Outgroup Trust, Boundary Spanning and Leaders' Successes among Small Private Firms - A Cross-National Study

摘要

We extend the research of outgroup trust to boundary spanning and leaders' successes in small business firms of35 countries. Using the technique of HLM analysis, we found that leaders of the small firms should be more likely to engage in boundary spanning if their outgroup trust is high. On the other hand, their boundary spanning can have positive effects on two dimensions of their career success, i.e., their success in terms of social status and that of personal income. Finally, the relationship between outgroup trust and boundary spanning can be stronger in societies with individualistic cultural values than in those with collectivistic ones.