This study compares perceptions of the importance of 18 traits for effective low-level leaders and high-level leaders. Participants were 84 full-time white-collar employees from Australia and 244 full-time white-collar employees from China. Multivariate analysis of variance revealed cultural differences in terms of which traits are regarded as important for effective leadership. For example, the Australians rated traits that attenuate leader–follower power differences (e.g. friendly and respectful) higher than did the Chinese. Consistent with previous research, traits that were regarded as more important for high-level leaders (e.g. inspirational and visionary) correspond with aspects of charismatic/visionary leadership. The findings indicate that the perceived importance of specific leadership traits is determined partly by culturally endorsed interpersonal norms and partly by the requirements of the leadership role.
Antonakis, J. and Atwater, L. (2002) ‘Leader Distance: A Review and a Proposed Theory’, Leadership Quarterly13: 673–704.
2.
Bennett, M. (1977) ‘Testing Management Theories Cross-culturally’, Journal of Applied Psychology62: 578–581.
3.
Brislin, R.W. (1983) ‘Cross Cultural Research in Psychology’, Annual Review of Psychology34: 363–400.
4.
Brodbeck, F.C., Frese, M., Akerblom, S., Audia, G., Bakacsi, G., Bendova, H. et al. (2000) ‘Cultural Variation of Leadership Prototypes across 22 European Countries’, Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology73: 1–29.
5.
Chen, C., Lee, S. and Stevenson, H. (1995) ‘Response Style and Cross-cultural Comparisons of Rating Scales among East Asian and North American Students’, Psychological Science6: 170–175.
6.
Chun, K., Campbell, J. and Yoo, J. (1974) ‘Extreme Response Style in Cross-cultural Research: A Reminder’, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology5: 465–480.
7.
Clark, A.W. and McCabe, S. (1970) ‘Leadership Beliefs of Australian Managers’, Journal of Applied Psychology54: 1–6.
8.
Cronshaw, S.F. and Lord, R.G. (1987) ‘Effects of Categorization, Attribution, and Encoding Processes on Leadership Perceptions’, Journal of Applied Psychology72: 97–106.
9.
Den Hartog, D., House, R.J., Hanges, P.J., Ruiz-Quintanilla, S.A. and 170 co-authors (1999) ‘Culture Specific and Cross-culturally Generalizable Theories: Are Attributes of Charismatic/Transformational Leadership Universally Endorsed?’, Leadership Quarterly10: 219–256.
10.
Dorfman, P. and Howell, J. (1988) ‘Dimensions of National Culture and Effective Leadership Patterns: Hofstede Revisited’, in F. McGoun (ed.) Advances in International Comparative Management, pp. 127–149. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
11.
Earley, P. and Erez, M. (1997) The Transplanted Executive. New York: Oxford University Press.
12.
Engle, E.M. and Lord, R.G. (1997) ‘Implicit Theories, Self-schemas, and Leader–Member Exchange’, Academy of Management Journal40: 988–1010.
13.
Etzioni, A. (1961) A Comparative Analysis of Complex Organisations. New York: Free Press.
14.
Gallois, C., Barker, M., Jones, E. and Callan, V. (1992) ‘Intercultural Communication: Evaluations of Lecturers and Australian and Chinese Students’, in S. Iwawaki, Y. Kashima and K. Leung (eds) Innovations in Cross-cultural Psychology, pp. 86–102. Amsterdam: Swets & Zeitlenger.
15.
Gerstner, C. and Day, D. (1994) ‘Cross-cultural Comparison of Leadership Prototypes’, Leadership Quarterly5: 121–134.
16.
Gioia, D. and Poole, P. (1984) ‘Scripts in Organizational Behavior’, Academy of Management Review9: 449–459.
17.
Hackman, J. and Lawler, E. (1971) ‘Employee Reactions to Job Characteristics’, Journal of Applied Psychology55: 259–286.
18.
Helgstrand, K. and Stuhlmacher, A. (1999) ‘National Culture: An Influence on Leader Evaluations?’, International Journal of Organizational Analysis7: 153–168.
19.
Hemphill, J. (1959) ‘Job Descriptions for Executives’, Harvard Business Review37: 55–67.
20.
Hofstede, G. (1980) Culture's Consequences: International Differences in Work Related Values. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
21.
Hofstede, G. and Bond, M. (1988) ‘The Confucius Connection: From Cultural Roots to Economic Growth’, Organizational Dynamics16: 5–21.
22.
Hollander, E. (1992) ‘Leadership, Followership, Self, and Others’, Leadership Quarterly3: 43–54.
23.
Hollander, E. and Julian, J. (1969) ‘Contemporary Trends in the Analysis of Leadership Processes’, Psychological Bulletin71: 387–397.
24.
Horne, D. (1987) The Lucky Country: Revisited. Melbourne: Dent.
25.
House, R.J., Hanges, P.J., Javidan, M., Dorfman, P.W. and Gupta, V. (2004) Culture, Leadership, and Organizations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
26.
House, R.J., Hanges, P.J., Ruiz-Quintanilla, A., Dorfman, P.W., Javidan, M., Dickson, M.W. et al. and GLOBE country co-investigators (1999) ‘Cultural Influences on Leadership and Organizations: Project GLOBE’, in W.H. Mobley, M.J. Gessner and V. Arnold (eds) Advances in Global Leadership, pp. 171–233. Stamford, CT: JAI Press.
27.
Hunt, J.G. (1991) Leadership: A New Synthesis. London: Sage.
28.
Hunt, J.G., Boal, K. and Sorenson, R. (1990) ‘Top Management Leadership: Inside the Black Box’, Leadership Quarterly1: 41–65.
29.
Lew, W.J. (1998) Understanding the Chinese Personality: Parenting, Schooling, Values, Morality, Relations, and Personality. New York: Edwin Mellen.
30.
Lord, R.G. and Maher, K.J. (1991) Leadership and Information Processing: Linking Perceptions and Performance. New York: Routledge.
31.
Lord, R.G., De Vader, C. and Alliger, G. (1986) ‘A Meta-analysis of the Relation between Personality Traits and Leadership Perceptions: An Application of Validity Generalization Procedures’, Journal of Applied Psychology71: 402–410.
32.
Lord, R.G., Foti, R.J. and De Vader, C.L. (1984) ‘A Test of Categorization Theory: Internal Structure, Information Processing, and Leadership Perceptions’, Organizational Behavior and Human Performance34: 343–378.
33.
Lord, R.G., Foti, R.J. and Phillips, J.S. (1982) ‘A Theory of Leadership Categorization’, in J.G. Hunt, U. Sekaran and C.A. Schriesheim (eds) Leadership: Beyond Establishment Views, pp. 104–121. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.
34.
Lowe, K., Kroeck, K. and Sivasubramaniam, N. (1996) ‘Effectiveness of Correlates of Transformational and Transactional Leadership: A Meta-analytic Review of the MLQ Literature’, Leadership Quarterly7: 385–425.
35.
Maehr, M. and Nicholls, J. (1980) ‘Culture and Achievement Motivation: A Second Look’, in N. Warren (ed.) Studies in Cross-cultural Psychology, pp. 221–267. London: Academic Press.
36.
Mak, A.S. (1998) ‘Workplace Adjustments of Hong Kong Migrant Supervisors’, Australian Psychologist33: 113–118.
37.
Maurer, T.J. and Lord, R.G. (1991) ‘An Exploration of Cognitive Demands in Group Interaction as a Moderator of Information Processing Variables in Perceptions of Leadership’, Journal of Applied Social Psychology21: 821–839.
38.
Mernot, R. (1938) ‘Social Structure and Anomie’, American Sociological Review3: 672–682.
39.
Mintzberg, H. (1973) The Nature of Managerial Work. New York: Harper & Row.
40.
Neelankavil, J., Mathur, A. and Zhang, Y. (2000) ‘Determinants of Managerial Performance: A Cross-cultural Comparison of the Perceptions of Middle-level Managers in Four Countries’, Journal of International Business Studies31: 121–140.
41.
Peterson, M.F. (1985) ‘Experienced Acceptability: Measuring Perceptions of Dysfunctional Leadership’, Group and Organization Studies10: 447–477.
42.
Phillips, J.S. and Lord, R.G. (1981) ‘Causal Attributions and Perceptions of Leadership’, Organizational Behavior and Human Performance28: 143–163.
43.
Ralston, D., Yu, K., Wang, X., Terpstra, R., Gustafson, D. and Wei, H. (1996) ‘The Cosmopolitan Chinese Manager: Findings of a Study on Managerial Values across the Six Regions of China’, Journal of International Management2: 79–109.
44.
Redding, S.G. and Casey, T. (1986) ‘Managerial Beliefs among Asian Managers’, in Proceedings of the Academy of Management, pp. 352–355. New Orleans.
45.
Robbins, S., Waters-Marsh, T., Cacioppe, R. and Millett, B. (1994) Organisational Behaviour: Concepts, Controversies, and Applications. Sydney: Prentice Hall.
46.
Rubin, J.Z., Pruitt, D.G. and Kim, S.H. (1994) Social Conflict: Escalation, Stalemate, and Settlement. New York: McGraw-Hill.
47.
Rush, M.C., Thomas, J.C. and Lord, R.G. (1977) ‘Implicit Leadership Theory: A Potential Threat to the Internal Validity of Leader Behavior Questionnaires’, Organizational Behavior and Human Performance20: 93–110.
48.
Sczensy, S., Bosnak, J., Neff, D. and Schyns, B. (2004) ‘Gender Stereotypes and the Attribution of Leadership Traits: A Cross-cultural Comparison’, Sex Roles51: 631–645.
49.
Shaw, J.B. (1990) ‘A Cognitive Categorization Model for the Study of Intercultural Management’, Academy of Management Review15: 626–645.
50.
Shenkar, O. and Ronen, S. (1987) ‘The Cultural Context of Negotiations: The Implications of Chinese Interpersonal Norms’, The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science23: 263–275.
51.
South China Post (2006) Available at www.chinapost.com.tw/business/detail.asp?ID=85946&GRP=E, 15–7-06.
52.
Trevor-Roberts, E., Ashkanasy, N. and Kennedy, J. (2003) ‘The Egalitarian Leader: A Comparison of Leadership in Australia and New Zealand’, Asia Pacific Journal of Management20: 517–540.
53.
Tung, R. (1988) ‘People's Republic of China’, in R. Nath (ed.) Comparative Management: A Regional View, pp. 139–168. Cambridge, MA: Ballinger.
54.
Yukl, G. (2002) Leadership in Organizations. New York: Prentice Hall.
