Leadership, Individual Differences, and Work-related Attitudes: A Cross-Culture Investigation

This study builds on previous exploratory research (Walumbwa & Lawler, 2003) that examined allocentrism as a moderator of transformational leadership—work-related attitudes and behaviors. Based on survey data collected from 825 employees from China (n= 213), India (n= 210), Kenya (n= 159), and the US (n= 243), we found that individual differences moderated the relationships between leadership and followers’ work-related attitudes. Specifically, allocentrics reacted more positively when they viewed their managers as being more transformational. Idiocentrics reacted more positively when they rated their managers as displaying more transactional contingent reward leadership. The pattern of results was stronger for transformational leadership in more collectivistic cultures among allocentrics and stronger among idiocentrics in individualistic cultures for transactional contingent reward leadership. Implications of these findings for practice and research are discussed. Cette recherche se situe dans le prolongement de travaux exploratoires anterieurs (Walumbwa & Lawler, 2003) qui ont etudie l’allocentrisme comme regulateur de la relation entre le leadership transformationnel et les conduites et attitudes relevant du travail. Nous avons constate, a partir de donnees d’enquete recueillies aupres de 825 salaries chinois (n= 213), indiens (n= 210) kenyens (n= 159) et americains (n= 243), que les differences individuelles regulaient les relations entre le leader et les attitudes des suiveurs liees au travail. Plus particulierement, les allocentriques reagissaient plus positivement quand ils percevaient leurs managers comme etant plutot transformationnel. Les egocentriques reagissaient plus positivement quand ils trouvaient que leurs managers presentaient plutot un leadership transactionnel offrant des recompenses appropriees. La configuration des resultats parle en faveur du leadership transformationnel pour les allocentriques dans les cultures a tendance communautaire et en faveur du leadership transactionnel pour les egocentriques dans les cultures individualistes. On reflechit aux implications de ces resultats pour la recherche et la pratique.

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