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Developing a model of leadership styles: What works best in Russia?
Abstract
Choosing a leader with an appropriate leadership style is critical for a firm's success. Thus, it is important to understand which leadership styles are most effective. Furthermore, past research suggests that different leadership styles are effective in different national contexts. However, little research has focused on which leadership styles are most effective in Russia — the focus of this paper. This study has two parts. The first part investigates the leadership characteristics most commonly used to describe Russian leaders. Respondents from 90 firms identified task-orientated, relations-orientated, authoritarian, and democratic as the four most commonly chosen descriptors. These descriptors were then used to construct a model (a 2×2 matrix) which identified four different leadership styles (statesman, clergyman, politician, and military-man). In phase 2, middle managers from 101 firms in Russia then evaluated the effectiveness of these four leadership styles. Responses revealed that the statesman style (task-oriented democrat) and the clergyman style (relations-oriented democrat) were considered most effective.
... This description of Russian entrepreneurs is in compliance with findings of some recent studies showing that Russian managers score moderately on the Hofstede's power distance dimension (e.g. Naumov & Puffer, 2000;Fey, Adeava & Vitkovskaia, 2001;Danilova, 2007). It implies that serious changes may have taken place in the behaviour of Russians and their values related to the power distance, which, according to Hofstede (1991), could be a result of the market development and economic growth in Russia over the last few decades. ...
... As a result, staying at the group level and following the rules of the group is deeply rooted in the mentality of Russian people (e.g. Elenkov, 1998;Fey et al., 2001). ...
... Some research findings report moderate power distance (e.g. Naumov & Puffer, 2000;Fey et al., 2001;Danilova, 2007), the increasing individualism in Russia (Bollinger, 1994;Miller et al., 1994;Veiga et al., 1995, Puffer & McCarthy, 2001, relatively high masculinity values (Naumov, 1996;Fernandez et al., 1997;Puffer & McCarthy, 2001), very low uncertainty avoidance (e.g. Grachev et al., 2008), risk-taking orientation (Michailova, 2000;Puffer & McCarthy, 2001), and long-term orientation (Veiga et al., 1995;Jumpponen et al., 2008). ...
Despite the continuing increase in international business over the last few decades and a general recognition that trust is a key attribute of successful cooperation, our understanding regarding trust development and risks in the context of intercultural business relationships remains limited. Thus, the primary aim of this research is to contribute to the understanding of how trust development can be supported in relation to potential risks perceived in different phases of relationships between the Russian subsidiaries of Finnish firms and their Russian partners operating in the Russian construction market.
This qualitative research took a structured approach to the exploration of complex research questions. The theoretically grounded concepts and the initial conceptual framework were employed to direct the inductive empirical investigation and theory building. The empirical part of the research consists of three studies: Pilot, Main and Supplementary. The Pilot study provided a preliminary understanding of the research questions. The primary focus of the Main study was on the conditions that support trust development in Finnish-Russian business relationships and the role these conditions play in relation to risks. The study also highlighted that a higher level of trust is needed in order to be able to accept relationship risks and raise the willingness to cooperate. A decisive role was ascribed to trust-constituting conditions, which are directly related to the growth of trust and are, to a great extent, in reverse relationship with risks. Further, the most critical conditions and risks in terms of their impact on the level of trust were demonstrated. Among the identified conditions, cultural adaptation was found to be
particularly significant. This was explored in depth in the Supplementary study.
The research contributes to the scarce literature on trust development in an intercultural
business relationship context. It sheds more light on the conditions that directly and indirectly support trust development and their role in relation to relationship risks by bringing forward an integrative perspective. This research also contributes to international management literature. In particular, it adds to the literature on uncertain institutional contexts, such as the Russian business environment, by introducing the conditions supporting trust and the risks perceived in the different phases of relationship development with Russian firms.The research has also practical implications that benefit managers who are about to or are contemplating to bring their business into the Russian market. Specifically, the findings can be used as guidelines and practical tools for establishing and sustaining trust over time with Russian business partners.
... This description of Russian entrepreneurs is in compliance with findings of some recent studies showing that Russian managers score moderately on the Hofstede's power distance dimension (e.g. Naumov & Puffer, 2000;Fey, Adeava & Vitkovskaia, 2001;Danilova, 2007). It implies that serious changes may have taken place in the behaviour of Russians and their values related to the power distance, which, according to Hofstede (1991), could be a result of the market development and economic growth in Russia over the last few decades. ...
... As a result, staying at the group level and following the rules of the group is deeply rooted in the mentality of Russian people (e.g. Elenkov, 1998;Fey et al., 2001). ...
... Some research findings report moderate power distance (e.g. Naumov & Puffer, 2000;Fey et al., 2001;Danilova, 2007), the increasing individualism in Russia (Bollinger, 1994;Miller et al., 1994;Veiga et al., 1995, Puffer & McCarthy, 2001, relatively high masculinity values (Naumov, 1996;Fernandez et al., 1997;Puffer & McCarthy, 2001), very low uncertainty avoidance (e.g. Grachev et al., 2008), risk-taking orientation (Michailova, 2000;Puffer & McCarthy, 2001), and long-term orientation (Veiga et al., 1995;Jumpponen et al., 2008). ...
Despite the continuing increase in international business over the last few decades and a general recognition that trust is a key attribute of successful cooperation, our understanding regarding trust development and risks in the context of intercultural business relationships remains limited. Thus, the primary aim of this research is to contribute to the understanding of how trust development can be supported in relation to potential risks perceived in different phases of relationships between the Russian subsidiaries of Finnish firms and their Russian partners operating in the Russian construction market.
This qualitative research took a structured approach to the exploration of complex research questions. The theoretically grounded concepts and the initial conceptual framework were employed to direct the inductive empirical investigation and theory building. The empirical part of the research consists of three studies: Pilot, Main, and Supplementary. The Pilot study provided a preliminary understanding of the research questions. The primary focus of the Main study was on the conditions that support trust development in Finnish-Russian business relationships and the role these conditions play in relation to risks. The study also highlighted that a higher level of trust is needed in order to be able to accept relationship risks and raise the willingness to cooperate. A decisive role was ascribed to trust-constituting conditions, which are directly related to the growth of trust and are, to a great extent, in reverse relationship with risks. Further, the most critical conditions and risks in terms of their impact on the level of trust were demonstrated. Among the identified conditions, cultural adaptation was found to be
particularly significant. This was explored in depth in the Supplementary study.
The research contributes to the scarce literature on trust development in an intercultural
business relationship context. It sheds more light on the conditions that directly and indirectly support trust development and their role in relation to relationship risks by bringing forward an integrative perspective. This research also contributes to international management literature. In particular, it adds to the literature on uncertain institutional contexts, such as the Russian business environment, by introducing the conditions supporting trust and the risks perceived in the different phases of relationship development with Russian firms. The research has also practical implications that benefit managers who are about to or are contemplating to bring their business into the Russian market. Specifically, the findings can be used as guidelines and practical tools for establishing and sustaining trust over time with Russian business partners.
... A. Koveshnikov et al. Westernized ones, such as, authoritative (e.g., Fey, Adaeva, & Vitkovskaia, 2001;Kets de Vries, 2000;McCarthy, Puffer, & Darda, 2010). Thus, we need a better understanding of the interplay between different leadership behaviors in order to evaluate their unique effects on employees. ...
... Paternalistic leadership has been declared an enduring and fundamental feature of many leader-employee relationships in Russia (Balabanova et al., 2015;Kets de Vries, 2001;Puffer, 1994). Finally, with some empirical support research showed that authoritarian leadership style, 'in which loyalty is exchanged for freedom from accountability', is still efficient in modern Russia (Balabanova et al., 2018;Fey et al., 2001;McCarthy, Puffer, May, Ledgerwood, & Stewart Jr, 2008: 226). ...
... The evolution of Russian leadership styles has been noted by several authors in the past (e.g., Fey et al., 2001;Kets de Vries, 2000;McCarthy et al., 2010). These authors argued that since the collapse of the Soviet Union the expectations of Russian employees toward leadership have evolved and to be effective Russian managers were advised to rely on authoritative leadership style. ...
Drawing on the job-demand resource theory, the article examines the relative importance and the complementarity of three widely practiced leadership styles – transformational, paternalistic, and authoritarian. It investigates how the three styles relate to followers’ work engagement amongst employees in Russian domestic organizations. It also theorizes and tests the mediating effects of three psychological mechanisms, namely self-efficacy, self-esteem, and job control, on the examined relationships. The findings show that all three leadership styles relate to followers’ work engagement positively. The relationship of transformational leadership is dominant and mediated by all three psychological mechanisms. The remaining two styles also make their unique contributions to followers’ work engagement. Whereas authoritarian leadership influences followers by enhancing their self-efficacy and self-esteem, paternalistic leadership operates more extrinsically by increasing followers’ job control. Surprisingly, our analyses found that the role of control variables such as gender, age, and hierarchical position were insignificant in predicting how the three leadership styles influence employee work engagement. The study is among the first to shed light on the relative importance of the three focal leadership styles, their differential influences and interrelations, and the different mechanisms through which they relate to followers’ work engagement.
... Reflecting a key challenge for western companies operating in Russia, one of the focusses of the scarce extant scholarly research on organizational behavior in Russia has been on the idiosyncrasies of Russian managerial values and styles (e.g. Elenkov, 1997Elenkov, , 2002Fey et al., 2001;Kets de Vries, 2000, 2001McCarthy et al., 2008McCarthy et al., , 2010Puffer et al., 1997). It paints a rather complex picture around managerial values and styles found in Russia. ...
... On the one hand, some scholars posit that a more authoritarian management style is likely to be the most efficient in Russia (see, e.g. Elenkov, 1998;Fey et al., 2001;Kets de Vries, 2000, 2001 and most Russian managers are still caught in a transactional form of leadership (McCarthy et al., 2008). ...
... Extending research on Russian managerial styles, with a specific aim to anchor them locally, Fey et al. (2001) first asked 90 Russian managers taking part in executive training programs at two business schools in Saint-Petersburg, Russia to identify five characteristics (of their own choice) that in their view best described an effective Evolution of managerial styles Russian manager. Analyzing these responses, the researchers classified them as representing four managerial dimensions: democratic, task orientated, relations orientated and authoritarian. ...
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to examine managerial styles of Russian managers in the context of institutional and economic environment of contemporary Russia.
Design/methodology/approach
– The study is based on a sample of 482 line and middle managers covering eight geographic regions, 14 industries and 80 organizations in Russia.
Findings
– Employing factor and cluster analyses the paper identifies four distinct managerial styles: paternalistic, exploitative, performance oriented and passive. In addition, the paper analyzes a number of contingent characteristics of these typological Russian managers such as their age, career development, regional, industrial and organizational presence.
Originality/value
– The analysis enriches the understanding of managerial style idiosyncrasy, heterogeneity and evolution in Russia. The identified plurality of managerial styles, differentially related to a number of contingency variables, indicates that it pays off for western companies to avoid using stereotypical ideas when dealing with their Russian counterparts and employ conscious strategies when recruiting managers to their Russian operations instead.
... The task-oriented type leader clarifies and defines the roles of team members, and establishes and supervises existing resources, organizational charts and communication ways [16,17]. The leader in the relationship-oriented type strives to keep the morale and desire of his employees high. ...
... Uses gestures, facial expressions and tone of voice effectively.By creating virtual sub-teams and making use of asynchronous electronic means (e.g., electronic discussion threads) allows different opinions to be expressed.11Does not publicly express the failures of his/her team members, but makes his/her criticisms one-to-one.16 Sets short goals and breaks work down into micro-packages. ...
As a result of developments in technology, globalization and digitalization, virtual teams have become indispensable for many industries. Transformations in information and communication technology have provided new opportunities for businesses to create and manage virtual teams. Today, all organizations have had to introduce new methods of communication and have started to continue their conversations through digital platforms. It has become inevitable for teams to form in such virtual environments. Virtual team members are made up of individuals from different genders, experiences, cultures and geographic locations. While there are leaders in virtual teams as in face-to-face environments, this type of leadership performs its function through information and communication technologies, unlike traditional types. Although there are many studies on face-to-face leadership in academic studies and despite the increasing use of digital platforms, it is observed that there is a need for studies on leadership styles in virtual organizations. The main purpose of this study is to create a scale about leadership characteristics in virtual teams. With the present study, it is aimed to develop a valid and reliable scale in order to discover and analyze the virtual team leadership characteristics of individuals within the multinational companies. During the scale development process, literature review, focus group interviews and statistical analysis were used to create the items to be included in the scale. First of all, focus group discussions were conducted by examining the scale developments on the leadership phenomenon. A total of three focus group interviews were held; expert opinions were used to ensure the content validity of the results, and a draft scale with 29 items was created as a result.
... Çalışanların pozitif liderlik niteliğine uygun şekilde pozitif bir karşılık verme tutumu içinde oldukları tespit edilmiştir (Ackermann, Feliks ve Murphy, 2016;Zou, Titan ve Liu, 2015). Bass'a (1990) göre otokratik liderlik, yönetici ast ilişkisi ve örgüt performansı açısından etkisi negatif algılansa da (Liphadzi, Aigbavboa ve Thwala, 2015) pozitif sonuçlar ortaya çıkardığını gösteren araştırma sonuçları da bulunmaktadır (Fey, Adaeva ve Vitkovskaia, 2001). Yönetici ast ilişkisi açısından negatif görülse de örgüt performansı açısından otokratik liderliğin örgütsel performansa önemli katkısı olduğu görülmektedir (Lewin, 1997). ...
... Yönetici ast ilişkisi açısından negatif görülse de örgüt performansı açısından otokratik liderliğin örgütsel performansa önemli katkısı olduğu görülmektedir (Lewin, 1997). Hatta çalışanların risk almak istemediği işlerde ve zamanlarda otokratik liderlik tercih edilen bir liderlik tarzı olmakta ve pozitif algılanmaktadır (Fey, Adaeva ve Vitkovskaia, 2001). ...
... People showing autocratic leadership behaviours are believed to want to control and such leaders firmly put stock in designation of undertakings (Fey, Adaeva & Vitkovskaia 2001). This stems from a conviction of the autocratic leader that the individual knows the best on the best way to get things done and they ought to accomplish this by controlling occasions and individuals. ...
... Autocratic leadership behaviour is pervasive and is utilized by leaders in various organizations including government organizations. Some claim that such leadership behaviour might be important in certain organizations because of explicit settings, for example, time limitations influencing certain activity execution (Fey et al., 2001) (cited by Hassan, 2013). It is an oppressive style, where the leader alone takes choice for others. ...
Leadership has been distinguished as one of the key components related with the achievement and failure of any institution or organization. Leadership style is the way whereby individuals are guided and persuaded by a leader to accomplish organizational or institutional objectives. It has been seen that institutions and organizations understand that for the aim of improving organizational commitment. Furthermore, to accomplish most extreme execution and effectiveness, complete consideration must be given to the leadership style of management. This is survey writing on leadership and leadership style of deans as a methodology for organizational commitment and performance in higher institution. It is in this manner presumed that organizational commitment is a significant factor for organizational performance and for this situation, for the exhibition of higher institutions.
... Research has consistently shown that Russian culture differs markedly from Western culture (Hofstede, 2001;McCarthy et al., 2010;Puffer and McCarthy, 2011). Some have argued that Russian leaders are more likely to adopt management practices from the West (Fairhurst, 2009;Fey et al., 2001). However, the main perception is that they remain wedded to 'old habits' (Puffer and McCarthy, 2011). ...
... Many business scholars, political economists and business executives agree that economic problems in Russia have a lot to do with the style of management at various levels in the country (Elenkov, 2002). It is argued that most Russians prefer directive leaders and believe that effective leaders should prioritize task accomplishment over any relationship building (Fey et al., 2001). In most studies on Russian leadership (Kets de Vries, 2001), the authoritarian mindset is considered to still be alive (Gurkov, 1996). ...
Leadership literature suggests that the transfer of leadership theory to non-US/Anglo-centric cultures may lead to findings that are different from current ones. Indeed, it is proposed that a dominant national culture will impact both the enacted leadership style and the followers’ expectations and acceptance of such a leadership style. Within the emerging literature on relational and change leadership, there is little consideration of the differing impact of leader behaviours in non-Western cultures. This study addresses both these gaps, through a case study that explores leadership styles and strategic change implementation within a Russian context that is seen as being directive and autocratic. The nature and impact of leadership in the context of change in Russian organizations is explored in this article, using a case-study design. Based on 20 interviews conducted in three organizations, we report findings which suggest, in a Russian context, that a more relational leadership style is more effective, and more likely to be accepted by followers, in implementing strategic change than a more ‘typical’ autocratic and directive style. The article contributes to leadership theory by providing clear empirical evidence of the value of a relational style in non-Western settings in ensuring effective change implementation.
... Many scholars analyze Russian managerial values and styles (e.g. Elenkov 1997Elenkov , 2002Fey et al. 2001;Kets de Vries 2000, 2001McCarthy et al. 2010;Puffer et al. 1997;Puffer and McCarthy 2011;Michailova et al. 2013;Ehrnrooth and Koveshnikov 2015). In the beginning of the 1990s the managerial styles and orientations in the post-Soviet Russia were often seen as largely homogeneous. ...
... Russian managers were portrayed as avoiding risk and accountability, lacking initiative and mistrusting others (May et al. 2005). Many scholars suggest that there is an authoritarian management style in Russia (Elenkov 1998;Fey et al. 2001;Kets de Vries 2000, 2001. These studies find that the Russian style of leadership tends to be centralized and directive. ...
This study examines the impacts of different types of experience on management skills of working adults in Russia. The study is based on a sample of 527 MBA students, line and middle managers covering 32 regions in 13 different industries in Russia. This study proves that work experience, management experience, and government experience are significant factors in their technical, human, and conceptual skills. Human skills scores are significantly higher for all groups than group with no management experience. Score for human skills increased with years of government experience only, but not with working or management years of experience.
... In these cultures, there is an emotional need for rules (Hofstede, 2016). Feya, Adaeva, and Vitkovskaia (2001) suggest that "many Russians are averse to taking risk when doing things that could result in mistakes" (p. 636). ...
This paper explores cultural factors that influence the propensity to blow-the-whistle in China, Taiwan, Russia and the U.S. This study found that culture and traditions have strong impact on the propensity of whistleblowing. This research analyzed 1541working adults in China, Tai-wan, Russia and the U.S. Statistical analysis of self-developed questionnaires reveals that: a) Americans have a greater disposition to engage in whistleblowing than Chinese, Taiwanese, and Russian; b) Americans have a smallest level of fear of retaliation to whistleblowers than Chinese, Taiwanese, and Russian; c) the intention of Chinese, American, and Taiwanese to whistle-blow is influenced to a greater degree by position of wrongdoers than that of Russian; and d) guanxi (personal relationships or networks) has a greater effect on the propensity to whistle-blow for Chinese and Taiwanese than for Americans and Russian. Auditors and man-agers need to be aware that employees in different cultures respond differently to factors that influence whistleblowing activities. The results of this study will help auditors and managers better assess risk and the effectiveness of internal controls and ethical standards.
... The Soviet-era style continues to be the dominant leadership style of a large number of Russian businesspeople (Ardichvili, 2001a(Ardichvili, , 2001bElenkov, 2002;McCarthy, Puffer, May, Ledgerwood, & Stewart, 2008;Puffer, 1994), but some Russian employees have voiced a preference for democratic styles of leadership (Fey, Adaeva, & Vitkovskaia, 2001). Because of the slow evolution of Russian leadership style, development programs are sorely needed to help Russians transform their leadership identities (Korotov, 2008), and the traditional Russian leadership style of control and command may be incompatible with 21st-century organizational models based on information, innovation, and involvement (Kets de Vries, Shekshnia, Korotov, & Florent-Treacy, 2004). ...
... To date, a number of quantitative and qualitative studies have attempted to illuminate the features that distinguish Russian managers from their Western counterparts and to describe various managerial styles and their organizational outcomes in contemporary Russia (e.g. Fey, Adaeva, & Vitkovskaia, 2001). However, among these research efforts, the qualitative ones (e.g. ) have generally been limited to analyzing managers employed by multinational corporations (MNC) or taking part in Western managerial training programs. ...
Drawing on a dataset consisting of 344 personal interviews, participant observations, and internal documents collected in 26 privately owned business organizations in Russia, the study aims at complementing existing research on Russian indigenous management in three ways. First, it examines the managerial styles of key individuals (i.e. owners and/or CEOs) in the case organizations. Hence, it taps into the existing heterogeneity of managerial styles, the so-called groupvergence , found in contemporary Russian organizations, and documents their idiosyncratic features, such as the transformational nature of authoritarian leadership. Second, the study explores the antecedents of the identified styles to establish what factors contribute to their emergence and thus sheds light on how the heterogeneous managerial styles in Russian organizations come into existence. Finally, the study investigates how the identified styles manifest themselves in organizations by influencing organizational goals and strategies, organizational structures, supporting mechanisms, relationships between organizational members, and reward systems. It therefore elaborates on the organizational implications of the styles and highlights the mechanisms of their sustainable diffusion to lower organizational levels in Russian organizations.
... This leadership style and its variations helped create modern Soviet industry -giant metallurgical combines and aluminum smelters, petrochemical and auto plants, oil and gas pipelines, and large pulp and paper mills. Yet, that style turned out to be ineffective in the highly unstructured conditions of the early market economy of the early 1990s, and most red directors lost out to a new breed of Russian entrepreneurs (Fey et al., 2001;Prokhorov, 2002;Kets de Vries et al., 2004). ...
... Research on Russian leadership has stressed the persuasiveness of the Soviet era style characterized by top-down control, punishment for mistakes, and low transparency (Fey, 2008;McCarthy et al., 2008;Dixon, Meyer, & Day, 2007;Elenkov, 2002;de Vries, 2001;Fey, Adaeva & Vitkovskaia, 2001). The Russian case, a classical example of transactional leadership style, hinders organizational change in the country with a fundamentally noncompetitive economy (McCarthy et al., 2008). ...
As a part of a global study, 215 Russian public relations practitioners completed an
online survey about their perceptions of professional leadership and communication
management. The Russian sample’s demographics differed significantly from the
overall sample’s make-up (N=4,484; 22 countries). Despite the differences, there was a
significant overlap between Russian participants’ and their global peers’ beliefs. This
result might signal the universality of some specific leadership aspects and/or a
globalization effect in Russian public relations.
... in the workplace, but they have 1ittle effect on the assumptions that drive leader's behavior and create the structures, systems, and processes that reinforce and reproduce equity. Choosing a leader with an appropriate leadership style is critical for a firm's success. Thus, it is important to understand which leadership styles are most effective (Fey et. al., 2001). Organizational effectiveness is always a matter of comparison. Organizational effectiveness is multidimensional and will never be reducible to a single measure. Boards of directors make a difference in the effectiveness. More effective organization is more likely to use correct management practices. It is a social construction program. ...
In today's business world, effective leadership is gaining precedence over effective management. If effective management principles alone were once considered as the essentials of organizational and business success, today the success of organizations and businesses are equally or perhaps more dependent on effective and futuristic leadership. Leadership is a crucial factor affecting many educational organizational outputs. This paper examines the relationship between leadership and higher learning organizational effectiveness. It proves ability regarding leadership and organizational effectiveness for the employees working in higher learning institutes. Data was collected by using primary data collection tool i.e. questionnaire. Data was analyzed by applying various statistical tools. Item to total correlation and reliability was applied for standardizing the questionnaire and to find out the relationship between both variables linear regression was applied. The result of the study showed that leadership and organizational effectiveness plays a very dominant role in developing institutes and their employees. A high degree of correlation between leadership (independent variable) and organizational effectiveness (dependent variable) was reflected in the study.
... 12 Such strong evidence of that style is consistent with the idea that a relatively open, authoritative leadership style characterizes the direction in which Russian management should be moving, 13 and the results of another study suggested that such a change was already occurring. 14 Authoritative leaders have been described as providing a clear vision, empowering and fully involving employees by giving meaning to work, fostering a sense of ownership, openness and team work, and also exercising discipline and control by setting clear boundaries, giving support, and creating a sense of security. 15 The vast majority of our exemplary Russian entrepreneurs seem to have responded early to such a trend, indicating their ability to rise above any of the culturally embedded values and systems that remain as vestiges of the Soviet period. ...
Entrepreneurial leadership is crucial for economic growth in all countries, yet little is known about the leadership style of entrepreneurs in transition economies such as the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China). There has been a need for research into cross-cultural similarities in entrepreneurial characteristics that would support an argument for convergence across cultures. This article investigates entrepreneurial leadership styles based on interviews with 130 exemplary Russian entrepreneurs over a recent five-year period. The results showed that a large majority of these entrepreneurs had adopted an open leadership style similar to U.S. entrepreneurs, adding support to a convergence theory of entrepreneurial leadership style.
... Within the former stream of research the authors explored the types of leadership styles (Fey, Adaeva, & Vitkovskaia, 2001) and the factors that motivate managers (Fey, 2005) in Russian companies. The differences in managerial and ethical values between Russian and U.S. managers (Elenkov, 1997(Elenkov, , 1998Robertson, Gilley, & Street, 2003), the differences between Russian and Western perspectives on organizational change (Michailova, 2000), and the link between organizational culture and operational effectiveness in Russia (Fey & Denison, 2003;Fey, Nordahl, & Zä tterströ m, 1999) have been analyzed. ...
... In a series of studies [8] [9] leadership characteristics preferences are being assessed in national cultures using the Ohio State University Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire XII and compared across cultures [4]. It is indicated that leadership has been viewed during the history as: (1) an attribute of position; (2) a characteristic of a person; and (3) a category of behavior [10]. Although a review of the leadership literature is beyond the scope of this research, one of the two basic dimensions of leadership will be discussed in the study. ...
The main objective of this research is to compare and analyze the shift in the ideal and actual leader behaviors within five years. Therefore two studies were conducted, one during 2004-2005 and the second during 2009-2010 periods. In order to measure the perceived leader behavior and the ideal leader behavior required by the employees, Stogdill's Leadership Behavior Description Questionnaire XII (LBDQ XII) was used. Sample of the Time I Study consisted of 678, and the Time II Study 789 questionnaires. Results revealed that during the last five years there are significant changes in the twelve dimensions of actual and ideal leader behaviors. While the leaders started to perform these behaviors less, the desire to have leaders showing these behaviors also diminished by employees. Even though there is a decrease in the results, when the higher order dimensions – system and person oriented behavior – calculated and compared, we still see that Turkish employees wants both system and person oriented leaders. Only the spread is not as extreme as before.
... Suutari ͑1998͒ concluded that very little initiative traditionally has been left to employees, and managers have not been used to sharing much information with their subordinates. Although some positive changes in the mindset of CEE managers have been reported ͑Suutari 1998; Fey et al. 2001;Ardichvili and Gasparishvili 2001;Kovac and Jesenko 2004͒, these managers still tend to stick to the values, habits, and business practices that survived from the former system. In particular, the egalitarianism, low respect for supervisors, low work ethics, and other influences of the former economy are still present and will require more time and effort to be dismantled. ...
This paper addresses both firm cultures and top leadership styles in construction firms in a West and an East-European country, the Netherlands and Lithuania. Human Resource managers filled in valid questionnaires during an interview on the premises of 16 construction firms in each country. The significant differences between the two countries pertain predominantly to the desired firm cultures and leadership styles. Construction firms in Lithuania strive toward more job autonomy, a more external orientation, an improved human resource orientation, a stronger interdepartmental orientation, and more of an improvement orientation in general. The Dutch respondents seek firm-culture improvements only in terms of a more external and interdepartmental orientation. Concerning desired transformational and transactional leadership, both leadership styles are significantly more desired by Lithuanian construction firms. Dutch top managers appear to rely already on transformational leadership with some transactional style components. Lithuanian managers have started to rely more on transformational leadership, whereas transactional leadership remains important in Lithuanian construction firms. Combining transformational and transactional leadership styles is highly recommended by current leadership research. Also, learning from "the best of both worlds" in terms of firm culture is recommended.
... Having effective management is critical for a firm to perform well (Armandi et al., 2003;De Waal, 2008;Fey et al., 2001), however, the general public, shareholders, stakeholders and government are all wondering whether the cause for the recent troubles is due to the lack of quality in managerial performance. Despite the abundance of literature on management it seems that the quality of management has not improved, or at least not enough to prevent the mistakes that have been made recently (Alvesson and Sveningsson, 2003;Endrissat et al., 2005;Heifetz, 2009;Morrison, 2000). ...
Purpose
Despite the abundance of literature on management it seems that the quality of management has not improved enough to prevent scandals which have occurred in recent years. It could be that either the results of these studies have not been put to use in practice or that the results were biased because of the rather one‐sided focus on US managers in much of the leadership literature. As national cultures signal different determinants of high performance, there is a need for leadership research into the effectiveness characteristics of managers in non‐US countries. This article aims to develop an empirically validated profile of high performing managers in The Netherlands using a leadership framework developed in Asia.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a sample of 808 Dutch managers and using the cross‐cultural framework of Excellent Leadership by Selvarajah et al. , the profile of an excellent Dutch manager was derived.
Findings
The paper reveals that this profile can be described by a four‐dimensional factor structure consisting of managerial behaviours, environmental influences, personal qualities and organisational demands.
Research limitations/implications
The main limitation of the research is that the findings are based on reports from a single source; namely managers' perceptions. Hence, common‐method effects may have inflated the correlations.
Practical implications
The results of the research can serve as guidelines for developing an empirically validated profile of high performance managers (HPMs) in other Western countries. They also have practical implications in that organizations can use the HPM profile to tailor their management development programs, evaluation and coaching programs, and recruiting processes in order to improve the quality of their managers.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first time a leadership framework developed in the Eastern world has been applied on Western managers, making this research one of the first of its kind. This is important because, as stated before, there is a strong need for research which extends the theoretical and practical basis of leadership theories from a solely Western focus to a more balanced Western‐Eastern focus. The results from this type of research can provide guidance for improving quality of management worldwide.
... This issue of managerial attitude is especially important in the CEE countries, where general management skills are still limited, and managers might base their current decisions on prior knowledge, which, for managers of former state enterprises in particular, will be that of the former planned economy (Makhija and Stewart, 2002;Uhlenbruck et al., 2003). Fey et al. (2001) andElenkov (2002) also highlight the importance of managerial leadership in the success of firms in transition economies. Since most SME decisions are made by one or a few top managers, we expect managerial characteristics will influence the level of internationalization (Cavusgil and Naor, 1987;Manolova et al., 2002;Reuber and Fischer, 1997;Wiedersheim-Paul et al., 1978;Harveston et al., 2000;Knight, 2001;Nummela et al., 2004). ...
Although small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been a major source of economic growth in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), the capabilities underlying their expansion into international markets have received very little attention in the literature. We hypothesize that the level of internationalization will be positively related with knowledge orientation, cost –orientation and managerial IB orientation of a CEE based SME. Using data from 90 manufacturing SMEs from six CEE countries, we examine the impact of different capabilities on the level of internationalization. The results indicate that low-cost manufacturing capabilities and pro-active managerial orientation towards international operations are positively associated with increased internationalization. Surprisingly, a focus on using knowledge resources is not related to CEE firms‟ level of internationalization. The implications of these findings are discussed within the context of developing sustainable competitive advantage in transition and emerging economies.
The practice of leadership dates to humankind’s earliest history. However, the study of leadership is a much more recent phenomenon. Leadership is understood and practiced differently from culture to culture, though much academic research has been rooted in Western thought. Leadership exists in every facet of our lives because the societies around us significantly shape our very existence. Groups of people exist because, for most tasks and functions, groups can outcompete individuals. The very nature of groups is that they function best with one or more who serve as leaders while others serve as followers. As a result, the study of leadership facilitates a better understanding of the interpersonal dynamics between leaders and followers. In its simplest form, leadership may be understood as one individual influencing another, especially to work together to accomplish some common goal. The Analytical Center for Leadership Research and Development (ACLRD) has devoted the past several years to studying leadership theory and practice in Ukraine. This white paper summarizes that research, its purpose, methodology, and findings in providing the reader with analysis and insights into how leadership in Ukraine is perceived and practiced. In addition, this white paper proposes specific recommendations and the implementation of a research-based ACLRD Leader Model distinctly unique to Ukrainian culture and practices. Ultimately, this paper serves as a call for changes in the practice of leadership that hold great potential for benefiting Ukrainian organizations of all kinds as well as society at large.
This study aimed to investigate the predictor roles of identity, anxiety, and perceived social trust on preferences for political leaders, as well as various attitudes, and opinions about coronavirus in a Turkish sample in the context of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic crisis. For this purpose, a quantitative study with a sample of 283 participants (181 women, 102 men, M.age = 33.71, SD = 11.05). The findings revealed that a majority of the participants preferred task-oriented leadership style more than the charismatic and relationship-oriented leadership styles if there were an election. Regression analyses were further conducted using the backward elimination method to test the predictability of the research variables for each leadership style. The results revealed that participants’ sense of macro-control positively and self-confidence negatively predicted charismatic leadership style; perceived contagiousness and state anxiety positively predicted task-oriented leadership style; perception of conspiracy and beliefs related to the pandemic positively predicted relationship-oriented leadership style. The research findings were discussed in line with the relevant literature with implications for understanding the dynamics of leadership preferences during crisis.
The main purpose of the current study is to investigate the Turkish adaptation of the Political Leader Assessment Scale, which is designed by Cohen et al. (2004) and its validity and reliability. In this study, while remaining true to the original research; While creating the election declarations of leaders, arrangements have been made to accommodate statements appropriate to the Turkish culture. The sample consists of 112 participants who study in a private university located in Istanbul. The Political Leader Assessment Scale (PLAS) includes election speeches from three different political leaders (charismatic leader, task-oriented leader, relationship-oriented leader). There is a five-item measure under each declaration to make separate evaluations for each leader. At the end of the study, separate factor analyzes were performed for the scales under each leadership statement, and it was found that the scales had a unidimensional factor structure. Item-test correlations are calculated for reliability studies, furthermore, to test the criterion-related validity the Basic Personality Traits Inventory developed by Gençöz and Öncül (2012) was used. Findings obtained at the end of the analysis revealed that the Turkish version of the PLAS is a valid and reliable tool that has been demonstrated empirically.
This article explores a novel process linking servant leadership (SL) to organizational identification (OI). In doing so, the study examines SL as an antecedent of internal corporate social responsibility (CSR) perceptions of employees and assesses moral meaningfulness as a moderator in the relationship between SL and OI through internal CSR perceptions. Utilizing a comparative institutional theoretical lens, it also explores how the SL-OI relationship varies across the UAE, Lebanon, and Tunisia. Two-wave and three-wave survey data are collected from employees working for international SMEs in the three countries. Findings show that the link between SL and OI can be explained by the proposed moderated mediation model and that the SL-OI relationship varies across the nations. Implications of these findings are discussed.
Bu çalışmanın amacı, ebeveyn stilleri, siyasal toplumsallaşma, liderlik, kişilik ve oy verme davranışı arasındaki ilişkilerin incelenmesidir. Ayrıca oy verme davranışıyla ilgili bir modelin ortaya konulması da araştırmanın amaçların arasındadır. Bu amaçlar doğrultusunda, İstanbul'da üniversite eğitimine devam eden 266 kadın 127 erkek öğrenci olmak üzere toplam 393 katılımcıya ulaşılmıştır. Katılımcılara demografik soru formunun yanı sıra Siyasi Parti Kimlik Gücü Ölçeği, Siyasi Lider Değerlendirme Ölçeği, Siyasal Toplumsallaşma Ölçeği, Anne-Baba Tutum Ölçeği ve Türk Kültüründe Geliştirilmiş Temel Kişilik Özellikleri Ölçeği uygulanmıştır. Araştırmadaki bulgular, siyasi parti kimlik gücü ile ilişki odaklı liderlik arasındaki ilişkide kişilik özelliklerinin alt boyutlarından olan duygusal tutarsızlığın düzenleyici role sahip olduğunu göstermiştir. Yine siyasi parti kimlik gücü ile görev odaklı liderlik arasındaki ilişkide kişilik özelliklerinin alt boyutlarında olan deneyime açıklığın ve uyumluluğun düzenleyici role sahip olduğu bulunmuştur. Ayrıca her bir liderlik stili için modeller test edilmiştir. Sonuç olarak, karizmatik ve ilişki odaklı lider tercihlerini ebeveyn stilleri, kişilik özellikleri ve siyasal toplumsallaşma değişkenleriyle açıklayan iki farklı model önerisinde bulunulmuştur. Araştırma sonucunda elde edilen bulgular ilgili alanyazın ışığında tartışılmıştır.
In this article, we examine the cross-cultural variation in the perceived effects of idealized influence and individualized consideration leadership behaviors – two behavioral dimensions of transformational leadership – on followers’ organizational identification in two culturally distinct countries: Russia and Finland. We also test whether the followers’ role ambiguity mediates these relationships. Using the self-concept-based theory of leadership as an explanatory framework, our analysis of white-collar employees in four Finland-based multinational corporations and their subsidiaries in Russia shows that whereas in Russia both behaviors facilitate followers’ identification, in Finland only idealized influence does. We also find differences in how role ambiguity mediates the relationship between the two behaviors and followers’ identification in the two countries. In Russia, it fully mediates the relationship between individualized consideration and followers’ identification, whereas in Finland it partially mediates the relationship between idealized influence and followers’ identification.
The study focuses on the changing of perceptions of effective leadership in organizations as a result of transition from one culture to another. The sample consisted of groups of 132 immigrants and 189 native Israelis. First, the research compares perceptions of effective leadership among Israeli natives with those of immigrants to Israel from the former Soviet Union. Then the study shows that some perceptions of the 1.5 generations of immigrants are more similar to those of native Israelis than to perceptions of the first-generation immigrants. The results indicate that the process of acculturation does not have an identical effect on perceptions of the different characteristics of effective leadership in organization.
The aim of the study was to examine the leadership styles adopted by the top and middle level leaders of the hospitals in Pune city, and provide inputs to enhance the leadership style of the hospital leaders. Five research questions were addressed in this study. Mixed method study design was used for this study. The top and middle level leaders from the hospital and hotel industry participated in this study. Quantitative data was obtained by 41 top and middle level leaders from both the industries by self reporting techniques and qualitative data was obtained by face to face interview technique from 20 leaders. Quantitative data was analyzed with the help of percentages and chi square test. Qualitative data was analyzed by thematic analysis and results were mixed during the interpretation and reporting phase of the study.
Results showed mixed leadership style need to be adopted by the hospital top and middle level leaders. The Hospital industry lack leadership training and development of their top and middle level leaders as compared to the hotel industry. Medical curriculum also needed to inculcate leadership components in their undergraduate or postgraduate courses.
While there is quite an extensive literature addressing the issue of individual and organizational identity construction (Alvesson 1994; Phillips and Hardy 1997; Sveningsson and Alvesson 2003; Thomas and Linstead 2002), we still know relatively little about the process of how organizational actors construct their national identities in the MNC context. The dominant view presents national identity as the collective programming of people's minds (Hofstede 1980, 1991). Lacking an agreement as to how to define “culture” (Roberts and Boyacigiller 1984), this view tends to categorize the behavioral patterns of individuals based on a limited set of continuums, e.g. collectivism–individualism, high context–low context, masculinity–femininity, etc. Such conceptualizations represent very static (Tayeb 1994), minimal (McSweeney 2002) and essentialist (Ailon-Souday and Kunda 2003; Barinaga 2007) views on national identity that try to fit it into the predetermined categorizations and fail to take into account the subjectivity and agency of organizational actors in choosing and defining “who they are” (see also chapter of Blazejewski and Becker-Ritterspach in this volume). This chapter posits that nationalism and national identity provide an important set of discourses that are used to make sense of, to legitimize and to normalize various important issues in MNCs. The national identity construction process is far from being an objective and rational one and national identity per se cannot be viewed as static, given or taken-for-granted (Ailon-Souday and Kunda 2003; Barinaga 2007).
Leadership Across the Globe aims to serve a growing interest in how to lead in a global or cross-cultural environment. This book focuses on the corporate setting, with illustrations, theories, and evidence from various regions around the world. The book includes coverage of culture and diversity issues in leadership, as well as a comprehensive, detailed exploration of the comparative aspects of leadership. Generously illustrated with cases, boxed profiles, figures, and examples from a wide range of organizations, this is a relevant resource for anyone seeking a leadership career on a global scale, in multinational enterprises, or in a multi-cultural context.
Purpose
– This study aims to examine how the leadership styles in the business world of paternalistic China, imperative Germany and authoritative Russia are affected by the distinguishing cultures of each country.
Design/methodology/approach
– The information contained throughout this paper was collected through online research of databases as well as primary data collections.
Findings
– The findings showed that leadership styles of a country can be traced back to the culture values of that country. Even with all countries having a different culture and different leadership styles, in each one both constructs strongly overlap each other.
Originality/value
– This paper contributes to the narrow comparisons of leadership styles between these countries. Value is added by studying the separate leadership styles in very different cultures, and how they affect the business world in their culture.
Business and management in Russia have undergone substantial change during the past two decades as the country has transitioned from the centrally planned Soviet system to a more market-oriented economy. Russia has not been given as much attention as BRIC nations such as India and China in either academic research or the popular business press, despite its being a global energy giant and major natural resource player as well as a member of the G8 economic powers. We analyze research on Russian business and management published over the past two decades, draw implications for Russia's future in the global economic community, and offer directions for future research. Our basic conclusion is that Russian managers have relied excessively on informal institutions, including personal networks, to conduct business due to the void created by the weak legitimacy of the country's formal institutions. A major implication is that by continuing to rely on informal institutions in the context of a formal institutional void, Russia may well fall short of becoming a fully participating member of the global economic community, and may remain for some time as an unbalanced, corruption-ridden, natural resource-based economy.
This paper reviews a large number of works published over the past 25 years on many topics of business and management in Russia. The topics are grouped into two major categories - macro and micro, with entrepreneurship covered separately. A brief summary is presented for most individual works. We conclude with implications for practice directed toward Western and Russian managers, as well as policy implications for Western and Russian policymakers. The paper is intended as a resource for researchers focusing on Russian business and management, and for educators, practitioners, and policymakers with interests in this field.
Purpose
This paper aims to discuss the important and changing role of personal networks for transformation in Russia, and the related challenges for management. Formal institutions supporting the transformation to a market economy have been weak and Russian managers still tend to rely on personal networks. While these networks are important in all economies, they play a different role in full‐fledged market economies than in planned economies.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is conceptual and is based on literature on the nature of markets, the Soviet planned economy, and the transformation process in Russia. A business network approach is used to understand markets and focus on the dynamics of overlapping business and personal networks.
Findings
Overlapping between business networks involving non‐Russian networks and between personal and business networks are important drivers of transformation. The challenges for management in Russia are both organizational and strategic, and transformation implies substantial changes in the network structures.
Research limitations/implications
The authors recommend further empirical analysis of the role that the overlapping of business and personal networks plays in transformation, as well as its managerial implications.
Practical implications
This paper shows why firms must build business relationships during transformation that are integrated in nature and in which personal relations support the technical, logistical, financial, and knowledge exchange dimensions.
Originality/value
This paper challenges the dominating view of transformation, which says that market exchange is transactional, impersonal, and competition‐driven. The paper analyzes transformation in Russia as a network overlapping process in which the role of personal relations changes.
This paper focuses on the management of small businesses in Russia. Despite the growing importance of the Russian small business sector, there are surprisingly few empirical studies focusing on this topic. As the business environment in Russia is repeatedly noted to be in constant change, the purpose of the paper is to explore Russian owner‐managers perceptions of the development of their business environment from 2000 to 2004. The paper reports the results of a survey conducted among 164 business managers in North‐West Russia.
The results indicate that Russian owner‐managers tend to monitor changes in the business environment and adapt their management accordingly, if not beforehand. However, the results are not unambiguous, as the study found wide variations in the extent to which gap the managers monitored and adapted to perceived changes in the business environment.
First published online: 14 Oct 2010
This bibliography covers all articles in 13 leading management and international business journals in 1986 to 2003 (inclusive) that focus on Central and Eastern Europe. The database thus assembled is the basis for the contribution analysis in Meyer and Peng (2005): Probing Theoretically into Central and Eastern Europe: Transactions, Resources and Institutions, Journal of International Business Studies 36 (6), p. 600-621.
National cultures have a strong influence on the performance of organizations and should be taken into account when studying the traits of high performing managers. At the same time, many studies that focus upon the attributes of successful managers show that there are attributes that are similar for managers across countries. This article reports on the development of empirically validated profiles of Dutch and British high performing managers. Based on a sample of 808 Dutch and 286 British managers and using the cross-cultural framework of Excellent Leadership by Selvarajah et al., the profiles of excellent Dutch and British managers was derived. The profiles of Dutch and British high performing managers can be described by a four-dimensional factor structure consisting of Managerial behaviours, Environmental influences, Personal qualities and Organizational demands. Based on these validated profiles, the similarities and differences in attributes for managerial success between Dutch and British high performing managers can be identified.
This paper reviews the organizational leadership literature in the post-Soviet countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus.
More importantly, we issue a “Clarion Call” for leadership scholars to focus their attention on the region while also providing
key considerations and directions for future leadership research in the region. To help encourage and guide future leadership
research, the paper provides a comprehensive research framework that identifies factors that need to be incorporated in future
research on leadership in the Central Asia and Caucasus countries. We conclude with a discussion of potential research challenges
that can arise, as well as research opportunities that are available, as a result of the unique idiosyncrasies of the region
known as Central Eurasia.
This article focuses on a Russian woman entrepreneur who established a very successful software firm under license from an American software company. The case illustrates a productive and successful partnership between a Western company and a new Russian entrepreneur. Recent developments in Russian entrepreneurship are reviewed, and the selection of Russian entrepreneurs as business partners is evaluated. The American company is described briefly, followed by an in-depth discussion of its Russian partner and founder, Olga Kirova. Conclusions and interpretations are offered on choosing the right Russian partners, assessing their personal values, objectives and leadership skills, being a good Western business partner, and considering Russian women as business associates.
This article analyzes Russia’s emerging corporate governance system taking into account both foreign and domestic influences. It discusses influences on Russia’s corporate governance from other countries, particularly the US, Germany, and France. Aspects of Russian culture and traditions are then examined to see how they might influence the country’s evolving corporate governance system. Although Russia will continue to be influenced by international standards and systems of other countries, the article concludes that Russian corporate governance will evolve into its own unique model reflecting the country’s traditions, values, and culture. Implications for Western investors are discussed.
We use a cross-case analysis of four Russian oil majors to develop a framework explaining the relationship between exploitation and exploration learning, and the development of organizational capabilities in transition economies. Our research explains how the changing top management style influences organizational learning over time. In the first stage of organizational transformation an authoritarian management style initiates a break with the administrative heritage of the organization to facilitate exploitation learning and the development of operational capabilities. These are required for survival in the new conditions of a market economy. In the second stage a more participatory management style fosters exploration learning and the development of strategic flexibility, required for sustainable competitive advantage. We demonstrate that exploitation and exploration learning do not coexist in the initial stages of transformation but are sequential. We found that the western-derived constructs of organizational learning add to our understanding of the process of organizational transformation in a transition context. Our study of the Russian oil industry also provides new ways to think about the processes of organizational learning in western companies, particularly large bureaucratic ones, anchored in their administrative heritage and needing to undergo organizational transformation.
Since the 1990s, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) has provided unique societal quasi-experiments, which represent opportunities to test the applicability of existing theories in international business and management studies and to develop new ones. Specifically, three lines of theorising have been advanced: (1) organisational economics theories; (2) resource-based theories; and (3) institutional theories. For each of these theories, we discuss how they contribute to the understanding of key issues, such as entry strategies of foreign investors, restructuring strategies of local incumbents, and entry and growth strategies of entrepreneurs. On this basis, we assess how CEE research has influenced the overall trajectories of theory development. CEE research has in particular highlighted the importance of contextual influences such as institutions. Thus, scholars have aimed at incorporating institutions into theories (such as organisational economics theories and resource based theories) and advancing an institution-based view of business strategy as a complementary perspective. We outline how future research in CEE and other emerging economies may advance this research agenda further. Journal of International Business Studies (2005) 36, 600–621. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400167
This article highlights a number of salient aspects of the culture and character of Russia (now the Russian Federation) in order to facilitate an informed understanding of the way Russians deal with organizations and approach leadership style. When appropriate, the clinical paradigm is applied, dimensions derived from cultural constructs are utilized, and examples are given of the author's fieldwork in Russian organizations. The article starts by examining how a number of contextual factors contribute to stoicism as a typical Russian character trait and make for a collectivist outlook. The implications of Russian child-rearing and educational practices are then discussed and the article analyses the development of a `false self' - a public self that is split from the true private self - particularly during the Soviet era. Other themes explored include emotional expressiveness, a particularistic outlook toward other people, Oblomovism and oscillation between order and disorder The destructive bureaucracy in Russia is shown to be a social defence; the Czar legacy and the wish for strong leadership are also analysed. The article ends by making a number of general comments about leadership and organizational practices in the context of stimulating the transformation processes that have recently taken place in Russia.
This article examines the main cultural differences and similarities between American managers and their Russian counterparts. It also explores the applicability of familiar American management concepts concerning leadership styles, motivation approaches, performance appraisal systems, systems for strategic planning, and organizational configurations in the context of the Russian culture. Certain American management concepts—such as legitimate power-based leadership style, employee relations policies, gainsharing, appraisals based on work team performance, strategic improvising, and strategic alliances—can be successfully put into practice in Russia. Differences in managerial values between these two countries, however, require that the application of American management approaches in Russia be carried out patiently and systematically.
Two studies, with 224 American and 240 Chinese university students, tested the idea that the collectivism of a culture leads to different styles of reward allocation with in- and out-group members. The 1st study used an out-group situation, in which Ss were led to believe that they worked with a partner whom they would not meet, to obtain a group reward. The collectivistic Chinese Ss were found to follow the equity norm more closely in dividing the group reward than the individualistic American Ss when pressure of social evaluation was removed. In the 2nd study, Ss read a scenario in which an allocator worked with either an in- or out-group member. The allocator had either a low or high input and used either the equity or equality norm to divide a group reward. Compared with American Ss, Chinese Ss liked an allocator who divided the group reward equally with an in-group member more and regarded such an allocation as fairer. When Ss were asked to assume that they were the allocator and to hypothetically divide the reward, Chinese Ss followed the equity norm more closely than did American Ss when the recipient was an out-group member or when the Ss' input was low. However, when Ss' input was high and the recipient was an in-group member, Chinese Ss followed the equality norm more than did American Ss. Findings are discussed in terms of the desire for maintaining group solidarity in a collectivist culture. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
In a short period of time, the privatization of Russian enterprises has been extensive. The process has been successful in meeting important political objectives to establish an irreversible base of individual share ownership through the rapid transfer of vast numbers of enterprises to the private sector. However, major questions remain with regard to the impact of privatization on efficiency and the successful transition to economically viable enterprises. This article investigates governance and managerial characteristics of 171 Russian buy-out firms both before and after the privatization program that occurred between 1992 and 1994. The program has resulted in significantly lower employment levels, increased training, little investment, but increased equity ownership. These changes may enable managers to effect some additional changes, but more recalcitrant organizations will have to await the development of more robust competition and improved systems of corporate governance.
Abstract Radical transformation of East European economies has caused extensive pressures on local organizations and managers to adapt to the requirements of free markets. It has also been reported that some fundamental changes in management principles have already appeared within this area, but mostly our understanding of East European managerial methods and behaviour is very limited. Furthermore, more and more Western companies are operating in East European markets and strive to produce required changes in the attitudes and behaviours of the local work force. Against this background, the present study reports experiences of Finnish expatriates on typical leadership styles of Russian and Estonian managers. On the average, these managers are reported to be less active than their Finnish colleagues in most forms of leadership behaviour proposed by Western leadership theories. In the end, pressures faced by expatriates to change their own leadership style when leading Russian and Estonian employees are presented.
Privatization, eliminating monopolies and the vestiges of central planning, deregulating prices, introducing currency convertibility, establishing a modern financial infrastructure, and recovering from a failed three-day coup attempt are all intimidating tasks for policy-makers in the Soviet Union. However, in the long-run perhaps the most troubling circumstance facing the Soviet Union is preparing managers for a Soviet-style market-driven economy that can eventually compete in world markets. This article discusses some facts about Soviet managers, the historical fabric of Soviet and Russian cultures in which they must operate, as well as some of the attitudes and concerns of Soviet enterprise directors. Overthrowing Marxist-Leninist doctrine and overcoming a bungled attempt to take over the government may be the easiest parts of the new social experiment originally called perestroika.
Executive Overview
A new entrant has abruptly and dramatically appeared on the international business scene. Hibernating for most of this century in a long winter's sleep induced by the communist regime, the Russian bear has awakened and is now dancing to the beat of capitalism. The bear is looking for a willing Western partner, and many North Americans are eager to be asked for a dance. With the hope that they will have a smooth pas de deux and avoid stepping on each other's toes, what follows is a portrait of their potential Russian partners, including their leadership traits in three eras: traditional Russian society, the communist regime, and the developing market economy.
Recent research in the area of leadership seems to point to the existence of four basic dimensions of leadership: support, interaction facilitation, goal emphasis, and work facilitation. Data from a recent study of 40 agencies of one of the leading life insurance companies are used to evaluate the impact of both supervisory and peer leadership upon outcomes of satisfaction and factorial performance measures. Results from the study suggest that this conceptual model is useful and that leadership's relation to organizational outcomes may best be studied when both leadership and effectiveness are multidimensional. Both peer and supervisory leadership measures relate to outcomes. In most instances, the ability to predict is enhanced by taking simultaneous account of certain nonleadership variables.
List of cartoons List of figures and tables Acknowledgements Introduction 1. Blat: the unknown phenomenon 2. Understanding blat 3. The Soviet order: a view from within 4. The use of personal networks 5.Blat as a form of exchange: between gift and commodity 6. Networking in the post-Soviet period Appendix Bibliography Index.
Privatization, eliminating monopolies and the vestiges of central planning, deregulating prices, introducing currency convertibility, establishing a modern financial infrastructure, and recovering from a failed three-day coup attempt are all intimidating tasks for policy-makers in the Soviet Union. However, in the long-run perhaps the most troubling circumstance facing the Soviet Union is preparing managers for a Soviet-style market-driven economy that can eventually compete in world markets. This article discusses some facts about Soviet managers, the historical fabric of Soviet and Russian cultures in which they must operate, as well as some of the attitudes and concerns of Soviet enterprise directors. Overthrowing Marxist-Leninist doctrine and overcoming a bungled attempt to take over the government may be the easiest parts of the new social experiment originally called perestroika. After seven decades of indoctrination to a centrally controlled system, it's not hard to understand why Soviet enterprise directors may lack the knowledge and skills to deal with workers who do not believe in the work ethic. Given the current instability in the political, social, and economic systems in the Soviet Union, this article concludes that a unique set of Soviet managerial behaviors that incorporates and adapts some Western and Japanese management principles and practices will have to emerge in Soviet enterprises.
A questionnaire completed by a manager and his immediate subordinates generates scores on organizational, group, task, personal and interpersonal factors; management styles; and outputs of effectiveness and satisfaction. After the raw data from a particular workgroup or system are analyzed, the manager obtains a computerized printout called a PROFILE of the discrepancies between his subordinates and himself as well as normative data to help him plan change. This constitutes the feedback phase of the OD intervention. Initial follow-up suggests that the PROFILE procedure is seen to promote change particularly in situations where subordinates had no decision-making input and perceived conditions as disorderly and poorly managed.
Correlational analyses of the data suggest that authoritative managerial direction is more frequent when situations are regular, clear, and structured; but such direction is perceived to be more effective under reverse conditions. Manipulative bosses are downgraded, while consultative superiors are favored under most conditions.
Ultimately this paper represents an approach to research in social psychology where subjects gain practical on-the-job self-knowledge directed toward change, and the researcher gains new understanding leading to model building and theory development of the factors that describe supervisory behavior in various situations.
A sample of persons drawn from all functions and from all levels of two companies in the United Kingdom were invited to express a preference for one of four leadership styles-the tells, the sells, the consults, and the joins. Each respondent was then asked to state which style most closely described his own immediate manager. (Alternatively, he could reply that his own manager did not correspond at all closely to any of the styles.) These answers were then related to replies to other questions concerned with describing managerial behaviour and with measuring job satisfaction, satisfaction with the employing organisation, and confidence in management.
The results indicate that the four descriptions of leadership styles are meaningful to people. The consultative style was the one most consistently preferred. Most people were able to see their own managers as fitting one of the four descriptions. Those who felt that their own managers did not correspond at all closely to any one of the four styles showed least confidence in management and relatively low job satisfaction. Their descriptions of managerial behaviour show that they regard their bosses as weak, indecisive, inconsistent, incompetent, and lacking in human relations skills.
In reviewing his involvement in leadership research, Rensis Likert discusses early influences on his thinking, the university-connected Institute for Social Research and the criteria on which it was based, as well as the first leadership and management studies of the Survey Research Center. Likert's System 1-4 theory was derived from research data about high-producing managers and how they differ from low-producing managers. Later research demonstrated the real need to use the Current Value approach of Human Resources Accounting to assess the leadership behavior of managers accurately.
The controversy over using college students as subjects in applied research has been a topic of philosophical discourse and empirical investigation. Thirty-two studies are reviewed in which students and nonstudents participated as subjects under identical conditions. In studies reporting statistical tests of between-group differences, the preponderance of findings indicated that the experimental results differed in the two samples. By contrast, no major differences associated with the type of subject were reported in the majority of studies which did not employ statistical procedures to compare the findings in the two samples. Explanations for differences in the sample are offered, and serve as a basis for recommendations for future research.
Management as the word is presently used is an American invention. In other parts of the world not only the practices but the entire concept of management may differ, and the theories needed to understand it, may deviate considerably from what is considered normal and desirable in the USA. The reader is invited on a trip around the world, and both local management practices and theories are explained from the different contexts and histories of the places visited: Germany, Japan, France, Holland, the countries of the overseas Chinese, South-East Asia, Africa, Russia, and finally mainland China. A model in which worldwide differences in national cultures are categorized according to five independent dimensions helps in explaining the differences in management found; although the situation in each country or region has unique characteristics that no model can account for. One practical application of the model is in demonstrating the relative position of the U.S. versus other parts of the world. In a global perspective, U.S. management theories contain a number of idiosyncracies not necessarily shared by management elsewhere. Three such indiosyncracies are mentioned: a stress on market processes, a stress on the individual, and a focus on managers rather than on workers. A plea is made for an internationalization not only of business, but also of management theories, as a way of enriching theories at the national level.
An explanation of the effects of leader behavior on subordinate satisfaction, motivation, and performance is presented. The explanation is derived from a path-goal theory of motivation. Dimensions of leader behavior such as leader initiating structure, consideration, authoritarianism, hierarchical influence, and closeness of supervision are analyzed in terms of path-goal variables such as valence and instrumentality. The theory specifies some of the situational moderators on which the effects of specific leader behaviors are contingent. A set of general propositions are advanced which integrate and explain earlier fragmentary research findings. Several specific predictions are made to illustrate how the general propositions can be operationalized. The usefulness of the theory is demonstrated by showing how several seemingly unrelated prior research findings could have been deduced from its general propositions and by applying it to reconcile what appear to be contradictory findings from prior studies. Results of two empirical studies are reported that provide support for seven of eight hypotheses derived directly from the general propositions of the theory. A third study designed to test three of the original eight hypotheses is also reported. Two of these three hypotheses are successfully replicated. In the light of these results and the integrative power of the theory, it is argued that the theory shows promise and should be further tested with experimental as well as correlational methods.
Radical transformation of East European economies has caused extensive pressures on local organizations and managers to adapt to the requirements of free markets. It has also been reported that some fundamental changes in management principles have already appeared within this area, but mostly our understanding of East European managerial methods and behaviour is very limited. Furthermore, more and more Western companies are operating in East European markets and strive to produce required changes in the attitudes and behaviours of the local work force. Against this background, the present study reports experiences of Finnish expatriates on typical leadership styles of Russian and Estonian managers. On the average, these managers are reported to be less active than their Finnish colleagues in most forms of leadership behaviour proposed by Western leadership theories. In the end, pressures faced by expatriates to change their own leadership style when leading Russian and Estonian employees are presented.
Avolume examining the hypothesis that "present organizational strategies developed and used by administrators lead to human and organizational decay." The author argues that the conflict between the individual and the organization can be a stimulant for growth as well as a cause for disintegration. Harvard Book List (edited) 1964 #637 (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This study was of 12 high-low productivity pairs of work groups, which included 24 section heads and 419 non-supervisory employees. Subjects were interviewed individually concerning their jobs and attitudes. Heads of the high-producing sections were significantly more likely to: (1) receive general rather than close supervision from their superiors, (2) like the amount of authority and responsibility they have in their jobs, (3) spend more time in supervision, (4) give general rather than close supervision to their employees, and (5) be employee-oriented rather than production-oriented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Considers initiating structure (task) and consideration (relationships) as the 2 most important leadership dimensions in describing how a leader performs. The managerial grid has popularized the task and relationship dimensions of leadership. High ratings on both dimensions characterize effective or desirable leadership. Fiedler "concluded that both directive task-oriented leaders and non-directive, human relations-oriented leaders are successful under some conditions . . . . Korman . . . concluded that what is needed is a systematic conceptualization of situation variance as it might relate to leadership behavior . . . ." The life cycle theory of leadership postulates that as the group matures, appropriate leader behavior varies from high task and low consideration to both high to high consideration and low task to both low. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The statements in forced-choice rating forms for supervisors were analyzed before and after they had been combined into forced-choice blocks. Considerable changes in the discrimination power of the statements appeared. The findings indicated that the over-all attitude of a rater towards a subordinate supervisor is based in a very high degree on behavioral traits, which can be described by statements with production-oriented content. In contrast, person orientation plays a relatively modest role. Thus in a forced-choice rating scale those ratees who are primarily production minded get the highest mark at the expense of those who are primarily personnel minded. This seems to reflect an attitude which in some way stands in a contrasting relationship to the human relation attitude, to which so many people pay lip service.
Forty-seven business executives were divided into 12 quartets each containing one head and three advisors. The 12 heads made a set of judgments following a meeting with their advisors. Three heads revealed their own opinions to their advisors at the beginning of the meeting, three did so at the end, three did so at the beginning and end of the meeting, while three never did. The silent head showed the least change in opinion as a consequence of the meeting while his advisors changed the most. Coalescence of advisors was greater when the head revealed his opinion. However, the relative influence of the head was not increased if he revealed his opinions. Silent heads were more dissatisfied with their own final judgments.