This paper explores if, and how, Chinese managers perceive Westerntheories of leadership and leadership development as useful in theirbusiness environment. Based on a text analysis approach analyzing termpapers of 171 MBA students, this study finds that virtuous leadership isvalued the most, whereas authoritarian leadership is valued the least.The respondents are oriented both towards traditional Chinesephilosophy and Western leadership theories, and predominantly viewleadership development as a necessary contribution to the improvementof Chinese organizations. Concerning the identification and assessmentof leadership potential, Western techniques are predominant; sometimeswith controversial effects. The study concludes that leadershipdevelopment techniques need to be adapted to the national context andrecommends the role of espoused leadership in cross-cultural MBAclasses for future research.
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