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Captain of Leadership -How to cross international waters. A qualitative study of cross-cultural leadership.

Ringdal, Jenny LU (2014) PSPT02 20132
Department of Psychology
Abstract (Swedish)
Det teoretiska ramverket för studie var GLOBE-studien, Hofstedes fyra dimensioner och Sveningssons och Alvessons förhållningssätt till ledarskap. Syftet var att undersöka den personliga upplevelsen hos Svenska ledare. Fokus var på hur kulturella faktorer påverkade ledarskapet när ledarna arbetade med ett utländskt team. Sex svenska ledare som hade arbetat med utländska team i USA, Indien, Tyskland, Danmark och Kina intervjuades. Tematisk analys användes för att analysera resultaten. Resultaten visade fem teman i ledarnas berättelser, ”Att begära och få förtroende, Erbjuda och acceptera oberoende, Identifikation med rollen som ledare, Privat- och jobb-relationer, och Behovet att kommunicera”. Deltagande ledare upplevde att alla medarbetare... (More)
Det teoretiska ramverket för studie var GLOBE-studien, Hofstedes fyra dimensioner och Sveningssons och Alvessons förhållningssätt till ledarskap. Syftet var att undersöka den personliga upplevelsen hos Svenska ledare. Fokus var på hur kulturella faktorer påverkade ledarskapet när ledarna arbetade med ett utländskt team. Sex svenska ledare som hade arbetat med utländska team i USA, Indien, Tyskland, Danmark och Kina intervjuades. Tematisk analys användes för att analysera resultaten. Resultaten visade fem teman i ledarnas berättelser, ”Att begära och få förtroende, Erbjuda och acceptera oberoende, Identifikation med rollen som ledare, Privat- och jobb-relationer, och Behovet att kommunicera”. Deltagande ledare upplevde att alla medarbetare i de olika länderna föredrog ett bestämt ledarskap, medan ledarna föredrog att praktisera ett ledarskap baserat på en informell och stöttande roll som lämnar plats för egna initiativ. Sammanfattningsvis förekom kulturella skillnader främst när ledarna ville visa att de litade på medarbetarna genom att ge dem mer frihet i arbetet, medan medarbetarna tackade nej till förtroendet genom att inte acceptera lösare tyglar. Behovet av bestämdhet summerar den främsta kulturskillnaden, och var den som svenska ledare hade svårast att överbrygga. (Less)
Abstract
The theoretical framework of the present study was the GLOBE study, Hofstede’s four dimensions and Sveningsson’s and Alvesson’s approach to leadership. The purpose was to examine the personal experience of Swedish leaders. The focus was on the influence of cultural factors on the leadership when the leaders worked with a foreign team. Six Swedish leaders who had been working with foreign teams in USA, India, Germany, Denmark and China were interviewed. Thematic analysis was used. Results showed five themes in the leaders’ stories, “Claiming and gaining trust, Offering and accepting independence, Identification with the role as leader, Private and work-relations and The need to communicate”. Leaders experienced that employees in the... (More)
The theoretical framework of the present study was the GLOBE study, Hofstede’s four dimensions and Sveningsson’s and Alvesson’s approach to leadership. The purpose was to examine the personal experience of Swedish leaders. The focus was on the influence of cultural factors on the leadership when the leaders worked with a foreign team. Six Swedish leaders who had been working with foreign teams in USA, India, Germany, Denmark and China were interviewed. Thematic analysis was used. Results showed five themes in the leaders’ stories, “Claiming and gaining trust, Offering and accepting independence, Identification with the role as leader, Private and work-relations and The need to communicate”. Leaders experienced that employees in the different countries all preferred an assertive leadership, whereas the Swedish leaders preferred to practice a leadership based on an informal and coaching role that leaves space for own initiatives. In conclusion cultural difficulties appeared mainly when the leaders wanted to show that they trusted the employees by giving them freedom in their work while the employees refused to reciprocate this trust by not accepting the additional space. Need for assertiveness summarizes the most prominent cultural difference, and the one that the leaders found hardest to overcome. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Ringdal, Jenny LU
supervisor
organization
course
PSPT02 20132
year
type
H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
subject
keywords
tematisk analys, svenskt ledarskap, kultur, cross-cultural leadership, thematic analysis, culture, Swedish leadership, tvär-kulturellt ledarskap
language
English
id
4434833
date added to LUP
2014-05-16 09:20:29
date last changed
2014-05-16 09:20:29
@misc{4434833,
  abstract     = {{The theoretical framework of the present study was the GLOBE study, Hofstede’s four dimensions and Sveningsson’s and Alvesson’s approach to leadership. The purpose was to examine the personal experience of Swedish leaders. The focus was on the influence of cultural factors on the leadership when the leaders worked with a foreign team. Six Swedish leaders who had been working with foreign teams in USA, India, Germany, Denmark and China were interviewed. Thematic analysis was used. Results showed five themes in the leaders’ stories, “Claiming and gaining trust, Offering and accepting independence, Identification with the role as leader, Private and work-relations and The need to communicate”. Leaders experienced that employees in the different countries all preferred an assertive leadership, whereas the Swedish leaders preferred to practice a leadership based on an informal and coaching role that leaves space for own initiatives. In conclusion cultural difficulties appeared mainly when the leaders wanted to show that they trusted the employees by giving them freedom in their work while the employees refused to reciprocate this trust by not accepting the additional space. Need for assertiveness summarizes the most prominent cultural difference, and the one that the leaders found hardest to overcome.}},
  author       = {{Ringdal, Jenny}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Captain of Leadership -How to cross international waters. A qualitative study of cross-cultural leadership.}},
  year         = {{2014}},
}