Leadership, personal traits and job characteristics in R&D organizations: a Taiwanese case

Abstract

Explores how leadership affects the job characteristics of R&D professionals in Taiwan by incorporating personal traits as the covariables. Defines leadership as the interaction of the directive and supportive styles, with directive emphasizing actions for getting the jobs done, and supportive focusing on doing favours for enhancing creativity. Data were collected from three major types of R&D organization – the government, the private, and the military, in Taiwan. The consistently overall effect of the supportive leadership on the job characteristics model across different types of organization in the test is evidence of the importance of the supervisory role in enriching the R&D jobs. Interprets differences between organizations in terms of their backgrounds and management practices. Discusses the implications of the findings for strengthening the effectiveness of leadership in managing R&D professionals. Though the study was based on R&D professionals in Taiwan, the conclusions should offer a perspective for their counterparts in an industrialized country.

Citation

Yeh, Q. (1995), "Leadership, personal traits and job characteristics in R&D organizations: a Taiwanese case", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 16 No. 6, pp. 16-26. https://doi.org/10.1108/01437739510092234