Antecedents of responsible leadership for chartered accountants in South Africa

Abstract

The need for responsible leadership behaviour of Chartered Accountants (South Africa) (CA(SA)) has become important in the context of the development in areas relating to ethical behaviour. Studies on the responsible leadership approach has indicated that it has a positive influence on the outcomes at organisational level. Researchers have reflected that responsible leadership does not occur in a vacuum and as a result the situational context that influences responsible behaviour is identified as an important area for future research, particularly for developing and emerging economies. The purpose of this study was to explore the antecedents of the responsible leader behaviour of CA(SA)s and the influence of the situational context on the responsible leader behaviour. The study was a qualitative exploratory study, through semi-structured interviews, that obtained insights from a total of 12 participants who were either qualified CA(SA)s or prospective CA(SA)s who were undergoing training to qualify as CA(SA)s at the time of the study. The participants were professionals or trainees in both public and private sector, and were at different levels of occupations including executive, management, and junior management levels. The study finds that professional competence comprising of professional attributes and technical competence are antecedents to responsible leader behaviour of CA(SA). Further, the institutional context and development of responsible leaders contributes to the situational context that enables proactive responsible leader behaviour, whilst the regulatory context contributes to a situational context that enables passive responsible leader behaviour. The study contributes to literature by expanding the understanding of the antecedents of responsible leader behaviour and the influence of situational context in the context of a developing economy.