3. Attribution Theory within Charismatic Leadership
The observation that society and consumers ascribe charisma to certain CEOs strengthens the relational view of charismatic leadership (Fairhurst and Uhl-Bien 2012). The consumers and CEO interact with each other which leads to the construction of charismatic leadership (Day 2000). But, charismatic leadership is not just a relational phenomenon as the perception of charismatic leaders is rather subjective. Conger and Kanungo (1998) state that it is an attributional phenomenon as well. Therefore, insights from attribution theory help to extent the understanding of charismatic leadership by focusing on the consumer’s point of view. The analysis of consumer comments will lead to a better comprehension …show more content…
But the definition is imprecise, as it does not explain the attribution process any further (Conger and Kanungo 1987). This leaves room for approaching the question of how charismatic leaders are perceived as such from various points of view. One approach to better understand how consumers ascribe charisma is the use of attribution theory.
Attribution theory originates in the work of Fritz Heider (1958) who defined attribution as the ascription of a cause to an effect (Green and Mitchell 1979). In other words, it is about the process of answering “Why?” questions (Kelley 1973). People ask those questions to understand underlying reasons and links (Green and Mitchell 1979). The ascription of attributes to entities helps to characterize and deal with them (Kelley 1973). Consequently, attribution theory is the investigation of how individuals form such common sense explanations (Green and Mitchell 1979; Heider …show more content…
The relevance for attribution theory in leadership is built on the assumption that members interpret signals of their leaders (Davis and Gardner 2004). Attributional interpretations were used in leadership to gain an understanding of how subordinates use naive causal explanations to attribute leader behavior or in general define leadership (Green and Mitchell 1979). Researchers conduct attributional studies to gain insights into the dynamics of leadership, investigating attribution style, biases, demographic variables, personality traits, impression formation and influences on relationships (Martinko et al.
The observation that society and consumers ascribe charisma to certain CEOs strengthens the relational view of charismatic leadership (Fairhurst and Uhl-Bien 2012). The consumers and CEO interact with each other which leads to the construction of charismatic leadership (Day 2000). But, charismatic leadership is not just a relational phenomenon as the perception of charismatic leaders is rather subjective. Conger and Kanungo (1998) state that it is an attributional phenomenon as well. Therefore, insights from attribution theory help to extent the understanding of charismatic leadership by focusing on the consumer’s point of view. The analysis of consumer comments will lead to a better comprehension …show more content…
But the definition is imprecise, as it does not explain the attribution process any further (Conger and Kanungo 1987). This leaves room for approaching the question of how charismatic leaders are perceived as such from various points of view. One approach to better understand how consumers ascribe charisma is the use of attribution theory.
Attribution theory originates in the work of Fritz Heider (1958) who defined attribution as the ascription of a cause to an effect (Green and Mitchell 1979). In other words, it is about the process of answering “Why?” questions (Kelley 1973). People ask those questions to understand underlying reasons and links (Green and Mitchell 1979). The ascription of attributes to entities helps to characterize and deal with them (Kelley 1973). Consequently, attribution theory is the investigation of how individuals form such common sense explanations (Green and Mitchell 1979; Heider …show more content…
The relevance for attribution theory in leadership is built on the assumption that members interpret signals of their leaders (Davis and Gardner 2004). Attributional interpretations were used in leadership to gain an understanding of how subordinates use naive causal explanations to attribute leader behavior or in general define leadership (Green and Mitchell 1979). Researchers conduct attributional studies to gain insights into the dynamics of leadership, investigating attribution style, biases, demographic variables, personality traits, impression formation and influences on relationships (Martinko et al.