In small group settings, is it the position in social networks or the content of communication that constitutes a leader? Studies focussing on the content suggest that leadership consists in creating and promoting meanings, whereas studies focussing on the connections stress that it is the network position that ‘makes a leader’. These two dimensions of leadership communication style have not been compared yet. To fill this gap, this chapter applies an emerging approach – socio-semantic network analysis – to jointly consider the content of, and the connections, in leaders' communication. Using a multisource dataset, we empirically study the social network positions (social network analysis) and the content of communication (semantic network analysis) of three leaders in a creative collective. Our findings reveal that different styles of leadership make diverse use of the content and the connections in a small group. The academic and practical implications are outlined.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationAesthetics and Style in Strategy
EditorsGino Cattani, et al.
PublisherEmerald Group Publishing Ltd.
Pages85-102
Number of pages18
ISBN (Electronic)978-1-80043-236-9
ISBN (Print)978-1-80043-237-6
DOIs
StatePublished - 2020

Publication series

NameAdvances in Strategic Management
Volume42
ISSN (Print)0742-3322

    Scopus subject areas

  • Economics, Econometrics and Finance (miscellaneous)
  • Strategy and Management

    Research areas

  • Contemporary art, Core–periphery, Leadership, Small groups, Socio-semantic networks, Urban spaces

ID: 71410692