Reining in Hubris: Recall as a Pragmatic Instrument of Democratic Accountability

Abstract The dark side of hubris, characterized by overconfidence, excessive risk-taking, and power abuse, poses significant challenges to organizational sustainability. Previous research has primarily explored alternative selection and participation procedures as solutions to problematic hubris. This study conceptualizes hubris as an accountability issue and argues that removability operates as an institutional mechanism that reinforces communal norms and constrains excesses of authority. Given the scarcity of organizations with established recall mechanisms, this research draws on the long-standing democratic governance practices of monastic communities where recall mechanisms were developed to address power abuse by leaders. We survey leaders and regular members of 112 monastic communities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and analyze these monasteries’ websites to examine how recall options are associated with leaders’ self-presentation, risk-taking, and rule-breaking behaviors. The study thus contributes to organizational sociology by positioning recall mechanisms as a pragmatic institution to balance authority in times of growing needs for effective democratic governance institutions, offering modern organizations insights drawn from long-established governance practices.