Using the Past to Inform the Present: The Influence of Folklore on CEO Leadership

Authors

Keywords:

CEO Leadership, History, Tradition, New Zealand, Folklore, Comeback Themes, Corporate Anthropology,

Abstract

This paper examines how contemporary interpretations of CEO leadership are influenced by folklore. The study utilised a constructivist grounded approach to examine the interplay between leadership and social context. The findings disclosed that New Zealand’s colonial legacy transmitted via folklore contributed to the formation of an institutionalised interpretative schema informing CEO leadership. The social processes within this schema contain aphorisms that act to define the CEO role and how it is enacted. The study addresses an identified gap in the literature by providing an examination of the influence of context on CEO leadership.

Author Biography

Beverley McNally, Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University

Beverley McNally is an Assistant Professor in the College of Business at Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University, Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia. She obtained her PhD from Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand. Prior to working in Saudi Arabia she spent time in the tertiary sector in New Zealand teaching in the HR and Leadership disciplines. Beverley’s research interests include Strategic Leadership, Human Resource Development, Organisation Behaviour and special issues such as youth unemployment and entrepreneurship.

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Published

2018-12-08

Issue

Vol. 32 (2017): Remembering Phil Garland and exploring New Caledonia

Section

International and Comparative Studies

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