---
_id: '7103'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: "                  Abstract - \r\n                  \r\n                    This
    study aims to deepen the understanding of motivational drivers that shape leadership
    effectiveness by adopting a neo-configurational perspective. Drawing on McClelland’s
    theory of human motivation, we investigate how need for power (nPow), need for
    achievement (nAch), need for affiliation (nAff), and activity inhibition (AI)
    combine within leaders to enable two outcomes of leadership effectiveness: leadership
    satisfaction and career success. Using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis
    on data from 70 leader-follower dyads, we identify multiple alternative motive
    configurations that contribute to leadership effectiveness. Specifically, two
    configurations—termed the\r\n                    Bureaucratic\r\n                    (nPow,
    ~nAch, AI) and the\r\n                    Relaxed Leader\r\n                    (~ nPow,
    nAff, ~AI)—are sufficient for very high leadership satisfaction. For career success,
    we find three sufficient configurations, each highlighting the presence of either
    AI, nPow, or nAff which are complemented by the absence (~) of other motives or
    AI. These results demonstrate that leadership effectiveness is driven by multiple
    distinct configurations of motives, underscoring the causal complexity inherent
    in motivation-based leadership effectiveness. In doing so, this study contributes
    to motivation literature by reframing McClelland’s theory as a neo-configurational
    theory.\r\n                  \r\n                "
author:
- first_name: Katharina
  full_name: Agethen, Katharina
  last_name: Agethen
- first_name: Sonja K.
  full_name: Ötting, Sonja K.
  last_name: Ötting
- first_name: Barbara
  full_name: Steinmann, Barbara
  id: '258651'
  last_name: Steinmann
  orcid: 0009-0000-3036-2684
citation:
  alphadin: '<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Agethen, Katharina</span> ; <span
    style="font-variant:small-caps;">Ötting, Sonja K.</span> ; <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Steinmann,
    Barbara</span>: A neo-configurational perspective on implicit motives and leadership
    effectiveness. In: <i>Motivation and Emotion</i>, Springer Science and Business
    Media LLC (2026)'
  ama: Agethen K, Ötting SK, Steinmann B. A neo-configurational perspective on implicit
    motives and leadership effectiveness. <i>Motivation and Emotion</i>. 2026. doi:<a
    href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-026-10264-z">10.1007/s11031-026-10264-z</a>
  apa: Agethen, K., Ötting, S. K., &#38; Steinmann, B. (2026). A neo-configurational
    perspective on implicit motives and leadership effectiveness. <i>Motivation and
    Emotion</i>. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-026-10264-z">https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-026-10264-z</a>
  bibtex: '@article{Agethen_Ötting_Steinmann_2026, title={A neo-configurational perspective
    on implicit motives and leadership effectiveness}, DOI={<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-026-10264-z">10.1007/s11031-026-10264-z</a>},
    journal={Motivation and Emotion}, publisher={Springer Science and Business Media
    LLC}, author={Agethen, Katharina and Ötting, Sonja K. and Steinmann, Barbara},
    year={2026} }'
  chicago: Agethen, Katharina, Sonja K. Ötting, and Barbara Steinmann. “A Neo-Configurational
    Perspective on Implicit Motives and Leadership Effectiveness.” <i>Motivation and
    Emotion</i>, 2026. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-026-10264-z">https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-026-10264-z</a>.
  ieee: K. Agethen, S. K. Ötting, and B. Steinmann, “A neo-configurational perspective
    on implicit motives and leadership effectiveness,” <i>Motivation and Emotion</i>,
    2026.
  mla: Agethen, Katharina, et al. “A Neo-Configurational Perspective on Implicit Motives
    and Leadership Effectiveness.” <i>Motivation and Emotion</i>, Springer Science
    and Business Media LLC, 2026, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-026-10264-z">10.1007/s11031-026-10264-z</a>.
  short: K. Agethen, S.K. Ötting, B. Steinmann, Motivation and Emotion (2026).
date_created: 2026-08-14T14:56:44Z
date_updated: 2026-08-14T14:57:35Z
department:
- _id: 4b2dc5c9-bee3-11eb-b75f-ecc80f94fb21
doi: 10.1007/s11031-026-10264-z
language:
- iso: eng
publication: Motivation and Emotion
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 1573-6644
  issn:
  - 0146-7239
publication_status: published
publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
status: public
title: A neo-configurational perspective on implicit motives and leadership effectiveness
tmp:
  image: /images/cc_by.png
  legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
  name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)
  short: CC BY (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: '258651'
year: '2026'
...