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The Beauty Bias and Leader Emergence: A Theoretical Integration, Extension, and Meta-Analysis
Journal of Management ( IF 9.3 ) Pub Date : 2025-05-13 , DOI: 10.1177/01492063251330199
Stephen H. Courtright, Gary R. Thurgood, Huiyao Liao, Timothy J. Morgan, Jiexin Wang
Journal of Management ( IF 9.3 ) Pub Date : 2025-05-13 , DOI: 10.1177/01492063251330199
Stephen H. Courtright, Gary R. Thurgood, Huiyao Liao, Timothy J. Morgan, Jiexin Wang
Leader emergence is a critical organizational phenomenon, influenced by various individual attributes. One such attribute—often overlooked by scholars and practitioners—is physical attractiveness. This study provides a comprehensive meta-analysis of the beauty bias and its relationship to leader emergence. We first review implicit leadership and status generalization theories as the dominant frameworks explaining this bias. Next, we assess the magnitude of the physical attractiveness–leader emergence relationship and test the “beauty is beastly” effect by evaluating leader gender as a moderator. We also identify two key mechanisms—perceived warmth and perceived competence—that explain this relationship. Additionally, we explore the robustness of the beauty bias across different contexts, including observer characteristics, leadership roles, and national culture. Our findings confirm that physical attractiveness is significantly related to leader emergence, primarily through perceptions of warmth, but also through perceptions of competence. This relationship holds equally for male and female leaders and is stronger in informal leadership contexts. It is slightly more pronounced among college students than full-time employees and in collectivist rather than individualistic national cultures, yet remains equally strong across executive and non-executive leadership roles. Overall, our findings highlight the strength and consistency of the physical attractiveness–leader emergence relationship, underscoring the need for organizations to mitigate the beauty bias from influencing decisions around leader emergence.
中文翻译:
美的偏见和领导者的出现:理论整合、推广和元分析
领导者涌现是一种关键的组织现象,受各种个人属性的影响。其中一个属性——经常被学者和从业者忽视——是外表吸引力。本研究对美貌偏见及其与领导者出现的关系进行了全面的荟萃分析。我们首先回顾了内隐领导力和地位泛化理论作为解释这种偏见的主要框架。接下来,我们评估了身体吸引力-领导者出现关系的大小,并通过评估领导者性别作为调节因素来测试 “美丽是野兽 ”效应。我们还确定了解释这种关系的两个关键机制——感知到的温暖和感知的能力。此外,我们还探讨了不同背景下美貌偏见的稳健性,包括观察者特征、领导角色和国家文化。我们的研究结果证实,身体吸引力与领导者的出现显著相关,主要是通过对温暖的感知,但也通过对能力的感知。这种关系对男性和女性领导者同样适用,并且在非正式领导环境中更为强烈。它在大学生中比全职员工略明显,在集体主义而不是个人主义的民族文化中,它在执行和非执行领导角色中仍然同样强烈。总体而言,我们的研究结果强调了外表吸引力与领导者涌现关系的强度和一致性,强调了组织需要减轻美丽偏见对领导者涌现决策的影响。
更新日期:2025-05-13
中文翻译:

美的偏见和领导者的出现:理论整合、推广和元分析
领导者涌现是一种关键的组织现象,受各种个人属性的影响。其中一个属性——经常被学者和从业者忽视——是外表吸引力。本研究对美貌偏见及其与领导者出现的关系进行了全面的荟萃分析。我们首先回顾了内隐领导力和地位泛化理论作为解释这种偏见的主要框架。接下来,我们评估了身体吸引力-领导者出现关系的大小,并通过评估领导者性别作为调节因素来测试 “美丽是野兽 ”效应。我们还确定了解释这种关系的两个关键机制——感知到的温暖和感知的能力。此外,我们还探讨了不同背景下美貌偏见的稳健性,包括观察者特征、领导角色和国家文化。我们的研究结果证实,身体吸引力与领导者的出现显著相关,主要是通过对温暖的感知,但也通过对能力的感知。这种关系对男性和女性领导者同样适用,并且在非正式领导环境中更为强烈。它在大学生中比全职员工略明显,在集体主义而不是个人主义的民族文化中,它在执行和非执行领导角色中仍然同样强烈。总体而言,我们的研究结果强调了外表吸引力与领导者涌现关系的强度和一致性,强调了组织需要减轻美丽偏见对领导者涌现决策的影响。