A confirmatory factor analytic study of an authentic leadership measure in Nigeria

Abstract

Orientation: Authentic leadership has been identified as one of the competencies for effective leaders.

Research purpose: The primary goal of the present study was to test, on a Nigerian sample, the psychometric properties of the Authentic Leadership Inventory (ALI) developed by Neider and Schriesheim.

Motivation for the study: Various instruments have been developed to measure authentic leadership, with the ALI being one of the widely used questionnaires. There is a need to assess the reliability and construct validity of the ALI on a Nigerian sample owing to paucity of studies on its psychometric properties in this setting.

Research approach/design and method: A non-probability sample consisting of 213 bank employees working in Nigeria was studied. The ALI was used to measure authentic leadership, and its reliability was evaluated using SPSS, while construct validity was assessed through confirmatory factory analyses in the Linear Structural Relations (LISREL) programme.

Main findings: Moderate levels of reliability were found for the subscales of the ALI. Reasonable model fit with the data was found for the first- and second-order as well as the bi-factor and single-factor measurement models through confirmatory factor analyses (CFA).

Practical/managerial implications: Although the ALI demonstrated reasonable model fit for the CFA models tested in this study, the reliability coefficients of the relational transparency and internalised moral perspective subscales were below the 0.70 threshold. In addition, the discriminant validity of the self-awareness and the internalised moral perspective subscales was not achieved.

Contribution/value-add: The study promotes the use of reliable and valid instruments in Nigeria by confirming the psychometric properties of the ALI.