Paradoxical leader behavior in long-term corporate development: Antecedents and consequences

• Published in: Organizational behavior and human decision processes Vol. 155; pp. 42 - 54
• Main Authors: Zhang, Yan, Han, Yu-Lan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 01.11.2019
• Subjects: Firm performance; Leader behavior; Long-term corporate development; Paradox management; Leader behavior; Firm performance; Long-term corporate development; Paradox management
• ISSN: 0749-5978; 1095-9920
• DOI: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2019.03.007

•Paradoxical CEOs manages paradoxes by relating opposites directly.•Paradoxical CEOs address present–future and organization–environment paradoxes.•Long-term orientation, holistic thinking, environmental uncertainty are antecedents.•Profits, R&D investments, market share, corporate reputation are consequences.•Two quantitative studies are used to develop the new construct and test hypotheses. We analyze paradoxes embedded in long-term corporate development and conceptualize a new leadership approach: paradoxical leader behavior in long-term corporate development (PLB-CD). Paradoxical leader behaviors are characterized as seemingly both competing and interrelated. We posit that paradoxical leaders employ such behaviors to meet competing demands simultaneously and over time in the process of (a) maintaining both short-term efficiency and long-term development, (b) maintaining both organizational stability and flexibility, (d) focusing on both shareholders and stakeholder communities, and (d) conforming to and shaping collective forces in the environment. We conduct two studies with multiple samples to develop a measurement of PLB-CD. Our results demonstrate that long-term orientation is positively associated with paradoxical leader behavior, which in turn positively affects the increase of R&D investment, market share, and corporate reputation.