Differences in the Preferred Trustworthiness Between High-level and Low-Level Leaders

Abstract

Drawing upon implicit leadership theories (ILTs), this research argues that the trustworthiness factors of leaders perceived by subordinates may vary with hierarchical levels of leaders. Based on this argument, a scenario simulation study (220 participants), an experimental study (562 participants), and an empirical survey (193 samples) were conducted. The findings show that subordinates are more concerned with the emotional stability, extraversion, agreeableness, and benevolence-related trustworthiness factors of low-level leaders and with the ability-related trustworthiness of high-level leaders; and leaders’ integrity is the most crucial factor in trustworthiness for upward trust, while there were no obvious significant differences among different leader levels. This study contributes to the literature on trust in leadership and various ILTs and has human resource management implications.