Chinese employees’ leadership preferences and the relationship with power distance orientation and core self-evaluation

Cai-Hui Veronica Lin () and Jian-Min James Sun ()
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Cai-Hui Veronica Lin: Queen’s University Belfast, Queen’s Management School
Jian-Min James Sun: Renmin University of China

Frontiers of Business Research in China, 2018, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-22

Abstract: Abstract Informed by implicit leadership theories, this study investigates contemporary Chinese employees’ preferences for paternalistic leadership (including three components: moral leadership, benevolent leadership and authoritarian leadership) and transformational leadership. It further examines the relationship between power distance orientation, core self-evaluation (CSE) and leadership preferences. The study finds that contemporary Chinese employees most prefer moral leadership, but are also highly receptive to transformational leadership. They prefer authoritarian leadership least. Moreover, preferences for authoritarian leadership are predicated on followers’ power distance orientation. However, the opposite is true for moral leadership. CSE is positively related to followers’ preference for authoritarian leadership, benevolent leadership and transformational leadership, but not except for moral leadership. A positive interaction effect is found between power distance orientation and CSE with regard to authoritarian leadership preference. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Keywords: Contemporary Chinese employees; Leadership preference; Power distance orientation; Core self-evaluation (CES) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1186/s11782-018-0027-9

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