Culture Blind Leadership Research: How Semantically Determined Survey Data May Fail to Detect Cultural Differences

Likert scale surveys are frequently used in cross-cultural studies on leadership. Recent publications using digital text algorithms raise doubt about the source of variation in statistics from such studies to the extent that they are semantically driven. The Semantic Theory of Survey Response (STSR) predicts that in the case of semantically determined answers, the response patterns may also be predictable across languages. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) was applied to 11 different ethnic samples in English, Norwegian, German, Urdu and Chinese. Semantic algorithms predicted responses significantly across all conditions, although to varying degree. Comparisons of Norwegian, German, Urdu and Chinese samples in native versus English language versions suggest that observed differences are not culturally dependent but caused by different translations and understanding. The maximum variance attributable to culture was a 5% unique overlap of variation in the two Chinese samples. These findings question the capability of traditional surveys to detect cultural differences. It also indicates that cross-cultural leadership research may risk lack of practical relevance.</p

Use of Natural Language Processing Techniques in the Construct and Instrument Development Process

The construct and instrument development process relies significantly on human judgment in the initial stages of the process, specifically in developing construct definition statements, and in developing measurement instruments with high content validity. Natural language processing (NLP) techniques can be employed to support human judgment and improve the quality of constructs and instruments employed in research. This paper describes the use of such techniques and presents illustrative results from the use of those techniques. The empirical illustrations support our premise that the use of NLP techniques can improve the rigor of the process and improve the quality of constructs and instruments employed in research

Narcissism and creativity

In this study, we investigated the relationship between narcissism, creative personality traits, ideational fluency, and accomplishments in various creative activities. We measured narcissism with the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (Emmons, 1987), creative personality with the Creative Person Profile (Martinsen, 2011), creative potential with a figural measure of divergent thinking, and a biographical inventory was used to measure accomplishments in creative activities. The sample consisted of 1375 young adults, mainly men. The results showed that narcissism was associated with fluency, seven creative personality dispositions, and five measures of creative activities. The latter associations were in general significant even when controlling for traits and creative potential. The strongest relationship displayed with narcissism was with the creative personality traits, in particular ambition, agreeableness, and motivation. Implications and limitations are noted.Narcissism and creativitysubmittedVersio

Editorial: Semantic Algorithms in the Assessment of Attitudes and Personality

Editorial on the Research Topic Semantic Algorithms in the Assessment of Attitudes and Personalit

Principals, agents and entrepreneurs in white-collar crime: An empirical typology of white-collar criminals

This study explores a nationally representative sample of 222 Norwegian white-collar criminals in terms of the roles they and their victims had in their crimes. Establishing a typology framework based on agency models, we point out the most frequent types of white-collar criminals and their most profitable types of actions. Victims of white-collar crimes are mostly participants in business transactions. As expected, top executives are a predominant group of white-collar criminals and their most frequent victims are owners. However, another type of white-collar criminal coined “entrepreneur criminal” turns out to be more frequent and making bigger profits in absolute and relative terms. These work within smaller, less established companies with less transparent governance and target a broad range of victims. Our data support the view that white-collar crime is based on competence, not deviant dispositions, and poses real but to some extent foreseeable risks to business strategies. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed

Rules, language and identity: In cross-national companies by evoking authority may not work as intended

We argue that the concepts "rules" and "relationships" are heavily affected by mindsets related to language and culture. Western societies base laws and enforcement on the assumption on transparent, universal rules, whereas East Asian societies rely more on relationship-based governance. Interviews with 58 employees from a global construction company spanning Scandinavia, Germany, and China show how evoking authority under uncertainty may exacerbate rather than solve failing co-operation. Knowledge transfer and innovation are crucial to business operations and cross-cultural management must find workable solutions. "Cultural ambassadors" are working on both sides to co-ordinate communication and establish relationships

Overlapping semantics of leadership and heroism: expectations of omnipotence, identification with ideal leaders and disappointment in real managers

People may confuse leadership with heroism due to the semantic overlap between their descriptions. This may explain some facets of fascination with leadership and obstructions to differentiated viewpoints of leadership as a group phenomenon. Building on the semantic theory of survey response (STSR), we are able to show how prevalent measures of charisma and transformational leadership are semantically tied to concepts of heroic behaviours and qualities. Due to the semantic overlap between heroism and leadership (outlined in the classic works of Carlyle, Weber and Burns), we hypothesized, and found, that many people have unrealistic expectations of leaders. Heroic expectations seem to be linked to representations and ideals of the self, which may create notable derogatory attitudes towards actual managers. Correlations with age suggest that experience will reduce this tendency. An STSR analysis shows how leadership research is vulnerable to semantic overlaps in central concepts. Possible explanations and consequences are discussed

Western leadership development and Chinese managers : Exploring the need for contextualization

This paper explores if, and how, Chinese managers perceive Western theories of leadership and leadership development as useful in their business environment. Based on a text analysis approach analyzing term papers of 171 MBA students, this study finds that virtuous leadership is valued the most, whereas authoritarian leadership is valued the least. The respondents are oriented both towards traditional Chinese philosophy and Western leadership theories, and predominantly view leadership development as a necessary contribution to the improvement of Chinese organizations. Concerning the identification and assessment of leadership potential, Western techniques are predominant; sometimes with controversial effects. The study concludes that leadership development techniques need to be adapted to the national context and recommends the role of espoused leadership in cross-cultural MBA classes for future research

Culture blind leadership research: How semantically determined survey data may fail to detect cultural differences

Likert scale surveys are frequently used in cross-cultural studies on leadership. Recent publications using digital text algorithms raise doubt about the source of variation in statistics from such studies to the extent that they are semantically driven. The Semantic Theory of Survey Response (STSR) predicts that in the case of semantically determined answers, the response patterns may also be predictable across languages. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) was applied to 11 different ethnic samples in English, Norwegian, German, Urdu and Chinese. Semantic algorithms predicted responses significantly across all conditions, although to varying degree. Comparisons of Norwegian, German, Urdu and Chinese samples in native versus English language versions suggest that observed differences are not culturally dependent but caused by different translations and understanding. The maximum variance attributable to culture was a 5% unique overlap of variation in the two Chinese samples. These findings question the capability of traditional surveys to detect cultural differences. It also indicates that cross-cultural leadership research may risk lack of practical relevance