Just keep your eye on the prize! Antecedents and consequences of leader bottom-line mentality

An exclusive focus on organizational results helps leaders narrow down on what is important, but when taken too far, it may lead to ignoring anything else along the way. This bottom-line mentality (BLM), a unidimensional frame of mind prioritizing bottom-line results at the expense of other important outcomes (Greenbaum et al., 2012) has been exemplified globally in recent high profile organizational scandals. It appears that leaders who approach their work with a BLM tend to pursue bottom-line outcomes by any means necessary - even if it meant engaging in ethically problematic behaviors for personal, environmental or organizational functioning. As emerging studies around leader BLM have focused mostly on its dysfunctional implications, this PhD expands current understanding by looking into its antecedents and consequences using a large, multi-national sample.

This PhD explores the antecedents of leader BLM and its impact on leader and team functioning through three empirical studies, which utilize empirical data from a database developed in cooperation with a worldwide operating consultancy firm (Korn Ferry). After a brief overview of leader BLM and relevant constructs used in the dissertation, Study 1 explores how leader gender and societal culture, identified as important antecedents for leader behavior and attitudes, affect the prevalence and perceptions of leader BLM in different countries and industries. As BLM is said to be a unidimensional frame of mind rather than a set of leadership styles (Greenbaum et al., 2012), Study 2 compares leader and follower ratings of leader BLM and how these manifest in different leadership styles. In Study 3, we observe how leader BLM affects team functioning through leadership behaviors.

Our findings show that (1) leader BLM is a global phenomenon and more prevalent in collectivistic cultures, such as China, Brazil and Japan; (2) gender affects perceptions and implications of leader BLM; (3) leaders and followers perceive leader BLM differently; and (4) leader BLM has implications for leader and team functioning. In the final chapter, we discuss our findings from a theoretical and practical perspective, and offer our suggestion for a new, extended BLM measure.