Cross-Cultural Leadership Behavior

Abstract

Increasing globalization has made it important to learn about effective leadership in different cultures. As a consequence of globalization processes, managers are increasingly confronted with the need to influence people with other cultural backgrounds, and successful influence requires a good understanding of these cultures. Cross-cultural leadership has developed as a way to understand leaders who work in the global and multicultural business arena. Today’s global companies require leaders who can adjust to different environments quickly and are able to lead a cross-cultural workforce. Research on cross-cultural leadership has become more important because of the influence of national cultures on companies as a consequence of globalization processes, such as economic integration, political convergence, and a higher intensity of intercultural contact and transworld social relationships. Researchers have searched for universal leadership functions, that is, leaders’ characteristics that are perceived as effective by their followers. Two main leadership styles, task-orientation and relationship-orientation, are applied in many cultures but the degree to which these leadership styles are actually perceived as task oriented or relation oriented differs between cultures. Differences in cultural backgrounds determine whether or not a manager is perceived as a leader by followers. Alongside cultural contingency, many authors have focused on leadership styles that are perceived as effective in many cultures. A number of aspects of the transformational leadership are culturally endorsed: effective cross-cultural leaders have a vision, are able to inspire followers to work toward that vision, and keep followers focused by organizing their work efficiently and effectively.