The relationship between authentic leadership and follower job performance: The mediating role of follower positivity in extreme contexts Suzanne J. Peterson a, ⁎, Fred O. Walumbwa a,1 , Bruce J. Avolio b,2 , Sean T. Hannah c,3 a Department of Management, W.P. Carey School of Business, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 874006, USA b Department of Management, Michael G. Foster School of Business, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-3226, USA c Center for the Army Profession and Ethic, West Point — United States Military Academy, West Point, NY 10996, USA article info abstract Article history: Received 25 July 2011 Revised 11 December 2011 Accepted 13 December 2011 Available online 14 January 2012 Although theory suggests a link between authentic leadership style and follower positivity and performance, little empirical research exists to confirm this notion. Given that scholars have suggested that leadership studies have generally failed to adequately address or include organizational context in prior research, we examine whether two measures of follower positivity—positive emotions and psychological capital—mediate the relationship between authentic leadership and follower job performance in two potentially extreme contexts (i.e., a police and military organization). After first explaining why extreme contexts provide a set- ting whereby authentic leaders play a more direct role in impacting the positivity of followers, we test several hypotheses. Results of two studies indicated that the frequency of authentic leadership behavior exhibited by leaders was positively related to followers' job performance, and this relationship was partially mediated through followers' positive emotions (Study 1) and fully mediated through leaders' influence on followers' psychological capital (Study 2). © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Authentic leadership Follower emotions Psychological capital Job performance Extreme contexts 1. Introduction The authentic leadership construct was introduced into the leadership literature nearly a decade ago and has generated a growing body of theoretical and empirical research (Gardner, Cogliser, Davis, & Dickens, 2011). From its introduction into the leadership literature, authentic leadership theory highlighted the importance of examining the influence of followers in the authentic leader and follower dynamic (Avolio, Gardner, Walumbwa, Luthans, & May, 2004; Gardner, Avolio, Luthans, May, & Walumbwa, 2005; Ilies, Morgeson, & Nahrgang, 2005; Luthans & Avolio, 2003). Specifically, these authors included in their depiction of authentic leadership relevant mediators such as follower positivity and the context in which leadership takes place. By including followers and the context from the outset, authentic leadership theory set out to examine the appropriate mechanisms through which authentic leadership influences performance, and how followers shape leadership within and between various organizational contexts, climates and cultures. To date, the accumulated empirical research on authentic leadership has examined the mediating role of followers' attitudes toward their leaders, such as followers' level of identification with their supervisor and the positive affective tone of the leader The Leadership Quarterly 23 (2012) 502–516 ⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: + 1 480 965 3431; fax: + 1 480 965 8314. E-mail addresses: suzanne.peterson@asu.edu (S.J. Peterson), fred.walumbwa@asu.edu (F.O. Walumbwa), bavolio@uw.edu (B.J. Avolio), Sean.Hannah@usma.edu (S.T. Hannah). 1 Tel.: +1 480 965 3431. 2 Tel.: +1 206 543 7908; fax: +1 206 616 5851. 3 Tel.: +1 845 938 5945. RETRACTED 1048-9843/$ – see front matter © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2011.12.004 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect The Leadership Quarterly journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/leaqua