LEAST PREFERRED COWORKER SCORE, SITUATIONAL CONTROL, AND LEADERSHIP EFFECTIVENESS - A METAANALYSIS OF CONTINGENCY-MODEL PERFORMANCE PREDICTIONS

It is first argued that the across-octant conclusions that are usually drawn from F. E. Fiedler's (1967) contingency model of leadership may be problematic, because virtually all its tests have used only within -octant research designs. Across-octant comparisons were therefore mad e by analyzing data from 1,282 groups used in previous research. Using nonparametric and parametric meta-analytic procedures, the authors fo und that the drawing of across-octant conclusions was not supported. F urther analyses also showed unequal mean performance levels in octants where levels were supposed to be equal. The contingency model's predi ctions about the declining performance of leaders by octant, however, were supported in comparison with the predictions of three rival model s. The contingency model may therefore need some modification. Implica tions and directions for future research are briefly discussed.