Most studies of power-leadership decision-making go no further than the determination of the leadership base or power elite by the positional or reputational method (or a combination). This traditional approach has been criticized for implying an a priori assumption that a monolithic power structure exists in the community, for including only a segment of the real "elite" or for including individuals who, in fact, are not members of the "elite," for inaccuracies in respondent perception, and for questionnaire or schedule ambiguity. To some degree, these shortcomings may be overcome by a conceptual refinement of "leader" based on an extension of method. Both method and concepts show heuristic value when applied to the study of leadership in a small Southern city.
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Charles M. Bonjean (1963) studied this question.