The role of Yin-Yang leadership and cosmopolitan followership in fostering employee commitment in China: a paradox perspective

Hyun-Jung Lee and Carol Reade

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: Purpose – Utilizing a paradox perspective, this paper investigates the leadership-followership dynamic in foreign firms in China, specifically, the extent to which Yin-Yang leadership behaviors of Japanese expatriates and cosmopolitanism of Chinese employees influence employee commitment. Design/methodology/approach – Data was collected through an online survey of Chinese employees who directly report to a Japanese supervisor in a Japanese subsidiary in China. Based on responses from 97 Chinese employees in three Japanese subsidiaries in China, we test if their cosmopolitan orientation and perceived Yin-Yang leadership behaviors of Japanese supervisors are related to employee commitment. Findings - Yin-Yang leadership and cosmopolitan followership have a positive effect on employee commitment. Further, cosmopolitanism moderates the link between Yin-Yang leadership and employee commitment such that the follower's cosmopolitanism compensates for lower levels of Yin-Yang leadership, especially a relative lack of Yin leadership behaviors. Research limitations/implications- Results suggest that Yin-Yang leadership and cosmopolitan followership work together as a two-way street of cultural adaptability to build employee commitment, highlighting the interplay between leadership and followership in multinational enterprises. Future research should attempt to further refine the Yin-Yang leadership construct, and to gain a larger sample representing multiple expatriate nationalities to corroborate the relationships found in this study.

Keywords: cosmopolitanism; Yin-Yang; cross-cultural leadership; employee commitment; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J50 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018-05-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-tra
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Published in Cross Cultural and Strategic Management, 8, May, 2018, 25(2), pp. 276-298. ISSN: 2059-5794

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