14:30 - 16:00
Wed-Main hall - Z3-Poster 3--90
Wed-Poster 3
Room: Main hall - Z3
Do Female Leaders Face Greater Scrutiny for Mistakes? Results of an Experimental Study of Leader Errors
Wed-Main hall - Z3-Poster 3-9003
Presented by: Stefanie Krauth
Stefanie Krauth 1, Melissa Hehnen 1, Martin P. Fladerer 2, Dieter Frey 1
1 Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU), 2 Technical University of Munich (TUM)
Extensive research examines gender-based expectations on perceiving effective leadership, while limited understanding exists about their impact on assessing leaders' errors. Building upon role congruity theory (Eagly & Karau, 2002) and the communality-bonus effect (Hentschel et al., 2018), we investigate whether female leaders get penalized more for making errors than male leaders. Moreover, we investigate how different error types and leader apology (expectancy) moderate the relationship between leader errors and followers’ leader evaluations.

In a first study, a 6 [different leader error situations] x 3 [error type] mixed experimental design, a set of leader error vignettes will be investigated for error perception and exploratory analysis. Based on this, in a second study with a between-subjects experimental design (3 [task-related vs. relational vs. no leader error] x 2 [leader gender] x 2 [apology vs. no apology]) the hypotheses will be tested. Results of the first study will be presented and inform a colloquial discussion about the further design.

A better understanding of gender-based evaluations of leader errors will contribute to identifying inequalities between male and female leaders and potentially advance gender equality by pointing to strategies to mitigate these.

References:
Eagly, A. H., & Karau, S. J. (2002). Role congruity theory of prejudice toward female leaders. Psychological Review, 109(3), 573–598.
https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.109.3.573

Hentschel, T., Braun, S., Peus, C., & Frey, D. (2018). The communality-bonus effect for male transformational leaders – leadership style, gender, and promotability. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 27(1), 111–125. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2017.1402759
Keywords: Leader errors, leadership, gender, role congruity, communality-bonus effect