Abstract
This article explores the relational and motivational leadership behaviors that may promote stewardship in organizations. I conceptualize stewardship as an outcome of leadership behaviors that promote a sense of personal responsibility in followers for the long-term wellbeing of the organization and society. Building upon the themes presented in the stewardship literature, such as identification and intrinsic motivation, and drawing from other research streams to include factors such as interpersonal and institutional trust and moral courage, I posit that leaders foster stewardship in their followers through various relational, motivational, and contextually supportive leadership behaviors.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bandura, A. (1989). Self-regulation of Motivation and Action Through Internal Standards and Goal Systems. In: L. A. Pervin (ed.), Goal Concepts in Personality and Social Psychology. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum
Becker, L. C. (1986). Reciprocity. New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul
Bell, N. E., & Staw, B. M. (1989). People as Sculptors Versus Sculpture: The Roles of Personality and Personal Control on Organizations. In: M. B. Arthur, Hall D. T., & Lawrence B. S. (Eds.), Handbook of Career Theory, (pp. 232–251). Cambridge: Cambridge University press
Block, P. (1993). Stewardship: Choosing Service Over Self-interest. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler
Caldwell, C., Bischoff, S. J., & Karri, R. (2002). The Four Umpires: A Paradigm for Ethical Leadership. Journal of Business Ethics, 36, 153–163
Clarkson, M. B. E. (1995). A Stakeholder Framework for Analyzing and Evaluating Corporate Social Performance. Academy of Management Review, 20, 92–117
Davis, J. H., Schoorman, F. D., & Donaldson, L. (1997). Toward a Stewardship Theory of Management. Academy of Management Review, 22(1), 20–47
Deci, E. L., Connell, J. P., & Ryan, R. M. (1989). Self-determination in a Work Organization. Journal of Applied Psychology, 74, 580–590
Donaldson, L., & Davis, J.H. (1991). Stewardship Theory or Agency Theory: CEO Governance and Shareholder Returns. Australian Journal of Management, 16, 49–64
Donaldson, T., & Dunfee, T. W. (1999). Ties that Bind: A Social Contracts Approach to Business Ethics. Harvard Business School Press, Boston
Donaldson, T., & Preston, L.E. (1995). The Stakeholder Theory of the Corporation: Concepts, Evidence, and Implications. Academy of Management Review, 20, 65–91
Dubin, R. (1982). Management: Meaning, Methods and Moxie. Academy of Management Review, 7(3), 372–379.
Freeman, R. E. (1984). Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach. Boston: Pitman
Fox, A. (1974). Beyond Contract: Work, Power and Trust Relations. London: Faber and Faber
Gibson, K.: 2000, ‹The Moral Basis of Stakeholder Theory’, Journal of Business Ethics 26, 245–257
Gist, M. E., & Mitchell, T. R. (1992). Self-efficacy: A Theoretical Analysis of its Determinants and Malleability. The Academy of Management Review, 17, 183–211.
Hackman, J. R., & Oldham, G. R. (1975). Development of the Job Diagnostic Survey. Journal of Applied Psychology, 60, 159–170
Hambrick, D. C., & Jackson, E. M. (2000). Outside Directors with a Stake: The linchpin in Improving Governance. California Management Review, 42(4), 108–127
Hernandez, M.: 2007, Stewardship: Theoretical Development and Empirical Test of its Determinants. Unpublished dissertation, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
Kidder, R. M. (2005). Moral Courage. New York: HarperCollins Publishers
Kidder, R. M, and M. Bracy: 2001, ‹Moral Courage: A White Paper’ (Institute for Global Ethics)
Latane, B., Williams, K., & Harkins, S. (1979). Many Hands Make Light Work: The Causes and Consequences of Social Loafing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 822–882
Lawler, E. E. (1996). High Involvement Management. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
Lewicki, R. J., McAllister, D. J., & Bies, R. J. (1998). Trust and Distrust: New Relationships and Realities. Academy of Management Review, 23(3), 438–458
Mael, F., & Ashforth B. E. (1992). Alumni and their Alma Mater: A Partial Test of the Reformulated Model of Organizational Identification. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 13, 103–123
McAllister, D. J. (1995). Affect- and Cognition-based Trust as Foundations for Interpersonal Cooperation in Organizations. Academy Management Journal, 38(1), 24–59
Pierce, J. L., Kostova, T., & Dirks, K. T. (2002). Towards a theory of psychological ownership in organizations. Academy of Management Review, 26, 298–310
Rousseau, D. M., Sitkin, S. B., Burt, R. S., & Camerer, C. (1998). No so different after all: A cross-disciplinary view of trust. The Academy of Management Review, 23(3), 393–404
Sabel, C. (1993). Learning by Monitoring: The Institutions of Economic Development. In: N. J. Smelser, R. Swedberg (eds.), The Handbook of Economic Sociology, 137–165. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press
Schoorman, D., & Mayer, R. (1992). Predicting Participation and Production Outcomes through a Two-dimensional Model of Organizational Commitment. Academy of Management Journal, 35, 671–684
Senge, P. M. (1990). The Fifth Discipline. New York, NY: Double/Currency Books
Shapiro, S. (1987). Social Control of Impersonal Trust. The American Journal of Sociology, 93(3), 623–658
Shelp, E. (1984). Courage: A Neglected Virtue in the Patient–Physician Relationship. Social Science and Medicine, 18(4), 351–360
Sitkin, S. B. (1995). On the Positive Effect of Legalization on Trust. Research on Negotiation in Organizations, 5, 185–217
Sitkin, S. B, E. A. Lind, and C. P. Long: 2006, Integrative Leadership (Book in progress, Duke University)
Sitkin, S. B, M. Hernandez, and C. P. Long: 2007, ‹Cultivating Trust in Leaders: Are All Leader Behaviors Equally Influential?’ (Working paper, Duke University)
Sitkin, S. B., & Roth, N. L. (1993). Explaining the Limited Effectiveness of Legalistic “Remedies” for Trust/Distrust. Organization Science, 26(4), 367–392
Sitkin, S. B., & Stickel, D. (1996). The Road to Hell...: The Dynamics of Distrust in an Era of “Quality” Management. In: R. Kramer, & M. Neale (eds.), Trust in Organizations, (pp. 196–215). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications
Thomas, K. W., & Velthouse, B. A. (1990). Cognitive Elements of Empowerment: An “Interpretive” Model of Intrinsic Task Motivation. Academy of Management Journal, 38(4), 666–681
Tyler, T. R. (1989). The Psychology of Procedural Justice: A Test of the Group-Value Model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57(5), 830–838
Wade-Benzoni, K.A. (1999). Thinking About the Future: An Intergenerational Perspective on the Conflict and Compatibility between Economic and Environmental Interests. American Behavioral Scientist, 42, 1393–1405.
Wade-Benzoni, K.A. (2002). A Golden Rule Over Time: Reciprocity in Intergenerational Allocation Decisions. Academy of Management Journal, 45, 1011–1028
Walton, R.E. (1980). Establishing and Maintaining High-Commitment Work Systems. In: J.R. Kimberly, R.G. Miles, & Assocites (Eds.), The Organizational Life Cycle: Issues in the Creation, Transformation, and Decline of Organizations, (pp. 208–290). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass
Walton, R. E. (1985). From Control to Commitment in the Workplace. Harvard Business Review, 63(2), 76–84
Walton, D. N. (1986). Courage: A Philosophical Investigation. Berkeley: University of California Press
Wasserman, N. (2006). Stewards, Agents, and the Founder Discount: Executive Compensation in New Ventures. Academy of Management Journal, 49, 960–976
Worline, M., Wrzesniewski, A., & Rafaeli, A. (2002). Courage and Work: Breaking Routines to Improve Performance. In: R. G. Lord, R. J. Klimoski, & R. Kanfer (eds.), Emotions in the Workplace: Understanding the Structure and Role of Emotions in Organizational Behavior. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hernandez, M. Promoting Stewardship Behavior in Organizations: A Leadership Model. J Bus Ethics 80, 121–128 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-007-9440-2
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-007-9440-2