IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v159y2019i2d10.1007_s10551-018-3838-x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The ‘Corbyn Phenomenon’: Media Representations of Authentic Leadership and the Discourse of Ethics Versus Effectiveness

Author

Listed:
  • Marian Iszatt-White

    (Lancaster University Management School)

  • Andrea Whittle

    (Newcastle University Business School)

  • Gyuzel Gadelshina

    (Northumbria University, Newcastle Business School)

  • Frank Mueller

    (Newcastle University Business School)

Abstract

Whilst the academic literature on leadership has identified authenticity as an important leadership attribute, few studies have examined how authentic leadership is evaluated in naturally occurring discourse. This article explores how authentic leadership was characterised and evaluated in the discourse of the British press during the 2015 Labour Party leadership election—won, against the odds, by veteran left-winger Jeremy Corbyn. Using membership categorisation analysis, we show that the media discourse about authentic leadership was both ambiguous and ambivalent. In their representation of authentic leadership, we found that a discourse of ‘ethical’ leadership was played out in tension with a discourse of ‘effective’ leadership. We propose that this complex and contradictory discursive landscape is also relevant in business contexts where ‘ethical’ leaders are subjected to praise for their virtues but also criticism for their ineffectiveness. Future research could usefully study how ‘ethical’ leaders in different settings can be subject to competing evaluations when their ethical values are discursively contrasted to expectations concerning what it takes to be an ‘effective’ leader.

Suggested Citation

  • Marian Iszatt-White & Andrea Whittle & Gyuzel Gadelshina & Frank Mueller, 2019. "The ‘Corbyn Phenomenon’: Media Representations of Authentic Leadership and the Discourse of Ethics Versus Effectiveness," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 159(2), pages 535-549, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:159:y:2019:i:2:d:10.1007_s10551-018-3838-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-018-3838-x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10551-018-3838-x
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-018-3838-x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sen Sendjaya & Andre Pekerti & Charmine Härtel & Giles Hirst & Ivan Butarbutar, 2016. "Are Authentic Leaders Always Moral? The Role of Machiavellianism in the Relationship Between Authentic Leadership and Morality," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 133(1), pages 125-139, January.
    2. R. Freeman & Ellen Auster, 2011. "Values, Authenticity, and Responsible Leadership," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 98(1), pages 15-23, January.
    3. George Bragues, 2008. "The Ancients against the Moderns: Focusing on the Character of Corporate Leaders," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 78(3), pages 373-387, March.
    4. Hannes Leroy & Michael Palanski & Tony Simons, 2012. "Authentic Leadership and Behavioral Integrity as Drivers of Follower Commitment and Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 107(3), pages 255-264, May.
    5. Nicola Pless, 2007. "Understanding Responsible Leadership: Role Identity and Motivational Drivers," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 74(4), pages 437-456, September.
    6. Helena Liu, 2017. "The Masculinisation of Ethical Leadership Dis/embodiment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 144(2), pages 263-278, August.
    7. Unknown, 2005. "Forward," 2005 Conference: Slovenia in the EU - Challenges for Agriculture, Food Science and Rural Affairs, November 10-11, 2005, Moravske Toplice, Slovenia 183804, Slovenian Association of Agricultural Economists (DAES).
    8. Claudia Peus & Jenny Wesche & Bernhard Streicher & Susanne Braun & Dieter Frey, 2012. "Authentic Leadership: An Empirical Test of Its Antecedents, Consequences, and Mediating Mechanisms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 107(3), pages 331-348, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Muzhar Javed & Muhammad Amir Rashid & Ghulam Hussain & Hafiz Yasir Ali, 2020. "The effects of corporate social responsibility on corporate reputation and firm financial performance: Moderating role of responsible leadership," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(3), pages 1395-1409, May.
    2. Tomasz Gigol, 2020. "Influence of Authentic Leadership on Unethical Pro-Organizational Behavior: The Intermediate Role of Work Engagement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-14, February.
    3. Yuanmei Elly Qu & Marie T. Dasborough & Mi Zhou & Gergana Todorova, 2019. "Should Authentic Leaders Value Power? A Study of Leaders’ Values and Perceived Value Congruence," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 156(4), pages 1027-1044, June.
    4. Michelle Xue Zheng & Yingjie Yuan & Marius Dijke & David Cremer & Alain Van Hiel, 2020. "The Interactive Effect of a Leader’s Sense of Uniqueness and Sense of Belongingness on Followers’ Perceptions of Leader Authenticity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 164(3), pages 515-533, July.
    5. Susanne Braun & Claudia Peus, 2018. "Crossover of Work–Life Balance Perceptions: Does Authentic Leadership Matter?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(4), pages 875-893, June.
    6. Arménio Rego & Dálcio Reis Júnior & Miguel Pina e Cunha, 2015. "Authentic Leaders Promoting Store Performance: The Mediating Roles of Virtuousness and Potency," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 128(3), pages 617-634, May.
    7. Christof Miska & Mark E. Mendenhall, 2018. "Responsible Leadership: A Mapping of Extant Research and Future Directions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 148(1), pages 117-134, March.
    8. Akif Tabak & Mustafa Polat & Serkan Cosar & Tolga Turkoz, 2013. "A Research on the Consequences of Authentic Leadership," Bogazici Journal, Review of Social, Economic and Administrative Studies, Bogazici University, Department of Economics, vol. 27(2), pages 65-88.
    9. Anna-Mari Simunaniemi & Mira Valkjärvi & Riikka Franzén & Sari Liikala & Jaana Tähtinen & Kati Suomi & Jaana Jeminen, 2023. "Microentrepreneurs as Socially Responsible Leaders," South Asian Journal of Business and Management Cases, , vol. 12(1), pages 14-30, April.
    10. Jacqueline C. Wisler, 2018. "U.S. CEOs of SBUs in Luxury Goods Organizations: A Mixed Methods Comparison of Ethical Decision-Making Profiles," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(2), pages 443-518, May.
    11. K. V. James & R. G. Priyadarshini, 2021. "Responsible Leadership: A New Paradigm for Organizational Sustainability," Management and Labour Studies, XLRI Jamshedpur, School of Business Management & Human Resources, vol. 46(4), pages 452-470, November.
    12. Cheng, Ken & Wei, Feng & Lin, Yinghui, 2019. "The trickle-down effect of responsible leadership on unethical pro-organizational behavior: The moderating role of leader-follower value congruence," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 34-43.
    13. Silke Eisenbeiß & Felix Brodbeck, 2014. "Ethical and Unethical Leadership: A Cross-Cultural and Cross-Sectoral Analysis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 122(2), pages 343-359, June.
    14. Martha Andrews & K. Kacmar & Charles Kacmar, 2015. "The Interactive Effects of Behavioral Integrity and Procedural Justice on Employee Job Tension," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 126(3), pages 371-379, February.
    15. Adnan Celik & Tahir Akgemci & Turgut Emre Akyazi, 2016. "A Comparison between the Styles of Transformational Leaders and Authentic Leaders in Crisis Management," International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, vol. 6(2), pages 183-196, February.
    16. Yucheng Zhang & Yongxing Guo & Meng Zhang & Shan Xu & Xin Liu & Alexander Newman, 2022. "Antecedents and outcomes of authentic leadership across culture: A meta-analytic review," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 39(4), pages 1399-1435, December.
    17. Christof Miska & Christian Hilbe & Susanne Mayer, 2014. "Reconciling Different Views on Responsible Leadership: A Rationality-Based Approach," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 125(2), pages 349-360, December.
    18. Said Id Bouichou & Lei Wang & Hafiz Muhammad Basit Feroz, 2022. "How corporate social responsibility perceptions affect employees’ positive behavior in the hospitality industry: moderating role of responsible leadership," International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, Springer;International Association of Public and Non-Profit Marketing, vol. 19(2), pages 413-446, June.
    19. Erica Steckler & Cynthia Clark, 2019. "Authenticity and Corporate Governance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 155(4), pages 951-963, April.
    20. Muhammad Zia-ur Rehman & Atiqa Shahbaz & Noor Hassan, 2018. "Due Economy is Based on Authenticity? Authentic Leader9apos9s Personality and Employees9apos9 Voice Behaviour," Global Economics Review, Humanity Only, vol. 3(2), pages 43-54, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:159:y:2019:i:2:d:10.1007_s10551-018-3838-x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.