The Virtual Leader Construct

The Mass Mediatization and Simulation of Transformational Leadership

Bibliographic Data

ID12883156
AuthorsDavid M Boje (0000-0002-1691-1189, corresponding author), Carl Rhodes (0000-0002-6571-2872, New Mexico State University)
Year2005
Volume1
Issue4
Pages407-428
Publication date2005-09-29
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLeadership (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1742-7150 • E-ISSN: 1742-7169
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1742715005057232
OpenAlexW2152937968
LanguageEN
Citations received11
References cited38

This article explores what happens when leaders and leadership becomes virtualized through the mass media and proposes the Virtual Leader Construct (VLC) – a non-human image of a leader who is purposefully created by an organization. Using examples from the fast food industry it is proposed that there are three orders of the VLC: VLC as an imitation of a former flesh-and-blood leader; VLC as a creative re-representation of a former leader; and VLC as a fabricated leader with no direct relation to an actual person. It is argued that VLCs can and do perform potent transformation leadership functions for organizations – functions that are further enabled the more they are virtualized

Construct (python library · Human–computer interaction · Imitation · Knowledge management · Political science · Representation (politics · Sociology · Transformation (genetics · Transformational leadership · Computer Science · Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior · Management and Organizational Studies · Psychology · Social Psychology · Team Dynamics and Performance

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