Charismatic and Transformational Leadership Styles: A Cross-Cultural Perspective

Rakesh Mittal

doi:10.5539/ijbm.v10n3p26

Abstract

Culture’s influence on leadership processes is generally accepted. However, differing leadership styles will be differentially impacted by the cultural context in which they seek to operate. The current paper examines two seemingly similar but distinct leadership styles, charismatic leadership and transformational leadership in the context of cultural dimensions of individualism-collectivism and tightness-looseness. A conceptual framework is presented to describe the interaction of these leadership styles and cultural dimensions. It is argued that charismatic leadership would be the preferred leadership style in individualistic and loose societies, whereas transformational leadership style would be more acceptable in collectivistic and tight societies. These insights have practical implications for design of leadership intervention programs for businesses spanning more than one culture.

Highlights

Numerous definitions of leadership exist, several scholars view leadership as an individual’s ability to influence and motivate others towards the success of the organization of which they are members (Dorfman, 2004; House et al, 1999; Javidan & Carl, 2005)
The current paper examines two leadership styles; charismatic leadership and transformational leadership for their cultural acceptability, focusing on the cultural constructs of individualism-collectivism and tightness-looseness
By integrating the construct of cultural tightness-looseness in the framework, the current paper provides a new perspective to explore the cultural sensitivity of such leadership styles that seem similar to the naked eye

Summary

Introduction

Numerous definitions of leadership exist, several scholars view leadership as an individual’s ability to influence and motivate others towards the success of the organization of which they are members (Dorfman, 2004; House et al, 1999; Javidan & Carl, 2005). An understanding of cultural forces is important to fully comprehend the leadership processes. The current paper examines two leadership styles; charismatic leadership and transformational leadership for their cultural acceptability, focusing on the cultural constructs of individualism-collectivism and tightness-looseness. The conceptual exploration in the current paper encompasses two important cultural constructs. It is felt that examining individualism-collectivism and tightness-looseness within a single framework is useful because it enables a more fine grained analysis of these similar yet distinct cultural constructs vis-à-vis leadership, without the confounding effect of other cultural values. By integrating the construct of cultural tightness-looseness in the framework, the current paper provides a new perspective to explore the cultural sensitivity of such leadership styles that seem similar to the naked eye

Charismatic and Transformational Leadership

Culture and Leadership

Individualism-Collectivism and Leadership

Tightness-Looseness and Leadership

Discussion and Directions for Future Research