Source of authority and the legitimation of leadership in small groups.

Abstract

Previous research concerning a group leader's source of authority has produced ambiguous or marginal results. This study examined the impact of a leader's source of authority upon his task influence, his tenure in office and evaluation of his leadership efforts by group members. Four agents were employed to select the foreman for a mock jury: the group, a task expert external authority, a non-expert external authority and the self. Groups composed of four high school males discussed and decided four negligence cases with the same "stooge" always selected as foreman. Perceived legitimacy predicted evaluation of his leadership efforts and tenure in office, while specific characteristics of the agents of authority provided an explanation for differences in task influence and persuasiveness. The data also illustrate the importance of leader behavior to continuing legitimacy and indicate that groups may consider leadership ability more important than task competence in determining a leader's tenure in office.