Characterized simply as “the absence of leadership,” scholars have generally written off “laissez-faire leadership” as the inaction of poor managers disinterested in their followers and organizational outcomes. In this study, we question whether this simple understanding of the construct is always true, arguing that delegation, a conceivably positive behavior, is sometimes perceived as laissez-faire leadership by subordinates. We examine how perceived leader competence and subordinate gender determine how delegation affects perceptions of laissez-faire leadership and, indirectly, dysfunctional subordinate resistance. Our test of this model reveals a significant three-way interaction between delegation, perceived leader competence, and gender in influencing perceptions of laissez-faire leadership and dysfunctional resistance. We conclude that laissez-faire leadership is a more complex phenomenon than is often assumed in research. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed in this study.

学者们简单地将其形容为“缺乏领导力”，通常将“自由放任的领导力”取消，因为贫穷的管理者无所作为，对其追随者和组织成果不感兴趣。在这项研究中，我们质疑这种构造的简单理解是否始终是正确的，并认为下属有时将委派（一种可以想象为积极的行为）视为自由放任的领导。我们研究了感知的领导能力和下属性别如何确定授权如何影响自由放任型领导的观念以及间接影响下属抵抗的功能。我们对该模型的测试揭示了授权，感知的领导能力和性别之间在影响自由放任型领导和功能障碍抵抗的观念之间存在着重要的三方面相互作用。我们得出的结论是，自由放任的领导是比研究中通常假设的更为复杂的现象。这些发现的理论和实践意义在本研究中进行了讨论。