Abstract
The factor structure of Bass’s Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire in the South African context. The aim of the study was to determine whether the factor structure of Bass’s Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ), as a measure of transformational leadership, could be replicated within the South African context. The MLQ was chosen not only because it promised to be a valid and reliable measuring instrument of the construct in question, but also due to the fact that there was an urgent need for such an instrument in the management of human resources within organisation undergoing transformation. The MLQ was administered to 406 subjects within the military context and was subjected to factor analysis and item analysis. The factor analysis yielded three factors, namely transformational leadership, transactional leadership and avoidance of leadership (”laissez faire” leadership). The reliabilities of the scales were determined by means of Cronbach’s coefficient alpha, and yielded coefficients of 0,944 0,736 and 0,803 respectively. The factor structure as conceptualised by Bass (1985) was largely confirmed in the present study.