Date of Award
Spring 6-10-2016
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
Suzanne Bell
Second Advisor
Alice Stuhlmacher
Third Advisor
Douglas Cellar
Abstract
Despite the growing body of research on shared leadership, relatively little is known about the antecedents of shared leadership. The following study examined the effects of team prosocial motivation on team emergent states (i.e., team empowerment, psychological safety) and shared leadership. Drawing on motivational theories (e.g., self-determination theory), it was hypothesized that team empowerment and psychological safety would mediate the relationship between team prosocial motivation and shared leadership. Also, in line with the social identity and self-categorization perspectives, it was hypothesized that team surface-level diversity (racial diversity, gender diversity, faultline strength) would moderate the effects of team prosocial motivation on emergent states and shared leadership, such that the relationships between team prosocial motivation and emergent states and shared leadership would be weaker when surface-level diversity was high as opposed to low. Undergraduate and MBA students participated in two leaderless team discussion exercises (customer service, executive selection) within the context of an assessment center. Students were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 study conditions (low vs. high team prosocial motivation) and completed the exercises in five-person teams (107 teams total). Results from mediation and moderated mediation regression analyses did not provide support for the aforementioned hypotheses. Results from exploratory analyses indicated that team trait prosocial motivation, team impression management motives, and team intrinsic motivation predicted shared leadership. Further, results from exploratory analyses revealed a significant interaction effect of team racial diversity and team trait prosocial motivation on shared leadership and a marginally significant interaction effect of team gender diversity and team trait prosocial motivation on shared leadership. Implications for science and practice are discussed.
Recommended Citation
Mitchell, Tyree David, "The Influence of Team Prosocial Motivation on Emergent States and Shared Leadership" (2016). College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations. 167.
https://via.library.depaul.edu/csh_etd/167
SLP Collection
no