical leadership reduces uncertainty and thus attenuates experienced tensions and counterproductive behavior following from these tensions, and more so for male subordinates who, on average, have less experience dealing with work-related conflicting demands than female subordinates. We found support for this moderated mediation model in a repeated-measures survey (N = 107 individuals; N = 1027 weekly observations). We discuss implications of our findings for theory and practice.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 345-360 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Journal | Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies |
| Volume | 32 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Early online date | 7 May 2025 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Nov 2025 |
Keywords
- counterproductive behavior
- gender
- paradoxical leadership
- tensions
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Business and International Management
- Sociology and Political Science
- Strategy and Management
- Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management
- Management Science and Operations Research
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