Too Much of a Good Thing? A Contingency Perspective on Charismatic Leadership in High Potential New Ventures

Entrepreneurs have a profound impact on the development of their firms, yet few studies have addressed the issue of leadership in new ventures. Here, we explore how charismatic leadership potentially impacts the performance of high potential new ventures and how charismatic behaviors that can promote new venture development and high performance in early stages can become problematic and dysfunctional in later stages. Thus, we develop a contingency model of charismatic leadership in these ventures.