The traditional Chinese philosophies in inter-cultural leadership: The case of Chinese expatriate managers in the Dutch context
The traditional Chinese philosophies in inter-cultural leadership: The case of Chinese expatriate managers in the Dutch context
复制标题
跨文化领导力中的中国传统哲学：荷兰背景下的中国外籍管理者案例
DOI：
10.1108/ccsm-01-2017-0001
复制
发表时间：
2018-01-01
影响因子：
2.5
通讯作者：
Roelfsema, Hein
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Lin, Li;Li, Peter Ping;Roelfsema, Hein
目的 随着中国企业在全球的影响力不断扩大，越来越多的中国管理人员以外籍人士的身份在国外工作。然而，很少有人关注这些中国外籍管理者及其在跨文化背景下，特别是跨越较大文化距离的领导力挑战。为了填补关于跨文化背景下外派经理人的领导力挑战的文献空白，本文的目的是从荷兰跨文化背景下的三种中国传统哲学（即儒家、道家和法家）的角度阐明中国外籍经理人的领导风格。荷兰的 30 名中国外籍管理者。研究结果清楚地表明，即使在跨文化背景下，中国外籍管理者的领导风格也深深植根于儒家、道家和法家这三种中国传统哲学。具体而言，该研究从中国传统哲学的角度揭示了中国外籍管理者如何构建外国文化背景并与之互动的两个显着方面。首先，中国外籍管理人员报告称，最初的文化冲击与外国文化背景与儒家或道家之间的摩擦有关，但法家的情况则较少。其次，中国外籍管理人员还报告说，他们与荷兰文化的互动最好被描述为部分冲突和部分互补之间的平衡（因此，二元性）。从这个意义上说，中国外籍管理者的领导风格受到中国三大传统哲学和某些外国文化背景因素的共同影响。这与中国阴阳平衡的观点是一致的。 原创性/价值 这项研究是第一个以来自新兴市场（例如中国）的外籍经理在发达经济体（例如荷兰）的独特案例为领导力提供更细致和高度情境化的理解的研究之一。作者呼吁进行更多研究，以在跨文化背景下应用阴阳平衡的独特视角。作者认为这种方法代表了本研究最显着的意义。就实际意义而言，作者认为外籍领导人应谨慎管理其根深蒂固的祖国理念与显着的东道国文化之间的相互作用。反思另一种文化中的传统哲学可以促进中国侨民的跨文化领导力培训。
Purpose As the global presence of Chinese firms grows, increasing numbers of Chinese managers are working abroad as expatriates. However, little attention has been paid to such Chinese expatriate managers and their leadership challenges in an inter-cultural context, especially across a large cultural distance. To fill the gap in the literature concerning the leadership challenges for expatriate managers in an inter-cultural context, the purpose of this paper is to elucidate the leadership styles of Chinese expatriate managers from the perspectives of three traditional Chinese philosophies (i.e. Confucianism, Taoism, and Legalism) in the inter-cultural context of the Netherlands.Design/methodology/approach The data for this qualitative study were collected via semi-structured, open-ended, narrative interviews with 30 Chinese expatriate managers in the Netherlands.Findings The results clearly show that the leadership style of Chinese expatriate managers is deeply rooted in the three traditional Chinese philosophies of Confucianism, Taoism, and Legalism, even in an inter-cultural context. Specifically, the study reveals two salient aspects of how Chinese expatriate managers frame and interact with a foreign cultural context from the perspectives of traditional Chinese philosophies. First, the Chinese expatriate managers reported an initial cultural shock related to frictions between the foreign cultural context and Confucianism or Taoism, but less so in the case of Legalism. Second, the Chinese expatriate managers also reported that their interactions with the Dutch culture are best described as a balance between partial conflict and partial complementarity (thus, a duality). In this sense, the leadership style of Chinese expatriate managers is influenced jointly by the three traditional Chinese philosophies and certain elements of the foreign cultural context. This is consistent with the Chinese perspective of yin-yang balancing.Originality/value This study is among the first to offer a more nuanced and highly contextualized understanding of leadership in the unique case of expatriate managers from an emerging market (e.g. China) in an advanced economy (e.g. the Netherlands). The authors call for more research to apply the unique perspective of yin-yang balancing in an inter-cultural context. The authors posit that this approach represents the most salient implication of this study. For practical implications, the authors argue that expatriate leaders should carefully manage the interplay between their deep-rooted home-country philosophies and their salient host-country culture. Reflecting on traditional philosophies in another culture can facilitate inter-cultural leadership training for Chinese expatriates.