Contextual influences on leadership in emergency type organisations : Theoretical modelling and empirical tests

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to further the theoretical understanding of leadership in emergency type organisations by modelling contextual aspects which are assumed to influence it. Design/methodology/approach – A theoretical analysis followed by an operationalisation of key concepts and two small‐scale empirical cross‐sectional tests. Findings – Contextual conditions at the group, organisation, and environmental levels that are assumed to influence leadership in emergency type organisations were modelled in lower‐ to higher‐extent bipolar dimensions. An empirical test involving Scandinavian military officers ( n =57) and Swedish health care (ambulance) professionals ( n =39) yielded profiles for leaders at three different hierarchical levels during severely demanding operations: field‐level group/team leaders; field‐level commanders/managers; and high‐level strategic commanders/managers. Considerable differences were found between the three profiles on scales designed to measure environmental and more structure‐related organisational conditions. Almost no differences were noted on “softer” aspects such as organisational culture and small group characteristics. Research limitations/implications – The study focuses only on traditional hierarchical organisations that are designed to function in extreme conditions (the armed forces and acute health care). Practical implications – If empirically further tested and proved valid, the suggested model could be of value in leadership and organisational development efforts. Originality/value – The theoretical approach is new. The presented operationalisations open up for full‐model tests of leadership models based on an interactional person‐by‐situation paradigm.