Abstract
This study investigated the subordinate liking and the leadership style of male and female managers in a simulated business activity. Sixty-seven female and 290 male undergraduate and graduate business students participated in this study. Female managers, on average, were not less well liked, nor were they more accommodative than male managers. Among managers classified as distinctly accommodative, females were not better liked than males; among managers classified as distinctly directive, females were significantly better liked than males. Under pressure to act in a directive manner, males tended to make use of their secondary leadership style as defined by F. E. Fiedler (1972), while females did not.
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Arnett, M.D., Higgins, R.B. & Priem, A.P. Sex and least preferred co-worker score effects in leadership behavior. Sex Roles 6, 139–152 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00288368
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00288368