Abstract 

No team leaders can function well without an inner circle of their own. In two independent studies, we draw from social hierarchy research to theorize and empirically examine why leaders with inner circles or dominant alliance are more likely to promote team coordination and performance than those without inner circles do. We also offer novel explanations for when leader-member exchange differentiation undermines or enhances team performance.

About the Speaker

Professor Huang received his PhD from the University of Groningen (the Netherlands), MA from Lancaster University (UK), and Honors Diploma from Lingnan University (Hong Kong). Currently, he is the Associate Dean of the School of Business, Hong Kong Baptist University. He is also the Director of the DBA program and the Director of Center for Human Resource Strategy and Development. He has been appointed as a Visiting Professor in Xian Jiaotong University since 2019. He is Consulting Editor of the Management and Organization Review, and a member of editorial board for Academy of Management Journal and Human Relations. Professor Huang is now serving as an Independent Director of the board of Giodano International Limited.

Professor Huang's research interests include leadership, power, proactive and abnormal work behaviors, employee well-being, cross-cultural psychology, and management issues in China. He has published more than 70 papers in international journals including Administrative Science Quarterly,Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of International Business Studies, Personnel Psychology, Journal of Management, Management and Organization Review, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Organizational and Occupational Psychology, Human Relations, Leadership Quarterly, and so forth.