Full Text Available
Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.
Advancing managerial leadership development : philosophical, theoretical, and empirical insights from a humanistic adult learning perspective
Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2025.
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2026
|
| Subjects: | |
| Tags: |
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1867613914499383296 |
|---|---|
| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Scholtz, Gert Jacobus |
| author2 | Adams, Samantha |
| author_browse | Adams, Samantha Scholtz, Gert Jacobus |
| author_facet | Adams, Samantha Scholtz, Gert Jacobus |
| author_sort | Scholtz, Gert Jacobus |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2025. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/134811 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:43:43.080Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/134811 Advancing managerial leadership development : philosophical, theoretical, and empirical insights from a humanistic adult learning perspective Scholtz, Gert Jacobus Adams, Samantha Engelbrecht, Amos Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Dept. of Industrial Psychology. Leadership -- Study and teaching -- South Africa Executives -- Training of -- South Africa Management -- Study and teaching -- South Africa Adult learning -- South Africa Structural equation modeling -- South Africa UCTD Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2025. Scholtz, G. J. 2025. Advancing Managerial Leadership Development: Philosophical, Theoretical, and Empirical Insights from a Humanistic Adult Learning Perspective. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University [online]. Available: https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/6e9685aa-8aed-4011-b5a3-0a89a256002d ENGLISH SUMMARY: Managerial leadership development presents serious challenges for organisations, and leadership development researchers have many unanswered questions to address that will contribute to resolving these challenges. This research contributes to the development of more effective managerial leadership. This study advances managerial leadership development by evaluating a 24-month leadership development programme offered since 2014 by the Department of Industrial Psychology, Stellenbosch University, in collaboration with a management consulting firm. The study sought to contribute to a better understanding of the nomological network that affects essential design and delivery constructs of effective leadership development by evaluating a leadership development programme’s structural model, design, delivery, and validation. To this end, the study was structured around three research questions, leading to the findings that 1) following the evaluation of the humanistic philosophy of adult learning, this philosophy has an affirmative influence on the design and delivery of the leadership development programme; 2) the statistical evidence supported a positive evaluation of important correlations between leader personality, leader behaviour and leadership effectiveness; and 3) the statistical evidence supported a positive evaluation of important dimensions of the generalisation and maintenance of transfer outcomes following participation in the leadership development programme. To answer the three research questions, a mixed method methodology of an instrumental case study approach, integrative literature review, partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), and statistical techniques such as analysis of variance (ANOVA), Fisher’s least significant difference (LSD) post hoc tests, the trends of least square (LS) mean graphs, and effect size measurements were used, respectively. The research outcomes are reported in two published articles, a paper presented at an international conference, and a publishable article. The four articles contribute to a better understanding of the nomological network of essential design and delivery constructs of effective leadership development from both a praxis and a theory of leadership development perspective. Salient contributions to the praxis of leadership development include uncovering the influence of organisational-level structural and cultural dynamics on the effectiveness of leadership development programmes, advocating the importance of self-awareness of leadership development scholars and practitioners of their philosophy of adult learning to understand the values and assumptions that have an impact on their leadership development preferences during the design and implementation of leadership development interventions, exploring the case for why middle managers appear to benefit more from participation in leadership development programmes than is the case with senior and executive managers, and recommending humanistic philosophy of adult learning-based leadership development best practices. Salient contributions to the theory of leadership development include introducing the concept ‘philosophy of adult learning’ to the study of leadership development, using the adapted eight-dimension Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ)-based personality model rather than the Five-Factor Model of personality (FFM) when doing leadership development research, supporting the utility of the socioanalytic theory for categorising leadership behaviours as task-oriented or relationship-oriented, and developing a methodology for exploring the leadership development utility of different philosophies of adult learning. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die leierskapsontwikkeling van bestuurders hou ernstige uitdagings vir organisasies in, en navorsers op die gebied van leierskapsontwikkeling moet talle onbeantwoorde vrae beantwoord ten einde die uitdagings wat organisasies op hierdie gebied ervaar die hoof te bied. Hierdie navorsing lewer ʼn bydrae tot doeltreffender leierskapsontwikkeling van bestuurders. Die studie bevorder bestuursleierskap met die ondersoek van ʼn 24-maande-leierskapsontwikkelingsprogram wat sedert 2014 deur die Departement Bedryfsielkunde, Universiteit Stellenbosch, in samewerking met ʼn bestuurskonsultasiefirma aangebied word. Die doel van die studie was om ʼn bydrae te lewer tot beter begrip van die nomologiese netwerk wat ʼn invloed het op noodsaaklike ontwerp- en implementerings konstrukte van doeltreffende leierskapsontwikkeling deur die strukturele model, ontwerp, implementering en bekragtiging van ʼn leierskapontwikkelingsprogram te evalueer. Met hierdie doel voor oe is die studie op grond van drie navorsingsvrae gestruktureer. Die belangrikste bevindinge was dat 1) na evaluering van die humanistiese filosofie van volwasse onderrig bevind is dat hierdie filosofie ʼn positiewe invloed het op die ontwerp en implementering van leierskapsontwikkelingsprogramme; 2) die statistiese ontleding ʼn positiewe evaluering van belangrike korrelasies tussen leierpersoonlikheid, leiergedrag en leierskap doeltreffendheid ondersteun; en 3) die statistiese ontleding ʼn positiewe evaluering van belangrike dimensies van die veralgemening en handhawing van oordraguitkomste na deelname aan die leierskapsontwikkelingsprogram ondersteun. Ten einde die navorsingsvrae te beantwoord, is onderskeidelik ʼn instrumentele gevallestudiebenadering, ʼn integrerende literatuurstudie; parsie le kleinstekwadraat-strukturele vergelykingsmodellering (PLS-SEM), en statistiese tegnieke soos variansieanalise (ANOVA), Fisher se kleinstebetekenisvolleverskil (LSD)-post hoc-toets, die neigings van kleinstekwadraat (LS) gemiddelde-grafieke, en effekgrootte berekeninge gebruik. Verslag oor die uitkomste van die evaluerings word in twee gepubliseerde artikels, ‘n referaat by ‘n internasionale kongres, en in ‘n publiseerbare artikels gegee. Die vier artikels dra by tot ʼn beter begrip van die nomologiese netwerk van noodsaaklike ontwerp- en implementeringskonstrukte van doeltreffende leierskapsontwikkeling uit sowel ʼn praktiese perspektief as ʼn perspektief van die teorie van leierskapsontwikkeling. Belangrike bydraes tot die praktyk van leierskapsontwikkeling sluit in die blootlegging van die invloed van organisasies se strukturele en kulturele dinamika op die doeltreffendheid van leierskapsontwikkelingsprogramme, motivering vir die belang van bewustheid onder leierskapsontwikkelingsvakkundiges en -praktisyns van hul eie filosofie van volwasse onderrig ten einde die waardes en aannames te verstaan wat hul leierskapsontwikkelingsvoorkeure tydens die ontwerp en implementering van leierskapsontwikkelingsintervensies beinvloed, ʼn ondersoek na die redes waarom dit blyk dat middelvlakbestuurders meer waarde put uit deelname aan leierskapsontwikkelingsprogramme as wat die geval is met senior en uitvoerende bestuurders, en aanbeveling van humanistiese filosofie van volwasse onderrig gebaseerde beste praktyke vir leierskapsontwikkeling. Belangrike bydraes tot die teorie van leierskapsontwikkeling is onder meer die bekendstelling van die konsep ‘filosofie van volwasse onderig’ aan leierskapontwikkeling as studieveld, die gebruik van die agtdimensionele aangepaste Occupational Personality Questionnaire-(OPQ) gebaseerde persoonlikheidsmodel in plaas van die ‘Five-Factor Model’ van persoonlikheid vir navorsing oor leierskapsontwikkeling, ondersteuning vir die nut van die sosio-analitiese teorie om leierskapsgedrag as taakgerigte of verhoudingsgerigte gedrag te kategoriseer, en die ontwikkeling van ʼn navorsingsmetodologie vir die ondersoek van die nut van die verskillende filosofiee van volwasse onderrig vir leierskapsontwikkeling. Doctoral 2026-01-09T06:46:47Z 2026-01-09T06:46:47Z 2025-12 Thesis https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/134811 en Stellenbosch University xxiii, 402 pages : illustrations, includes annexures application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Leadership -- Study and teaching -- South Africa Executives -- Training of -- South Africa Management -- Study and teaching -- South Africa Adult learning -- South Africa Structural equation modeling -- South Africa UCTD Scholtz, Gert Jacobus Advancing managerial leadership development : philosophical, theoretical, and empirical insights from a humanistic adult learning perspective |
| title | Advancing managerial leadership development : philosophical, theoretical, and empirical insights from a humanistic adult learning perspective |
| title_full | Advancing managerial leadership development : philosophical, theoretical, and empirical insights from a humanistic adult learning perspective |
| title_fullStr | Advancing managerial leadership development : philosophical, theoretical, and empirical insights from a humanistic adult learning perspective |
| title_full_unstemmed | Advancing managerial leadership development : philosophical, theoretical, and empirical insights from a humanistic adult learning perspective |
| title_short | Advancing managerial leadership development : philosophical, theoretical, and empirical insights from a humanistic adult learning perspective |
| title_sort | advancing managerial leadership development philosophical theoretical and empirical insights from a humanistic adult learning perspective |
| topic | Leadership -- Study and teaching -- South Africa Executives -- Training of -- South Africa Management -- Study and teaching -- South Africa Adult learning -- South Africa Structural equation modeling -- South Africa UCTD |
| url | https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/134811 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT scholtzgertjacobus advancingmanagerialleadershipdevelopmentphilosophicaltheoreticalandempiricalinsightsfromahumanisticadultlearningperspective |