Charismatic Leadership and Followers' Risk-taking Behavior

Journal: Social lens

Publication: 2026-01-10

DOI: 10.69971/sl.3.1.2026.47

Abstract

This study builds on social learning theory to unfold the impact of charismatic leadership on follower risk-taking behavior via followers’ sense of empowerment as the mediator in how these dynamics lead crew members to take risks in Pakistan’s IT sector. Charismatic leadership is fundamental in stimulating followers’ sense of psychological empowerment, which stimulates their risk-taking tendency in their actions, such as taking up challenges and being creative. Followers’ proactive personality is the moderating factor on this path, which reinforces the impact of empowerment on risk-taking behavior. This study used a survey-based approach to obtain data from a sample of 170 employees working in the IT sector. The results show that the level of charismatic leadership significantly fosters followers' risk-taking behavior, and psychological empowerment is established as a full mediator between the aforementioned relationship. Employee proactive personality holds the second stage of moderation for the conceptualized model. The research points to the decisive function of charismatic leadership in increasing the followers' risk-taking behavior by mentally empowering them, which is highly salient for those who possess a high proactive dispositional tendency.