Individual Values and Preferred Leadership Behaviors: A Study of Romanian Managers

Abstract

Relationships between individual values and preferred leadership behaviors were examined in a sample of 324 managers from organizations in Romania, a country in transition from a controlled economy to a free-market system. We found the value dimensions of achievement, benevolence, and power to predict preferences for both transformational and transactional leadership behaviors. Specifically, achievement and benevolence displayed positive relationships with both types of leadership. In contrast, power yielded a positive relationship with the preference for transactional behaviors, but an inverse relationship with the preference for transformational leadership. The implications of these findings are discussed.