Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/230200 
Year of Publication: 
2020
Citation: 
[Journal:] Journal of Management Studies [ISSN:] 1467-6486 [Volume:] 57 [Issue:] 5 [Publisher:] Wiley [Place:] Hoboken, NJ [Year:] 2020 [Pages:] 1037-1067
Publisher: 
Wiley, Hoboken, NJ
Abstract: 
The hubris tradition of research has been criticized for limiting its scope by associating hubris predominantly with detrimental leadership behaviours. To counteract this bias, we provide a more nuanced exploration of hubris and consider both beneficial and detrimental manifestations of hubris in start-up founders’ leadership behaviours. Our analysis, based on qualitative data from expert interviews and two case studies, indicates that, whilst hubristic start-up founders are likely to fail overall, they also excel in creating and communicating visionary scenarios, steering employees through critical situations, and extracting commitment from third parties. These under-researched ‘bright’ manifestations of hubris allow start-up founders to lead their venture towards a stage, in which their visionary power and resilience become crucial prerequisites for economic progress. Our findings extend knowledge on hubristic leadership, offer new directions for the hubris tradition of research, and open up avenues for future research with a more balanced view of hubris.
Subjects: 
entrepreneurial personality
hubris
leadership behaviours
start‐up founders
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by Logo
Document Type: 
Article
Document Version: 
Published Version

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