A Cultural Contingency Model of the Effects of Leader-Society Value Congruence

Abstract

Previous research on cross-cultural leadership has examined the effects of leadership-society congruence without explaining how positive outcomes might result when there is a fit between leadership and societal culture, and via which mechanisms the effects of such congruence are transmitted. We fill this gap by developing a culturally contingency model of leader-society value congruence effects. First, we provide an account of the mechanisms that help understand the relationships between leader-society value congruence and outcomes. Next, we develop propositions to suggest how differences in societal values provide bases for predicting the strength of these mediating mechanisms.