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The concept of power in organizations has been studied at both the macro level (analyses of structural systems or policies) and at the micro level (individual perceptions). In this study, we examine employee perceptions of their leader's use of power at the individual/psychological level. Applying social cognitive theory, employee perceptions of their leader's use of various forms of power were explored in relationship to employees’ negative or positive affect and corresponding work intentions. Structural equation modeling was used to examine data from 651 employees. Positive and negative affect mediated employees’ perceptions of their managers’ use of various power bases and five work intentions: intentions to perform, to endorse the organization and its leadership, to stay in the organization, to use discretionary effort, and to be an organizational citizen. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Working from the Employee Work Passion Appraisal (EWPA) model, this article examines the relationship between employee dispositional cynicism, job-specific affect (i.e. positive and negative) and work intentions including intent to use discretionary effort, intent to perform, intent to endorse, intent to stay and intent to be an organisational citizen. An online survey generated participation from 747 current and potential clients of an international consulting company. To evaluate the fit of the data in accordance with the EWPA framework, structural equation modeling was conducted to test the overall fit of the proposed model and to examine the hypothesised relationships between constructs. Analyses confirmed correlations between dispositional cynicism and job-specific affect, supported notable relationships between positive job-specific affect and all work intentions, provided evidence for job-specific affect's mediation of cynicism and work intentions and uncovered a direct negative relationship between cynicism and intent to use organisational citizenship behaviour. Results suggest that state-specific workplace emotions are important for understanding the degree to which employee dispositional cynicism will ultimately influence most performance-related work intentions. However, independent of affect, employee cynicism may directly result in somewhat lower intentions to help others at work. Study limitations and practical implications for employee selection and training are considered.

Purpose This study aims to test the following three assertions underlying the Situational Leadership® II (SLII) Model: all four leadership styles are received by followers; all four leadership styles are needed by followers; and if there is a fit between the leadership style a follower receives and needs, that follower will demonstrate favorable scores on outcome variables. Design/methodology/approach For the first and second assertions, a proportional breakdown of the four leadership styles observed within a sample of working professionals is presented and discussed. Regarding the third assertion, for ten outcome variables, multiple one-way analyses of variance tested mean differences between followers who experienced leadership style fit (i.e. a fit between received and needed style) and followers who did not experience fit (n = 573). Subscale scores from the Leader Action Profile, the Work Intention Inventory, the Positive and Negative Affect Scale and an adapted form of the Affective/Cognitive trust scale (McAllister, 1995) were used as study measures. Findings Three of the four leadership styles of the SLII framework were reported as frequently received. All four of the leadership styles were reported as needed. This study also found that follower-reported fit between one’s needed and received leadership style at work resulted in more favorable scores on nine of the ten employee outcomes, as compared to follower-reported misfit. Practical implications As human resource development practitioners seek to educate and train their leaders on how to be more effective with their direct reports, this research provides evidence that all four styles are needed and received, although there were lower instances of reporting the S1 style to be needed or received. Also, the findings demonstrated that when followers view a fit exists between the leadership behaviors they need and the leadership behaviors they receive, greater positive job affect, lower negative job affect, increased cognitive and affective trust in the leader and higher levels of favorable employee work intentions were evident. Originality/value This paper builds on the resurgence of studies examining initiating structure and consideration as leader behaviors. This is one of very few recent studies that, by combining initiating structure and consideration, reinvestigates the four leadership styles established by past contingency theories. Specifically, the authors used the SLII framework as a foundation for analysis. Overall, the study supports three of the major assumptions of the SLII framework.

The Problem. Reinforcement theory has inspired many types of human resource development (HRD) initiatives. Despite their widespread use, reinforcement-focused programs, designed to control the outcome of behavior through external rewards, have proven expensive and cumbersome to manage and have an alarmingly low rate of return on investment. There is a critical need to better understand motivation in work environments as well as to explore more efficacious forms of motivation, both intrinsic and extrinsic simultaneously. The Solution. Self-determination theory (SDT) is concerned with forward influence, independent choice, and the degree to which behavior is internalized as self-determined. Sources of employee motivation are influenced by employee perceptions of the work environment as well as behavioral outcomes. The most optimal forms of motivation are believed to originate from internal regulation of basic psychological needs rather than external forms of motivation such as those central to reinforcement-focused theory and practice.