The relationships between self-efficacy, effective leadership/supervision and work performance

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of The Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, 1992The present study was conducted within the area of leadership research and examined aspects of management-subordinate dyads in the insurance industry. The aim of the study was to explore the proportion of variance of three dependent variables explained by the dimensions of the quality of Leader-Member Exchange between managers and subordinates, subordinate's perceived self-efficacy, and an interaction term comprising these two dimensions. The three dependent variables compnsed subordinate job satisfaction, and two measures of subordinate performance, namely the employee rating scale and a work output measure which overcame previous research's limitations. Research was conducted on a sample of broker-consultants (CN = 130). Results suggested that the leadership variable (leader-member exchange) explained a significant proportion of the variance of jab satisfaction but not in terms of job pertormance measures. Contrary to expectations, the addition of a self-efficacy variable and the t.,iC7 ...i-l10n term did not explain a dditional variance within the leadership model in terms of work performance and job satisfaction, with respect to self-efficacy and the interaction term. The limitations of the study in terms of leadership research will be considered. Theoretical and practical implications of the study will also be considered