A Study of Implicit Leadership Theories Among Business & Management Undergraduate Students

TL;DRAbstract

This qualitative study explores the subjective meaning of being led, through retrospective interpretations of the experience, using focus groups to elicit descriptions of the Implicit Leadership Theories (ILTs) held by forty final year undergraduate Business and Management students. The study further seeks to investigate the impact of these via an exploration of cognitive processes, affective responses and behavioural intentions towards leadership-claimants. Finally the study investigates how their affective responses influence the quality of such relationships using a framework based on Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory. The research, informed by a critical realist stance, that takes an interpretative approach allowing an understanding of the meanings participants attach to their past experiences and future expectations. Data was elicited that explored perceptions, feelings and ideas, which were then manually transcribed, coded and analysed using an abductive process. The findings s

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