The rise of charismatic authority styles in corporate capitalism

The paper examines the rise of the anti‐hierarchical ‘flat’ and revolutionary styles of authority that emerged in late twentieth century corporate capitalism and suggests that the corporate world developed styles of authority simultaneously built on leaders’ personalised approach and revolutionary self‐actualisation and empowerment of employees. These styles are examined in the light of Max Weber’s idea of charismatic authority. The rise of charismatic authority styles is seen as indicative of the dynamic societal role the corporate world has played since the 1970s. Moreover, the author suggests that charismatic authority in its flat, informal and empowering forms might serve as an increasingly important style of authority for modern societies.