Beyond the Spark: How Crisis and Social Context Shape Charisma Signaling

Crises are widely believed to foster charismatic leadership (Shamir et al., 1994; Shamir Weber, 1922), yet it remains unclear under what conditions charisma emerges and resonates. In times of widespread uncertainty and anxiety, individuals naturally turn to strong leaders who can replace fear with hope, establish direction amid chaos, and mobilize collective action to overcome inaction (Shamir Collins et al., 2022; Davis & Gardner, 2012), thereby enabling stronger charismatic and moral appeals from leaders. In contrast, unintentional crises do not lead to the same pronounced increase in charisma signaling at the composite level, that is, when summing all charismatic leadership tactics to reflect the overall intensity of charisma signaling. This distinction between intentionality helps explain the mixed findings in the literature regarding the impact of unintentional crises on charisma signaling. All studies found no significant differences in charisma signaling behavior between male and female leaders during crises, thus challenging persistent stereotypes and supporting the gender similarity hypothesis. Finally, the case study of Chancellors Merkel and Scholz illustrates how a charismatic signal can lead to public backlash and a negative charismatic effect when followers perceive it as misaligned with their values. Overall, this dissertation offers a differentiated, context-sensitive, and empirically grounded understanding of charismatic leadership in crises. It advances both leadership theory and crisis communication by clarifying how leaders mobilize meaning, emotion, and moral framing to inspire others. The findings demonstrate that charismatic leadership is a dynamic signaling process that unfolds at the intersection of a leader’s rhetorical strategy, the collective identity of followers, and the specific characteristics of the crisis. This research provides actionable guidance for leaders to navigate uncertainty and polarization by strategically using language, values, and emotions to foster trust and mobilize action, ultimately contributing to the development of more resilient, ethical, and purpose-driven leadership.