The model of followers' responses to self-sacrificial leadership: An empirical test

This article reports the results of two studies that tested the Model of Self-Sacrificial Leadership. The Model explores why self-sacrificial behaviors would arise in organizational settings and the effects this would have on followers when a leader exhibits self-sacrificial behaviors. Two experimental studies were conducted with 357 student and 157 industry subjects to investigate the effects of self-sacrificial leader behaviors on the followers' perceptions and attitudes. The main hypotheses of the Model were confirmed: (1) Followers attributed charisma and legitimacy to a self-sacrificial leader and (2) intended to reciprocate such a leader's behaviors. These effects were moderated by the followers' perceptions of the leader's competence. Implications of the results are discussed and future research directions are proposed.