The interplay of authentic leadership and social capital on team leader performance in public and private sector universities

Purpose This study aims to investigate the impact of authentic leaders on the performance of educational leaders in public and private universities in Pakistan. The study further examines the moderating role of social capital in this relationship. Design/methodology/approach The authors collected data from 259 academic heads of public and private universities and tested hypotheses using macro PROCESS. Findings The findings demonstrate that authentic leaders have a significant positive effect on team leader performance in both public and private universities. In addition, the authors establish that the positive impact of authentic leaders on team leader performance is stronger among employees with high social capital. Originality/value The education literature lacks evidence of the process through which authentic leaders influence team leader performance. The study is unprecedented in assessing whether social capital moderates the direct influence of authentic leaders on team leader performance.