Uncovering Mechanisms of Theory Development in an Academic Field:Lessons from Leadership Research

Simons’ Levers of Control Framework: Commensuration within and of the Framework

“…Unstable construct definitions lead to difficulty interpreting inconsistent findings between studies and a failure to build a cumulative body of research. 2 Cataloguing attributes and behaviors is not unusual in the development of complex constructs, as Glynn and Raffaelli (2010) point out in the context of the evolution of theories of "leadership". However, lack of agreement about which behavior categories are relevant and meaningful makes it very difficult to compare and integrate the results of studies (Stinchcombe, 2002).…”

Teaching Leadership Critically: New Directions for Leadership Pedagogy

“…There is also little need for leaders to pay serious attention to followers' input, if any is offered . 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 (Glynn and Raffaelli, 2010). This allows both 'strong' and 'weak' forms of theory to thrive -at least as measured by the amount of research and number of publications they attract.…”

A Network Analysis of Leadership Theory

“…Yet, in spite of over a century of leadership research, Glynn and Raffaelli (2010) found little commensuration and theoretical consensus. Rather, the leadership literature by and large suffers from compartmentalization, where scholars proceed in almost "campish" ways and "different theoretical perspectives are neither compared nor combined in meaningful ways" (Glynn & Raffaelli, 2010: 390).…”

“…This objective is both timely and pressing given the rapid propagation of theories within the leadership field (Dinh et al, 2014;Gardner, Lowe, Moss, Mahoney, & Cogliser, 2010), and the tendency for theories to be developed independently from one another (Molloy, Chadwick, Polyhart, & Wright, 2011). Consolidating knowledge through integrative studies provides a foundation for more effective and unified future research (Glynn & Raffaelli, 2010).…”

“…Although it is perhaps natural for theories to vary in the number of connections they make with other relevant theories based on their developmental history, a lack of integrative studies may become problematic when it reinforces multilevel and interdisciplinary barriers (Alvesson & Sandberg, 2011;Glynn & Raffaelli, 2010;Molloy et al, 2011). Therefore, efforts that evaluate the connections (or relationships) that have formed (or not yet formed) among different theoretical perspectives are timely.…”