Does relationship conflict reduce novel idea communication through perceived leader openness? Power distance orientation as a moderator

What is it about?

Organizations require novel ideas to improve their efficiency and their chance of survival in modern competitive environments. However, when organizational leaders are perceived as less willing to consider alternative ideas (i.e., low perceptions of leader openness), followers are less likely to share novel ideas with their leaders. To examine why followers have low perceptions of leader openness and thus feel reluctant to communicate novel ideas, we conducted three studies using survey and experimental methods. The results demonstrated that leader-follower relationship conflict (i.e., interpersonal incompatibility) reduced followers’ perceptions of leader openness. However, the negative impact of relationship conflict became non-significant when followers have high power distance orientations (i.e., an acceptance of uneven power distribution in organizations). We also found an indirect interaction effect of leader-follower relationship conflict and followers’ power distance orientation on the followers’ communication of novel ideas via the followers’ perceptions of leader openness. The current research suggests that followers with higher power distance orientations are more likely to communicate novel ideas consistently because their relationship conflicts with their leaders do not negatively influence their perceptions of leader openness.

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