Journal
LEADERSHIP QUARTERLY
Volume 26, Issue 5, Pages 671-686Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC
DOI: 10.1016/j.leaqua.2014.12.005
Keywords
Leadership role occupancy; Dopamine gene; Proactive personality; Rule breaking; Dual mechanisms
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Funding
- Singapore Ministry of Education [R-317-000-080-112, R-317-000-099-112]
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [71172178]
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Trait theories of leadership have documented the role of individual characteristics in affecting leadership. Twin studies have further revealed significant genetic effects on leadership role occupancy. In the era of genomics, the current research examines how a dopamine transporter gene, DAT1, is involved in genetic influences on leadership role occupancy. Study 1 found DAT1 10-repeat allele to negatively relate to proactive personality, which in turn was positively associated with leadership role occupancy. The negative indirect effect was significant, but the overall relationship between this gene and leadership was not. In addition to replicating Study l's findings using a nationally representative sample, Study 2 revealed another countervailing mechanism: DAT1 was positively related to (moderate) rule breaking, which was positively associated with leadership role occupancy. Consistent findings across the two studies suggest that the pathways linking specific genes to leadership are complex and a middle-ground approach is needed in such multidisciplinary investigations. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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