Extension of the Pelz Effect: The Impact of Leader's Upward Influence on Group Members' Control Within the Organization

Abstract

The Pelz Effect predicts that a leader's upward or hierarchical influence within the organization will moderate that leader's downward behavior toward group members in relation to members' satisfaction and attitudes. Our research explored possible Pelz Effects in relation to members' own sense of upward control within the organization. Abbreviation versions of various tests, including the Spheres of Control test, were in a survey of 195 staff nurses and a survey of 201 clerical employees at a major utility company. Moderated regressions testing for the Pelz Effect showed that the leader's upward influence significantly moderated the leader's considerate, supportive behavior and the leader's task-oriented behavior in relation to the group members' feelings of upward control. These Pelz Effects remained significant even when the personality traits of personal control and interpersonal control were extracted from regressions. This article strongly urges greater attention to the Pelz Effect because it is one of the few relationships that links the employee to the larger organization through the leader's behavior.

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