Leadership as an Emergent Feature in Social Organizations: Insights from A Laboratory Simulation Experiment

Curral, Luis; Marques-Quinteiro, Pedro; Gomes, Catarina; Lind, Pedro G.

http://hdl.handle.net/10451/63128

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Authors

Curral, Luis

Marques-Quinteiro, Pedro

Gomes, Catarina

Lind, Pedro G.

Abstract(s)

Recent theoretical contributions have suggested a theory of leadership that is grounded in complexity theory, hence regarding leadership as a complex process (i.e., nonlinear; emergent). This article tests if complexity leadership theory promotes efficiency in work groups. 40 groups of five participants each had to complete four decision making tasks using the city simulation game SimCity4. Before engaging in the four decision making tasks, participants received information regarding what sort of leadership behaviors were more adequate to help them perform better. Results suggest that if complexity leadership theory is applied, groups can achieve higher efficiency over time, when compared with other groups where complexity leadership is not applied. This study goes beyond traditional views of leadership as a centralized form of control, and presents new evidence suggesting that leadership is a collective and emergent phenomenon, anchored in simple rules of behavior.

Keywords

Leadership Social organizations Laboratory simulation experiment

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10451/63128

Citation

Curral, L., Marques-Quinteiro, P., Gomes, C., & Lind, P. G. (2016). Leadership as an emergent feature in social organizations: Insights from a laboratory simulation experiment. PloS one, 11(12), e0166697. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0166697