The Relationship Between Leader Power Base And Influence: The Moderating Role Of Trust

Abstract

One of the most significant factors influencing the quality of leader-member relations and leader effectiveness is trust.  The purpose of this study is to examine the moderating role of trust between a leaders’ power base and their ability to influence their subordinates.  The sample consisted of 99 participants in which they responded to a questionnaire that measured 1) the leader’s power base (legitimate, coercive, reward, expert, referent, and information) according to French and Raven’s (1959) research, 2) the leader’s level of influence, and 3) the leader-member level of trust.  The results indicate that all bases on power have significant correlations with the trust variable.  The trust-influence relationship and the power influence relationship all showed a significant and positive correlation.  The results also indicate that the trust variable significantly affects the influence-power base relationships.