Studying leadership at cross-country level: A critical analysis

Jepson, Doris; Schedlitzki, Doris

Abstract

This article critically evaluates the GLOBE project as an example of existing cross-cultural studies into leadership, recognising the project's value in communicating leadership differences across countries and summarising its methodological limitations. It is suggested that a dynamic and interactive approach is needed to overcome the shortfalls of the GLOBE project. Ailon-Souday and Kunda's (2003) work points the way towards such an approach, and it is the contribution of this article to apply this approach to the relationship between cultural context and leadership in the German and UK chemical industry. Analyses of a mixed methods data set support the theoretical arguments for the dynamic nature of different contexts such as national, organisational, hierarchical and departmental and the importance of this interaction for individual participants'understanding of leadership. Implications are drawn for the development of global managers in light of these new perspectives on the interaction of cultural context and leadership. © 2009 SAGE Publications.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Feb 1, 2009
• Journal: Leadership
• Print ISSN: 1742-7150
• Electronic ISSN: 1742-7169
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 5
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 61-80
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1742715008098310
• Keywords: chemical industry, cross-country research, Germany, leadership, mixed methods, UK
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/999087
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1742715008098310