Explaining the Occurrence of Charismatic Leadership in Organizations

In: Journal of theoretical politics, Band 3, Heft 3, S. 305-319

Abstract

Charisma is commonly regarded as disruptive and unpredictable. Its origins are treated as mysterious and unexplainable. This view of charisma is due in part to a tendency to reify charisma, but more importantly to the lack of an adequate theory of social organization. After clearing up some methodological confusions surrounding the concept of charisma, I present a theory that predicts the type of organization, and the type of organizational situation, in which charismatic leadership will occur. By joining Mary Douglas's grid-group analysis with Herbert Simon's decision theory, I show that charismatic leadership, far from being a disruptive force, serves an integrative function in egalitarian organizations hampered by disagreement on facts and values.