Heroic or competent? A second look

Knight (1984, Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 33, 307–322) has hypothesized that B. M. Staw and J. Ross's (1980, Journal of Applied Psychology, 65(3), 249–260) findings result from observers' perceptions of competent leadership rather than from observers' perceptions of heroic leadership. Although Knight's data support his position, Knight used experimental subjects and materials different from those of Staw and Ross. This study replicated Knight's experiment using subjects and materials like those of Staw and Ross. The results show clear support for competent theory and mixed support for heroic theory. They suggest that business experienced and business inexperienced subjects disagree upon the value of leaders who are heroic, optimizers, or satisficers, but agree that plodders are less desirable than any of the other three.