BackgroundMilitary morale is defined as the enthusiasm and persistence with which a member of the group engages in the pre-scribed activities of that group and is considered to be closely related to performance. The current study uses the conceptualization of military morale through the elements of work engagement and burnout. Nevertheless, our per-sonality traits, and how we interpret or react to our environment, including group atmosphere, may also be related to perception of morale alongside positive and negative affectivity. The article investigates the relations between per-ceptions of morale, personality traits (the Big Five) and positive or negative affectivity in a military context.Participants and procedureA sample of Estonian military conscripts (N = 354) from the soldiers’ basic military training course responded to the questionnaire. Three measures were used for data collection: a short personality questionnaire (40 items) for Big Five personality traits; the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS; 20 items) for state affectivity (both positive and negative); and a 16-item instrument for military morale (8 items for both work engagement and burnout). Struc-tural equation modelling was used to evaluate relationships between study variables.ResultsThe results indicated that openness to experience and agreeableness did not have a significant effect on military morale (as work engagement and burnout) either directly or indirectly (through affectivity). However, conscien-tiousness was found to have a significant effect on military morale and extraversion indirectly through positive affec-tivity. Positive and negative affectivity as the mediators strengthened the relations between personality traits and military morale.ConclusionsThe results emphasize the reinforcing power of positive emotions to enhance high morale.

Purpose-The study is a contribution to the validation of the 15 items and 5 subscales Transformational Leadership Scale (TLS) proposed by Rafferty and Griffin (2004). Design/methodology/approach-The sample includes participants from different levels of the Estonian Defence Forces (EDF) military hierarchy (N=2570). The structure of the TLS was examined by using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Additionally ANOVA was used to compare the results between different subsamples. Findings-TLS showed satisfactory reliability. Confirmatory factor analyses found TLS as valid five dimensions instrument to measure transformational leadership in the Estonian military context. Different management levels showed different emphases among the dimensions of transformational leadership. Research and practical limitations/implications-TLS will be an important tool to use in transformational leadership research in the Estonian military context and beyond. Additionally, the current research contributes to the development of alternative measurement tools besides the most commonly used MLQ. The limitation of the work will be the rather homogenous sample from the Estonian military, however it will open the door for the subsequent research using different samplings. Originality/value-The current research found TLS to be a reliable and valid instrument, very short and therefore easy to administrate, having the possibility to use it with five dimensional and as one general transformational instrument as well.

Military morale is a concept widely used to describe the motivational element of soldiers’ will to fight or “the energy that drives soldiers to perform qualitatively better in stressful conditions, characterised by enthusiasm and persistence when engaging in collective, i.e. unit-level activities”. This longitudinal study explored the interlink-ages between perceptions of military morale, the Big Five personality traits and select socio-demographic characteristics among the conscripts of the Estonian Defence Forces and predicting directly measurable individual and collective types of military morale. Moreover, the fluctuation of military morale over the training cycle of conscript service (11 months) was tracked. The findings indicate that at the start of military service, individual morale has a low or medium statistically significant correlation with conscripts’ personality traits, with Conscientiousness and Neuroticism demonstrating the strongest relations; however, the correlation with Neuroticism was negative. Additionally, when viewed throughout the course of the entire training cycle, the morale demonstrated a U-shaped progression, i.e. high at the beginning, dropping in the middle and rising back up at the end of military service. At the same time, socio-demographic variables demonstrated little or non-significant role in predicting individual or collective morale. The results indicate that morale fluctuates over time and is affected by personal characteristics. For practitioners, these results could help to reinforce the positive impact of morale on collective and individual performances.

Purpose: This study is a contribution to the validation of the Motivation to Lead (MTL) scale proposed by Chan and Drasgow (2001) in order to measure three types of motivation to be a leader: affective, social-normative and calculative. This research examines the psychometrical properties of the MTL scale in the Estonian context. Methodology:The sample of 517 military and non-military individuals from the Estonian Defence Forces, Estonian Police and students from Tallinn University participated in the study. The original MTL scale was expanded by with the addition of ideological and patriotic dimensions proposed by Amit and colleagues (2007). The factorial structure of the MTL Scale was analysed by using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (respectively N = 170 and N = 347). Findings:The results confirmed that both three-and five-component MTL scales are applicable in the Estonian context; the pool of 35 items was reduced into 25 items with good internal reliability. Moreover, the results showed correlations between leadership self-efficacy and MTL components, and differences between leaders' and non-leaders' MTL. The results indicate that the MTL scale can be a reliable and useful instrument to measure leadership motivation in the Estonian military context. Originality:This study is the first to adapt the MTL scale to the Estonian context. In addition, it examines the validity of ideological and patriotic MTL as part of the general MTL construct outside of the Israeli samples.