Spreading the Word: The Role of Surrogates in Charismatic Leadership Processes

Abstract

By integrating a social networks perspective with charismatic leadership theory, we attempt to explain how charismatic perceptions of leaders spread among distant followers through third-party individuals (surrogates). We propose a mediated model considering how individuals engage in surrogate behavior (promoting the leader, defending the leader, and modeling followership) that increases charismatic perceptions among distant followers. We consider the behaviors associated with this role, as well as antecedents and moderators that may explain motivation to engage in the role and effectiveness of the role in influencing followers.