Effects of transformational leadership and anonymity on idea generation in computer-mediated groups

A laboratory experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of high and low levels of transformational leadership style and anonymity on 36 undergraduate student work groups using a Group Decision Support System (GDSS) to perform an idea generation task. Transformational leadership was manipulated through confederate leaders who displayed leadership behaviors and entered comments into the GDSS according to scripts. Results of analysis of variance indicated that groups working under high transformational leadership generated more original solutions, supportive remarks, solution clarifications, and questions about solutions and reported higher levels of perceived performance, extra effort, and satisfaction with the leader than groups working under low transformational leadership. Results also indicated that anonymous groups generated more critical comments and less problem clarifications than identified groups. Implications of these results for organizational researchers and managers are discussed.