Business Commons^™

A Phenomenological Study Of Leadership Outcomes In Short-Term Study Abroad, Jeanette Milius

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

The impact of global citizenship is far-reaching and encompasses skills and outcomes beyond simple economic and business success. Enhancing all students’ knowledge and ability to navigate a global community is not just of interest to governmental units, policymakers, and global organizations, but also to universities who wish to adhere to accreditation standards. The purpose of this phenomenological study is to identify characteristics related to an individuals’ motivation to complete a short-term study abroad (one to three weeks in duration) and the impact that experience had on their personal and leadership growth. Eighteen self-identified leaders enrolled in a college degree or …

Psycap And The Impact On The Development Of Intercultural Sensitivity Of Healthcare Educators: A Mixed Methods Study, Helen A. S. Fagan

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

This purpose of this explanatory sequential mixed methods study was to examine the intercultural sensitivity development process of faculty and staff at a health sciences college in the Midwest. In the quantitative phase, this study investigated changes in intercultural sensitivity over a three year period, along with the relationship between developmental level of intercultural sensitivity (as measured by Intercultural Development Inventory [IDI] [Hammer, Bennett, & Wiseman, 2003]) of participants and Psychological Capital (PsyCap, a multidimensional construct consisting of hope, efficacy, resiliency, and optimism [Luthans, Youssef, & Avolio, 2007]). In the qualitative phase (Case Study) data collection and analysis further explored …

Authentic, Transformational Leadership: A Phenomenological Study Of The Experiences Of Black/White Biracial Leaders, Carmen R. Zafft

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

This phenomenological study described the racial identity and leadership experiences of eight community, education, and business Black/White biracial leaders. Four central themes emerged relating to the participants’ racial identity choices: (a) family discourse, (b) social networks, (c) appearance, and (d) identity work. Three central themes emerged relating to the participants’ leadership experiences: (a) cultural agility: “Blessed to be flexible”, (b) perceived representation: “I look like them”, and (c) transformational leadership: “I lead so others can grow.” Because the participants were conscious of their identity development experience, all demonstrated a strong sense of self which influenced how they experienced leadership. As …

Authentic Leadership, Leader-Member Exchange, And Organizational Citizenship Behavior: A Multilevel Analysis, Heather M. Stewart Wherry

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

This field study examined the relationship between leaders’ authentic leadership (as rated by leader and follower) and five constructs of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) (altruism, civic virtue, conscientiousness, courtesy, and sportsmanship) as moderated by leader-member exchange.

Data were collected from 32 leader participants and 243 raters from seven for-profit organizations in the Midwest. A multilevel data analysis was conducted using Hierarchical Linear Modeling. Three of the five OCB constructs (conscientiousness, courtesy, and civic virtue) were analyzed as multi-level. Altruism and sportsmanship were analyzed using regression.

First, the direct effect of the leader’s level of authentic leadership was tested on each …

The Leadership Of Sustainable Cities: A Multiple-Case Study Of Two Oregon Cities, Kenneth L. Weaver

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

In order for cities to become more sustainable it is necessary for the leaders of the efforts to change the organizations and governments so that they understand and embrace what it means to be more sustainable. This study examined the change processes of two Oregon Cities, Corvallis and Eugene, that had made the choice to become more sustainable as a community. The approaches that the participant leaders used demonstrated the use of different ways of thinking about the leadership of change. The ways of thinking of the community leaders were formed by their unique personal backgrounds, knowledge, skills, and abilities. …

Sustainability Leader Competencies: A Grounded Theory Study, Pamela G. Schwalb

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

The purpose of this critical qualitative study was to develop a theory of the competencies of a sustainability leader, grounded in research. A sustainability leader is generally described as an individual who creates profit for his/her stakeholders, while protecting the environment and improving the lives of those for whom he/she impacts as a result of his/her leadership. Nearly 60 individuals familiar with sustainability were asked to characterize an effective leader of a sustainability initiative or a sustainability organization.

The study revealed there is more than one way to be a sustainability leader—different paths can result in decisions and actions that …

A Phenomenological Study Of Millennial Generation Cooperative Extension Educators' Development Of Core Competencies, David L. Varner

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to describe the experiences that contribute to the development of core competencies among Millennial Generation, county-based Extension educators in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension Division. Fourteen educators were randomly purposefully selected to participate in the study. Participants were born in 1977 or later as determined by Tapscott (2009). Educators’ tenure in Cooperative Extension ranged from two months to seven years. Three themes and associated sub-themes emerged from semi-structured interviews: (a) Blindfolded and Scared—educators were confused, overwhelmed and in need of support; (b) Developing the Big Skills: A Daunting Task—focused on discovering competencies …

Psychological Net Worth: Finding The Balance Between Psychological Capital And Psychological Debt, Michele L. Millard

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

This multi-level study examined a proposed framework of psychological net worth that builds on the current psychological capital conceptualization of positive psychological assets provided to an organization by articulating the construct of psychological debt or those psychological liabilities in an organization. By describing psychological debt as a collection of negative attributes that occur at the individual level for individuals that hamper productivity, morale, and effectiveness in organizations, this framework of psychological net worth proposes the need to create a psychological balance sheet of psychological capital and debt. Psychological debt is described using the dimension of emotional labor, job insecurity, job …

A Multilevel Examination Of Proactive Work Behaviors: Contextual And Individual Differences As Antecedents, Travis P. Searle

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

In this study, the process through which individual differences (i.e., proactive personality, psychological empowerment, and servant leader characteristics at level-1) and contextual differences (i.e., servant leadership characteristics at level-2) are antecedents to proactive work behaviors (i.e., problem prevention, individual innovation, voice, and taking charge) was tested. Results indicated that psychological empowerment partially mediated the relationship between proactive personality and individual innovation. Psychological empowerment fully mediated the relationship between proactive personality and taking charge. Proactive personality was indirectly related to problem prevention, via psychological empowerment. Psychological empowerment was directly related to voice. In addition, servant leader characteristics at level-1 were positively …

Greenleaf's 'Best Test' Of Servant Leadership: A Multilevel Analysis, Robert W. Hayden

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

This study empirically tests Robert Greenleaf’s (1970) seminal articulation of servant leadership. The four personal outcomes he theorized (health, wisdom, freedom-autonomy, and service orientation) were tested against established dimensions of servant leadership. All correlations were significant and positive. Using multilevel analysis, the predictive strength of these servant leadership dimensions were assessed at two levels within an organization, and explained. Implications and future direction of research were discussed.

Antecedents Of Servant Leadership: A Mixed Methods Study, Curtis D. Beck

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore the antecedents of servant leadership. The sequential explanatory research design consisted of two distinct phases: quantitative followed by qualitative.

The Phase One quantitative survey collected data from 499 leaders and 630 raters from community leadership programs in the United States using the Servant Leadership Questionnaire (Barbuto & Wheeler, 2006).

During Phase Two, selected leaders from phase one (N = 12) were interviewed to explain those results in more depth. The data were coded and analyzed for possible themes. Triangulation was used to analyze the quantitative and qualitative data to validate …

Determining The Relationship And Influence Organizational Culture Has On Organizational Trust, Mindy S. Genetzky-Haugen

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

The present research examines the influence of organizational culture on organizational trust. Leaders in the present and future will try to create a culture of trust, but leaders who do not examine and understand their current culture will not be successful in changing their organizational culture. The study shows constructive behavioral norms are both predictors and influencers of trust. The results suggest that companies that want to create a culture of trust need to instill into their culture achievement, self-actualizing, humanistic-encouraging and affiliative behavioral norms. Leadership needs to make sure avoidance behaviors are reduced in order to create and instill …

Testing The Impact Of Global Mindset On Positive Organizational Outcomes: A Multi-Level Analysis, Joana S. Story

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

This multi-level study examined the relationship between leaders’ global mindset with followers’ rating of trust in leader, quality of the leader-member relationship (LMX), and organizational commitment. Complexity of global role and leader distance were also examined as moderating variables. Data were collected from 78 leader participants and 240 raters from one Fortune 100 multinational organization. A multilevel data analysis was conducted using Hierarchical Linear Modeling. No significant relationships were found between global mindset and ratings of follower trust in leader and quality of the leader-member-relationship. A significant negative relationship was found between global mindset of leaders and follower organizational commitment. …

Healers And Helpers, Unifying The People: A Qualitative Study Of Lakota Leadership., Kem M. Gambrell

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

The purpose of this critical grounded theory qualitative study was to explore Lakota Leadership from a Native perspective. Interviews were conducted with enrolled members of a Lakota tribe in an urban setting as well as on the Rosebud reservation to gain better awareness of leadership through a non-mainstream viewpoint. Previously, in order to understand leaders and followers, research limited its scope of discernment to dominant society, implying that non-mainstream individuals will acquiesce, or that differences found are inconsequential. Leadership scholars also have implied that leadership theory is “universal enough”, and can be applied globally regardless of influences such as race, …

How Effective Leaders Learn From Life: A Grounded Theory Study Of The Impact Of Significant Life Experiences Upon Leadership Development, Ryan P. Meers

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

Fifteen effective leaders from diverse organizational backgrounds described their significant life experiences and the impact upon their development as leaders. Using grounded theory methodology, a theoretical model emerged for assisting leaders absorb greater learning from their various life experiences. Related to the central phenomenon of how effective leaders learn from significant life experiences, four causal conditions of types of experiences were identified as influencing how leaders learn: (1) experiences of adversity or loss; (2) experiences of “stretch assignments”; (3) inspirational experiences; and (4) experiences with conflict. Strategies used by the leaders to absorb learning from their significant experiences were active …