The Effects of Crisis, Cynicism About Change, and Value Congruence on Perceptions of Leadership in the 2008 Presidential Election: The Role of Authentic Leadership and Attributed Charisma in the National Vote

Author(s)

Ethlyn A. Williams
Rajnandini Pillai
Bryan Joab Deptula, Nova Southeastern UniversityFollow
Kevin B. Lowe

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

The Leadership Quarterly

ISSN

1048-9843

Publication Date

2012

Abstract/Excerpt

The current study examines leadership in the context of the 2008 presidential election. Longitudinal data were collected across three regions of the United States to yield 414 responses. Perceptions of crisis were positively related to attributed charisma but not perceptions of authentic leadership. Value congruence moderated the relationship between cynicism and attributed charisma for Obama (but not for McCain) and between cynicism and perceptions of authentic leadership for McCain (but not for Obama). Attributed charisma was found to have augmenting effects over authenticity in predicting voting behavior. The contributions made to the charismatic, authentic, and crisis leadership literatures are discussed and directions for future research presented.

Volume

23

Issue

3

First Page

234

Last Page

341

NSUWorks Citation

Williams, Ethlyn A.; Pillai, Rajnandini; Deptula, Bryan Joab; and Lowe, Kevin B., "The Effects of Crisis, Cynicism About Change, and Value Congruence on Perceptions of Leadership in the 2008 Presidential Election: The Role of Authentic Leadership and Attributed Charisma in the National Vote" (2012). HCBE Faculty Articles. 111.
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/hcbe_facarticles/111