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CEO Portraits and the Authenticity Paradox

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  • Eric Guthey
  • Brad Jackson

Abstract

abstract Top executive and CEO portraits represent significant sites for the visual construction of corporate identity and image, but they also highlight what we call the authenticity paradox. At first glance such photographs may appear to convey an impression of the kind of authentic presence many consider crucial for establishing a strong corporate image. But a closer look at the constructed nature of both CEO identity and portrait photography lays bare the elusive nature of authenticity itself, as well as the way that CEO portraits can function also to expose the corporation's chronic lack of authenticity. We explore the authenticity paradox and its implications by means of an analysis of executive portraits taken by one prominent Danish photographer, Per Morten Abrahamsen. We also map out an agenda for the further exploration of CEO portraits and images as an important element in the social and symbolic construction of business leadership.

Suggested Citation

  • Eric Guthey & Brad Jackson, 2005. "CEO Portraits and the Authenticity Paradox," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(5), pages 1057-1082, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jomstd:v:42:y:2005:i:5:p:1057-1082
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-6486.2005.00532.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Guthey, Eric, 2001. "Ted Turner’s Corporate Cross-Dressing and the Shifting Images of American Business Leadership," Enterprise & Society, Cambridge University Press, vol. 2(1), pages 111-142, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Silviya Svejenova, 2005. "‘The Path with the Heart’: Creating the Authentic Career," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(5), pages 947-974, July.
    2. Jane Davison, 2009. "Icon, iconography, iconology," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 22(6), pages 883-906, July.
    3. Candace Jones & N. Anand & Josè Luis Alvarez, 2005. "Manufactured Authenticity and Creative Voice in Cultural Industries," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(5), pages 893-899, July.
    4. Christopher Wright & Daniel Nyberg, 2022. "The Roles of Celebrities in Public Disputes: Climate Change and the Great Barrier Reef," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(7), pages 1788-1816, November.
    5. Davison, Jane, 2010. "[In]visible [in]tangibles: Visual portraits of the business élite," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 165-183, February.
    6. Helena Liu, 2017. "The Masculinisation of Ethical Leadership Dis/embodiment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 144(2), pages 263-278, August.
    7. Nevena Radoynovska & Brayden G. King, 2019. "To Whom Are You True? Audience Perceptions of Authenticity in Nascent Crowdfunding Ventures," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(4), pages 781-802, July.
    8. Helena Liu & Christopher Baker, 2016. "Ordinary Aristocrats: The Discursive Construction of Philanthropists as Ethical Leaders," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 133(2), pages 261-277, January.
    9. Richard A. Peterson, 2005. "In Search of Authenticity," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(5), pages 1083-1098, July.
    10. Schoofs, Lieze & Claeys, An-Sofie, 2021. "Communicating sadness: The impact of emotional crisis communication on the organizational post-crisis reputation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 271-282.
    11. Kathy Dean & Jeri Beggs & Timothy Keane, 2010. "Mid-level Managers, Organizational Context, and (Un)ethical Encounters," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 97(1), pages 51-69, November.
    12. Adam Fremeth & Brian Kelleher Richter & Brandon Schaufele, 2013. "Campaign Contributions over CEOs' Careers," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 5(3), pages 170-188, July.
    13. Deborah Jones & Karen Smith, 2005. "Middle‐earth Meets New Zealand: Authenticity and Location in the Making of The Lord of the Rings," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(5), pages 923-945, July.
    14. Jean-Philippe Bouilloud & Ghislain Deslandes & Guillaume Mercier, 2019. "The Leader as Chief Truth Officer: The Ethical Responsibility of “Managing the Truth” in Organizations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 157(1), pages 1-13, June.
    15. Helena Liu & Leanne Cutcher & David Grant, 2015. "Doing Authenticity: The Gendered Construction of Authentic Leadership," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(3), pages 237-255, May.
    16. Nihat Erdoğmuş & Emel Esen, 2018. "Constructing the CEO Personal Brand: The Case of Four Pioneering CEOs in Turkey," Corporate Reputation Review, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 21(2), pages 37-49, June.
    17. Eric Gedajlovic & Michael Carney, 2010. "Markets, Hierarchies, and Families: Toward a Transaction Cost Theory of the Family Firm," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 34(6), pages 1145-1172, November.

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