International Economics Commons^™

Leadership And Performance In Informal Institutions: The Internal Dynamics Of Brics, Zhen 'Arc' Han, Mihaela Papa

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

How does leadership affect the performance of informal institutions? Leadership in BRICS is particularly puzzling: this informal institution rapidly grows despite the disparate interests of its members, some of which are in longstanding conflict. This article examines how three forms of leadership – intellectual, entrepreneurial, and structural – affect institutional performance using BRICS cooperation data. It demonstrates the importance of intellectual leadership, particularly in strategically framing the cooperation problem in a way that creates mutual gains, as essential for realising collective outcomes in informal institutions. Collective action is catalyzed through the interplay of the three leadership forms. However, the activating …