The impact of organizational culture on the relationship between shared leadership and team proactivity

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine whether organizational culture moderates the relationship between shared leadership and team proactive behavior. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from 21 commercial banks in Turkey that had formally implemented work teams. The study used data obtained from 420 team members. Moderated hierarchical regression was used to examine the moderating role of organizational culture on the shared leadership and team proactive behavior relationship. Findings – Shared leadership within a work team was positively related to team proactive behavior. The relationship of shared leadership with team proactivity is stronger in organizations with higher level of supportive culture. Research limitations/implications – A practical implication of these results for leaders of management teams is that sharing some leadership roles and responsibilities within their teams with other members may have positive effects for the proactivity of the team as well as the satisfaction of the team members. The generalizability of the results may be limited by sources of funding of the banks studied and demographic factors such as participants’ age, gender and organizational tenure. Originality/value – The use of organizational culture as a moderator on this link is unprecedented. Although shared leadership within teams may increase job demands on members and require them to take on new roles, it seems to have positive effects on perceptions of their jobs. In addition, the extent to which an organization encourages a supportive culture makes a difference in the relationship of shared leadership with team proactivity. Finally, using a large number of samples from Turkish banking sector adds to the growing literature examining shared leadership in non-Western settings.