Responsible leadership: leader character ambivalence and cultural context
Jen-Shou Yang, Shiang-Huei KungPurpose
This study investigates how leader character strengths – specifically, the consistency and ambivalence of integrity and justice – and cultural values, namely power distance and collectivism, jointly shape the relationship between responsible leadership (RL) and employees’ organizational citizenship behavior for the environment (OCBE).
Design/methodology/approach
The study combines an experimental vignette methodology with Information Integration Theory. Data were collected from 300 employees across various sectors.
Findings
When supervisor integrity and justice are ambivalent (i.e. one is high and the other is low), the effect of RL on OCBE intention is weaker than when both are consistent (i.e. both are high or both are low). Furthermore, power distance attenuates the effect of RL on OCBE intention. The moderating role of collectivism is contingent on power distance: collectivism strengthens RL’s impact under low power distance but has little or even a negative influence when power distance is high.
Practical implications
Organizations should prioritize the development of managers’ justice-related character strengths while minimizing character ambivalence. They should also adopt culturally contingent strategies to promote employees’ OCBE. For organizations seeking to institutionalize RL, low-power-distance societies provide particularly favorable contexts.
Originality/value
This research introduces the concept of leader character ambivalence into the RL–OCBE literature and suggests its detrimental effect. It also helps clarify inconsistent findings regarding the roles of power distance and collectivism, offering a nuanced understanding of how RL effectiveness depends on both leader character consistency and cultural context.