Superior-Subordinate Relations: Leadership and Headship
- 1 April 1975
- journal article
- research article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Human Relations
- Vol. 28 (3) , 279-294
- https://doi.org/10.1177/001872677502800306
Abstract
The organizational behavior literature on leadership is marked by persistent conceptual problems which limit its applicability to the study of superior-subordinate relationships within organizations. This paper proposes a conceptual framework for viewing superior-subordinate relationships that makes explicit the differences between leadership, power, and authority. Several popular organizational behavior models of leadership are reviewed in light of the proposed framework and the conceptual inconsistencies associated with these models highlighted. Several benefits of the proposed framework for organizational research in the area of superior-subordinate relations are discussed.Keywords
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