Cultural congruence vs cultural authenticity – which proposition better predicts international leader effectiveness? A study of middle managers in a Finnish-based MNC. Michael J. Green, Aston University, United Kingdom Felix C. Brodbeck, Ludwigs-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Germany Yves Guillaume, Aston University, United Kingdom

Overview Theoretical background Hypotheses Method Results Discussion Conclusion

Theory (1) The accepted Credo...... Cultural congruence proposition: leader behaviour which is aligned with collective cultural values will engender more positive ratings of effectiveness than behaviour which conflicts with cultural values (Dorfman & House, 2004) Implication for leaders in intercultural encounters: Leaders enhance their effectiveness by modifying their behaviour to align with the collective cultural values of others that they encounter (Dorfman, Hanges & Brodbeck, 2004)

Theory (2) From an Authentic Leadership perspective (Avolio & Gardner 2005)....... Cultural authenticity proposition: Leaders who behave consistently with their own cultural values will engender more positive ratings of effectiveness than leaders who behave inconsistently with their own cultural values Implication for leaders in intercultural encounters: Leaders enhance their effectiveness by behaving according to the collective values of their own culture

Hypotheses Cultural congruence proposition Cultural authenticity proposition Match between raters’ cultural values and leaders’ actual behaviour Leader effectiveness ratings Match between leaders’ cultural values and leaders’ actual behaviour Leader effectiveness ratings

Method Sample: Finnish-based MNC, N=85 leaders (middle-managers), N=337 raters (the leaders’ subordinates, peers and superiors) Data collection: questionnaire (GLOBE project, 2004) based field study A new 360 degree instrument was developed to measure multicultural leader effectiveness (MLE) Hypotheses were tested using multivariate hierarchical regression analysis

Measures Leader Effectiveness Ratings Cultural congruence New 360° instrument developed to measure Multicultural Leader Effectiveness (MLE) Cultural congruence Absolute difference or ‘fit’ between raters’ culturally endorsed leadership theories (CLTs) and observed leader behaviour CLT values take from GLOBE (2004) for raters’ nationality Leader behaviour measured using adapted GLOBE Beta questionnaire Cultural authenticity Absolute difference or ‘fit’ between leaders’ CLTs and observed leader behaviour CLT values take from GLOBE (2004) for leaders’ nationality

Results Cultural congruence proposition Match between raters’ cultural values and leaders’ actual behaviour Leader effectiveness ratings (MLE) β = -.11, p = .11 N=337 Cultural authenticity proposition Match between leaders’ cultural values and leaders’ actual behaviour Leader effectiveness ratings (MLE) β = -.18, p = .00 N=337

Discussion (1) Cultural congruence and authenticity may be complementary rather than contradictory: Cultural congruence effects are related to cultural distance between the actors involved (Brodbeck, Frese & Javidan, 2002) Cultural authenticity effects may be related to cultural familiarity (Shaw, 1990)

Discussion (2) Increasing Cultural distance Cultural congruence proposition Increasing Cultural distance Cultural authenticity proposition Increasing Cultural familiarity

Conclusion Proposition for future research: The greater the cultural distance between leader and others the more likely that cultural congruence predicts leader effectiveness ratings The greater the cultural familiarity of others with leaders the more likely that cultural authenticity predicts leader effectiveness ratings