Concept and Structural Dimensions of Humble Leadership in Chinese Organizational Situation: A Qualitative Research from the Follower-Centric Perspective

JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY FINANCE AND ECONOMICS ›› 2017, Vol. 0 ›› Issue (1): 85-94.

Previous Articles Next Articles

Concept and Structural Dimensions of Humble Leadership in Chinese Organizational Situation: A Qualitative Research from the Follower-Centric Perspective

LI Shenglan¹, WANG Biying², GAO Riguang¹

1. Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Nanchang 330013;
2. Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang 330022, China

Online:2017-01-15 Published:2021-09-24
About author:Li Shenglan, Professor of Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Ph.D, mainly engaged in research on human resource management. Wang Biying, Associate Professor of Jiangxi Normal University, Ph.D, mainly engaged in research on organizational behavior, email: psyansun@aliyun.com. Gao Riguang, Associate Professor of Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Ph.D, mainly engaged in research on organizational leadership and organizational behavior.

Abstract

Abstract: The frequent occurrence of corporate scandals has led to growing attention to the concept of “humble leadership”. At present, the academic circle mainly focuses on the humble behavior or characteristics of leaders, but lack of clarification of connotations of humble leadership. Taking 68 employees as a sample, this paper collects data through questionnaires and conducts a qualitative research. The results show that humble leadership in Chinese organizational situation includes four dimensions: moral model, humble behavior, steady wisdom and subordinate orientation. In other words, Chinese organizations place greater emphasis on virtue and show more subordinate-oriented behaviors. In addition, to combine humble behaviors with higher leadership skills can be more effective. Compared with other local leaders' behaviors, the difference between humble leadership and servant leadership lies in humble behaviors, while the difference between humble leadership and authentic leadership lies in such dimensions as moral model, steady wisdom and subordinate orientation.

Key words: modest, humble leadership, qualitative research, public servant leadership, authentic leadership

LI Shenglan, WANG Biying, GAO Riguang. Concept and Structural Dimensions of Humble Leadership in Chinese Organizational Situation: A Qualitative Research from the Follower-Centric Perspective[J]. JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY FINANCE AND ECONOMICS, 2017, 0(1): 85-94.

References

[1] Boje D.M., Rosile G. A., Durant R. A., Luhman J. T. Enron Pectacles: A Critical Dramaturgical Analysis[J]. Organization Studies, 2004, 25(5): 751-774.
[2] Cameron K., Dutton J., Quinn R.Positive Organizational Scholarship: Foundations of a New Discipline[J]. Administrative Science Quarterly, 2003, 57(4): 1059-1062.
[3] Chatterjee A., Hambrick D.C. It's All about Me: Narcissistic CEOs and Their Effects on Company Strategy and Performance[J]. Administrative Science Quarterly, 2007, 52(3): 351-386.
[4] Chiu T.S., Huang H. J., Hung Y. The Influence of Humility on Leadership: a Chinese and Western Review[C]. 2012 International Conference on Economics, Business and Marketing Management, 2012.
[5] Collins J.Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't[M]. New York: Harper Business, 2001.
[6] Comte-Sponville A.A Small Treatise on the Great Virtues[M]. New York: Henry Holt & Company, 2001.
[7] Emmons R.A. The Psychology of Ultimate Concerns[M]. New York: Guilford, 1999.
[8] Hu Jinsheng,Huang Xiting.A Preliminary Study on Modesty in Ethnic-Chinese Society[J]. Psychological Science,2006,29(6):1392-1395.
[9] Langston C.A., Cantor N. Social Anxiety and Social Constraint: When Making Friends is Hard[J]. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1989, 56(4): 649-661.
[10] Liden R.C.,Wayne S. J., Zhao H., Henderson D. Servant Leadership: Development of a Multidimensional Measure and Multi-level Assessment[J]. The Leadership Quarterly, 2008, 19(2): 161-177.
[11] McCullough M. E. Forgiveness as a Human Strength: Theory, Measurement, and Links to Wellbeing[J]. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 2000, 19(1): 43-55.
[12] Means J.R., Wilson G. L., Sturm C., Biron J. E., Bach P. J. Humility as a Psychotherapeutic Formulation[J]. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 1990, 3(2): 211-215.
[13] Meindl J.R. The Romance of Leadership as a Follower-centric Theory: A Social Constructionist Approach[J]. The Leadership Quarterly, 1995, 6(3): 329-341.
[14] Morris J.A., Brotheridge C. M., Urbanski J. C. Bringing Humility to Leadership: Antecedents and Consequences of Leader Humility[J]. Human Relations, 2005, 58(10): 1323-1350.
[15] Oc B., Bashshur M.R., Daniels M. A., Greguras G. J., Diefendorff J M. Leader Humility in Singapore[J]. The Leadership Quarterly, 2015, 26(1): 68-80.
[16] Owens B.P., Johnson M. J., Mitchell T. R. Expressed Humility in Organizations: Implications for Performance, Teams, and Leadership[J]. Organization Science, 2013, 24(5): 1517-1538.
[17] Owens B.P., Hekman D. R. Modeling How to Grow: An Inductive Examination of Humble Leader Behaviors, Contingencies, and Outcomes[J]. Academy of Management Journal, 2012, 55(4): 787-818.
[18] Rowatt W.C., Tsang J. A., Kelly J., Lamartina B., Mccullers M., McKinley A. Associations Between Religious Personality Dimensions and Implicit Homosexual Prejudice[J]. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 2006, 45(3): 397-406.
[19] Spiegel J.S. The Moral Irony of Humility[J]. Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture, 2003, 6(1): 131-150.
[20] Tangney J.P. Humility: Theoretical Perspectives, Empirical Findings, and Directions for Future Research[J]. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 2000, 19(1): 70-82.
[21] Vera D., Rodriguez-Lopez A.Humility as a Source of Competitive Advantage[J]. Organizational Dynamics, 2004, 33(4): 393-408.
[22] Wang Biying.A Study on the Effectiveness of Servant Leadership in Chinese Organizational Context[M]. Beijing: Economic Management Press,2014.
[23] Xu Shuying, Research III: Discussion and Examples of Humble Leadership[J]. Management@People,2011,(5):42-45.
[24] Zhang Shusheng, Chen Jixiang.A Study on Relations in Chinese Context: from the Cultural Perspective[J]. Journal of Zhejiang Gongshang University,2013,(2):76-82.
[25] Zhou Leilei.Research on the Influence of Corporate Integrity Leadership on Employees' Organizational Citizenship Behavior[D]. Wuhan: Doctoral Dissertation of Wuhan University, 2010.

Concept and Structural Dimensions of Humble Leadership in Chinese Organizational Situation: A Qualitative Research from the Follower-Centric Perspective

PDF

Knowledge

Abstract

Cite this article

share this article

References

Related Articles 0

Recommended Articles

Metrics