Title:Paradoxical Leader Behavior and employee responses: A cross-cultural study

Speaker:Dr. Xiaobei Li, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology

Host:Yucheng Zhang, Associate professor, RIEM

Time:14:00-16:30, October 19, Friday

Venue: Yide building H503, Liulin Campus

Abstract: This paper investigates how paradoxical leader behavior (PLB) as a seemingly inconsistent leadership style may introduce different employee responses including emotional exhaustion, proactive behavior and compliance behavior in leader-subordinator interactions. By comparing paradoxical leader behavior (meeting both organizational structural needs and individual personal needs together) and non-paradoxical leader behavior (only meeting organizational structural needs), it is hypothesized that (1) PLB will increase subordinates’ proactivity behavior through increased organization-based self-esteem (OBSE), and that (2) PLB will reduce subordinates’ compliance behavior/emotion exhaustion through reduced dependence on leaders. Considering structural needs imply unequal power distribution between leader and subordinates, it is further hypothesized that, the above relationships will be stronger for those with lower power distance. These hypotheses were examined and partially supported in experiments in two countries (China and Australia).