Cross-cultural leadership: Goal interdependence and leader-member relations in foreign ventures in China

Cross-cultural leadership may be particularly challenging, as there are significant barriers to developing an effective relationship between managers and employees. Two hundred and thirty Chinese employees from various industries in Chinese Mainland were surveyed on their relationship with their American, Asian, and Chinese managers. Results, including structural equation analyses, support the hypotheses that cooperative, but not competitive or independent, goals help employees and their foreign managers develop a quality leader-member exchange relationship, which in turn improve leader effectiveness, employee commitment, and future collaboration. Cooperative goals may be an important way to overcome obstacles and develop an effective leader relationship within and across cultural boundaries.