Rabindra N. Kanungo’s research while affiliated with McGill University and other places

In today’s turbulent environment brought about by globalization and continuing technological change, innovation is a critical ingredient for a successful organization. Innovation means more than new technology and products. It means that employees use their knowledge, abilities, and experience to respond creatively to the constantly changing demands of the environment. It includes “ideas for reorganizing, cutting costs, putting in new budgeting systems, improving communication, or assembling products in teams” (Kanter, 1983:20). This view of innovation recognizes that all employees have the potential to be innovative.

As part of an ongoing research program on charismatic leadership, Conger and Kanungo (1994) developed and tested a questionnaire to measure the perceived behavioural dimensions of charismatic leadership as proposed in their model (1987, 1988). This article reports on further analyses of the dimensionality and validity of the Conger‐Kanungo‐scale. It begins with a reanalysis of the data from the 1994 study. It then reports on three separate studies conducted in the United States using managers (N=W3), in Canada using political party delegates (N=71), and in India using clerical staff (N=98), to examine convergent and discriminant validity. The results of the dimensionality analyses suggest a five‐factor model consistent with the Weberian notion of charismatic leadership. The results of the U.S., Canadian, and Indian studies provide further evidence that the Conger‐Kanungo scale has acceptable reliability and validity as a diagnostic tool in diverse contexts . Résumé Dans le cadre d'un programme de recherche en cours sur le leadership charismatique, Conger et Kanungo (1994) ont congu et testé un questionnaire pour mesurer les dimensions comportementales du leadership charismatique perçues telles que proposées dans leur modele (1987, 1988). Cette communication rend compte d'autres analyses de la dimensionalité et de la validité de I'échelle de Conger‐Kanungo. En commencant par une nouvelle analyse des données provenant de I'étude de 1994, cette communication rend compte également de trois études distinctes, I'une menée aux états‐Unis auprès de gestionnaires (N=103), une autre au Canada auprès de délégues de partis politiques (N=71) et la troisième en Inde auprès d'employés de bureau (N‐98), en vue d'examiner la validité concourante et la validité discriminante d'unefonction. Les résultats des analyses de dimensionalité suggèrent un modèle à cinq facteurs cadrant avec la notion Wébérienne du leadership charismatique. Les études menées aux états‐Unis, au Canada et en Inde confirment que I'échelle de Conger‐Kanungo en tant qu'instrument diagnostique a un degré de fiabi‐lité et de validité acceptable dans divers contextes .

Ethical leadership literature (Bass & Steidlmeier, 1999; Kanungo & Mendonca, 1996) suggests that authentic transformational leadership must be based on some moral foundation. Such literature is not as clear, however, on whether transactional leadership can have moral foundation as well. The paper argues that transformational and transactional leadership behaviours are judged to be ethical based on two different sets of values, motives, and assumptions. These values, motives, and assumptions are grounded in two types of ethical perspective for understanding the behaviour of the two types of leaders. Transformational leaders have an organic worldview and moral altruistic motives grounded in a deontological perspective. Transactional leaders, on the other hand, have an atomistic worldview and mutual altruistic motives grounded in a teleological perspective. Résumé La littérature sur le leadership éthique (Bass & Steidlmeier, 1999; Kanungo & Mendonca, 1996) suggère que le leadership transformationnel authentique doit être basé sur des fondements moraux quelconques. Par con‐tre, la littérature ne précise pas si le leadership trans‐actionnel doit aussi avoir des fondements moraux. Cette étude démontre que les comportements de leadership transformationnels ainsi que transactionnels sont jugés comme étant basés sur deux différents groupes de valeurs, motifs et suppositions en ce qui attrait à l'éthique. Ces valeurs, motifs et suppositions sont fondés sur deux types de perspectives éthiques defaçon à com‐prendre le comportement des deux types de leaders. Les leaders transformationnels out une perception orga‐nique du monde ainsi que des motifs moraux altruistes basés sur une perspective déontologique. À l'opposé, les leaders transactionnels ont une perception atomiste du monde et des motifs mutuels basés sur une perspective téléologique.

Relationship between attitude of job involvement and patterns of perceived need importance, need satisfaction, and need strength were explored. Data were collected from 64 high-involved and 77 low involved employees of two Indian organizations. Results revealed that the attitude of job-involvement acted as a moderator variable only with respect to employee’s cognitive evaluation of the importance of need on the job. High involved employees as compared to low involved employees, attached greater importance to safety and self-actualization needs and lesser importance to physiological and social needs. With respect to the patterns of need satisfaction and need strength, the high and low involved employees did not differ. Both groups were least satisfied with and felt strongest needs in physiological and self-actualization areas. Several hypotheses derived from Maslow’s need hierarchy notion could not be supported by the results. It was postulated that the cognitive value system of perceived need importance which is influenced by job involvement attitude is different from experiential evaluation of need satisfaction and strength which are more a function of the cue properties of the job and its environment.

Kanungo and Misra (1992) distinguished ‘skills’ from managerial ‘competencies’, the latter being the basic components of a manager’s resourcefulness. Resourcefulness is critical in performing leadership roles that require coping with non-routine, unprogrammable and ill-structured tasks. This paper attempts to clarify the nature of the resourcefulness construct by operationalising it in terms of three basic competencies: affective, intellectual and action-oriented. An empirical study involving 485 managers revealed the underlying structure of resourcefulness as closely paralleling the three competencies. In addition, a fourth overarching dimension of goal-directed problem orientation emerged from the analysis. The study yielded a psychometrically sound measure of managerial resourcefulness with convergent, discriminant and criteria-related concurrent validity. The measure can be used as a diagnostic tool for recruitment and training purposes.

This paper attempts to operationalise the construct of managerial resourcefulness. The construct was first proposed by Kanungo and Misra1 who suggested that managerial resourcefulness is a constellation of three generic competencies—affective, intellectual and action-oriented, which helps the manager deal with the non-routine, non-programmable aspects of the managerial role. The present study involving 485 managers, develops a psychometrically sound measure of managerial resourcefulness and tests a nomothetic network for the construct. Analysis also revealed an underlying three-factor structure.