How leader impulsivity and unethical behavior shapes follower hostility and pseudo-transformational leadership

Purpose To examine how leader trait impulsivity influences follower hostility and perceptions of pseudo-transformational leadership, and to test whether these effects depend on perceptions of leaders' ethical leader behavior. Design/methodology/approach We conducted a multi-wave field study of leader–follower teams (NLeaders = 164; NFollowers = 738). Leader trait impulsivity was assessed via self-reports, whereas followers reported perceptions of ethical leader behavior, hostility toward the leader, and pseudo-transformational leadership. Moderated mediation analyses tested whether ethical leader behavior conditions the indirect effect of impulsivity on leadership perceptions via follower hostility. Findings Results revealed a significant moderated mediation. The indirect effect of leader impulsivity on pseudo-transformational leadership via follower hostility depended on ethical leader behavior, such that the indirect association differed in direction across levels of the moderator. When ethical leadership was low, impulsivity weakly associated with higher hostility and stronger pseudo-transformational leadership evaluations, although this indirect effect was marginally significant. In contrast, when ethical leadership was high, impulsivity was associated with lower hostility and more favorable leadership evaluations, yielding a significant negative indirect effect. Together, these findings indicate that the impact of impulsivity can be conditional and context-dependent. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by isolating trait impulsivity as a driver of pseudo-transformational leadership and demonstrating that its effects are contingent on ethical leader behavior. By showing that the indirect effect of impulsivity via follower hostility can shift direction depending on ethical context, the findings extend prior work on pseudo-transformational leadership and refine understanding of how leader traits are interpreted by followers.