Charismatic Leadership theories

Unknown (1992). Charismatic Leadership in Service-Producing

Organizations. International Journal of Service Industry Management 3(2)

Abstract:

A new genre of leadership theory, emerging over the last decade and a half and variously
referred to as charismatic, visionary, inspirational, or transformational, derives from
approximately 25 empirical investigations based on a wide variety of samples and
methods and conducted in a wide variety of cultures. Strong convergence among the
findings of these studies indicates that the new genre of theory accounts for substantial
variance in leader and follower effectiveness, follower motivation, commitment,
satisfaction, and team performance. Charismatic leadership is likely to emerge and be
effective in organizations committed to contributing non-routine, high quality services or
products to customers or clients. Consequently, such leadership is likely to emerge and to
enhance the effectiveness of many service organizations. It is especially needed in
organizations that function on the basis of an organizational philosophy that includes
social and moral values as well a! s profit maximization.

Copyright MCB University Press Limited 1992

Full Text:

The purpose of this article is to provide a summary of recent research and theory
concerning charismatic leadership and to discuss the relevance of such leadership to
service-producing organizations. Charismatic leadership is likely to emerge and be
effective in organizations which are committed to contributing non-routine, high quality
services or products to customers or clients. Consequently, such leadership is likely to
emerge and to enhance the effectiveness of many service organizations. Charismatic
leadership is especially needed in organizations which function on the basis of an
organizational philosophy which includes social and moral values as well as profit
maximization. Berlew 5! has argued that most organizations, even routine profit-
maximizing organizations, have substantial opportunities to contribute to social and
moral ends which are over and above pragmatic economic ends. For example, Berlew
lists several ideological value contributions that most organiz! ations can offer their
members and their clients or customers, in addition to contributing economic value to
owners and providing income-earning opportunities to members. Some of these
contributions which are especially relevant to service organizations are:

* a chance to be part of an honest, non-exploitative business and to provide customers or

clients with high quality products and services;
* a chance to do something well--for example, to be really creative, to contribute
something of one's self to the service offered by the organization;

* a chance to change the way things are--for example, participating in civic organizations
to ensure a healthy and safe environment for those who have contact with, or rely on, the
business organizations in the immediate community.

One could add a number of other contributions that most service organizations can make.
For example:

* professional development of employees to levels much higher than their expectations

and aspirations--to levels they did not know they could attain;

* creation of jobs which offer psychological health and intrinsic satisfaction as well as
freedom from economic want;

* elevation of the standard of living of a number of people as a result of excellence in

competitive performance.

Given the increase in the number of service organizations in the international economy in
recent years, and the expected changes in the business climate as a result of the
formulation of the European Economic Community, service organizations in Europe are
in an opportune position to make contributions of the kind listed above. It is the
identification of such values in the form of a vision that is the sine qua non of charismatic
leadership. However, charismatic leadership is much more than the creation and
articulation of an ideological vision. Charismatic leadership consists of the infusion of
values and the implementation of policies, programmes and actions to support the vision.
This is accomplished by arousing in the membership the motives that are relevant to the
accomplishment of the vision and engaging the self-concepts of the members in the
pursuit of the vision. The essence of charismatic leadership consists of: the articulation of
a transcendent ideological visi! on--one that transcends the self-interests of followers;
motive arousal of followers; and the engagement of followers' self-definition, self-esteem
and self-worth in the vision and mission of the leader, or the organization for which the
leader stands. In this article we briefly summarize the most recent theory and the
available empirical evidence concerning charismatic leadership. We then discuss some of
the implications of this theory and evidence for service-producing organizations.

RECENT THEORETICAL DEVELOPMENTS

During the last decade and a half there has been a substantial breakthrough in leadership
research and theory. A number of authors have advanced theories of outstanding
leadership variously referred to as "charismatic", "visionary", "transformational" or
"inspirational".

Charismatic theory was first referred to by Max Weber 6!. House has since advanced a
psychological theory of charismatic leadership 7!. "Transformational leadership" is a
term first used by Burns 8! and this concept was subsequently extended and
operationalized by Bass in his book, Leadership and Performance beyond Expectations
9!. Yukl and Van Fleet used the term "inspirational leadership" in an award-winning
article in 1982 10!, while Bennis and Nanus advanced a theory of visionary leadership
based on interviews with 90 chief executive officers 11!--a theory extended and
operationalized by Sashkin 12!. Conger and Kanungo presented an attribution-based
theory of charismatic leadership 13!; Trice and Beyer 14! described how charismatic
leaders routinize aspects of the charismatic mission to ensure its vitality subsequently.
Tichy and Devanna 15! describe transformational leaders' strategies and behaviours based
on interviews with 11 reputed transformational leaders. More! recently House et al. 1!
presented a test of a theory that integrates House's 1977 theory of charismatic leadership
7! with McClelland's Leader Motive Profile Theory. Several additional theoretical
extensions have been advanced 2,3,4!.

WHAT IS THIS NEW GENRE OF THEORY?

In this new genre of theory, leadership is claimed to affect followers in ways that are
quantitatively greater than, and qualitatively different from, the effects specified in past
theories. My colleagues and I refer to this new genre of theories as charismatic leadership
theory because charisma is a central concept in all of them, either explicit or implicit.
According to this new genre of leadership theory, such leaders transform the needs,
values, preferences and aspirations of followers from self-interests to collective interests.
Further, they cause followers to become highly committed to the leader's mission, to
make significant personal sacrifices in the interest of the mission, and to perform above
and beyond the call of duty.

ESSENTIAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CHARISMATIC AND TRADITIONAL

LEADERSHIP THEORIES

In contrast with earlier theories which concern the effects of leaders on follower
cognitions, satisfaction and performance, charismatic theories take as their dependent
variables emotional attachment to the leader on the part of the followers; emotional and
motivational arousal of the followers as a consequence of the leader's behaviours, and
thus enhancement of follower valences and values with respect to the mission articulated
by the leader; followers' self-esteem, trust and confidence in the leader; values that are of
major importance to followers; and follower intrinsic motivation.

The leader behaviour specified by charismatic theories is also different. The earlier
theories describe leader behaviour in terms of leader-follower relationships 16,17,18!,
providing direction and support 19,20! and reinforcement behaviours 21!. In contrast, the
new leadership paradigm emphasizes symbolic leader behaviour, visionary and
inspirational ability, non-verbal communication, appeal to ideological values, and
intellectual stimulation and empowerment of followers by the leader. Charismatic leaders
transform organizations primarily by infusing into them ideological values and moral
purpose, thus inducing strong commitment rather than by affecting the instrumental
cognitions or the task environment of followers, or by offering material incentives and
the threat of punishment 2!.

EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE

As of our last count, there have been at least 25 studies of this new genre of leadership
theory. These studies have been conducted using a wide variety of methods, including
laboratory experimentation, participant observation, cross-sectional and longitudinal
survey research in natural settings, case studies, qualitative interpretative analysis,
rigorous content analysis of interviews, observation in a management game, and analysis
of archival data.

These studies have also been based on a wide variety of samples, including US national
presidents, university students, informal project champions, chief executive officers,
military combat and non-combat squad leaders, naval and air-force cadet squadron-
leaders, and middle-and lower-level managers in the USA. In addition, middle managers
in India, school principals in Singapore, and managers of supermarkets in Holland have
been studied. The reader is referred to a recent article by House and Shamir for a review
of these studies 4!.

THE EFFECTS OF CHARISMATIC LEADERS

Space limitations prevent a detailed review of the methodology and the specific findings
of each of these studies. However, collectively, the findings indicate that charismatic
behaviours produce the theoretical charismatic effects on followers specified above as
dependent variables, receive higher performance ratings, have more satisfied and more
highly motivated followers, and are viewed as more effective leaders by their superiors
and followers than others in positions of leadership. Further, the effect size of charismatic
leader behaviour on follower satisfaction and performance generally ranges well below
0.01 probability of error owing to change, with correlations frequently ranging in the
neighbourhood of 0.50 or better.

CHARISMATIC LEADER BEHAVIOURS

According to House's 1976 theory of charismatic leadership 7!, the leader behaviours that
theoretically result in these effects are:

(1) Articulation of an ideological vision--a vision that specifies a better future stated in
terms of social contribution and moral values, such as human rights, peace, freedom,
order, equality and attainment of status and privileges that are claimed to be the moral
right of the followers.

(2) Communication of messages that contain reference to distal as opposed to proximal

goals, frequent reference to values and moral justifications and to the collective identity,
and frequent reference to followers' worth and efficacy as individuals.
(3) Behaviourally role-modelling the values implied in the vision by personal example.

(4) Expressing high performance expectations of followers.

(5) Expressing a high degree of confidence in followers' ability to meet such

expectations.

(6) Behaviours that selectively arouse the non-conscious achievement, power and
affiliative motives of followers, when these motives are specifically relevant to the
attainment of the vision.

Other authors have suggested additional charismatic leader behaviours. Weber 6! argued
that charismatic leaders offer radical solutions to major social problems. Bass suggested
that charismatic leaders intellectually stimulate their followers and foster follower
autonomy and self-leadership 9!. Conger and Kanungo 13! and Sashkin 12! argue that
charismatic leaders take extraordinary risks in pursuit of their vision and are sensitive to
follower needs and considerate of followers. With the exception of (6) above, which has
not yet been empirically investigated, all the above behaviours have been shown
empirically to differentiate charismatic leaders from non-charismatic leaders and to have
a positive effect on leader and follower effectiveness and follower motivation and
satisfaction.

PERSONALITY OF CHARISMATIC LEADERS

House's 7! theory of charismatic leadership includes a description of personality

characteristics that theoretically differentiate charismatic from non-charismatic, leaders.
According to this theory, charismatic leaders are higher on self-confidence, non-verbal
expressiveness, ability to be articulate, and the need for influence or power. Further,
according to this theory, charismatic leaders have exceptionally strong convictions in the
moral correctness of their beliefs.

Support for the general proposition that personality traits differentiate charismatic from
non-charismatic leaders has also been reported in six recent field studies. These are
reviewed in some detail by House and Howell 3!. An interesting and somewhat surprising
picture of the charismatic personality can be drawn from the research cited above. House
and Howell concluded from a review of the above findings that charismatic leaders are
differentiated from non-charismatic leaders by several personality traits. These include
high energy and endurance; cognitive (as opposed to non-conscious or emotional)
achievement-oriented values, work involvement and enthusiasm; strong tendencies to be
creative, innovative, visionary and inspirational; strong inclinations to be confident in and
encouraging towards followers; a high desire for change and a propensity to take risks,
strong self-confidence and good social adjustment, and a tendency to be assertive and yet
socially adroit; a ! high need for power, coupled with a strong concern for the moral and
non-exploitative use of power in a socially desirable manner; a tendency to be pragmatic
and willing to exercise influence with a variety of influence tactics but not to be
dominant, tough, forceful, aggressive or critical; a tendency to be intellectually
stimulating and show a strong concern for the development of followers; and a tendency
to be nurturant, socially sensitive, and sensitive to and considerate of follower needs.

From the above review, it can be safely concluded that there is a strong convergence of
the findings from studies concerned with charismatic leadership and those concerned
with transformational, inspirational and visionary leadership. All these studies
demonstrate the importance of the leader behaviours identified in earlier theorizing by
Bass 9! and by House 7!, and are consistent with later theorizing by Conger and Kanungo
13!; Bennis and Nanus 11!; Tichy and Devanna 15!; Sashkin 12!; and Trice and Beyer
14!. Collectively, the findings indicate that leaders who engage in the theoretical
charismatic behaviours produce a select set of behaviours that are characteristic of
charismatic leaders. These conclusions were demonstrated not only in the US, but also in
Singapore, India and The Netherlands. Further, the limited available evidence from US
studies suggests that there are selected personality characteristics, as well as behaviours,
that differentiate charismatic from n! on-charismatic leaders.

While the personality characteristics, behaviours and effects of charismatic leaders are
substantially different from those of non-charismatic leaders, until recently there has been
no theory to explain the motivational processes by which such leaders have the profound
effects on followers that they have. Shamir et al. have advanced a theory to account for
such effects 2!. This theory explains the effects of charismatic leader behaviour as a
function of the leader's ability to engage follower self-concepts and arouse follower
motives. We briefly restate this theory here.

MOTIVATIONAL PROCESSES SELF-CONCEPT THEORY

The self-concept theory asserts that some of the most important effects of charismatic
leaders are that they increase the intrinsic value of effort and goal accomplishment,
followers' level of self-worth and self-efficacy, expectancies of goal or mission
accomplishment, faith in a better future, and commitment to the values of the leader's
vision--and consequently to the goals of the mission set forth by the leader. More
specifically, such leaders increase the intrinsic valence of efforts and goals by linking
them to valued aspects of the followers' self-concept, thus harnessing the motivational
forces of self-expression, self-consistency, self-esteem and self-worth. Further,
charismatic leaders change the salience hierarchy of values and identities within the
followers' self-concept, thus increasing the probability that these values and identities
will be implicated in action.

Since values and identities are socially based, their control of behaviour is likely to
represent a shift from the instrumental to the moral and from concern with individual
gains to concern with contributions to a collective. Finally, the theory asserts that
charismatic leaders increase self-efficacy and collective efficacy through positive
evaluations, higher expectations, and by emphasizing the individual's ties to the
collective. These effects on followers' sense of efficacy result in the instillation of faith in
a better future.
This theory asserts that leaders implicate the self-concept of followers by engaging in
behaviours specified in the following proposition:

PROPOSITION 1. Compared with the messages of non-charismatic leaders, the

deliberate and non-deliberate messages of charismatic leaders will contain more reference
to:

* values and moral justifications and less reference to tangible outcomes;

* the collective and the collective identity;

* history;

* positive aspects to followers' worth and efficacy as individuals;

* distal goals and less reference to proximal goals.

The theory also asserts that, when leaders engage in the behaviours specified in the 1976
theory of leadership (articulation of an ideological vision, behaviourally role-modelling
the values implied in the vision by personal example, expressing high performance
expectations of followers and expressing a high degree of confidence in followers' ability
to meet such expectations), together with the behaviours specified in Proposition 1,
followers' self-concepts will become strongly engaged. Thus:

PROPOSITION 2. In comparison with followers of non-charismatic leaders, followers of

charismatic leaders will have a higher:

* salience of the collective identity in their self-concept;

* sense of consistency between their self-concept and their actions on behalf of the leader
and the collective;

* level of self-esteem and a greater sense of self-worth;

* similarity between their self-concept and their perception of the leader;

* sense of collective efficacy;

* sense of "meaningfulness".

Thus the self-concept-based theory of motivation specifies a unique set of behaviours and
effects of charismatic leaders. In addition to engaging follower self-concept, we argue
that charismatic leaders also arouse non-conscious motives of followers. We now turn to
a discussion of the effects of leaders on such follower non-conscious motives.

FOLLOWER MOTIVE AROUSAL AS A FURTHER EXTENSION

House and Shamir 4! argue that charismatic leaders arouse powerful motivations of
followers and that such motive arousal results in important effects: further engagement of
follower self-concepts, strong enhancement of follower intrinsic satisfaction from
participation in the charismatic mission, strong enhancement of intrinsic valence of goal
pursuit, and increased commitment to the vision, mission and goal accomplishment.
House and Shamir also further argue that these effects are attained as a result of selective
motive arousal of followers. We now turn to a discussion of each of these issues.

SELECTIVE AROUSAL OF RELEVANT FOLLOWER MOTIVES. Leaders selectively

arouse follower non-conscious achievement, affiliation and power motives. Motive
arousal results in increased engagement of the self, self-monitoring and self-evaluation.
Such arousal engages the self-worth component of motivation and increases motivation
on the part of followers.

Leaders selectively arouse follower motives because the performance consequences of

motive arousal are contingent on the requirements of the mission. More specifically,
when task demands of subordinates require personal assumption of calculated risks,
achievement-oriented initiative, assumption of personal responsibility, and persistence
towards challenging goals, the arousal of the achievement motive will enhance intrinsic
satisfaction and motivation and will facilitate effective performance and goal attainment.

When the task demands of subordinates require them to be persuasive, assert influence
over or exercise control over others, or be highly competitive or combative, the arousal of
the power motive is hypothesized to enhance intrinsic motivation and satisfaction and
facilitate performance. When task demands require affiliative behaviour, as in the case of
tasks requiring cohesiveness teamwork and peer support, the arousal of the affiliative
motive becomes highly relevant to intrinsic motivation, satisfaction and performance.
Thus we assert that one of the major effects that charismatic leaders have on their
followers is arousal of motives that are especially relevant to the mission envisaged by
the leader.

FURTHER ENGAGEMENT OF FOLLOWER SELF-CONCEPTS. Under conditions of

motive arousal, individuals increasingly focus their attention on their own behaviour in
pursuit of motive satisfaction. They focus attention on the goals pursued, sharpen their
cognitive representations of goal attainment, anticipate and vicariously experience the
feelings they will have as a consequence of goal attainment and as a consequence of
failure, consider the barriers to goal attainment, form strategies to overcome barriers,
anticipate the support they will receive from others, calculate their own strengths and
weaknesses with respect to goal attainment, monitor and reflect on their progress, use
available information for assessing progress towards their goals, seek out and create
additional sources of feedback, and adjust their behaviour to correct mistakes and
dysfunctional strategies. (For a review of the relevant literature and empirical evidence
with respect to the effects of motive arousal, ! see 22!.)

Motive arousal results in these behaviours spontaneously and for the most part non-
consciously. That is, most individuals are not likely to be able to explain their behaviour
in response to motive arousal stimuli. Individuals may or may not even be aware of the
specific stimuli that arouse their motives or the specific behaviours that are mobilized by
such stimuli. As a consequence of motive arousal, individuals become further self-
engaged and their feelings of self-worth and self-efficacy become contingent upon
satisfying the aroused motives.

ENHANCEMENT OF FOLLOWER INTRINSIC VALENCE OF GOAL

ACCOMPLISHMENT. As stated above, self-engagement enhances the intrinsic valence
of goal accomplishment. Further, aroused motives lead to increased intrinsic satisfaction
of goal accomplishment, because the goals become more valent when motives are
aroused than when they are not. This is a well-established empirical generalization that
has been demonstrated repeatedly in experimental studies by McClelland and his
associates 22!.

ENHANCEMENT OF FOLLOWER INTRINSIC SATISFACTION FROM

PARTICIPATION IN THE MISSION. Since motive arousal makes goals more valent,
the behaviour involved in pursuit of the goals also becomes more positively or negatively
valent, dependent on whether the individual experiences progress or failure in pursuit of
the goal. Satisfaction results from progress and feelings of frustration and perhaps even
depression results from failure to experience progress. Thus motive arousal results in
powerful effects on follower motivation.

INCREASED COMMITMENT TO THE MISSION. Since motive arousal results in

increased self-engagement, and since the experience of self-worth and self-efficacy is
contingent on goal attainment, it becomes highly dissonant for the individual to resist
commitment to the vision and to the mission of the leader. Thus motive arousal
stimulated by the leader will result in enhanced and rather binding internalized
commitment to the leader's goals and values.

It should be noted, however, that commitment is a double-edged sword. To the extent that
the leader's goals and values are in conflict with those of the organization, such as when
leaders represent a challenge to the status quo, charismatic leadership is likely to induce
negative attitudes towards the organization and resistance to directives from management
by organizational members. Thus charismatic leadership represents a strong force for or
against member commitment to organizational goals.

CONDITIONS THAT FAVOUR THE EMERGENCE AND EFFECTIVENESS OF

CHARISMATIC LEADERSHIP

It should be noted that not all organizations require charismatic leaders. Further, there are
some intraorganizational conditions that favour the emergence and effectiveness of
charismatic leaders and other conditions that either suppress the leader's ability to express
charismatic leader behaviour or conflict with the values and vision for which a
charismatic leader might stand. Shamir et al. 2! have advanced a theoretical discussion of
the conditions under which charismatic leadership is more likely to emerge and to
produce positive effects. Because there has been no empirical research on this topic, the
following discussion must be considered speculative.

First, the organizational task is a relevant consideration. Recall that charismatic

leadership gives meaning to efforts and goals by connecting them to followers' self-
concepts and values. These values are likely to reflect, at least in part, the dominant
values of society. Thus it follows that charismatic leadership is more likely to emerge and
be effective when the organizational task is closely related to dominant social values than
when it is unrelated to such values or contradicts them. Consequently, it is easier to
translate the former task into a mission.

For example, given the Dutch passion for flowers, and Dutch pride in The Netherlands'
canals, we would expect most Dutch citizens to be opposed to organizations that produce
wastes and smoke emissions that threaten the natural environment in flower-producing
geographical regions or pollute the canals and waterlands of The Netherlands. Further,
we would expect charismatic leaders to emerge in flower-producing organizations and in
social movements that oppose environmental pollution.

These examples illustrate the theoretical notion that the situation, or organization, must
offer at least some opportunity for "moral" involvement. Otherwise charismatic
leadership cannot emerge. Service organizations usually require a high degree of
interaction between organizational members and the clients or customers served by the
organization. Here we return to Berlew's 5! argument that such organizations offer their
members opportunities to be part of a non-exploitative, honest business that provides
significant services for clients and customers. Service employees can take pride in, and
enjoy, providing for clients and customers, with whom they frequently interact, honest,
high quality personalized service. Thus such service organizations offer fertile grounds
for the emergence of charismatic leaders.

Secondly, charismatic leadership is more likely to be relevant under conditions that do

not favour leadership based on the use of contingent extrinsic rewards and punishments.
The use of contingent reward and punishment requires the leader to have the ability to
specify and clarify goals, and to have considerable knowledge about the means for
achieving the goals. Such extrinsic motivational practices require objective or highly
consensual ways of measuring performance and assume that the leader has considerable
discretion about the allocation of rewards on the basis of performance. Under such
conditions, the utilitarian and calculative logic of a leader who uses extrinsic motivation
can be clarified to the followers and adhered to by the leader 2!. Consequently, under
such conditions, charismatic leadership is not required for effective performance of
followers.

Thus it is argued that charismatic leadership is more likely to emerge when performance
goals cannot be easily specified and measured and when the leader cannot link extrinsic
rewards to individual performance. Service organizations that produce unique non-
routine services are characterized by the absence of clear, specific and quantitative goals.
Such organizations usually require members who devote diligence and personal care to
their work. Thus such service organizations are very likely to benefit from charismatic
leadership.

Thirdly, charismatic leadership may be more appropriate under exceptional conditions,

such as those requiring non-routine and unusually high performance. When conditions
change or when the situation requires exceptional efforts, behaviours and sacrifices,
extrinsically motivated non-charismatic leadership is not likely to be effective, since it is
by definition "conditional" and these situations require "unconditional" commitment.
Furthermore, in unstable conditions or when a new organization is being formed, there is
more ambiguity and anxiety and a greater need for orientation on the part of
organizational members. Under such conditions, members are more likely to look for
charismatic leaders and to accept their definitions of the organization's identity and its
mission. Organizations that provide services in times of emergency, such as police, fire-
fighting or rescue organizations, or emergency units in hospitals, would be additional
examples of service organizations t! hat would benefit from charismatic leadership.

Based on the above reasoning, we suggest the following theoretical proposition:

PROPOSITION 3. The emergence and effectiveness of charismatic leaders will be

facilitated to the extent that: (a) there is an opportunity for substantial moral involvement
on the part of the leader and the followers; (b) performance goals cannot be easily
specified and measured; extrinsic rewards cannot be made clearly contingent on
individual performance; (c) there are few situational cues, constraints and reinforcers to
guide behaviour and provide incentives for specific performance; and (d) exceptional
effort, behaviour and sacrifices are required of both the leaders and followers.

We would like to emphasize, however, that our analysis does not rule out the possibility
of charismatic leadership in non-exceptional situations. Members maybe alienated from
the existing organizational order under routine, but dissatisfying, frustrating, or stress-
inducing situations as well. Charismatic leadership may emerge to lead a movement to
alleviate such alienating conditions.

CONCLUSION

In this article, we have focused on certain fundamental effects of charismatic leaders on

followers. We have argued that these effects are produced by leadership actions that
selectively arouse non-conscious motives, implicate the self-concept of the followers, and
engage the related motivations for self-expression, self-esteem, self-worth and self-
consistency. We have summarized the available evidence and theory concerning
charismatic leadership. Hopefully, this summary will help to provide greater insights
concerning the charismatic phenomena. We recognize that the last section, which deals
with conditions that favour the emergence and effectiveness of charismatic leadership, is
speculative. However, we believe such speculation is warranted because it resulted in a
testable conclusion and therefore need not be taken on faith alone.
Some scholars have voiced scepticism concerning whether or not leaders can make a
difference in organizational performance 23,24,25!. This scepticism reflects the argument
that people are biased towards over-attributing to leaders influence on events which are
complex and difficult to understand. As a result, leadership in general, and charismatic
leadership in particular, could be dismissed as an exaggerated perception on the part of
the followers, which does not have strong substantial effects on organizational outcomes,
and is therefore not worthy of much attention by students or organizations.

We believe that the evidence for the effects of charismatic leadership is too strong to be
dismissed. We have offered a theoretical explanation for these effects. Our assumptions
and theoretical position do not contradict existing models of motivation. Rather, they
suggest the existence of additional motivational mechanisms without which the
transformational effects of charismatic leadership cannot be explained. These
mechanisms concern the motive arousal and self-concept effects-engaging of charismatic
leaders on followers.

In prior articles, cited throughout this article, we have presented our arguments in the
form of testable propositions and have reviewed relevant supporting evidence. Most of
these propositions have been empirically tested and supported. The theory presented here
also suggests the way in which follower attributes and organizational conditions are
implicated in the transformational process that charismatic leaders induce. Thus the
theory is a cross-level organizational theory of charismatic leadership which explains
how environmental, organizational, behavioural and motivational variables are linked.
Hopefully, the theory advanced here will be pruned, modified and extended as a result of
future empirical testing.

Several paragraphs and ideas presented here were taken from prior articles authored by
House et al. 1!; Shamir et al. 2!; House and Howell 3!; and House and Shamir 4!. These
articles are cited throughout this article, where appropriate. The author is especially
indebted to three colleagues who have participated in the stream of research on which this
article is based. These scholars are Jane M. Howell of the University of Western Ontario,
Boas Shamir of the Hebrew University, and W. Donald Spangler of the State University
of New York, Binghamton. These scholars have contributed substantially to theoretical
development and empirical research in pursuit of a better understanding of charismatic
phenomena.

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