The public leadership questionnaire: The development and validation of five dimensions of public leadership behaviors

Abstract

In the public administration discipline, there have been various important studies on leadership. However, scholarly inquiry still lags behind related disciplines such as psychology and business administration. This study contributes by developing and validating scales measuring public leadership behavior. Based on theory and empirical analyses, five key public leader behaviors are identified and measured: (1) accountability leadership (6 items), (2) lawfulness leadership (4 items), (3) ethical leadership (7 items), (4) political loyal leadership (5 items) and (5) network governance leadership (7 items). The factor structure was tested using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Public leadership behaviors were related as expected to transformational leadership and leadership effectiveness. Furthermore, public leadership behaviors were related as expected to outcomes such as organizational commitment (positive), work engagement (positive) and turnover intentions (negative). In sum, the results suggest that the public leadership questionnaire is a valid measurement instrument that can be used by scholars to analyze public leadership questions. In the concluding section, we develop a future research agenda and discuss the potential uses of the public leadership questionnaire for scholars and practitioners.