PBS PhD Studentship in Perceptions of Leadership

This PhD is concerned with investigating the extent that leaders are under or over attributed responsibility for the successes and failures of business enterprises

There is a long tradition of research which demonstrates that leaders are often (over)-attributed responsibility for successes and failures (e.g., the firing of sports coaches in cases of team failure, the removal of CEOs in reaction to falling stock prices). This phenomenon has been coined 'the Romance of Leadership' (Meindl, Ehrlich, & Dukerich, 1985). In particular, the focus on charismatic leaders has been called into question by this approach. Meindl (1990) suggested that charisma is less about the characteristics of the leader than a "hyper- romanticism" (p. 182) by adoring or susceptible followers. Shamir (1995) extended this research, suggesting that perceptions of distant charismatic leaders will be more idolized than perceptions of close charismatic leaders, indicating that attribution plays a particularly important role in situations of high leader follower distance, whereas charismatic ratings of close leaders is more based in their behaviour. Thus, particularly in situations where leaders are distant, it is worth exploring the role of (over-)attribution.

While the notion of leader-follower distance has begun to receive increasing attention, there is currently little empirical evidence concerning how distance interacts with attribution processes in understanding perceptions of a leader and his/her effectiveness.  Distance has been theoretically defined in terms of three dimensions: (a) social distance (e.g., status difference, power), (b) physical distance (e.g., geographical as well as temporal proximity), and (c) interactional distance (e.g., frequency of contact between leader and follower; Antonakis & Atwater, 2002; Shamir, 1995). The first purpose of this PhD work is to explore the implications of distance for leader-follower relationships in light of what we already know about follower attribution processes. Leader distance can be operationalized in several different ways. This goal could be achieved using different leadership approaches. Examples are attributed charisma (Shamir, 1992; Shamir, 1995) and Leader-Member Exchange (Graen & Uhl-Bien, 1995; Dienesch & Liden, 1986). Attributed charisma is a natural choice because it has been shown to be highly related to projection (Felfe & Schyns, in press) and situational influence (Bligh, Kohles, and Meindl, 2004). Thus, in contexts of high leader distance, as indicated by Shamir (1995), charisma can be expected to be based on attribution rather than actual leader behaviour.

Enquiries relating to the topic should be directed to: Dr. Birgit Schyns (birgit.schyns@port.ac.uk). This studentship is located in the Portsmouth Business School and potential applicants are advised to examine our Research Degree Pages at http://www.port.ac.uk/departments/faculties/portsmouthbusinessschool/researchdegrees/  prior to applying.

Applicants will have a good first degree (minimum 2.1 or equivalent) and ideally a Masters (or equivalent) in a relevant subject area.

Applications should include:

• a full CV including personal details, qualifications, educational history and, where applicable, any employment or other experience relevant to the application
• contact details for TWO referees able to comment on your academic performance
• a statement of 1,000 (words) outlining your proposed project, identifying the objectives of the research and discussing how the work will build on or challenge existing research in the above field.

Application Deadline: 30 March 2010, Start date 1 October 2010.

The studentships will cover tuition fees and an annual grant equivalent to that offered by the ESRC - currently £13290 per annum for a maximum of three years. UK/EU residence eligibility conditions apply."

Applications should be sent to: Donna Denham, Postgraduate Course Director, University of Portsmouth, Richmond Building, Portland Street, Portsmouth, PO1 3DE (applications can be submitted electronically via: Donna.Denham@port.ac.uk)