Type and Duration
PhD-Thesis, since September 2022Coordinator
Entrepreneurship & LeadershipMain Research
Regional economic development and growthDescription
What is charisma, and how can it be measured? How do leaders lead when bound in front of a webcam? The current pandemic has thrown up a myriad of questions for organisational and leadership researchers, further muddying the already murky field of charismatic leadership. However, recent work on the signalling approach of charisma offers hope. Consequently, the present dissertation examines charismatic leadership within the paradigm of signalling theory, using three forms of audio-visual computer-mediated-communication: traditional, screen-based video, more progressive, virtual reality-based video, and VR-displayed simulations.Several findings of relevance are expected, including the ability of all three media types to transmit signals of leader charisma; the ability of virtual reality to do so with greater acuity and salience than traditional media; and a corresponding increase charisma attributions made to leaders by followers when using virtual reality-based video transmission. Furthermore, the role of virtual presence is also examined as a possible influence on followers’ ability to emotionally and cognitively process visual and auditory signals of charisma in a virtual environment. Numerous practical implications can be derived from this work, including concrete training steps for future digital leaders; furthermore, a wide range of fruitful, hitherto untapped research directions are suggested.
