A Comparative Analysis of Values-Based Leadership Theories: A Review and Future Research Agenda

This paper systematically reviews the literature on values-based leadership (VBL) theories by analyzing 161 studies published in different peer-review journals from 2000 to 2022. The study first identified the literature on VBL and found that the terms “values-oriented, valuescentered, or value-based” leadership are used interchangeably as a roof term for various theories focusing on the moral, authentic, principled, and ethical dimensions of leadership. The literature on leadership offers different types of leadership theories that constitute VBL, but we focused on six leadership theories that are widely cited as forms of VBL and have a strong theoretical background. The key theoretical components of each theory were then compared to pinpoint how they relate to the other forms of VBL theories. Our results from the comparative analysis revealed that transformational leadership is a broader theory and many of the core dimensions of the other five VBL theories overlap with the essential theoretical components of transformational leadership which raises a question on their distinctiveness as separate theories. Based on our literature review, we offered our conceptualization of VBL to bring more clarity and harmonization to the concept. Finally, we presented a conclusion and forwarded an agenda for future research. Introduction Leadership is one of the most researched areas in organizational studies and leadership researchers are persistently looking at the key constructs of leadership. Hence, today’s leadership theories have evolved over time, and the theory of leadership has been changing from time to time; Grint (2011:13) mentioned that “leadership has been always related to the cultural mores that prevail at the time, and what appears ‘normal’ at one time can often appear extraordinarily naive when considered retrospectively.” Over the last few decades, SIMON TAREKE ABAY ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA JORGE F. S. GOMES LISBON, PORTUGAL ABEBA BEYENE MENGISTU ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA