Implicit Leadership and Followership Theories “in the wild”: Taking stock of information-processing approaches to leadership and followership in organizational settings

By O. Epitropaki, Thomas Sy, Robin Martin, Susanna Tram-Quon, A. Topakas. 2013

330 citations recorded by the source corpus.

For over 30. years information-processing approaches to leadership and more specifically Implicit Leadership Theories (ILTs) research has contributed a significant body of knowledge on leadership processes in applied settings. A new line of research on Implicit Followership Theories (IFTs) has re-ignited interest in information-processing and socio-cognitive approaches to leadership and followership. In this review, we focus on organizational research on ILTs and IFTs and highlight their practical utility for the exercise of leadership and followership in applied settings. We clarify common misperceptions regarding the implicit nature of ILTs and IFTs, review both direct and indirect measures, synthesize current and ongoing research on ILTs and IFTs in organizational settings, address issues related to different levels of analysis in the context of leadership and follower schemas and, finally, propose future avenues for organizational research.

Subfields: Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management, Sociology and Political Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/b0f5ac9457033b9e610657567be4f10ffaaa278c

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In Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management

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Citations in the corpus

The Thin Line Between Empowering and Laissez-Faire Leadership: An Expectancy-Match Perspective (2018, background): “, 2010), the number of organizational studies on ILTs is still limited (Epitropaki et al., 2013).”
The Relational Nature of Leadership Identity Construction: How and When It Influences Perceived Leadership and Decision-Making (2015, background): “Leadership claiming may also signal that one is high in prototypical leader traits, such as active participation (Epitropaki et al., 2013), further explaining why a “claimer” is likely to match observers' schemas of leadership.”
When and how health‐oriented leadership relates to employee well‐being—The role of expectations, self‐care, and LMX (2021, background): “Moreover, the relationship quality (partly) mediates the positive effect of ILT fit on employees’ job satisfaction and organizational commitment (Epitropaki & Martin, 2005; see also Epitropaki et al., 2013).”
Advancing the social identity theory of leadership: A meta-analytic review of leader group prototypicality (2020, methodology): “Centering on the notion of leader group prototypicality (e.g., Hogg, 2001; Platow & van Knippenberg, 2001), this proposition is different from the notion of leader prototypicality as used in work on implicit leadership theories (e.g., Epitropaki et al., 2013; Lord et al., 1984).”
Creative Leadership: A Multi-Context Conceptualization† (2015, background): “Socio-cognitive approaches to leadership (e.g. Epitropaki & Martin, 2004, 2005; Epitropaki et al., 2013; Lord & Maher, 1991; Shondrick, Dinh, & Lord, 2010; Shondrick & Lord, 2010) and creativity (e.”
Leadership and followership identity processes: A multilevel review ☆ (2017, background): “They may, thus, disproportionally differentiate among followers and develop highly differentiated LMX relationships (e.g., Erdogan & Bauer, 2010; Epitropaki et al., 2016).”
Moralized Leadership: The Construction and Consequences of Ethical Leader Perceptions (2015, result): “, honesty and trustworthiness) stands in contrast to research demonstrating that leadership is a social construction, with different individuals possessing different ideas about the characteristics most indicative of a leader (Epitropaki et al., 2013).”