Detachment and Attachment: A Dual-Pathway Model of Leader Succession Rituals

Abstract

Leader succession, the transition of a leadership position from a former leader to a new one, is a common yet potentially disruptive organizational process. Leader succession inherently carries risks and uncertainties, while rituals are often employed to instill order and provide stability. Building on this theoretical link between leader succession and rituals, we explored different types of leader succession rituals and investigated their impacts on succession outcomes. In a qualitative study (Study 1), we identified six types of leader succession rituals: artifact adoption, endorsement act, welcome ceremony, artifact return, closure act, and farewell ceremony. A duality emerged in our data: The first three ritual types focus on building attachment to the new leader, while the other three emphasize detachment from the former leader. Based on the findings from Study 1, we conducted a quantitative field study (Study 2) in a technology firm undergoing large-scale leader succession following an acquisition, as well as an experiment (Study 3) with full-time working adults from diverse organizational contexts via an online platform. Across Studies 2 and 3, we tested the dual-pathway model. The results not only confirm that the effects are transmitted through new leader attachment and former leader detachment but also reveal differential effectiveness among ritual types, with endorsement act, welcome ceremony, and farewell ceremony proving more effective in influencing succession outcomes.