ABSTRACT
Although objectification is prevalent in leadership relations, little is known about (a) why some supervisors objectify their employees to a greater extent than others and (b) when and how such objectification manifests in a supervisor’s leadership behavior. Drawing from self-construal and role identity theories, we propose that supervisors’ self-definitions both in relation to others (i.e., their self-concept levels) and in relation to their leader role (i.e., their leader identity) are critical in this regard. Across two studies in Germany and the United States, our results show that employee-directed objectification mediates the positive indirect relationship between the individual self-concept and autocratic leadership, but only among supervisors with a strong leader identity. Similarly, our second study finds that such objectification mediates the negative indirect relationship between the relational self-concept and autocratic leadership, but only among supervisors with a strong leader identity. Moreover, Study 2 shows objectification to mediate the negative (positive) indirect relationship between the individual (relational) self-concept and empowering leadership, irrespective of a supervisor’s leader identity. Overall, these findings advance our theoretical understanding of objectification in leadership contexts, providing new insights into the antecedents, behavioral consequences, and boundary conditions associated with supervisors’ employee-directed objectification.