Communicative leadership and context: Exploring constructions of the context in discourses of leadership practices
Corporate Communications: An International Journal
ISSN: 1356-3289
Article publication date: 1 August 2016
Abstract
Purpose
This purpose of this paper is to explore the discursive constructions of context and its significance in employees’ accounts of leadership practices, more specifically, discourses of communicative leadership. In doing so, it also seeks to clarify the relationship between perceptions and constructions of contexts and leadership discourses.
Design/methodology/approach
This study relies on focus group interviews conducted with nine groups and a total of 31 employees (16 males and 15 females) in a Swedish industrial organization employing 490 employees.
Findings
The findings reveal that micro-contexts were more evident influencing leadership discourses in the accounts of employees. However, macro-contexts identified as an authoritative leadership style were triggering constructions of “idealized” communicative leaders in contrast to the leadership experienced in the work environment by employees as “real.”
Research limitations/implications
The investigation presents one organizational context, but can be expanded using additional contexts that may show various leadership forms and communication needs. Findings suggest that understanding the context considered to be relevant to perceptions and constructions of leadership can be essential for identifying and confronting challenges, leading to a more communicative organization.
Originality/value
The study approaches leadership and context as dynamic and multifaceted constructs shaped locally in interaction with macro-discourses. Further, it also suggests that individuals are agents of change controlling context through being aware of their discourses.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This paper relates to the research project “Communicative Leadership – Analysis and Development of Core Competence,” funded by the Swedish Knowledge Foundation (Grant No. Dnr 2010-0226) and led by Catrin Johansson between 2011 and 2013 at Mid Sweden University, DEMICOM CORE, Department of Media and Communication, Sundsvall, Sweden.
Citation
Hamrin, S. (2016), "Communicative leadership and context: Exploring constructions of the context in discourses of leadership practices", Corporate Communications: An International Journal, Vol. 21 No. 3, pp. 371-387. https://doi.org/10.1108/CCIJ-09-2015-0056
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited