Integrity in leadership is regarded as an important quality by the academic literature, by the practitioner and by the popular press alike. Given its lauded position this research argues that integrity is not just desirable in a manager, it is also an image desired by the manager and that it is a part the manager¡¦s professional image construction. This research uses a mixed methods approach to investigate integrity as an image goal and examines dispositional and situational factors on the manager¡¦s side of the relationship that effect the presentation of this image goal. Analysis of semi-structured interviews established that managers are aware of the importance of integrity and that it is seen both as a desirable image and in need of maintenance. Survey results found no main effects between behavioral integrity and the dispositional variable, self-monitoring. Investigating contingent factors this study showed that the relationship was moderated by job demands such that in situations of high job demands high self-monitors were perceived to be lower in behavioral integrity. Other contingent factors, multiple audiences and ethical guidelines, did not significantly moderate the relationship. The situational variable, distance, was shown to significantly affect the perception of the manager¡¦s integrity, where a reduction in distance led to an increase in behavioral integrity perceived by the subordinate. These results are discussed in combination with themes identified from the manager interviews and contribute to the understanding of the role of integrity for the manager and an understanding of how integrity is part of his professional image construct. The study indicated that while a manager may desire to present an image of integrity dispositional and situational factors might affect the success of this self-presentational goal. Implications and future research directions are presented.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:NSYSU/oai:NSYSU:etd-1219111-204056 |
| Date | 19 December 2011 |
| Creators | Gosling, Mark |
| Contributors | Professor Chi, None, Professor Huang, Professor Lee, Professor Jaw |
| Publisher | NSYSU |
| Source Sets | NSYSU Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Archive |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.lib.nsysu.edu.tw/ETD-db/ETD-search/view_etd?URN=etd-1219111-204056 |
| Rights | unrestricted, Copyright information available at source archive |
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