Country’s preferred leader behaviour profile: Does cultural homogeneity matter?

Abstract

In a study of employed adult business people, comparisons of preferred leader behaviour prototypes (as defined by the Leader Behaviour Description Questionnaire XII) were carried out between Iceland, a culturally homogeneous nation, and Lithuania a culturally non-homogenous nation. The main aim of the study was to determine whether cultural homogeneity is a good indicator of uniform views of followers’ towards preferred leader behaviour. Furthermore, the study aimed at contributing to leadership theory and research by providing empirical data from two under-researched countries. The third aim of the study was to provide expat managers working in Iceland or/and Lithuania insights into more effective leader behaviour in these countries. Results of the empirical research indicate that followers’ attitudes towards preferred leaderships are different, with respondents from Iceland having very uniform views, while those from Lithuania have very diverse views when evaluating leader behaviour preferences. This can be due to the relative homogeneity of national cultures. Overall comparison of the two countries indicates that Iceland and Lithuania differ significantly in 7 out of 12 preferred leader behaviour dimensions, which confirm culture specific attitudes towards desired leader behaviour and hence is coherent with cross-cultural leadership literature. Managerial implications of these differences are discussed in length, which can serve as guidelines for expat managers of both countries in increasing business transactions between Iceland and Lithuania.