Cross-cultural leadership
Encyclopedia
Cross-cultural psychology
attempts to understand how individuals of different cultures
interact with each other (Abbe, Gulick, & Herman, 2007). Along these lines, cross-cultural leadership has developed as a way to understand leaders who work in the newly globalized
market. Today’s international organizations require leaders who can adjust to different environments quickly and work with partners and employees of other cultures (House, Javidan, & Dorfman, 2001). It cannot be assumed that a manager who is successful in one country will be successful in another (Javidan, Dorfman, de Luque, & House, 2006; Brodbeck, Frese, Akerblom, Audia, Bakacsi, & Bendova, 2000).
The following sections discuss the various aspects of cross-cultural leadership including: related theories and research, definitions of the construct itself and characteristics that are exhibited from such leaders, and antecedents to and implications of being a cross-cultural leader.
, beliefs and schemas
influence the extent to which they view someone as a good leader. Since people across cultures tend to hold different implicit beliefs, schemas and stereotypes, it would seem only natural that their underlying beliefs in what makes a good leader differ across cultures (Javidan et al., 2006; Brodbeck et al., 2000).
of culture to compare cultures to give leaders an understanding of how to adjust their leadership styles accordingly. These dimensions include Individualism/Collectivism, Feminine/Masculine, Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, and Long Term/ Short Term orientation.
study incorporated both the ILT and Hofstede's dimensions into one unique research study. The GLOBE study extended the ILT to include individuals of a common culture maintaining a relatively stable common belief about leaders, which varies from culture to culture. They labeled this the Culturally Endorsed Implicit Leadership Theory (CLT) (Javidan et al., 2006). The GLOBE study expanded Hofstede's dimensions to include Uncertainty Avoidance, Power Distance, Collectivism I: Societal Collectivism, Collectivism II: In-Group Collectivism, Gender Egalitarianism, Assertiveness, Future Orientation, Performance Orientation and Humane Orientation (House, Javidan, &Dorfman, 2001).
A great deal of research has been conducted on the prevalence of this leadership style in non-Western business organizations, indicating the prevalence of paternalistic leadership in countries like China and Taiwan (Pellegrini & Scandura, 2008). However, considerably less research has been done on whether paternalistic leadership exists in Western cultures. Recently, there has been an increase in the amount of attention placed on paternalistic leadership in non-Western cultures. Although it is a relatively new area of focus in leadership research, evidence has been found supporting the relationship between paternalism and positive work attitudes in numerous cultures, including the Middle East, Latin America, and Pacific Asia (Pellegrini & Scandura, 2008). In a recent study, Pellegrini, Scandura, and Jayaraman (2010) examined paternalism in the Western business context and found that paternalistic leadership was positively associated with job satisfaction in India, but not in the United States. In both Indian and United States cultures, paternalistic leadership was positively related to leader-member exchange and organizational commitment (Pellegrini, Scandura & Jayaraman, 2010). Based on recent cross-cultural studies, paternalistic leadership seems to be more apparent across cultures than previously believed. Further research is needed to explore how prevalent it is, and how individual characteristics may play a role in where paternalistic leadership is found.
and transactional leadership
. Transformational leadership is loosely defined as a charismatic leadership style that rallies subordinates around a common goal with enthusiasm and support. Transactional leadership is characterized by a give and take relationship using rewards as an incentive. These concepts were introduced by Bass (1985) and have been updated and studied throughout the years, claiming the transferability of these types of leadership styles across cultures. In fact, Bass and Avolio (1994) went as far as to give an optimal leadership profile for leaders around the world.
Shahin and Wright (2004) decided to test this theory in Egypt, an emerging market that had yet to be studied. In a questionnaire study of employees at 10 different banks, responses indicated that only 3 of the 7 factors that were found in the ideal leadership style in Egypt corresponded with the US factors. The other 4 were unique to Egypt or perhaps the Middle East in general. These results indicate an inability to assume that transactional and transformational leadership will succeed in non-western cultures. Casimir, Waldman, Bartram, and Yang (2006) similarly found that these leadership styles may not be as universal as some assume. In a study of transactional and transformational leadership in China and Australia, results indicated that transformational leadership significantly predicted performance and trust in the Australian population, while only predicting trust, and not performance in the Chinese population. Transactional leadership did not predict trust or performance in either population. This is another indication that these theories may not be as universal as proposed.
In opposition to the above findings, Walumbwa, Lawler, and Avolio (2007) compared data from China, India, Kenya, and the U.S. and found a strong presence of transformational and/or transactional leadership in these countries. Allocentrists, similar to collectivists, respond more positively to transformational leadership because they unite individuals around a common goal. Idiocentrists, essentially individuals found in individualistic cultures, are more amenable to transactional leaders who reward individuals for hard work and success and less amenable to leaders who encourage group work and reduce individual identity. Although these leadership styles are not appropriate in every country, this study shows that as long as the appropriate style of leadership (either transactional or transformational) is used in the correct country, followers will respond positively. Further studies should be conducted for consensus.
As you can see, there is not one right way to define and refer to a cross-cultural leader. What is important to note is that these various terms and definitions have a similar underlying meaning. Whichever term you use, the underlying theme is that cross-cultural leadership involves the ability to influence and motivate people’s attitudes and behaviors in the global community to reach a common organizational goal.
Operationalizations
As the previous section demonstrates, researchers use many terms to refer to the construct of cross-cultural leadership. Although these terms may differ slightly, it is important to be able to operationalize, or define cross-cultural leadership in a way that allows its presence or absence to be measured. The following studies discuss the knowledge, skills, abilities and behaviors that are exhibited by successful cross-cultural leaders.
In researching the international executive, Spreitzer et al. (1997) found that general intelligence, business knowledge, interpersonal skills, commitment, courage and ease in dealing with cross-cultural issues are traits that seem to resonate throughout the literature in illustrating a successful international executive. They indicated a lack of academic research predictors of “international executive” success, but agree that open personality, flexibility, drive and language skills all contribute to a successful international executive.
Rather than delineating a term for the leader, Rentsch, Mot, and Abbe (2009) describe a specific trait that is attributed to multicultural leadership known as multicultural perspective taking. This is detailed as the ability of such leaders to “take the perspective of another within the cultural context, to apply cultural lenses, and to adapt quickly when encountering individuals or groups from unfamiliar cultures” (p. 1).
Gelfand, Erez, and Aycan (2007) interpret the overall behaviors that a cross-cultural leader should embody as cross-cultural organizational behavior (OB). This is defined as “cross-cultural similarities and differences in processes and behaviors at work, and the dynamics of cross-cultural interfaces in multicultural domestic and international contexts” (p. 480).
Johnson, Lenartowicz, and Apud (2006) discuss such behavior using a similar construct referred to as cross-cultural competence (CC). CC in international business refers to “an individual’s effectiveness in drawing upon a set of knowledge, skills, and personal attributes in order to work successfully with people from different national cultural backgrounds at home or abroad” (p. 530). The focus here is not on acquiring knowledge, but rather on how the individual uses knowledge he/she already has acquired. International business can be tough and trying but it is the extent to which a leader can persevere and utilize the knowledge he/she has that makes him/her successful.
In a similar study conducted by Abbe, et al. (2007), this same concept of cross-cultural competence (here referred to as 3C), was found to enable leaders to interact in any culture, as opposed to language and regional knowledge, which only work in specific cultures. 3C, as researched by Abbe et al. (2007), is dynamic and subject to develop over time. The authors established three components of cross-cultural competence, which include knowledge and cognition
, cultural awareness, cross-cultural schema and cognitive complexity. Abbe et al. (2007) found that a leader will be successful working in another culture if personal, work, and interpersonal domains are met.
As the previously discussed studies demonstrate, there are many characteristics and behaviors that lead someone to be an effective cross-cultural leader, be it general cognitive ability, interpersonal skills
, cultural awareness, or multicultural perspective taking. What is important to note is that encompassing one of these traits independently does not guarantee you will be a successful cross-cultural leader. An effective cross-cultural leader must have a well-rounded skill set and understanding of the differences that exist among people from different backgrounds.
The studies conducted to develop these cultural variables attempted to understand the cultural differences and predict an overall impact on leadership. In order to achieve this perspective on culture and notice the similarities and differences, one needs to first understand one’s own culture to relate and compare it to others (Gelfand et al., 2007; Javidan et al., 2006). The larger the gap between these cultures, the more difficult it will be for the leader to adapt (Yamazaki & Kayes, 2004).
According to Gelfand, et al. (2007) globalization is “the economic interdependence among countries that develops through cross-national flows of goods, services, capital, knowhow, and people” (p. 481). Osland, et al. (2006) claim that the term global refers to more than just geographic location but rather it encompasses cultural and intellectual reach which deals with business operations, people, and the development of a global frame of mind. With a greater understanding of globalization and global organizations, we can now move on to its effects on leadership within these organizations.
departments within these global organizations. There is a strong agreement across the literature that the selection process plays a key role in hiring the people who will be most effective cross-cultural leaders. The articles detail specific personality traits and individual differences
that promote quality cross-cultural leadership for multicultural settings. They also all emphasize across the board the need to hire individuals who already have prior extensive international experience, beyond vacationing in a given country. (Abbe et al. 2007; Johnson et al., 2006; Kealey & Protheroe, 1996; Mintzberg & Gossling, 2002; Osland et al. 2006; Spreitzer et al. 1997; Yamazaki & Kayes, 2004)
Additionally, there have been many studies published regarding the effect of intercultural training on expatriate success. While some disagree and question the effectiveness of training, most authors indicate that there is some, if only minor, success factor in intercultural training. There is no disagreement about the need for intercultural sensitivities and communication skills; it is the process of attaining these skills that is in question (Spreitzer, McCall Jr., & Mahoney, 1997; Mintzberg & Gosling, 2002; Hechanova et al., 2003; Kealey and Protheroe, 1996).
Spreitzer, McCall Jr., Mahoney (1997) believe that executives attain these skills through continuous learning, and an array of differentiated projects and experiences which all lead to an accumulated knowledge. Mintzberg and Gosling (2002) agree that executives learn through experience and note that they get to their level because of those experiences. They add that it would be detrimental to the executives to remove them from their experiential learning to sit them in a classroom and instead encourage a learning technique that incorporates classroom learning during short breaks from their job, roughly two weeks of every sixteen months. Hechanova et al. (2003) add that in effective cross-cultural training that is provided by many organizations is actually more detrimental than none at all.
According to Kealey and Protheroe (1996), the three most important ingredients to successful work overseas include the aptitudes
and motivations
of the expatriate and his immediate family, the aptitudes and motivation of the local counterparts and the overall organization of the project (p. 144). Therefore, while training is important, only a piece of one of the three aspects, expatriate’s personal aptitudes, can be altered by training. In addition, there needs to be recognition that training is meant to enhance abilities that are already there. Leaders need to come into training courses with abilities of their own and be open to alteration and growth from the training program.
Cross-cultural psychology
Cross-cultural psychology is the scientific study of human behavior and mental process, including both their variability and invariance, under diverse cultural conditions...
attempts to understand how individuals of different cultures
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
interact with each other (Abbe, Gulick, & Herman, 2007). Along these lines, cross-cultural leadership has developed as a way to understand leaders who work in the newly globalized
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
market. Today’s international organizations require leaders who can adjust to different environments quickly and work with partners and employees of other cultures (House, Javidan, & Dorfman, 2001). It cannot be assumed that a manager who is successful in one country will be successful in another (Javidan, Dorfman, de Luque, & House, 2006; Brodbeck, Frese, Akerblom, Audia, Bakacsi, & Bendova, 2000).
The following sections discuss the various aspects of cross-cultural leadership including: related theories and research, definitions of the construct itself and characteristics that are exhibited from such leaders, and antecedents to and implications of being a cross-cultural leader.
Implicit Leadership Theory
The Implicit Leadership Theory (ILT) asserts that people’s underlying assumptions, stereotypesStereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
, beliefs and schemas
Schema
The word schema comes from the Greek word "σχήμα" , which means shape, or more generally, plan. The plural is "σχήματα"...
influence the extent to which they view someone as a good leader. Since people across cultures tend to hold different implicit beliefs, schemas and stereotypes, it would seem only natural that their underlying beliefs in what makes a good leader differ across cultures (Javidan et al., 2006; Brodbeck et al., 2000).
Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions
One of the most prominent and influential studies to date regarding leadership in a globalized world is the Hofstede dimensions of culture. The study reveals similarities as well as differences across cultures and emphasizes the need to be open-minded to understand the differences in other cultures. Hofstede and Hofstede (2005) utilize five dimensionsCultural dimensions
Cultural dimensions are mostly psychological dimensions, or value constructs, which can be used to describe a specific culture. These are often used in Intercultural communication-/Cross-cultural communication-based research....
of culture to compare cultures to give leaders an understanding of how to adjust their leadership styles accordingly. These dimensions include Individualism/Collectivism, Feminine/Masculine, Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, and Long Term/ Short Term orientation.
GLOBE
The Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness Research Project (GLOBE)Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness Research Project
The Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness Research Project is an international group of social scientists and management scholars who study cross-cultural leadership. The project was founded in 1993 by Robert J. House...
study incorporated both the ILT and Hofstede's dimensions into one unique research study. The GLOBE study extended the ILT to include individuals of a common culture maintaining a relatively stable common belief about leaders, which varies from culture to culture. They labeled this the Culturally Endorsed Implicit Leadership Theory (CLT) (Javidan et al., 2006). The GLOBE study expanded Hofstede's dimensions to include Uncertainty Avoidance, Power Distance, Collectivism I: Societal Collectivism, Collectivism II: In-Group Collectivism, Gender Egalitarianism, Assertiveness, Future Orientation, Performance Orientation and Humane Orientation (House, Javidan, &Dorfman, 2001).
Leadership Styles Across Cultures
Leadership is a universal phenomenon (Bass, 1997). That is, wherever there are people, there are leaders. The question here is not whether leadership exists across cultures, but do various leadership styles (paternalistic leadership, transformational leadership, transactional leadership) translate across cultures?Paternalistic Leadership
Paternalistic leadership “combines strong discipline and authority with fatherly benevolence and moral integrity couched in a ‘personalistic’ atmosphere” (Farh & Cheng, 2000, p. 94). Paternalistic leadership is composed of three main elements: authoritarianism, benevolence, and moral leadership (Farh & Cheng). At its roots, paternalistic leadership refers to a hierarchical relationship in which the leader takes personal interest in the workers’ professional and personal lives in a manner resembling a parent, and expects loyalty and respect in return (Gelfand, Erez, & Aycan, 2007).A great deal of research has been conducted on the prevalence of this leadership style in non-Western business organizations, indicating the prevalence of paternalistic leadership in countries like China and Taiwan (Pellegrini & Scandura, 2008). However, considerably less research has been done on whether paternalistic leadership exists in Western cultures. Recently, there has been an increase in the amount of attention placed on paternalistic leadership in non-Western cultures. Although it is a relatively new area of focus in leadership research, evidence has been found supporting the relationship between paternalism and positive work attitudes in numerous cultures, including the Middle East, Latin America, and Pacific Asia (Pellegrini & Scandura, 2008). In a recent study, Pellegrini, Scandura, and Jayaraman (2010) examined paternalism in the Western business context and found that paternalistic leadership was positively associated with job satisfaction in India, but not in the United States. In both Indian and United States cultures, paternalistic leadership was positively related to leader-member exchange and organizational commitment (Pellegrini, Scandura & Jayaraman, 2010). Based on recent cross-cultural studies, paternalistic leadership seems to be more apparent across cultures than previously believed. Further research is needed to explore how prevalent it is, and how individual characteristics may play a role in where paternalistic leadership is found.
Transformational & Transactional Leadership
In addition to paternalistic leadership, other well-known leadership styles include transformational leadershipTransformational leadership
Transformational leadership is defined as a leadership approach that causes change in individuals and social systems. In its ideal form, it creates valuable and positive change in the followers with the end goal of developing followers into leaders...
and transactional leadership
Transactional leadership
Transactional leadership is a term used to classify a formally known group leadership theories that inquire the interactions between leaders and followers. A transactional leader focuses more on a series of "transactions"...
. Transformational leadership is loosely defined as a charismatic leadership style that rallies subordinates around a common goal with enthusiasm and support. Transactional leadership is characterized by a give and take relationship using rewards as an incentive. These concepts were introduced by Bass (1985) and have been updated and studied throughout the years, claiming the transferability of these types of leadership styles across cultures. In fact, Bass and Avolio (1994) went as far as to give an optimal leadership profile for leaders around the world.
Shahin and Wright (2004) decided to test this theory in Egypt, an emerging market that had yet to be studied. In a questionnaire study of employees at 10 different banks, responses indicated that only 3 of the 7 factors that were found in the ideal leadership style in Egypt corresponded with the US factors. The other 4 were unique to Egypt or perhaps the Middle East in general. These results indicate an inability to assume that transactional and transformational leadership will succeed in non-western cultures. Casimir, Waldman, Bartram, and Yang (2006) similarly found that these leadership styles may not be as universal as some assume. In a study of transactional and transformational leadership in China and Australia, results indicated that transformational leadership significantly predicted performance and trust in the Australian population, while only predicting trust, and not performance in the Chinese population. Transactional leadership did not predict trust or performance in either population. This is another indication that these theories may not be as universal as proposed.
In opposition to the above findings, Walumbwa, Lawler, and Avolio (2007) compared data from China, India, Kenya, and the U.S. and found a strong presence of transformational and/or transactional leadership in these countries. Allocentrists, similar to collectivists, respond more positively to transformational leadership because they unite individuals around a common goal. Idiocentrists, essentially individuals found in individualistic cultures, are more amenable to transactional leaders who reward individuals for hard work and success and less amenable to leaders who encourage group work and reduce individual identity. Although these leadership styles are not appropriate in every country, this study shows that as long as the appropriate style of leadership (either transactional or transformational) is used in the correct country, followers will respond positively. Further studies should be conducted for consensus.
Organizational leadership and culture
In the leadership literature, there is a lack of consensus over how to define and refer to cross-cultural leadership. In the GLOBE study, researchers don’t specifically define cross-cultural leadership; rather they outline it in two components; organizational leadership and culture. The authors describe organizational leadership as “the ability of an individual to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of the organizations of which they are members” (House et al., p. 494). The authors note that there is no universal definition for culture, but GLOBE’s definition includes “shared motives, values, beliefs, identities, and interpretations or meanings of significant events that result from common experiences of members of collectives and are transmitted across age generations” (House et al., p. 494-495).International executive
Another term for a cross-cultural leader, as used by Spreitzer, McCall Jr., and Mahoney (1997), is international executive. They define an international executive as “an executive who is in a job with some international scope, whether in an expatriate assignment or in a job dealing with international issues more generally” (p. 7).Global Leadership
Osland, Bird, Mendenhall, and Osland, (2006) define global leadership as “a process of influencing the thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors of a global community to work together synergistically toward a common vision and common goals” (p. 204). In 2002 these authors conducted another study which found six core dimensions of competencies of a global leader: cross-cultural relationship skills, traits and values, cognitive orientation, global business expertise, global organizing expertise and visioning.As you can see, there is not one right way to define and refer to a cross-cultural leader. What is important to note is that these various terms and definitions have a similar underlying meaning. Whichever term you use, the underlying theme is that cross-cultural leadership involves the ability to influence and motivate people’s attitudes and behaviors in the global community to reach a common organizational goal.
OperationalizationsOperationalizationIn humanities, operationalization is the process of defining a fuzzy concept so as to make the concept clearly distinguishable or measurable and to understand it in terms of empirical observations...
As the previous section demonstrates, researchers use many terms to refer to the construct of cross-cultural leadership. Although these terms may differ slightly, it is important to be able to operationalize, or define cross-cultural leadership in a way that allows its presence or absence to be measured. The following studies discuss the knowledge, skills, abilities and behaviors that are exhibited by successful cross-cultural leaders.In researching the international executive, Spreitzer et al. (1997) found that general intelligence, business knowledge, interpersonal skills, commitment, courage and ease in dealing with cross-cultural issues are traits that seem to resonate throughout the literature in illustrating a successful international executive. They indicated a lack of academic research predictors of “international executive” success, but agree that open personality, flexibility, drive and language skills all contribute to a successful international executive.
Rather than delineating a term for the leader, Rentsch, Mot, and Abbe (2009) describe a specific trait that is attributed to multicultural leadership known as multicultural perspective taking. This is detailed as the ability of such leaders to “take the perspective of another within the cultural context, to apply cultural lenses, and to adapt quickly when encountering individuals or groups from unfamiliar cultures” (p. 1).
Gelfand, Erez, and Aycan (2007) interpret the overall behaviors that a cross-cultural leader should embody as cross-cultural organizational behavior (OB). This is defined as “cross-cultural similarities and differences in processes and behaviors at work, and the dynamics of cross-cultural interfaces in multicultural domestic and international contexts” (p. 480).
Johnson, Lenartowicz, and Apud (2006) discuss such behavior using a similar construct referred to as cross-cultural competence (CC). CC in international business refers to “an individual’s effectiveness in drawing upon a set of knowledge, skills, and personal attributes in order to work successfully with people from different national cultural backgrounds at home or abroad” (p. 530). The focus here is not on acquiring knowledge, but rather on how the individual uses knowledge he/she already has acquired. International business can be tough and trying but it is the extent to which a leader can persevere and utilize the knowledge he/she has that makes him/her successful.
In a similar study conducted by Abbe, et al. (2007), this same concept of cross-cultural competence (here referred to as 3C), was found to enable leaders to interact in any culture, as opposed to language and regional knowledge, which only work in specific cultures. 3C, as researched by Abbe et al. (2007), is dynamic and subject to develop over time. The authors established three components of cross-cultural competence, which include knowledge and cognition
Cognition
In science, cognition refers to mental processes. These processes include attention, remembering, producing and understanding language, solving problems, and making decisions. Cognition is studied in various disciplines such as psychology, philosophy, linguistics, and computer science...
, cultural awareness, cross-cultural schema and cognitive complexity. Abbe et al. (2007) found that a leader will be successful working in another culture if personal, work, and interpersonal domains are met.
As the previously discussed studies demonstrate, there are many characteristics and behaviors that lead someone to be an effective cross-cultural leader, be it general cognitive ability, interpersonal skills
Interpersonal skills
Interpersonal skills are sometimes also referred to as people skills or communication skills. Interpersonal skills involve using skills such as active listening and tone of voice, this include delegation and leadership...
, cultural awareness, or multicultural perspective taking. What is important to note is that encompassing one of these traits independently does not guarantee you will be a successful cross-cultural leader. An effective cross-cultural leader must have a well-rounded skill set and understanding of the differences that exist among people from different backgrounds.
Antecedents
In today’s world, the business market extends beyond the local shops in front of your house, beyond your neighborhood, beyond your state, even beyond your country. With the emergence of technologies such as the Internet and text messaging, the global market is at everyone’s fingertips. More recently, international trade has grown due to “the collapse of the Soviet bloc, the creation of a single Europe, the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) …a single European currency…and the emergence of the US from an economic recession” (Johnson, et al. 2006, p. 525). The world now consists of jetsetters and Fortune 500 companies, military and government services, and developmental organizations that extend into multiple regions of the world.The studies conducted to develop these cultural variables attempted to understand the cultural differences and predict an overall impact on leadership. In order to achieve this perspective on culture and notice the similarities and differences, one needs to first understand one’s own culture to relate and compare it to others (Gelfand et al., 2007; Javidan et al., 2006). The larger the gap between these cultures, the more difficult it will be for the leader to adapt (Yamazaki & Kayes, 2004).
According to Gelfand, et al. (2007) globalization is “the economic interdependence among countries that develops through cross-national flows of goods, services, capital, knowhow, and people” (p. 481). Osland, et al. (2006) claim that the term global refers to more than just geographic location but rather it encompasses cultural and intellectual reach which deals with business operations, people, and the development of a global frame of mind. With a greater understanding of globalization and global organizations, we can now move on to its effects on leadership within these organizations.
Implications for practice
Implications of this need for cross-cultural leaders can be seen in the human resourceHuman resources
Human resources is a term used to describe the individuals who make up the workforce of an organization, although it is also applied in labor economics to, for example, business sectors or even whole nations...
departments within these global organizations. There is a strong agreement across the literature that the selection process plays a key role in hiring the people who will be most effective cross-cultural leaders. The articles detail specific personality traits and individual differences
Individual differences psychology
The science of psychology studies people at three levels of focus captured by the well-known quotation: “Every man is in certain respects like all other men, like some other men, like no other man" ....
that promote quality cross-cultural leadership for multicultural settings. They also all emphasize across the board the need to hire individuals who already have prior extensive international experience, beyond vacationing in a given country. (Abbe et al. 2007; Johnson et al., 2006; Kealey & Protheroe, 1996; Mintzberg & Gossling, 2002; Osland et al. 2006; Spreitzer et al. 1997; Yamazaki & Kayes, 2004)
Additionally, there have been many studies published regarding the effect of intercultural training on expatriate success. While some disagree and question the effectiveness of training, most authors indicate that there is some, if only minor, success factor in intercultural training. There is no disagreement about the need for intercultural sensitivities and communication skills; it is the process of attaining these skills that is in question (Spreitzer, McCall Jr., & Mahoney, 1997; Mintzberg & Gosling, 2002; Hechanova et al., 2003; Kealey and Protheroe, 1996).
Spreitzer, McCall Jr., Mahoney (1997) believe that executives attain these skills through continuous learning, and an array of differentiated projects and experiences which all lead to an accumulated knowledge. Mintzberg and Gosling (2002) agree that executives learn through experience and note that they get to their level because of those experiences. They add that it would be detrimental to the executives to remove them from their experiential learning to sit them in a classroom and instead encourage a learning technique that incorporates classroom learning during short breaks from their job, roughly two weeks of every sixteen months. Hechanova et al. (2003) add that in effective cross-cultural training that is provided by many organizations is actually more detrimental than none at all.
According to Kealey and Protheroe (1996), the three most important ingredients to successful work overseas include the aptitudes
Aptitude
An aptitude is an innate component of a competency to do a certain kind of work at a certain level. Aptitudes may be physical or mental...
and motivations
Motivation
Motivation is the driving force by which humans achieve their goals. Motivation is said to be intrinsic or extrinsic. The term is generally used for humans but it can also be used to describe the causes for animal behavior as well. This article refers to human motivation...
of the expatriate and his immediate family, the aptitudes and motivation of the local counterparts and the overall organization of the project (p. 144). Therefore, while training is important, only a piece of one of the three aspects, expatriate’s personal aptitudes, can be altered by training. In addition, there needs to be recognition that training is meant to enhance abilities that are already there. Leaders need to come into training courses with abilities of their own and be open to alteration and growth from the training program.
See also
- Gert Hofstede
- Cultural DimensionsCultural dimensionsCultural dimensions are mostly psychological dimensions, or value constructs, which can be used to describe a specific culture. These are often used in Intercultural communication-/Cross-cultural communication-based research....
- GLOBEGlobal Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness Research ProjectThe Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness Research Project is an international group of social scientists and management scholars who study cross-cultural leadership. The project was founded in 1993 by Robert J. House...
- LeadershipLeadershipLeadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". Other in-depth definitions of leadership have also emerged.-Theories:...
- Cross-cultural PsychologyCross-cultural psychologyCross-cultural psychology is the scientific study of human behavior and mental process, including both their variability and invariance, under diverse cultural conditions...
- Cross-culturalCross-culturalcross-cultural may refer to*cross-cultural studies, a comparative tendency in various fields of cultural analysis*cross-cultural communication, a field of study that looks at how people from differing cultural backgrounds communicate...