Project Details
Projekt
Coordination Funds
Applicant
Professor Dr. Rolf van Dick
Subject Area
Social Psychology, Industrial and Organisational Psychology
Term
since 2026
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 572229321
The proposed Centre at Goethe University Frankfurt seeks to advance research on identity leadership as a group-oriented approach to addressing contemporary societal challenges like polarization, crises, and climate change. Identity leadership, grounded in social identity theory, focuses on how leaders foster shared identities to promote cooperation, well-being, and resilience at individual, organizational, and societal levels. The Centre has three main objectives. First, it aims to refine the conceptual foundations of identity leadership by addressing gaps such as its potential "dark side" (e.g., misuse by populist leaders) and integrating interdisciplinary perspectives from psychology and economics. Second, it will innovate methodologically by moving beyond self-report surveys by combining large-scale cross-cultural studies and emic components with behavioral experiments using tools like the Behavioral Measurement Toolbox. Third, it emphasizes relevance by studying identity leadership in contexts such as mental health, climate action, and digital workplaces, with practical outputs for organizations and policymakers. Preliminary work by the applicants provides a strong foundation. In psychology, van Dick's team validated the Identity Leadership Inventory globally through the GILD network, demonstrating links between identity leadership and outcomes like innovation, trust, and (reduced) burnout. Research during COVID-19 showed how leaders' identity-building efforts influenced public health compliance. In economics, Kosfeld's experiments revealed how shared mission identity enhances trust and cooperation, while field studies demonstrated how prosocial leaders improve collective outcomes. Recent work also highlights how group identity can drive polarization in social learning. The Centre will be structured around a Fellowship Program involving Rudolf Kerschreiter and Alex Haslam as permanent fellows and a team of altogether 20 senior and junior fellows and 60 short-term visitors. Activities include annual workshops, bi-annual conferences, and a weekly Centre Forum to foster interdisciplinary debate. Early-career researchers will be supported through two postdoc positions and a W1TT professorship and with 50% of fellows being ECRs. The Centre builds on Frankfurt's research ecosystem, including the Center for Leadership and Behavior in Organizations (CLBO) for interdisciplinary leadership research and the Frankfurt Laboratory for Experimental Economic Research (FLEX). Future directions include expanding into AI, digitalization, and demographic change in Phase 2, with randomized trials on leader training. By bridging psychology and economics, the Centre aims to redefine leadership for an era of division, offering evidence-based tools that aim to help building cohesive societies.
DFG Programme
Advanced Studies Centres in SSH
