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The competing values framework (CVF) of managerial leadership has recently received renewed attention from organizational researchers and leadership development scholars ([3] Belasen, 2007; [12] Cameron and Quinn, 2006). Much of this attention has focused on the wide applicability of the CVF as a diagnostic and development tool with particular attention on cultural variables ([22] Garman, 2006; [31] Igo and Skitmore, 2006), human resource development ([4] Belasen and Frank, 2004; [38] Panayotopoulou et al. , 2003) and the relationships between leadership roles, personal growth, and organizational effectiveness ([6] Belasen and Rufer, 2007; [13] Cameron et al. , 2006).
Other directions of research came from investigations that set out to modify the CVF configuration to include an additional role ([47], [48] Vilkinas and Cartan, 2001, 2006), justification for the reordering of the CVF roles within each quadrant ([5] Belasen and Frank, 2005), and variation in emphasizing particular roles depending on situational contingencies ([29] Hooijberg et al. , 1999). Research by [19] Denison et al. (1995) has already supported the need for reordering some of the CVF roles and a more recent study suggested the addition of a new integrating role for the model. [28] Hooijberg and Choi (2000) found only six roles, with producer, director, and coordinator forming a completely new role - goal achievement. In fact, earlier research by [25] Hart and Quinn (1993) suggested the need to compress the eight CVF roles into four outcome-based domain roles. Regardless of the number and location of the CVF roles, these and other studies have supported earlier assumptions that managers demonstrating proficiency in opposing CVF domains are more likely to be rated as effective performers ([42] Quinn et al. , 1992). Other questions, however, remained unanswered - Are the CVF dimensions still relevant? Can the existing roles be compressed into four archetypal quadrant (domain) roles? Does the distribution of the quadrant roles correspond to the four CVF quadrants and do the quadrants align with their opposites?
A related question is how managers actually choose appropriate roles to play and how cognitive styles, reflected in personality traits, affect these choices. If effective managers are more successful in handling novel or exceptional situations and generally exhibit greater behavioral and cognitive complexity ([19] Denison et al. , 1995; [25] Hart...