Theoretical Perspectives in Leadership Research

Implicit Leadership Theories

• Lord, R.G., Foti, R.J., & DeVader, C.L. (1984). A test of leadership categorization theory: Internal structure, information processing, and leadership perceptions. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 34, 343-378.
• Epitropaki, O. & Martin, R. (2004). Implicit leadership theories in applied settings: Factor structure, generalizability, and stability over time. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89, 293-310.
• MacDonald, H.A., Sulsky, L.M., & Brown, D.J. (2008). Leadership and perceiver cognition: Examining the role of self-identity in implicit leadership theories. Human Performance, 21, 333-353
• van Gils, S., van Quaquebeke, N., & van Knippenberg, D. (2010). The X-factor: On the relevance of implicit leadership and followership theories for leader-member exchange agreement. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 19, 333-363.

Additional Resources (not required reading)

• Epitropaki, O. & Martin, R. (2005). From Ideal to Real: A Longitudinal Study of the Role of Implicit Leadership Theories on Leader–Member Exchanges and Employee Outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90, 659-676.
• Foti, R.J., & Miner, J.B. (2003). Individual differences and organizational forms in the leadership process. Leadership Quarterly, 14, 83-112.
• Keller, T. (1999). Images of the familiar: Individual differences and implicit leadership theories. Leadership Quarterly, 10, 589-607.
• Offermann, L.R., Kennedy, J.K. Jr., & Wirtz, P.W. (1994). Implicit leadership theories: Content, structure, and generalizability. Leadership Quarterly, 5, 43-58.
• Singer, M. (1990). Implicit leadership theory: Are results generalizable from student to professional samples? Journal of Social Psychology, 130, 407-408.