The Effect of Cultural Values on Leadership Behavior: A research on Turkish and American Managers

Abstract

Leadership is afield of study, which is considerably affected by the cultural differences. A large number of researchers have attempted to prove the effect of cultural differences on leadership behavior. Yet, the complex nature of the cross-cultural studies has prevented to reach definite results. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of cultural values and differences on leadership behavior. To this end, the sample consisting of Turkish and American managers has been tested by using Bass and Avolio's (1997) Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ/5X) and Schwartz's (1992) Personnel Values Questionnaire (PVQ-IV). The findings of the research have showed that there are differences between Turkish and American leaders regarding cultural values, and the effects of these differences on their leadership behavior have been discussed in the conclusion section.