Staff Profile

Prof Birgit Schyns, Diplom, PhD
Contact Prof Birgit Schyns (email at birgit.schyns@durham.ac.uk)
Research profile/biography
Birgit is Professor in Organisational Behaviour at Durham University, UK. She received her PhD from the University of Leipzig, Germany in 2001. Before moving to the UK in 2006 as a Reader in OB at the University of Portsmouth, she lived and worked in the Netherlands from 2002 to 2006. Her research topics include leadership and career development. She has published widely on topics including Leader-Member Exchange, transformational leadership, implicit leadership theories, followers' perception of leadership as well as employability. Birgit has edited several special issues and two books. She is an associate editor for European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology and British Journal of Management and serves on several editorial boards.
Awards and Prizes
- CCL and European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology best paper 2005 award for Schyns, B., Paul, T., Mohr, G. & Blank, H. (2005). Comparing Antecedents and Consequences of Leader-Member Exchange in a German Working Context to Findings in the US. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 14, 1-22.
- Emerald Literati Network Highly Commended Award 2006 for Schyns, B. (2006). The role of implicit leadership theories in the performance appraisals and promotion recommendations of leaders. Equal Opportunities International, 25, 188-199.
- Best paper award in the Leadership Track at the British Academy of Management (2007) for Kiefer, T. & Schyns, B. (2007). Linking Leadership and Emotions: An Overview of Theory and Research. Paper presented at the Conference of the British Academy of Management (Warwick, 11th to 13th of September, 2007).
- Emerald Literati Network Highly Commended Award 2007 for Falkenburg, K. & Schyns, B. (2007). Work Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment and Withdrawal Behaviours. Management Research News, 30, 708-723.
Potential areas of supervision
- Leadership
- Career Pyschology
Research Groups
- Business and Management
- Communications Science
- Leadership and Followership
Research Interests
- Leadership
- Implicit leadership theories
- Leader-Member Exchange
- Perception biases
- Self-efficacy
- Career Psychology
Teaching Groups
- Executive MBA
- MSc Management
Publications
Books: edited
- Schyns, B. & Hansbrough, T. (2010). When leadership goes wrong: Destructive leadership, mistakes and ethical failures. Greenwich, CT, USA: Information Age Publishing.
- Schyns, B. & Meindl, J.R. (2005). Implicit Leadership Theories: Essays and Explorations. Leadership Horizons. Greenwich, CT, USA: Information Age Publishing.
Books: sections
- Kerschreiter, R., Schyns, B. & Frey, D. (2011). Führung. In Sozialpsychologie – Interaktion und Gruppe (Band 22). Frey, D. & Bierhoff, H.-W. Göttingen: Hogrefe.
- Schyns, B. & Blank, H. (2010). The limits of interactional leadership: the relationship between Leader-Member Exchange and span of control. In Gesund mit und ohne Arbeit. T. Rigotti, Korek, S. & Otto, K. Lengerich: Pabst Science Publishers. 305–314.
- Schyns, B. & Felfe, J. (2008). Challenges of Implicit Leadership Theories for Management. In 21st Century Management - A Reference Handbook. C. Wankel Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
- Schyns, B. & Meindl, J.R. (2006). Emotionalizing leadership in a cross-cultural context. In Advances in Global Leadership. Weldon, E. & Mobley, W.H. Greenwich, CT: JAI press. 4: 39-58.
- Schyns, B. (2006). Implicit theory of leadership. In Encyclopedia of Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Rogelberg, S.G. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 334-335.
- Schyns, B., Kroon, B. & Sanders, K. (2006). Leader-Member Exchange and solidarity behaviour – A study of reciprocity. In Sharing Network Leadership, LMX Leadership: The Series. Graen, G.B. Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing. 4.
- Schyns, B. & Paul, T. (2005). Dyadic Leadership and Organizational Outcomes – Different Results of Different Instruments? In Global Organizing Designs, LMX Leadership: The Series. Graen, G.B. & Graen, J.A. Greenwich, CT.: Information Age Publishing. 3: 173-203.
- Felfe, J. & Schyns, B. (2004). Der Einfluß von impliziten Führungstheorien und Persönlichkeitsmerkmalen auf die Wahrnehmung und Akzeptanz transformationaler Führung (The influence of implicit leadership theories and personality on the perception and acceptance of transformational leadership). In Psychologie und Wirtschaft leben. Aktuelle Themen der Wirtschaftspsychologie in Forschung und Praxis. Bungard, W., Koop, B. & Liebig, C. München, Germany: Hampp.
- Schyns, B. & Paul, T. (2004). Entwicklung einer Aufgabenanalyse für Führungskräfte. (Development of a task analysis for supervisors). In Psychologie und Wirtschaft leben. Aktuelle Themen der Wirtschaftspsychologie in Forschung und Praxis. W. Bungard, B. Koop & C. Liebig München, Germany: Hampp.
- Schyns, B. (2004). LMX in Germany -Theoretical and empirical reception of a dyadic leadership approach. In New frontiers of Leadership, LMX Leadership: The Series. Graen, G.B. Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing. 2: 139-165.
Journal papers: academic
- Antonakis, J., Day, D. V. & Schyns, B. (Accepted). Leadership and individual differences: At the cusp of a renaissance. Leadership Quarterly In press.
- Schyns, B. & Schilling, J. (2013). How bad are the effects of bad leaders? A meta-analysis of destructive leadership and its outcomes. The Leadership Quarterly 24(1): 138-158.
- Schyns, B., Maslyn, J.M. & van Veldhoven, M.J.P.M. (2012). Can some leaders have a good relationship with many followers? - The role of personality in the relationship between Leader-Member Exchange and span of control. Leadership and Organization Development Journal In press.
- Antonakis, J., Day, D. V. & Schyns, B. (2012). Leadership and individual differences: At the cusp of a renaissance. Leadership Quarterly In Press.
- Trichas, S. & Schyns, B. (2012). The face of leadership: Perceiving leaders from facial expression. Leadership Quarterly 23(3): 545-566.
- Edwards, G., Schyns, B., Gill, R. & Higgs, M. (2012). The MLQ factor structure in a UK context. Leadership and Organization Development Journal In press.
- Schyns, B. & Hansbrough, T. (2012). The Romance of Leadership scale and causal attributions. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 42(8): 1870-1886.
- Junker, N. M., Schyns, B., van Dick, R. & Scheurer, S. (2011). Die Bedeutung der Führungskräfte-Kategorisierung für Commitment, Arbeitszufriedenheit und Wohlbefinden unter Berücksichtigung der Geschlechterrollentheorie (The significance of leader categorization for commitment, job satisfaction and well-being in the context of the gender role theory). Zeitschrift für Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie 55(171-179).
- Schyns, B. & Schilling, J. (2011). Implicit leadership theories: Think leader, think effective?. Journal of Management Inquiry 20(2): 141-150.
- Schyns, B., Kiefer, T., Kerschreiter, R. & Tymon, A. (2011). Teaching Implicit Leadership Theories to develop leaders and leadership – How and why it can make a difference. Academy of Management Learning & Education 10(3): 397-408.
- Schyns, B. & Day, D. (2010). Critique and Review of Leader-Member Exchange Theory: Issues of Agreement, Consensus, and Excellence. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology 19(1): 1-29.
- Torka, N., Schyns, B. & Looise, J.K. (2010). Direct participation quality and organisational commitment: The role of Leader-Member exchange. 0142-5455 32(4): 418-434.
- Felfe, J. & Schyns, B. (2010). Followers’ personality and the perception of transformational leadership: Further evidence for the similarity hypothesis. British Journal of Management 21(2): 393-410.
- Schyns, B. & van Veldhoven, M.J.P.M. (2010). Group leadership climate and individual organizational commitment: A multi level analysis. Journal of Personnel Psychology 9(2): 57-68.
- Schyns, B. & Sczesny, S. (2010). Leadership attributes valence in self-concept and occupational self-efficacy. Career Development International 15(1): 78-92.
- Torka, N. & Schyns, B. (2010). On the job and co-worker commitment of Dutch agency workers and permanent employees. International Journal of Human Resource Management 21(8): 1307-1322.
- Howe-Walsh, L. & Schyns, B. (2010). Self-initiated expatriation: Implications for HRM. International Journal of Human Resource Management 21(2): 260-273.
- Schyns, B. & Day, D. (2010). The importance of agreement and consensus in leadership research Introduction to the Special Issue. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology 19(3): 253-258.
- Day, D.V. & Schyns, B. (2010). The importance of agreement and consensus in leadership research: introduction to the special issue. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology 19(3): 253-258.
- Schyns, B. & Hansbrough, T. (2010). The Romance of Leadership scale and causal attributions. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 42(8): 1870-1886.
- Schyns, B., Maslyn, J.M. & Weibler, J. (2010). Understanding the relationship between span of control and subordinate consensus in leader-member exchange. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology 19(3): 388-406.
- Schyns, B., van Veldhoven, M.J.P.M. & Wood, S. (2009). Organizational climate, relative psychological climate and job satisfaction: the example of supportive leadership climate. Leadership & Organization Development Journal 30(7): 649-663.
- Rigotti, T., Schyns, B. & Mohr, G. (2008). A short version of the Occupational self-efficacy scale. Structural and construct validity across five countries. Journal of Career Assessment 16(2): 238-255.
- van Dam, K., Oreg, S. & Schyns, B. (2008). Daily Work Contexts and Resistance to Organisational Change: The Role of Leader-Member Exchange, Development Climate, and Change Process Characteristics. Applied Psychology: An International Review 57(2): 313-334.
- Felfe, J., Schmook, R., Schyns, B. & Six, B. (2008). Does the form of employment make a difference? - Commitment of traditional, temporary, and self-employed workers. Journal of Vocational Behavior 72(1): 81-94.
- Schyns, B. (2008). Einflussfaktoren auf die Wahrnehmung von Führung (Influences on the perception of leadership). Zeitschrift für Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie 52(4): 182-190.
- Schyns, B., Kroon, B. & Moors, G. (2008). Follower characteristics and the perception of Leader-Member Exchange. Journal of Managerial Psychology 23(7): 772-788.
- Schyns, B., van Elversfeldt, A. & Felfe, J. (2008). Is there a male advantage in the effects of feedback and leadership on leaders’ occupational self-efficacy?. Equal Opportunities International 27(7): 596-612.
- Schyns, B. & Wolfram, H.J. (2008). The relationship between Leader-Member Exchange and outcomes as rated by leaders and followers. Leadership and Organization Development Journal 29(7): 631-646.
- Schyns, B. & Hansbrough, T. (2008). Why the brewery ran out of beer - The attribution of mistakes in a leadership context. Social Psychology 39(3): 197-203.
- Schyns, B. & Sanders, K. (2007). In the eyes of the beholder: Personality and the perception of leadership. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 37(10): 2345-2363.
- Schyns, B., Felfe, J. & Blank, H. (2007). Is charisma hyper-romanticism? Empirical evidence from new data and a meta-analysis. Applied Psychology: An International Review 56(4): 505-527.
- Bligh, M.C. & Schyns, B. (2007). Leading questions: The romance lives on: Contemporary issues surrounding the Romance of Leadership. Leadership 3(3): 343-360.
- Schyns, B. & Bligh, M.C. (2007). On the Romance of Leadership – In Memory of James R. Meindl. Applied Psychology: An International Review 56(4): 501-504.
- Schyns, B. & Bligh, M. (2007). On the Romance of Leadership – In Memory of James R. Meindl. Applied Psychology: An International Review (Special Issue).
- Torka, N. & Schyns, B. (2007). On the transferability of ‘traditional’ satisfaction theory to non-traditional employment relationships: Temp agency work satisfaction. Employee Relations 29(5): 440-457.
- Wolfram, H.-J., Mohr, G. & Schyns, B. (2007). Professional respect for female and male leaders: Influential gender-relevant factors. Women in Management Review 22(1): 19-32.
- Schyns, B., Meindl, J.R. & Croon, M.A. (2007). The Romance of Leadership Scale – Cross-cultural testing and refinement. Leadership 3(1): 29-46.
- Schyns, B., Torka, N. & Goessling, T. (2007). Turnover intention and preparedness for change: Exploring Leader-Member Exchange and occupational self-efficacy as antecedents of two employability predictors. Career Development International 12(7): 660-679.
- Falkenburg, K. & Schyns, B. (2007). Work Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment and Withdrawal Behaviours. Management Research News 30(10): 708-723.
- Schyns, B. & Croon, M.A. (2006). A model of task demands, social structure, and Leader-Member Exchange and their relationship to job satisfaction. International Journal of Human Resource Management 17(4): 602-615.
- Schyns, B. (2006). Are group consensus in Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) and shared work values related to organizational outcomes?. Small Group Research 37(1): 20-35.
- Kuijpers, M.A.C.T., Schyns, B. & Scheerens, J. (2006). Career competences for career success. Career Development Quarterly 55(2): 168-178.
- van Dam, K., van der Heijden, B.I.J.M. & Schyns, B. (2006). Employability en individuele ontwikkeling op het werk (Employability and individual development at the workplace). Gedrag en Organisatie 19(1): 53-68.
- van Breukelen, W., Schyns, B. & Le Blanc, P. (2006). Leader-Member Exchange theory and research: Accomplishments and future challenges. Leadership 2(3): 295-316.
- Sanders, K. & Schyns, B. (2006). Leadership and solidarity behaviour: Consensus in perception of employees within teams. Personnel Review 35(5): 538-556.
- Pundt, A., Böhme, H. & Schyns, B. (2006). Moderatorvariablen für den Zusammenhang zwischen Commitment und transformationaler Führung: Führungsdistanz und Kommunikationsqualität (Moderating variables for the relationship between commitment and transformational leadership: Leader distance, and the quality of communication between leader and follower). Zeitschrift für Personalpsychologie 5(3): 108-120.
- Felfe, J. & Schyns, B. (2006). Personality and the perception of transformational leadership: The impact of extraversion, neuroticism, personal need for structure, and occupational self efficacy. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 36(3): 708-739.
- Schyns, B. & Felfe, J. (2006). The personality of followers and its effect on the perception of leadership – An overview, a study and a research agenda. Small Group Research 37(5): 522-539.
- Schyns, B. (2006). The role of implicit leadership theories in the performance appraisals and promotion recommendations of leaders. Equal Opportunities International 25(3): 188-199.
- Schyns, B. & Sanders, K. (2006). Trust, conflict and cooperative behaviour considering reciprocity within organizations. Personnel Review 35(5): 508-518.
- Sanders, K. & Schyns, B. (2006). Trust, conflict and cooperative behaviour: Considering reciprocity within organizations. Personnel Review 35: 508-518.
- Schyns, B., Paul, T., Mohr, G. & Blank, H. (2005). Comparing Antecedents and Consequences of Leader-Member Exchange in a German Working Context to Findings in the US. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology 14(1): 1-22.
- Schyns, B. & Sanders, K. (2005). Exploring gender differences in leaders' occupational self-efficacy. Women in Management Review 20(7): 513-523.
- Pundt, A. & Schyns, B. (2005). Führung im Ideenmanagement - Der Zusammenhang zwischen transformationaler Führung und dem individuellen Engagement im Ideenmanagement (Leadership in idea management: The correlation between transformational leadership and personal effort in idea management). Zeitschrift für Personalpsychologie 4(2): 55-65.
- Sczesny, S., Bosak, J., Neff, D. & Schyns, B. (2004). Gender Stereotypes and the Attribution of Leadership Traits: A Cross-Cultural Comparison. Sex Roles 51(11-12): 631-645.
- Schyns, B. & Sanders, K. (2004). Impliciete leiderschap theorieën en de perceptie van transformationeel leiderschap: een replicatie van Duits onderzoek (Implicit leadership theories and the perception of transformational leadership: A replication of a German study). Gedrag en Organisatie 17(2): 143-154.
- Felfe, J. & Schyns, B. (2004). Is similarity in leadership related to organizational outcomes? The case of transformational leadership. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies 10(4): 92-102.
- Schyns, B. & Sanders, K. (2004). Mood and the evaluation of leaders – A replication using an employee sample. Current Research in Social Psychology 10(5): 58-68.
- Schyns, B. & Mohr, G. (2004). Non-verbal elements of leadership behaviour. German Journal of Human Resources Management 18(3): 289-305.
- Schyns, B. (2004). The influence of occupational self-efficacy on the relationship of leadership behavior and preparedness for occupational change. Journal of Career Development 30(4): 247-261.
- Sanders, K., Schyns, B., Koster, F. & Rotteveel, C. (2003). Het stimuleren van solidair gedrag: een kwestie van leiderschap? (Stimulating solidary behaviour: A question of leadership?). Gedrag en Organisatie 16(4): 237-254.
- Schyns, B. & Sanders, K. (2003). Mood and the evaluation of leaders. Current Research in Social Psychology 9(4): 50-59.
- Schyns, B. (2002). Überprüfung einer deutschsprachigen Skala zum Leader-Member-Exchange-Ansatz (Evaluation of a German scale for the assessment of Leader-Member-Exchange). Zeitschrift für Differentielle und Diagnostische Psychologie 23(2): 235-245.
- Schyns, B. & Collani, G. v. (2002). A new occupational self-efficacy scale and its relation to personality constructs and organizational variables. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology 11(2): 219-241.
- Schyns, B. (2002). Geschlecht und Differenzierung von Führung (Gender and Differentiation of Leadership). Wirtschaftspsychologie (Special issue Management und Geschlecht) 1: 45-49.
- Felfe, J. & Schyns, B. (2002). The relationship between employees' occupational self-efficacy and perceived transformational leadership - Replication, an extension of recent results. Current Research in Social Psychology 7(9): 137-162.
