PurposeAlthough the measurement of self‐leadership (RSLQ) has been developed and validated with samples from the USA with promising reliability and construct validity, its generalizability to the Chinese context is problematic. The purpose of this study is to modify the existing self‐leadership scale (RSLQ) in order to make the application of self‐leadership theory and measurement more relevant to the Chinese culture. This modification includes: enhancing the generalization of self‐leadership measurement to the Chinese context by refining the items of four existing dimensions (self‐observation, evaluations of beliefs and assumptions, natural rewards, and self‐punishment) found to have low‐reliabilities in one previous validation study; and extending the breadth of some self‐leadership components based on the cross‐cultural theory about self‐concept differences between individualism and collectivism. Three self‐leadership subscales are newly developed through extending three self‐leadership components (natural rewards, self‐observation, and evaluating beliefs and assumptions) with the incorporation of social/relation‐based features associated with collectivism.Design/methodology/approachThe modified RSLQ was administered to 569 Chinese students. The reliability and construct validity of this modified self‐leadership scale was explored using exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Test of association with self‐efficacy was also examined.FindingsResults from the EFA demonstrated good reliability and stable factor structure for the modified scale and CFA demonstrated acceptable model fit for 11 factors of the modified self‐leadership scale. Most notably, the refinement of four existing dimensions (self‐observation, evaluations of beliefs and assumptions, natural rewards, and self‐punishment), which had failed to reach acceptable levels of reliability in Neubert and Wu's Chinese sample, showed increases above the commonly recommended level of 0.7. Two new extended dimensions, relation‐based natural rewards and social‐oriented evaluation of beliefs and assumptions, consistently emerged in two independent student samples. More interestingly, the items of another extended dimensions, relation‐based self‐observation consistently merged with the task‐based self‐observation (the original subscale) to form one factor, suggesting that, in Chinese culture, task‐based self‐observation cannot be separated from relation‐based self‐observation. The modified RSLQ was also positively and strongly associated with self‐efficacy.Research limitations/implicationsFurther validation work is required to examine whether the refined RSLQ could be generalized to another collectivistic country such as Korea or Japan.Practical implicationsManagers will benefit from understanding how culture shapes an individual's use of self‐leadership strategies.Originality/valueThe study makes a significant contribution to the universal application and generalizability of self‐leadership measurement to the Chinese population. The validation ...

To investigate whether the theory of self-leadership could be applicable in a non-Western context, this study examined the relationship between self-leadership behaviors with supervisor performance rating, objective work performance, and job satisfaction in nine Chinese organizations. In addition, we examined whether job autonomy would influence the relationship between self-leadership behaviors and these work outcomes. We used a sample of 407 supervisor–subordinate dyads from a wide variety of organizations located in the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong. Results showed a positive relationship between subordinates’ self-leadership behaviors to supervisor performance rating, and to job satisfaction, even when controlling for the personality trait of conscientiousness. However, self-leadership was not significantly related to objective job performance. In addition, job autonomy moderated the relationships between self-leadership behaviors and work outcomes of performance rating, objective work performance, and job satisfaction. These findings suggested that the associations between self-leadership and work outcomes found in Western-based studies could be extended to the Chinese organizational settings included in this study.

In response to calls regarding the applicability of self‐leadership measurement in Eastern (collectivistic) and Western (individualistic) cultures, this study examined the psychometric properties and measurement invariance of the modified self‐leadership questionnaire (MSLQ). The sample consisted of 395 Chinese students and 241 Australian students. Results revealed that the modified self‐leadership questionnaire exhibited a satisfactory condition of psychometric properties across cultures. A series of multi‐sample confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated the cross‐cultural similarity of an 11‐factor model across the Chinese and Australian samples. The modified self‐leadership questionnaire was also found to possess measurement invariance, suggesting that it is appropriate for cross‐cultural research assessing differences of self‐leadership behaviour across Chinese and Western cultures. Implications for future research are also discussed.

The purpose of this study was to examine how culture influences the use of self-leadership strategies among Hong Kong and Australian students. Results revealed that significant cultural differences were found for some dimensions of self-leadership strategies. Chinese students reported greater use of self-reward, relation-based natural reward, individual-oriented and social-oriented evaluation of beliefs and assumption, whereas Australian students reported greater use of self-goal setting, and self-cueing. However, no cultural differences were found for the use of self-punishment, positive self-talk, visualizing successful performance as well as task-based natural rewards. Implications and future research are also discussed.

Past research on transformational leadership in organizations has neglected the organizational context in which such leadership is embedded, and the significance of the disposition of followers. The purpose of the present study was to enrich and refine transformational leadership theory by linking it to organizational context and the self-esteem of followers. It was expected that organizational characteristics and subordinatesʼ self-esteem could moderate the effects of transformational leadership behavior on job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and organizational citizenship behavior. Results revealed that only organizational-based self-esteem (OBSE) significantly moderated the impact of transformational leadership behavior on organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Within-and-between-analysis procedures (WABA) were used to determine the appropriate level of data analysis. Research finding suggests that managers should provide individualized performance feedback for high OBSE subordinates and spend more time coaching those subordinates with low OBSE on a one-to-one basis.