Why Has the Chinese Leadership Style Prevailed over Millenia? Towards an Evolutionary Theory of Leadership

Abstract

Several scholars call for more context-specific research to draw on indigenous thought in developing new theories on management practices throughout the world. Given the importance of China in today’s globalising economy we examine the cultural influence on one particularly important management function—leadership. Previous research shows that the principles of leadership in Chinese organizations today are similar to those of more than 2000 years ago. Research also indicates that leadership is a main area, in which Western firms in China adapt to the Chinese leadership style as part of their hybrid organization. To study these issues, we analyse and discuss the foundations, nature, practice and development of leadership in the Chinese context. We further develop and integrate two major strands of theory: evolutionary theory that focuses on organizational change over time and institutional theory that focuses on organizational inertia and difficulties in change processes.

Theories attempting to explain cross-cultural variations in leadership and how it changes over time must adopt an interdisciplinary approach to identify the root variables in human organizing behaviour and ensure epistemological soundness. We define leadership from an institutional perspective to comprise a system of embedded social rules that structure social interaction. Since leadership is enacted in an authority system, we define leadership as execution of authority in hierarchical relationships—viewed from the perspective of the superior. We use an abductive methodology based on social constructionism. This permits the evolvement of the theoretical framework and the empirical work which are parallel and inter-related. This paper reports on an early phase of this process, where a theory is developed, based on literature and previous empirical research.

We have identified that psycho-biological, cultural and institutional processes have resulted in the embedding of leadership and authority patterns in Chinese organizations. Further, the cultural factors have been replicated over time, mainly three meta-traditions: Confucianism, Legalism and Taoism. For example, Confucianism and Legalism have masculinity in common, and share the agonic world view of high power distance. Meta-traditions are crystallized into leadership and authority relations whilst leadership routines, thought styles, norms and values and the enforcement mechanisms of organizations act as replicators. Execution of authority is hierarchical and primarily paternalistic. However, the Taoist Yin influence infers nurturant aspects such as benevolence and compassion. Based on the combined influence from all three meta-traditions, leadership takes place by moral example. The replication occurs through a sense-making process, e.g. the idea of one source of power originating from the Confucian and Legalistic meta-traditions. Examples of replicators as semantic spaces or thought styles reinstitutionalized from Taoism are that leadership is founded on harmony and compromise, that visions are central and that leading could take place without action, e.g. by moral example.

We suggest that the high resistance to change of the major Chinese principles for leading and organizing is the theme of harmony. It is core to all three meta-traditions and has been culturally inherited over millennia. Although China has experienced several highly systems-breaking revolutions this theme has been reinstitutionalized repeatedly by being crystallized into the new institutions and thereby organizations, forming a core principle of leadership and authority. Even today harmony infuses the core of private and political organization. The implication for western firms wanting to conduct business in China or with Chinese partners is that leadership style and authority patterns are not likely to change in China. Therefore we strongly advocate Western firms in China adapt to the Chinese leadership style as part of their organizational strategizing.