LEADERSHIP AS SOCIAL INTEGRATIVE ACTION - A STUDY OF A COMPUTER CONSULTANCY COMPANY

In this paper it is suggested that leadership, at least in some types of organizations, can be conceptualized as social integrative action. Such action is seen as a synthesis of institutional and human relations-oriented leadership. A case study of a computer consultancy company, a professional service adhocracy, supports this argument. This paper also argues for viewing leadership as an expression of those values, virtues, norms and symbolic guidelines for understanding that are usually referred to as corporate culture or ideology. Leadership is consequently seen as subordinated to the cultural context. A less 'commander'- and micro-oriented view on managerial work (the leader as a boss, understood through focus on him/her and the group) than those common in the literature is thus suggested.