Like a phoenix from the ashes. A Weberian analysis of the charismatic CEO routinization

This research addresses a simple question: what becomes of charismatic CEOs once they have reached their apogee? Building on some neglected aspects of Max Weber’s analysis of charisma and the work done by Janice Beyer on charismatic leadership, this paper offers two contributions. First, it provides a theoretical introduction to the concept of charismatic routinization (i.e. the inevitable transformation of charisma in the long term) through the description of its determinants and its scenario. Second, it narrates the saga of the tumultuous 30-year career of a European CEO and uses it as an illustrative case study in order to emphasize the relevance of the Weberian concept to the study of charismatic CEOs in the long term. In so doing, it provides the first case study on charismatic routinization at the top.