Team Level Antecedents and Consequences of Authentic Leadership: Moderator Mediation Model

Abstract

This study employs a moderated mediation model to investigate the effects of leaders' moral courage and the cynicism climate on followers' perceptions of authentic leadership. It further examines how followers' perceptions shape team-level behaviors, specifically group organizational citizenship behaviors and group counterproductive work behaviors. Grounded in attribution theory, the hypothesized model is tested using 604 self-reported responses from academic staff across 146 departments at a public university. The findings reveal a positive relationship between leaders' moral courage and perceived authentic leadership, with the cynicism climate moderating this relationship. Perceived authentic leadership is positively associated with group organizational citizenship behaviors and negatively related to group counterproductive work behaviors. This study is among the first to explore the impact of followers’ perceptions of authentic leadership on team behaviors, highlighting the role of “leader's moral courage” and “cynicism climate” in shaping followers' perceptions. By applying the fundamental principles of attribution theory to human resources management and leadership, the study enhances our understanding of how followers interpret authentic leadership and provides insights into the mechanisms underlying their perceptions. The study concludes with a comprehensive discussion of the research variables and their broader implications for public universities.