Cross-Cultural Leadership
Lauren Gruchala
Kaci Grant
Overview
Culture Defined
Related Concepts
Hofstede & others
GLOBE
Universally Desirable and Undesirable
Leadership Attributes
• Challenges to Cross-Cultural Leadership
• Questions
• Sources
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• The Dutch place emphasis on
egalitarianism and are skeptical about
the value of leadership. Terms like leader
and manager carry a stigma. If a father is
employed as a manager, Dutch children
will not admit it to their schoolmates.
• Arabs worship their leaders- as long as
they are in power!
• Iranians seek power and strength in the
leaders.
• The Malaysian leader is expected to
behave in a manner that is humble,
modest, and dignified.
Why is this important?
• Globalization
• Increased interconnection between people
• Need for leaders to become competent in
cross-cultural awareness and practice
• Diversity in our country
Cross-Cultural Research
Endeavor
• Leadership research is tricky:
– No consistency agreed upon definition of
leadership
– No clear understanding of the boundaries of
the construct space
Culture Defined
• The learned beliefs, values, rules, norms,
symbols, and traditions that are common
to a group of people (Northouse)
• A set of patterns for social collectivities
that differentiates among them in
meaningful ways (House, Wright &
Aditya)
Essential Parameters of Culture
• Culture represents some form and degree of collective
agreement
• Culture refers to sharing of important interpretations of
entities, activities, and events
• Cultural norms and cultural forces are manifested
linguistically, behaviorally, and symbolically in the form
of artifacts
• Common member experiences are inherent in the notion
of culture
• Cultural variables take on the force of social influence
largely because members of collectivities identify with
an agreed-upon specific set of values and common social
identities
Essential Parameters of Culture
• Common experiences and agreed-upon norms
have powerful socialization effects on the
members of cultures
• Cultural interpretations, symbols, artifacts, and
effects are transmitted across generations
• The social influence of cultural forces is assumed
to provide a set of compelling behavioral,
affective, and attitudinal orientations for
members of cultures
• Members of specific cultures are presumed to
abide by a set of norms that reflect the abovementioned commonalities
Related Concepts
• Ethnocentrism: the tendency for individuals to
place their own group at the center of their observations
of others and the world
– Obstacle because it prevents people from fully
understanding or respecting the world of others
• Prejudice: a largely fixed attitude, belief, or emotion
held by an individual about another individual or group
that is based on faulty data
• Both can have an impact on how leaders
influence others.
Related Concepts
• Multicultural: an approach or system that takes
more than one culture into account; a set of
subcultures defined by race, gender, ethnicity,
sexual orientation, and age
• Diversity: the existence of different cultures or
ethnicities within a group or organization
• Monolithic cultures: provide approximately
common experiences for members of
collectivities (no variation)
• Pluralist cultures: contains two or more
subgroups that share some common experiences
but not others
Cross-Cultural Studies
• Haire, Ghiselli and Porter (1966)
– Studied responses from 3,641 managers from 14
countries
– Managers favored democratic styles of
management; consistently felt that
subordinates lacked necessary abilities to be
led democratically; most endorsed egalitarian
organizational structures, however saw
themselves as part of elite group; better to
direct than persuade
Cross-Cultural Studies
• Bass, Burger, Doktor & Barrett (1979)
– Based on multiple measures of observed behavior
and questionnaire responses of 8,566 middle
managers from 12 different countries
– Data collected between 1966 and 1973
– Strong main effects of national citizenship and
modest main effects of rate of advancement on many
of the dependent variables (i.e., managers’ responses
to questionnaires, self-reports of behavior in exercises,
observations of each other’s behavior)
• Table 20.1 (Earley & Erez)
Hofstede (1980,2001)
• Most referenced research concerning dimensions
of culture
• Based on questionnaires from 100,000 people in
more than 50 countries (IBM HQ Staff)
• Cultural differences primarily encountered
as differences in shared values
• Values defined as “ broad tendencies to
prefer certain states of affairs over others”
Hofstede’s 3 Core Questions
• Three core questions that have to be
addressed in all cross-cultural research:
1. What are we comparing?
2. Are nations suitable units for comparison?
3. Are the phenomena we look at functionally
equivalent?
Hofstede Dimensions
• Power Distance
– The degree to which less powerful members of a society accept a
hierarchical or unequal distribution of power in
organizations/society
• Uncertainty Avoidance
– The degree to which members of a given society feel
uncomfortable in ambiguous situations and have created
beliefs, norms, and institutions that are intended to minimize
the occurrence of or cope with such situations
• Long-term-Short-term Orientation
– Long-term- thrift and perseverance
– Short-term- respect for tradition, fulfilling social obligations,
protecting one’s “face”
Hofstede Dimensions
• Individualism-Collectivism
– Individualist- the degree to which individuals function
independently of each other and are expected to look after
themselves and their immediate families
– Collectivist- the degree to which individuals are integrated into
groups that are expected to look after these individuals in
exchange for loyalty to the group
• Masculinity-Femininity
– High scores- the degree to which members of cultural entities
look favorably on assertive, aggressive, competitive, and
materialist behavior and striving for success
– Low scores- the degree to which members value supportive
behavior, nurturance, care, and service and endorse gender role
differentiation and discrimination
US Hofstede Profile
Power Distance: 40
Individualism: 91
Masculinity: 62
Uncertainty
Avoidance Index: 46
Long-term
Orientation: 29
Hofstede Conclusions
• Gives us insights into other cultures so that
we can be more effective when interacting
with people in other countries
• 3 noted studies have failed to demonstrate
consistency with Hofstede’s dimensions
– Gerstner and Day (1994); Ng et al. (1982);
Chinese Culture Connection (1987)
GLOBE
• Global Leadership & Organizational
Behavior Effectiveness
– Robert House (1991)
– Purpose: Increase understanding of crosscultural interactions and the impact of culture
on leadership effectiveness
– Quantitative methodology
• Responses of 17,000 managers; 950 organizations;
62 cultures
– 9 cultural dimensions – 7 derived from
Hofstede
GLOBE
• For each of the nine dimensions, items
were developed at both the societal and
organizational level
• 2 measures were used for all 9 dimensions:
– Items phrased in terms of the society or
organization as they are
– Items phrased to evaluate what practices
should be enacted in the society or
organization
Dimensions of GLOBE
1. Uncertainty Avoidance: Extent to which a
society, organization, or group relies on
established norms, rituals, and procedures to
avoid uncertainty
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Uncertainty accepting societies have been found to be
more innovative
Mangers from high UA countries tend to be more
controlling, less delegating, and less approachable
High UA value career stability, formal rules, & the
development of expertise
Low UA value career mobility and general skills rather
than specialized skills
Low UA managers expect resourcefulness & improvisation
High UA managers expect reliability & punctuality
Dimensions of GLOBE
2. Power Distance: Degree to which members
of group expect & agree that power should
be shared unequally
– Participative leadership significantly
predicted by the degree of PD
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Germanic, Anglo, & Nordic Europeans attuned to
PL
Middle Eastern, East European, Confucian Asian,
& Southern Asian clusters do not endorse
Dimensions of GLOBE
3. Institutional Collectivism: Degree to which
organization or society encourages
institutional or societal collective action
4. In-Group Collectivism: Degree to which
people express pride, loyalty, &
cohesiveness in their organizations or
families
Dimensions of GLOBE
5. Gender Egalitarianism: Degree to which an
organization or society minimizes gender role
differences and promotes gender equality
– High GE countries endorse charismatic leader
attributes & participative leader attributes:
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Foresight, enthusiasm, & self-sacrifice
Delegation
6. Assertiveness: Degree to which people in a
culture are determined, assertive,
confrontational, and aggressive in their social
relationships
Dimensions of GLOBE
7. Future Orientation: Extent to which
people engage in future-oriented
behaviors such as planning, investing in
the future, and delaying gratification
8. Performance Orientation: Extent to which
and organization or society encourages
and rewards group members for
improved performance and excellence
Dimensions of GLOBE
9. Humane Orientation: Degree to which a
culture encourages and rewards people
for being fair, altruistic, generous, caring,
and kind to others
• 9 dimensions used to analyze attributes
of 62 different countries
Clusters of World Cultures
• 62 Countries divided into regional clusters
• Clusters determined by:
– Common language
– Geography
– Religion
– Historical Accounts
• 10 distinct clusters formed
Characteristics of Clusters
Leadership Behavior and
Culture Clusters
• Derived in part from Lord and Maher
(1991)- implicit leadership theory
– Individuals have implicit beliefs & convictions
about the attributes and beliefs that
distinguish leaders from non-leaders and
effective leaders from ineffective leaders
• Leadership is in the eye of the beholder- what
people see in others when they are exhibiting
leadership behaviors
• GLOBE researchers identified 6 global
leadership behaviors
Global Leadership Behaviors
1. Charismatic/value-based leadership:
Ability to inspire, motivate, and expect
high performance from others based on
strongly held core values
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Visionary
Inspirational
Self-sacrificing
Trustworthy
Decisive
Performance oriented
Global Leadership Behaviors
2. Team-oriented leadership: Emphasizes
team building and a common purpose
among team members
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Collaborative
Integrative
Diplomatic
Administratively competent
Global Leadership Behaviors
3. Participative leadership: The degree to
which leaders involve others in making
and implementing decisions
• Participative
• Nonautocratic
4. Human oriented leadership: Emphasizes
being supportive, considerate,
compassionate, & generous
• Modesty
• Sensitivity to people
Global Leadership Behaviors
5. Autonomous leadership: Refers to independent
and individualistic leadership
• Autonomous
• Unique
6. Self-protective leadership: Reflects behaviors
that ensure the safety & security of the leader &
and the group
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Self-centered
Status conscious
Conflict inducing
Face saving
Universally Desirable Leadership
Attributes
Universally Undesirable Leadership
Attributes
Strengths of GLOBE
• Only study to analyze how leadership viewed
by cultures around the world
• Large Scope
• Well-developed quantitative research design
• Standardized instruments = generalizeable
• Cultural dimensions more expansive than
Hofstede
• Provide information about what is universally
accepted as “good” & “bad” leadership
• Expand our knowledge to view leadership
outside our perspectives
Criticisms of GLOBE
• No clear set of assumptions & propositions to
form a single theory about the way culture
relates to leadership or influences the
leadership process
• Some cultural dimensions and leaderships
behaviors are vague (e.g. power distance,
self-protective leadership)
• Implicit leadership theory- ignores research
that frames leadership in terms of what
people do (e.g. transformational leadership)
Application of GLOBE
• Help leaders understand their own cultural
biases & preferences
• Help leaders understand what it means to be
a good leader
• Help leaders communicate more effectively
across cultural and geographic boundaries
• Practical Ways:
– Culturally sensitive websites
– Design new employee orientation programs
– Improve global team effectiveness
Future of Cross-Cultural
Leadership
• Internet has made it easier to obtain
samples & answer questions quickly
– Web-based surveys
– Real time chat
– Video Conferencing
• Blessing & a curse
– Unqualified individuals try to collect &
interpret data
Unresolved Issues/ Limitations
• Magnitude of the effect of cultural influences
unknown
• The influence of cultural forces on local
conceptions of leadership, the social status of
leaders, and the amount of influence granted to
leaders
• Processes by which cultural entities affect
member psychological states and behavior not
clear
• Convenience sampling
• Valid information in interviews, self-report
measures, etc.
Sources
• Dickson, M.W., Den Hartog, D.N., & Mitchelson, J.K. (2003). Research on
leadership in a cross –cultural context: making progress, and raising
new questions. The Leadership Quarterly, 14, 729-768.
• Earley, P.C. & Erez, M. (1996). Understanding the International Leader,
pp. 535-625.
• Hofstede, G. (2009). Geert Hofstede Cultural Dimensions. Retrieved April
12, 2009, from itim International Web site: http://www.geerthofstede.com/
• Northouse, P.G. (2007). Leadership Theory and Practice, 4th Edition, pp.
301-325.