Entrepreneurial Leadership Across Countries: The Role of Informal Institutions

This chapter examines the influence of informal institutions on the probability of becoming an entrepreneurial leader. In this regard, institutional economics is used to frame the hypotheses that relate to environmental factors and entrepreneurial leadership. These hypotheses are tested through logistic regression analysis, using a sample of 67,268 individuals from the World Values Survey (WVS) for 50 countries. The main findings show that informal institutions such as independence, risk-taking, and networking increase the probability of becoming an entrepreneurial leader. Also, networking and religious faith moderate the relationship between independence and entrepreneurial leadership. The contributions of this chapter are both conceptual, regarding development in the field of leadership and entrepreneurship and practices concerning business and education

The Leader–Member Exchange Theory in the Chinese Context and the Ethical Challenge of Guanxi

The leader–member relationship has been identified as a key determinant of successful working relationships and business outcomes in China. A high-quality leader–member relationship helps managers and employees to meet the demands they face and gives them the opportunity to develop socially, emotionally and morally. Such relationships form the basis of the overall well-being and success of the organisation. This article contributes to relationally oriented leadership theories and more specifically to the leader–member exchange (LMX) theory by examining the theory in the context of Western expatriate managers and Chinese employees in China. The first aim of the study is to analyse the similarities and differences between the LMX theory, which owes its origins to Western corporate experience, and the social and moral norms of guanxi, a crucial element in the Chinese value system. Since Westerners and Chinese people can give different interpretations to guanxi, the second aim of the article is to discuss the ethical challenges to the Western manager arising from guanxi. The findings of this study have implications not only for China, but also for other Chinese communities (Macau, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Singapore) where guanxi is endorsed and practised.peerReviewe