TY - JOUR
T1 - Learning from stories of leadership
T2 - How reading about personalized and socialized politicians impacts performance on an ethical decision-making simulation
AU - Watts, Logan L.
AU - Ness, Alisha M.
AU - Steele, Logan M.
AU - Mumford, Michael D.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2018/4
Y1 - 2018/4
N2 - Stories about notable, 20th-century politicians were investigated as a means by which reading stories of leadership influences subsequent ethical decision-making performance. Undergraduates read four short stories in which charismatic politicians exhibited a personalized, socialized, or neutral power orientation, followed by responding to four ethical dilemmas in the marketing domain—a distant transfer task. Results indicated that reading stories featuring personalized protagonists inhibited subsequent ethical decision-making processes. However, intensity of narrative processing, personal identification with the protagonist, and presence or absence of an ethical salience probe moderated these effects. Implications are discussed regarding the use of stories as a tool for ethical development and the importance of managing stories of leadership circulated throughout organizations and society.
AB - Stories about notable, 20th-century politicians were investigated as a means by which reading stories of leadership influences subsequent ethical decision-making performance. Undergraduates read four short stories in which charismatic politicians exhibited a personalized, socialized, or neutral power orientation, followed by responding to four ethical dilemmas in the marketing domain—a distant transfer task. Results indicated that reading stories featuring personalized protagonists inhibited subsequent ethical decision-making processes. However, intensity of narrative processing, personal identification with the protagonist, and presence or absence of an ethical salience probe moderated these effects. Implications are discussed regarding the use of stories as a tool for ethical development and the importance of managing stories of leadership circulated throughout organizations and society.
KW - Ethical decision making
KW - Ethical leadership
KW - Power orientation
KW - Social learning theory
KW - Stories
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85019002667&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.leaqua.2017.04.004
DO - 10.1016/j.leaqua.2017.04.004
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85019002667
SN - 1048-9843
VL - 29
SP - 276
EP - 294
JO - Leadership Quarterly
JF - Leadership Quarterly
IS - 2
ER -