This study investigates the influence of crisis on leader use of charismatic rhetoric. We examine leader charismatic rhetoric across two major crises, longitudinally exploring potential long-term influences of charismatic rhetoric on perceptions of leader effectiveness. Using an inductive approach to theory generation, we draw upon findings from the data analysis of eight charismatic rhetoric constructs (collective focus, temporal orientation, followers' worth, similarity to followers, values and moral justifications, tangibility, action, and adversity) to advance propositions regarding potential time and ceiling effects of charismatic rhetorical leadership on followers. Additionally, we discuss the relationships between characteristics of the crisis and the use of charismatic rhetorical leadership. In doing so, we identify potential boundary conditions for the use of charismatic rhetoric (as an element of charismatic leadership) within the context of different crises.
The presence of a crisis has long been discussed as one of the primary determinants of the emergence of charismatic leadership (Pillai and Meindl, 1998 and Trice and Beyer, 1986). Extending back to Weber's introduction of the construct, the necessary conditions for charismatic leadership emergence have been posited to include: 1) a person who possesses extraordinary gifts; 2) a crisis or time of distress; 3) a revolutionary solution to the crisis; 4) followers who believe in the person and who are attracted to the miraculous qualities of the person; and 5) validation of the person's gifts through repeated successes (Trice and Beyer, 1986, Weber, 1947, Weber, 1968 and Willner, 1984).
More recently, scholarly disagreement about the necessity of a crisis as a prerequisite for charismatic leadership has arisen. Trice and Beyer (1986) maintain a strict adherence to the Weberian concept of charisma, and, as such, hold that a crisis must be present in order for the leader to be attributed charisma. Several studies provide empirical support for the posited linkages between crisis and the emergence of charismatic leadership (e.g., Bligh et al., 2004a, Bligh et al., 2004b, House et al., 1991 and Pillai, 1996). Other scholars view crisis as a facilitating but unnecessary requirement for charismatic leadership to emerge (Boal and Bryson, 1988, Halverson et al., 2004 and Hunt et al., 1999). Additional studies support the argument that charismatic leadership can develop outside of crises (Halverson et al., 2004 and Pillai and Meindl, 1998). Still others have found a negative relationship between charismatic leadership and crisis situations (Bligh et al., 2005, Pillai and Meindl, 1998 and Williams et al., 2009).
The findings of the current body of empirical work investigating crisis as a contextual antecedent of charismatic leadership are equivocal, suggesting that the relationship between crisis and charisma is particularly complex (Pillai & Meindl, 1998). In a recent review of the charismatic leadership literature, Walter and Bruch (2009) found that contextual influences such as the leaders' positional, social, organizational, and national environment, along with crisis situations, have received insufficient research. Hence, additional work is needed to better understand the role that crisis plays in the emergence of charismatic leadership. Previous research has investigated charismatic rhetorical leadership within the context of a single crisis (e.g., Bligh and Kohles, 2009, Bligh et al., 2004a and Bligh et al., 2004b). We build upon and extend the work of Bligh et al., 2004a and Bligh et al., 2004b by answering their call for the study of environmental turbulence as a contextual factor which influences leader use of charismatic rhetoric and subsequent follower reactions. Adopting a longitudinal approach, we examine the use of charismatic rhetorical leadership across two different crises. Specifically, we investigate the extent to which charismatic rhetoric is associated with crisis, whether charismatic rhetoric may differ according to the type of crisis, and the degree to which it is related to follower ratings of leader effectiveness.
Our research makes three primary contributions to the literature. First, we add to the scholarly debate about the degree to which crisis is an antecedent for charismatic leadership by considering the patterns of leader charismatic rhetoric across different crises. Doing so enables us to advance a deeper understanding of the dynamic relationship between crisis and the emergence of charismatic rhetorical leadership. Second, by examining a single leader's charismatic rhetoric across two major crises, we highlight potential follower effects of charismatic rhetoric in the form of perceptions of leader effectiveness. Third, we adopt an inductive approach to theory generation (Locke, 2007) to advance original propositions that are derived from the data analysis; these propositions extend charismatic leadership theory by delineating potential boundary conditions (Bacharach, 1989) for the use of charismatic rhetorical leadership within the context of crises.
