Differences Between American and Greek Managers in Giving Up Control

Abstract

This study seeks to explain under what conditions managers tend to give up control in decision-making groups and to what extent the impact of these condi tions differs between U.S. and Greek managers. Contrary to expectations, the results show that Greek managers give up control in decision-making groups less frequently than U.S. managers. The results also suggest that U.S. managers have a somewhat greater tendency to give up control under the following conditions: (1) When they have no personal commitment to the task; (2) When their task mastery expectations are low; (3) When they believe another member of the group has greater expertise; (4) When they believe another member of the group has a stronger argument; and (5) When they feel group pressure to conform. In addition, it was found that lower-level managers perceive themselves as giving up control more frequently than senior-level managers, irrespective of their country of origin.