Sources of Motivation, Interpersonal Conflict Management Styles, and Leadership Effectiveness: A Structural Model

Abstract

126 leaders and 624 employees were sampled to test the relationship between sources of motivation and conflict management styles of leaders and how these variables influence effectiveness of leadership. Five sources of motivation measured by the Motivation Sources Inventory were tested—intrinsic process, instrumental, self-concept external, self-concept internal, and goal internalization. These sources of work motivation were associated with Rahim's modes of interpersonal conflict management—dominating, avoiding, obliging, complying, and integrating—and to perceived leadership effectiveness. A structural equation model tested leaders' conflict management styles and leadership effectiveness based upon different sources of work motivation. The model explained variance for obliging (65%), dominating (79%), avoiding (76%), and compromising (68%), but explained little variance for integrating (7%). The model explained only 28% of the variance in leader effectiveness.