A comparative study of the leadership preferences of Chinese Millennials and non-Millennials

<p>There has been a lack of academic research focusing on the generational differences in leadership preferences in the Chinese context, particularly in terms of the Millennial generation. In what way, if at all, do the leadership preferences of Chinese Millennials differ from those of Chinese non-Millennials? Such was the guiding question of the study I present in this thesis. The purpose of this study was to explore and compare the leadership preferences of Chinese Millennials and non-Millennials, so as to allow academics and organizations to better understand the leadership preferences of Chinese Millennials, and recognize the differences/similarities in leadership preferences between the employees of different generations in China. A total of 460 participants participated in this study (230 are Millennials, 230 non-Millennials), all of whom were Chinese living in mainland China, and full-time workers with at least one year of work experience. The study used a questionnaire to collect data regarding participants’ leadership preferences, which was then analyzed in three steps (i.e., a primary analysis and two follow-up analyses). The results show that, overall, Chinese Millennials have similar leadership preferences to non-Millennials. I draw on relevant literature to theorize about the social and psychological mechanisms that might underpin my findings. Potential explanations include traditional Chinese culture being consolidated and inherited; people having similar fundamental needs (regardless of generational membership), and therefore similar leadership preferences; and the impact of intergenerational interactions and a shared organizational environment. By increasing understanding of the research evidence that exists about leadership preferences across generations, leadership challenges in the multi-generation workforce can be overcome. A better understanding of Millennials’ leadership preferences, as well as differences and similarities in these preferences among different generations, also enables organizations and leaders to better lead the growing number of Millennial employees in China.</p>

A comparative study of the leadership preferences of Chinese Millennials and non-Millennials

<p>There has been a lack of academic research focusing on the generational differences in leadership preferences in the Chinese context, particularly in terms of the Millennial generation. In what way, if at all, do the leadership preferences of Chinese Millennials differ from those of Chinese non-Millennials? Such was the guiding question of the study I present in this thesis. The purpose of this study was to explore and compare the leadership preferences of Chinese Millennials and non-Millennials, so as to allow academics and organizations to better understand the leadership preferences of Chinese Millennials, and recognize the differences/similarities in leadership preferences between the employees of different generations in China. A total of 460 participants participated in this study (230 are Millennials, 230 non-Millennials), all of whom were Chinese living in mainland China, and full-time workers with at least one year of work experience. The study used a questionnaire to collect data regarding participants’ leadership preferences, which was then analyzed in three steps (i.e., a primary analysis and two follow-up analyses). The results show that, overall, Chinese Millennials have similar leadership preferences to non-Millennials. I draw on relevant literature to theorize about the social and psychological mechanisms that might underpin my findings. Potential explanations include traditional Chinese culture being consolidated and inherited; people having similar fundamental needs (regardless of generational membership), and therefore similar leadership preferences; and the impact of intergenerational interactions and a shared organizational environment. By increasing understanding of the research evidence that exists about leadership preferences across generations, leadership challenges in the multi-generation workforce can be overcome. A better understanding of Millennials’ leadership preferences, as well as differences and similarities in these preferences among different generations, also enables organizations and leaders to better lead the growing number of Millennial employees in China.</p>

International Territorial Dispute Preferences in China and the United States

Within international relations theory, there is significant disagreement on the nature and significance of leaders’ dispute outcome preferences. While many variants of realism assume that such preferences are relatively fixed and homogeneous, both the liberal and the constructivist schools view them as significant variables. This debate remains unresolved because, for the standard large-sample conflict data sets, there are no direct measures of leadership preferences over outcomes in given types of international disputes. Using a conflict bargaining experiment, we ask whether, after controlling for the effects of relative power and initial conditions, leadership preferences have a statistically significant impact. We use two different country samples—from China and the United States—to examine whether the impact of leadership preferences varies internationally. We find that realist-style preferences are a special rather than a general case, and that such differences have significant implications for understanding continuities and changes in Chinese and US foreign policies.

Leadership in dangerous times: Life-history strategy and environmental condition affect preferences for dominant and prestigious leaders

Dominance and prestige, as two distinct status-attaining qualities, are present in modern-day leaders at various levels of social hierarchies to various degrees. From an evolutionary perspective, we speculate that such leadership qualities are implicitly linked to the leadership preferences of followers in the environments where they are more effective or necessary. Moreover, individuals’ life-history strategy might moderate the effect of some contextual factors, such as environmental danger, on leadership preferences of dominant versus prestigious leaders. Three studies tested these hypotheses. In two implicit association test (IAT) experiments, we found that (1) participants implicitly associated danger with dominance, and safety with prestige (Study 1a, N = 32); (2) the relative strength of the implicit association between positive evaluation and prestige is positively correlated with participants’ slow life-history strategy (Study 1b, N = 67). In a third experiment (Study 2, N = 95), self-reported life-history strategy also moderated the effects of experimentally manipulated danger on leadership preferences. The association between dangerous environments and dominant leadership preference was stronger for participants with fast life-history strategies than those with slow life-history strategies.

Leadership preferences and ethnic bargaining: theory and illustrations

Purpose In explaining ethno-territorial conflicts, leadership preferences have an odd status. In case studies, leadership preferences are often viewed as highly significant causes but are not usually defined and measured explicitly. In large-sample statistical studies, leadership preferences are only captured by weakly related proxy variables. This paper aims to fill this gap by developing suitable theory, which can be used consistently in both case study and statistical applications. Design/methodology/approach Formal bargaining models are used to examine the expected impact of variation in leadership preferences. Relevant leadership characteristics are then used to construct measures of variation in leadership preferences, which are applied in case studies. Findings In bargaining models, variation in leadership preferences is expected to have a significant impact on ethno-territorial conflict outcomes. More extreme nationalist leaders and, more conditionally, strongly power-seeking leaders, should be more likely to be willing to use force to modify the status quo – although more moderate nationalist leaderships are also willing to do so under certain conditions. In five case studies, these formally derived hypotheses receive initial empirical support. Originality/value Theoretically and empirically, further refinement of research on variation in leadership preferences promises to add significant value. Formally, it is worth investigating the expected impact of additional preference types. Empirically, it is important to invest in measures of leadership preferences across large samples.

U.S. Latino Leaders Versus the GLOBE’s Latin American and Anglo Cluster

The current study compares the leadership preferences among Latino leaders in the U.S. and the GLOBE&rsquo;s Latin American and Anglo Clusters. The study was done with a national sample size of 188 Latino leaders from all over the U.S. The surveying instrument used was sections 2 and 4 of the Alpha form of The Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness Questionnaire (GLOBE) by House et al. (2004) and a demographic survey developed by the researcher. t-Tests were used to compare the overall mean score of the research sample with the grand mean score of both the Latin American and Anglo clusters. Results indicate that Latino leaders in the U.S. had different leadership preference than the GLOBE&rsquo;s Latin American and Anglo cluster. One of the main contributions of the research to the body of knowledge is that it brings to light the uniqueness of the Latino leadership preferences and shows how dissimilar their preference is from the Latin American and Anglo Clusters of the GLOBE.