Understanding Leadership in China: Leadership Profiles of State-Owned Enterprises, Multinational Corporations, and Major Economic Trading Partners

Abstract

In this chapter we explore the nature of leadership in Mainland China in two studies using personality and personal values data of Mainland Chinese managers and executives. This perspective provides insight into the leadership prototypes that exist in Chinese culture and the behaviors that signal leadership to other members of the culture. In the first study, we compare the personality and values profiles of Mainland Chinese managers to those of managers in the United States, Germany, and Australia, representing some of China's largest economic trading partners. These comparisons suggest a distinctive leadership prototype for Mainland Chinese managers characterized by more cooperative behaviors, a high concern for managing one's own image and an emphasis on execution and task focus. Certain characteristics in the leadership prototypes were linked to the Chinese concepts of “face” and “guanxi.” The second study examined differences in leadership prototypes within Mainland China by comparing the profiles of Chinese managers working for multinational corporations (MNCs) with those working for State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs). The findings in this study revealed a pattern of SOE managers conforming more closely to the Mainland Chinese leadership prototype found in Study 1. The profile for MNC managers, where different, often differed in the direction of closer resemblance to more “Western” leadership profiles. The implications of the findings from each study and future research directions are discussed.

Citation

Shalhoop, J.H. and Sanger, M.R. (2012), "Understanding Leadership in China: Leadership Profiles of State-Owned Enterprises, Multinational Corporations, and Major Economic Trading Partners", Mobley, W.H., Wang, Y. and Li, M. (Ed.) Advances in Global Leadership (Advances in Global Leadership, Vol. 7), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 321-348. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1535-1203(2012)0000007018