The Cultural and Commercial Production of Leadership

Scholars have long criticized the commercialization of leadership, leadership education, and leadership development—some to distinguish what they consider legitimate research and practice from mass-market “bullshit,” others to characterize the whole notion of leadership as an ideological ruse or empty signifier. But neither critique rests on an adequate foundation of theory or empirical research regarding the actors, institutions, and industries that drive and profit from the commercialization of leadership. We therefore draw from the production of culture literature, Pierre Bourdieu’s sociology of cultural fields, Roger Friedland’s critique of Bourdieu, and our own work on leadership fashions to develop a theoretical framework fit to explore the cultural and commercial production of concepts, discourses, products and services via the leadership industries. A deeper understanding of the competitive and industrial dynamics behind these industries promises to contribute fresh perspectives on the proliferation of so many approaches to leadership; on the industrialized production rather than just the social construction of those approaches; on the continued predominance of romanticized and individualized prescriptions over against more sociologically nuanced theories of relational and collective leadership; and on the central role that scholars themselves play in the leadership industries, and in the production and reproduction of leadership.