Responsible Leadership with Chinese Characteristics

Abstract

Responsible leadership (RL) has become a buzz word in the current lexicon of business and politics, but there is still limited agreement on the components, scope, and characteristics. The confusion is rooted, in part, in the dominance of normative perspectives that take RL as a universal phenomenon. However, embedded in a specific culture, RL cannot be understood fully without understanding the moral traditions of that culture. In this article, we used a case study method to explore how RL is understood and practiced in China. Taking the role theory perspective, we conducted in-depth interviews with 9 highly regarded responsible executive leaders and 92 stakeholders in and outside of their companies who were well acquainted with the leaders. Our findings reveal that in China, the moral character of leaders guides them to define and take responsibility for themselves, their employees, companies, and external stakeholders. The five dimensions of RL we identified and the relationships among the dimensions include characteristics that reflect Chinese culture, such as strong sentiment for the nation, self-discipline, developing employees philosophically, and ‘jun zi wu ben’ (a gentleman should focus on fundamental matters). We conclude by discussing the implications of our study for RL research and practice.

摘要

负责任的领导力（RL）是当前商业和政治词汇中的热门概念，但学术界对此概念的构成、作用范围和行为特征仍未形成共识。导致这种状况的部分原因在于学者们把这个概念作为一种与文化无关的现象来研究。我们认为，负责任的领导力与其所在的社会文化及道德传统息息相关。本研究采用案例法探讨了中国文化背景下负责任领导力 的内涵和实践。依据角色理论，我们深度采访了9 位被广泛认同的负责任的高层领导者以及92 名熟悉这些领导者的内部各层级员工及外部利益相关者，然后对访谈内容进行了文本分析。结果表明，在中国，负责任的领导力包含五个方面：领导者的道德品格、在此基础上，领导者对自己、员工、公司以及外部利益相关者之责任的界定和履行。这五个方面中的具体行为表现，如国家情怀、自律、从思想上培养员工、“君子务本（君子应当专注于根本性事务)” 等，充分体现了中国文化特色。