Successful Disputation of the Doctoral Student Vera Schweitzer at the Chair of Leadership
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The Chair of Leadership at Campus Düsseldorf seeks to improve leadership in different contexts to ultimately create better organizations through scientific research, practice collaborations and education on leadership. We take a holistic approach and consider leadership as a dynamic process in which managers and employees mutually influence each other to achieve a common goal.
Many people across different contexts – e.g., the corporate world, politics, or voluntary organizations – are not satisfied with their leaders. Despite the willingness to improve this situation, many managers are not sure how to adapt their leadership styles to face challenges such as managing through or with the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and supervising self-managed teams in which informal leaders take on responsibility.
To help remedy this situation, our Chair investigates leader-follower dynamics as they unfold in organizational life. We are particularly committed to help organizations appreciate diversity among their leaders, with a specific focus on age diversity and female leadership. Our work has been published in leading research journals such as the Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Learning & Education, Human Relations, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology or The Leadership Quarterly
Exemplary Research –
Who is talking themselves into a leader role?
Read the news from our Chair –
Keep up with the latest events and activities.
The Chair of Leadership Team:
Studying leader-follower dynamics in daily life –
Improving leadership for organizations.
With our research, we seek to inspire leaders in different contexts, share practices, and inform public policy debates.
Our research falls into three broad areas of interest:
In its essence, leadership is communication. To influence others, people have to talk – and some do so more effectively than others. In this stream of research, we answer questions such as:
- How do people talk themselves into leadership role?
- Which non-verbal signs do (emergent) leaders use?
- How and under which circumstances do specific communication styles – such as leading and communicating with respect – positively influence employees?

The workforce is becoming increasingly diverse – not only in terms of easily visible attributes such as age or gender, but also in terms of more subtle attributes such as culture or educational background. This can be an opportunity for creating a richer knowledge base in organizations. However, diversity may also be challenging to handle for leaders. In this stream of research, we seek to provide evidence for leaders to be able to profit from the bright side of diversity and avoid the potential dark sides. We answer questions such as:
- How can leaders enhance intergenerational learning in organizations?
- Which tools can leaders use to foster knowledge sharing in a diverse workforce?
- What are the micro-dynamics occurring in the daily life of female leaders that may prevent them from climbing the career ladder?

Leaders strongly influence the organizational context that shapes employees’ behaviors. In this stream of research, we investigate the interplay of leadership and employee behavior as well as organizational context factors to answer questions such as:
- Through which mechanisms do leaders enhance employees’ pro-organizational behaviors?
- How can leaders manage the daily (self-control) demands of their employees in an optimal way?
- Why are some leaders able to advance their career by using “dark leader behaviors” such as being nice to those above and mean to those below?

Our publications –
A selection of journal articles.
(Don't) mind the gap?Information gaps compound curiosity yet also feed frustration at work
Schweitzer, V. M., Gerpott, F., Rivkin, W., Stollberger, J. (Pre-Print), Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Vol. 178, Article no. 104276, 19 pages
Designing work for change and its unintended side effects
Fasbender, U., Gerpott, F. (Pre-Print), Journal of Vocational Behavior, Vol. 145, Article no. 103913, 50 pages
Employees adhere more to unethical instructions from human than AI supervisors: complementing experimental evidence with machine learning
Lanz, L., Briker, R., Gerpott, F. (Pre-Print), Journal of Business Ethics
Keep it steady?Not only average self-control demands matter for employees’ work engagement, but also variability
Gerpott, F., Rivkin, W., Diestel, S. (Pre-Print), Work & Stress
Tell-and-sell or ask-and-listen?A self-concept perspective on why it needs leader-ship communication flexibility to engage subordinates at work
Van Quaquebeke, N., Gerpott, F. (Pre-Print), Current Opinion in Psychology, Vol. 53, Article no. 101666, 6 pages
When subordinates do not follow: a typology of subordinate resistance as perceived by leaders
van der Velde, A., Gerpott, F. (Pre-Print), The Leadership Quarterly, Article no. 101687, 32 pages
Getting ready for the future, is it worth it?A dual-pathway model of age and technology acceptance at work
Fasbender, U., Gerpott, F., Dietz, L. (Pre-Print), Work, Aging and Retirement
Kiss-up-kick-down to get ahead: a resource perspective on how, when, why, and with whom middle managers use ingratiatory and exploitative behaviors to advance their career
Gerpott, F., Van Quaquebeke, N. (Pre-Print), Journal of Management Studies
Some positivity per day can protect you a long way: a within-person field experiment to test an affect-resource model of employee effectiveness at work
Schweitzer, V. M., Rivkin, W., Gerpott, F., Diestel, S., Kühnel, J., Prem, R., ... Wang, M. (Pre-Print), Work & Stress
A conceptual replication of ambidextrous leadership theory: an experimental approach
Klonek, F., Gerpott, F., Parker, S. K. (2023), The Leadership Quarterly, Vol. 34 (4), Article no. 101473, 23 pages
Autonomous or controlled self-regulation, that is the question: a self-determination perspective on the impact of commuting on employees' domain-specific functioning
Gerpott, F., Rivkin, W., Unger, D. (2023), Organizational Psychology Review, Vol. 13 (1), pp. 67-95
Klassiker der Organisationsforschung (48): Max Weber: Bürokratie oder Bürokratisierung?
Gerpott, F., Kerschreiter, R. (2023), Organisationsentwicklung, Vol. 42 (3), pp. 96-100
Stayed at home - can’t stop working despite being ill?!Guilt as a driver of presenteeism at work and at home
Brosi, P., Gerpott, F. (2023), Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 44 (6), pp. 853-870
The now, new, and next of digital leadership: how artificial intelligence (AI) will take over and change leadership as we know it
Van Quaquebeke, N., Gerpott, F. (2023), Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, Vol. 30 (3), pp. 265-275
A conceptual framework of how meeting mindsets shape and are shaped by leader-follower interactions in meetings
Gerpott, F., Kerschreiter, R. (2022), Organizational Psychology Review, Vol. 12 (2), pp. 107-134
A review and future agenda for behavioral research on leader–follower interactions at different temporal scopes.
Hemshorn de Sanchez, C. S., Gerpott, F., Lehmann-Willenbrock, N. (2022), Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 43 (2), pp. 342-368
Inspire but don’t interfere: managerial influence as a double-edged sword for innovation
Gerpott, F., Bledow, R., Kühnel, J. (2022), Applied Psychology : an International Review, Vol. 71 (2), pp. 359-379
Knowledge transfer between younger and older employees: a temporal social comparison model
Fasbender, U., Gerpott, F. (2022), Work, Aging and Retirement, Vol. 8 (2), pp. 146–162
Should I stay or should I go?The role of daily presenteeism as an adaptive response to perform at work despite somatic complaints for employee effectiveness
Rivkin, W., Diestel, S., Gerpott, F., Unger, D. (2022), Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, Vol. 27 (4), pp. 411-425
Stop and go, where is my flow?how and when daily aversive morning commutes are negatively related to employees’ motivational states and behavior at work
Gerpott, F., Rivkin, W., Unger, D. (2022), Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 107 (2), pp. 169-192
Why do or don’t older employees seek knowledge from younger colleagues?a relation-opportunity model to explain how age-inclusive HR practices foster older employees’ knowledge seeking from younger colleagues.
Fasbender, U., Gerpott, F. (2022), Applied Psychology : an International Review, Vol. 71 (4), pp. 1385-1406
Age diversity and learning outcomes in organizational training groups: the role of knowledge sharing and psychological safety
Gerpott, F., Lehmann-Willenbrock, N., Wenzel, R., Voelpel, S. (2021), International Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol. 32 (18), pp. 3777-3804
Give and take?Knowledge exchange between older and younger employees as a function of generativity and development striving
Fasbender, U., Gerpott, F., Unger, D. (2021), Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 25 (10), pp. 2420-2443
Reaching the heart or the mind?Test of two theory-based training programs to improve interactions between age-diverse coworkers
Burmeister, A., Gerpott, F., Hirschi, A., Scheibe, S., Pak, K., Kooij, D. (2021), Academy of Management Learning & Education, Vol. 20 (2), pp. 203-232
Same talk, different reaction?Communication, emergent leadership and gender
Schlamp, S., Gerpott, F., Voelpel, S. (2021), Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 36 (1), pp. 51-74
To share or not to share: a social-cognitive internalization model to explain how age discrimination impairs older employees’ knowledge sharing with younger colleagues
Fasbender, U., Gerpott, F. (2021), European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, Vol. 30 (1), pp. 125-142
Wer führt hier wen und wozu führt das?eine 3x3 Matrix (in)formeller Führung
Gerpott, F., Kerschreiter, R. (2021), PERSONALquarterly : Wissenschaftsjournal für die Personalpraxis, Vol. 73 (4), pp. 22-27
Is work and aging research a science of questionnaires?Moving the field forward by considering perceived versus actual behaviors
Gerpott, F., Lehmann-Willenbrock, N., Scheibe, S. (2020), Work, Aging and Retirement, Vol. 6 (2)
Playing a different game: situation perception mediates framing effects on cooperative behaviour
Columbus, S., Münich, J., Gerpott, F. (2020), Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Vol. 90, Article no. 104006, 14 pages
Respectful leadership and followers’ knowledge sharing: a social mindfulness lens
Gerpott, F., Fasbender, U., Burmeister, A. (2020), Human Relations, Vol. 73 (6), pp. 789-810
An identity perspective on ethical leadership to explain organizational citizenship behaviour: the interplay of follower moral identity and leader group prototypicality
Gerpott, F., Van Quaquebeke, N., Schlamp, S., Voelpel, S. (2019), Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 156 (4), pp. 1063-1078
Beide Seiten einer Medaille: Umdenken im Wissenstransfer zwischen Generationen
Gerpott, F., Burmeister, A., Fasbender, U. (2019), Wirtschaftspsychologie aktuell : Zeitschrift für Personal und Management, (2)
Consequences of knowledge hiding: the differential compensatory effects of guilt and shame
Burmeister, A., Fasbender, U., Gerpott, F. (2019), Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, Vol. 92 (2), pp. 281-304
It's not just what is said but when it's said: a temporal account of verbal behaviours and emergent leadership in self-managed teams
Gerpott, F., Lehmann-Willenbrock, N., Voelpel, S., Van Vugt, M. (2019), Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 62 (3), pp. 717-738
Time to go wild: how to conceptualize and measure process dynamics in real teams with high-resolution
Klonek, F., Gerpott, F., Lehmann-Willenbrock, N., Parker, S. K. (2019), Organizational Psychology Review, Vol. 9 (4), pp. 245–275
How do people think about interdependence?A multidimensional model of subjective outcome interdependence
Gerpott, F., Balliet, D., Columbus, S., Molho, C., de Vries, R. E. (2018), Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 115 (4), pp. 716-742
In the eye of the beholder?An eye-tracking experiment on emergent leadership in team interactions
Gerpott, F., Lehmann-Willenbrock, N., Silvis, J. D., Van Vugt, M. (2018), The Leadership Quarterly, Vol. 29 (4), pp. 523-532
A phase model of intergenterational learning in organizations
Gerpott, F., Lehmann-Willenbrock, N., Voelpel, S. (2017), Academy of Management Learning & Education, Vol. 16 (2), pp. 193-216
Gleich und gleich gesellt sich gern
Engelsberger, A., Gerpott, F., de Vries, R. E. (2017), Personalwirtschaft : das Magazin für den Job HR, Vol. 50 (9), pp. 68-71
It's not charisma that makes extraordinarily successful entrepreneurs, but extraordinary success that makes entrepreneurs charismatic: a second-order observation of the self-reinforcing entrepreneurial ideology
Gerpott, F., Kieser, A. (2017), Managementforschung, Vol. 27 (1), pp. 147-166
Konstruktive Konfliktkulturen als Leistungstreiber
Schlamp, S., Gerpott, F., Voelpel, S. (2017), Personalwirtschaft : das Magazin für den Job HR, Vol. 50 (1), pp. 71-73
Alter ist relativ: wie eine neue Haltung zum Alter(n) die Leistungsfähigkeit erhöhen kann
Niederhausen, H., Gerpott, F., Voelpel, S. (2016), Personalführung, Vol. 49 (7), pp. 62-67
Auf dem Weg zur Agilität
Hackl, B., Gerpott, F., Malessa, M., Jeckel, P. (2015), Personalmagazin, Vol. 16 (2), pp. 30-32
Die Zukunft gehört dem Individuum - Innovation durch Vielfalt: vom Diversitäts- zum Individualitätsmanagement
Gerpott, F., Voelpel, S. (2015), Personalführung, Vol. 48 (5), pp. 45-51
Klassiker der Organisationsforschung (18) : Ikujiro Nonaka
Gerpott, F., Voelpel, S. (2015), Organisationsentwicklung, Vol. 33 (4), pp. 90-94
Kritischer Trend Generationenmanagement
Schlamp, S., Gerpott, F., Voelpel, S. (2015), Personalwirtschaft : das Magazin für den Job HR, Vol. 42 (10), pp. 45-47
Lernst du noch oder arbeitest du schon?vier Empfehlungen für den Erfolg von Projektseminaren
Voelpel, S., Gerpott, F. (2015), Forschung & Lehre, Vol. 22 (8), pp. 658-659
Mit Widersprüchen umgehen
Gerpott, F., Hackl, B. (2015), Personalmagazin, Vol. 16 (7), pp. 56-57
The right strategy?examining the business partner model's functionality for resolving human resources management tensions and discussing alternative directions
Gerpott, F. (2015), German Journal of Human Resource Management : Zeitschrift für Personalforschung, Vol. 29 (3), pp. 214-234
Exklusivstudie Personal: was machen eigentlich ihre Personaler?
Hackl, B., Gerpott, F. (2014), Harvard-Business-Manager, Vol. 36 (2), pp. 6-9
Führung ist nicht gleich Führung
Gerpott, F., Köhler, S., Hackl, B. (2014), Personalführung, Vol. 15 (3), pp. 9-11
Generationenübergreifend in Bewegung kommen
Voelpel, S., Gerpott, F. (2014), Personalwirtschaft : das Magazin für den Job HR, Vol. 41 (10), pp. 70-72
Nur gemeinsam stark: warum agile Führung mit einer nachhaltigen Lernkultur verknüpft werden muss
Hackl, B., Gerpott, F., Vacek, E. (2014), Personalführung, Vol. 47 (6), pp. 34-41
Reden Sie noch oder führen Sie schon?wie durch gezielte Kommunikation zur Führungskraft werden
Jordano-Kudalis, L., Gerpott, F., Lehmann-Willenbrock, N., Voelpel, S. (2014), Personalführung, Vol. 47 (8), pp. 70-75
Vom "Nobody" zum "Know-Body": wie Personaler ältere Mitarbeiter missverstehen
Hackl, B., Hasebrook, J., Gerpott, F. (2014), HR Performance : Netzwerk für digitale HR, Vol. 22 (4), pp. 26-28
Was internationale gemischte Teams erfolgreich macht
Niederhausen, H., Voelpel, S., Gerpott, F. (2014), Personalwirtschaft : das Magazin für den Job HR, Vol. 41 (5), pp. 52-54
Wer lernt was von wem?Wissensaustausch in altersgemischten Lerngruppen
Gerpott, F., Voelpel, S. (2014), PERSONALquarterly : Wissenschaftsjournal für die Personalpraxis, Vol. 66 (3), pp. 16-21
Zurück auf Los!warum ein Überdenken des transformationalen Führungsstils notwendig ist
Gerpott, F., Voelpel, S. (2014), Personalführung, Vol. 47 (4), pp. 17-21
Attraktiver werden - für alle
Gerpott, F., Hackl, B., von Schirach, C. (2013), Personalmagazin, Vol. 14 (8), pp. 28-31
Get in touch with us –
We look forward to hearing from you.

Prof. Dr. Fabiola H. Gerpott
Chairholder
Tel.: +49 211 44709-375
Cell: +49 176 6461 2659
WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management
Erkrather Straße 224a
D-40233 Düsseldorf
Entrance 228c
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