Role of informal leadership of managers and their inclusion in informal subgroups in group effectiveness

Purpose This study analyzed several specific features of informal leadership, including informal leadership of managers, and also considered: (1) direct and indirect connections of informal leadership of managers with group social and performance effectiveness and (2) the role the manager's inclusion in an informal subgroup plays in the association between informal leadership and group effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach Forty-nine work groups (encompassing a total of 290 employees) from five participating organizations. A formal algorithm for identifying informal subgroups and three questionnaires were used to measure, respectively, informal leadership, and two types of group effectiveness. Findings Informal subgroups were found in 47 of the 49 work groups; their total number was 67. It was found that the manager's informal leadership is positively and more strongly associated with group social effectiveness than with group performance effectiveness. Furthermore, the relationship between the managers' informal leadership and group performance effectiveness was mediated by group social effectiveness and moderated by managers' inclusion in informal subgroups. Research limitations/implications The analysis of two variables – informal leadership of managers and their involvement in an informal subgroup – opens a new direction for studying the attitudes, behavior and influence of managers in a group context. The article concludes by presenting both theoretical and practical implications of its main findings. Originality/value For the first time, the role that informal leadership of managers and their involvement in an informal subgroup plays in two types of group effectiveness is addressed.