Perceptions of appropriate leadership style: Participation versus consultation across two cultures

Abstract

This research examined the effects of four factors on the perceived appropriateness of a displayed leadership style in two nations. The study employed a case description to manipulate leader style (participative or consultative), leader gender (male or female), organisational setting (civilian or military) and eventual task outcome (successful, unsuccessful, or no information); and then had 264 Singaporean business students and 223 American business students judge the appropriateness of the style used. Factorial ANOVA analyses revealed that the style itself and eventual task outcome had strong effects on perceptions of appropriateness. Further, perceptions of leadership appropriateness influenced judgments of leadership ability and one's willingness to work for the described leader. Gender and setting had no substantive impact. Identical results were obtained in both the Singaporean and American samples. Implications of the results, and their limitations, are considered from both a theoretical and a practical perspective. © 1993 Faculty of Business Administration National University of Singapore.