The romance of leadership: testing the Romance of Leadership Scale in a New Zealand context

Abstract

This thesis investigates the follower-centric concept of leadership known as the Romance of Leadership. In particular the thesis focuses upon analysis of the instrument used to measure this concept - The Romance of Leadership Scale (RLS). Previous studies have analysed the instrument in a range of cultural settings. However, no agreement has yet been reached in relation to the factor structure of the scale. This thesis explores the factor structure of the Romance of Leadership Scale in a New Zealand context and proposes a structure that could be used in further studies. Included in this is an examination of the effects of contextual variables upon the scale. The data for this research was gathered from undergraduate management students over two trimesters in 2005/2006. The data included scores on the Romance of Leadership Scale, and information about participants' age, gender, ethnicity, and part-time and full-time work experience. The analysis of the data was conducted in three stages, which included: exploratory factor analysis, comparison of the results with a previous study and analysis of the data in relation to contextual variables. The results revealed a three factor structure of the RLS with two strong and one weak factor. The comparison of the discovered factor structure with the data provided by Schyns, Meindl and Croon (2004a; 2004b) confirmed a three factor structure of the RLS with the indication of slight differences between the studies. Additionally, the results identified that factors within the RLS were related to some demographic variables. Factor 1 (Non-Interchangeability of a Leader) differed across age ranges and ethnicities, whereas Factor 2 (Influence of a Leader) was correlated to full-time work experience. No analysis could be performed on Factor 3 (Other Factors) as it consisted of only 2 items. Although, this study confirmed a three factor structure of the RLS, only Factor 1 and Factor 2 appear suitable for further use as part of the RLS. Factor 3 would require either further development or possibly deletion from the RLS.