Abstract: The leadership effectiveness in the Chinese context was examined through a meta-analytical review of 33517 employees from 92 samples. The study was conducted to investigate the relationship between two behavior-oriented (transformational leadership, and abusive supervision), one relationship- oriented leadership (leader-member exchange), three attitudinal (job satisfaction, affective commitment, and stay intention), and two behavioral criteria (task performance, and organizational citizenship behavior). Results indicated that: (1) Transformational leadership and leader-member exchange were positively, while abusive supervision was negatively related to all criteria. (2) Leader-member exchange showed greatest validity, followed by transformational leadership and abusive supervision in predicting follower attitudes, while in terms of follower behaviors, abusive supervision mattered most, followed by leader-member exchange and transformational leadership. (3) Relationship-oriented leadership partially mediated the association of behavior-oriented leadership with attitudinal and behavioral criteria.

Key words: transformational leadership, leader-member exchange, abusive supervision, leadership effectiveness, meta-analysis