Transformational Leadership across Cultures: Follower Perception and Satisfaction

Arran Caza, Brianna B. Caza and Barry Z. Posner
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Arran Caza: Bryan School of Business & Economics, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27412, USA
Brianna B. Caza: Bryan School of Business & Economics, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27412, USA
Barry Z. Posner: Management and Entrepreneurship Department, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA 95053, USA

Administrative Sciences, 2021, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Leading people from diverse cultures is centrally important in organizations. This study investigates the extent to which transformational leadership behaviors are universal: by examining if leaders and followers perceive transformational leadership behaviors the same way across cultures; and by determining if the magnitude of satisfaction that followers derive from transformational leadership behavior is the same across cultures. Survey data from 71,537 leaders and their direct reports ( n = 203,027) from 77 countries were analyzed. Respondents represented hundreds of different organizations, 12 functional areas, 26 industries, and all management levels. Cultural universality was examined by comparing internal reliability scores and using multilevel mixed coefficient models to assess the similarity of effect sizes in across cultures. Regardless of culture, when interacting with leaders from their own culture, followers were universally alike in their perceptions of transformational leadership behavior and in their satisfaction with such behavior.

Keywords: transformational leadership; cross-cultural leadership; culture; follower satisfaction; Leadership Practices Inventory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L M M0 M1 M10 M11 M12 M14 M15 M16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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