When Leadership Leads to Loathing: The Effect of Culturally (In)Congruent Leadership on Employee Contempt and Voluntary Work Behaviors

Abstract

This article suggests that contempt -a proclivity towards loathing others -as an emotional response, can arise as a consequence of culturally incongruent leadership, i.e. leader behaviors and actions that do not comply with follower-held, culturally derived expectations and values. Outcomes of contempt were also studied by hypothesizing that contempt, when experienced in response to a situation of culturally incongruent leadership, can cause followers to reduce their display of organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) while engaging in deviant behaviors. The model was tested in a sample of 348 follower-level employees using structural equation modeling. Empirical results largely support theoretical hypotheses. Culturally congruent leadership was negatively related to contempt, while contempt was positively related to deviant behaviors and negatively related to OCB. The results contribute to the understudied field of contempt research, and suggest that leaders faced with cultural diversity may be well advised to adapt their behaviors to the local cultural values to stimulate follower OCB rather than deviance.

Viking leadership: How Norwegian transformational leadership style effects creativity and change through organizational citizenship behavior (OCB)

“…The importance of the top leader’s role in organizational culture is well-documented (Schein, 2010). And this is becoming more important from a cross-cultural perspective considering the increasing internationalization of business in Norway (Sund, 2016). The importance of leadership, and transformational leadership in particular, led Jung et al (1995: 4) to call for more cross-cultural validation of leadership theories.…”

Analyses of an Effective Leadership Strategy in Early Childhood Education in Developing Countries: From A Recipient To an Actor

“…For instance, buttressing this further from the point of view of the autocratic factors that inhibit DL in the African context, Grant (2006) stated that African school leaders are more likely to apply authoritarian practices linked to ethnicity, gender biases and culture. Such sense of insecurity would create tensions in the school heads and some headmasters/mistresses can become suspicious that sharing leadership responsibilities and roles with teachers is capable of creating situations for teachers to see their inefficiencies, to overthrow them, hold them in contempt or make them become redundant heads (Sund & Lines, 2017). Understandably, it raises concerns about issues of respect, loyalty and patriotism among participants in DL.…”