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A study of Thai employees preferred leadership style

Vimolwan Yukongdi*

University of Southern Queensland, School of Management and Marketing, Faculty of Business,Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia

This study examined the perceived and preferred style of leadership among employeesin Thai organizations. Data were collected from a sample of employees inmanufacturing firms. Correlation analysis and analysis of variance techniques wereemployed to examine the relationships between preferred leadership style, perceivedleadership style, influence in decision-making, satisfaction with participation and jobsatisfaction. The results showed that the mostpreferredstyle of leader for employees

was the consultative manager, followed by participative, paternalistic, whilst the leastpreferred leader was an autocratic manager. On the other hand, the largest proportion ofemployees perceived their managers to be consultative, followed by paternalistic,autocratic and participative. In addition, employees who perceived their managers to bemore democratic also reported a higher level of influence in decision-making, greatersatisfaction with participation and job satisfaction. Implications for theory and practiceare discussed.

Keywords:autocratic; consultative; cultural dimensions; leadership style; participa-tive; paternalistic; Thai employees

IntroductionThe impact of culture on leadership has continued to generate interest among scholars

worldwide. Cross-cultural comparative studies provide evidence to support a strong

relationship between culture and leadership styles. A review of the research literature

reveals divergent perspectives on the universality of leadership styles (see House et al.

2004). Some researchers argue that culture exerts a direct effect on leadership styles,

emphasizing the influence of unique cultural characteristics, such as language, religion,

values and social organization on the enactment of leadership behaviours (Ronen and

Shenkar 1985, Jackofsky et al. 1988, Hofstede 1993, Triandis 1993a). Successful chief

executive officers were found to exhibit leadership styles that were reflective of the

cultural values of their society (Jackofsky et al. 1988). Thus, according to this culturalspecific perspective, distinct cultural characteristics contribute to leadership styles that are

unique to a given culture, which is consistent with an emic approach (Hofstede 1980,

Smith and Peterson 1988, Adler 1991, Hofstede 1993, Triandis 1993b).

In contrast to the cultural specific position, the cultural universal perspective suggests

that certain components of leadership may be accepted universally, irrespective of cultural

boundaries (Wakabayashi and Graen 1984, Fahr et al. 1987, Dorfman and Ronen 1991,

Bass and Avolio 1993) due to common technological practices and global institutions

(Houseet al.2004). For example, some studies found that task- and relationship-oriented

ISSN 1360 2381 i /ISSN 1743 792X li

*Email: vimolwan@usq.edu.au

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leadership behaviours, notable in US leadership models, were effective in collectivist

societies (Smith and Peterson 1988). The cultural universal perspective, which is

consistent with the etic approach, supports the findings that commonalities of leadership

styles exist across widely different cultures. Thus, the available studies provide evidence

to support both cultural specific and cultural universal perspectives.The current study will address whether a culturally endorsed leadership style exists

among Thai employees and whether such a leadership style will lead to positive attitudinal

outcomes in the Thai cultural context. If the leadership style that is found to be effective is

also consistent with cultural expectations, some support would be found for the cultural

specific position. This study will establish whether there is evidence to support the cultural

specific perspective.

Thailand has been selected for at least four reasons. First, according to Hofstedes

study of cultural dimensions (Hofstede 1980), Thailand is culturally different from western

countries. Hofstede identified four cultural dimensions: individualism collectivism;

uncertainty avoidance; masculinityfemininity; and power distance. On the basis of these

cultural dimensions, Thailand is characterized as a collectivist, feminine society that is

high on uncertainty avoidance and power distance. A collectivist culture values close long-

term commitment to the group, extended family or extended relationships. Underlying

these relationships is the importance of loyalty, which often takes precedence over societal

rules and regulations. A high uncertainty avoidance society is less tolerant of uncertainty,

which is minimized through the implementation of strict rules, regulations and laws. Such

societies are averse to risk and less accepting of deviant behaviour. Thailand is ranked low

on masculinity. Low masculinity (high femininity) manifests itself in less competitiveness

and assertiveness in society. In such society, quality of life is regarded as important. Of

particular interest to this study is power distance, which Hofstede has defined as the degree

of inequality in power between superiors and subordinates and the extent to whichmembers in the society accept that power is distributed unequally in organizations

(Hofstede 1984a). Thailand is designated a high power distance country. According to

Hofstede (1983), power tends to be distributed unequally because the situation satisfies the

psychological needs for dependence of people without power. The concept of power

distance can be applied to organizational setting, where power distance is related to the

degree of centralization and the degree of autocratic leadership (Hofstede 1983). High

power distance countries are characterized by considerable inequality between superiors

and subordinates and a high degree of centralization (e.g. Thailand), while the opposite

is the case for low power distance countries: e.g. Australia, Canada, Germany, US

(Hofstede 1980). Similarly, the more recent Global Leadership and OrganizationalBehaviour Effectiveness (GLOBE) study characterizes Thailand as a high power distance

culture (Guptaet al.2002). The present study will examine the preferred leadership style

among Thai employees and establish whether the style is consistent with a high power

distance culture, such as Thailand.

The second reason for focusing on Thailand is that most of the extant research

undertaken by Thai scholars (e.g. Kumbanaruk 1987, Komin 1990b) asserts that Thai

employees may feel uncomfortable working in a participative work setting, as employee

involvement in decision-making is incompatible with Thai cultural norms. Employees are

accustomed to receiving orders and not expressing their ideas and thoughts (Kumbanaruk

1987, Tansuvan 1993). In line with this cultural incompatibility argument, a question that

arises is whether employees who perceive their supervisors to be autocratic or paternalistic

would be more satisfied than those working with a more democratic manager. This

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Third, Thailand has never been colonized by any other Asian or western nation

(Niffenegger et al. 2006). The country has been a constitutional monarchy since 1932.

King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who acceded to the throne in 1946, is the longest-reigning

monarch in the world (BBC 2009). Over 90% of the population are professed Buddhists

(UNESCAP 2000). The influence of religion and culture promotes less social activismamong the Thais. According to Buddhist doctrine (Theravada Buddhism), individuals

accept their current situation, which is believed to be a consequence of what they have

done in a past life (Lawler and Suttawet 2000). This belief promotes more passive

behaviour and a greater acceptance of the status quo. This cultural characteristic is not

compatible with the concept of participative decision-making or activities that strive to

reduce inequality, such as workers participation in decision-making, which will be

examined in this study. Finally, Thailand is selected because, as a Thai who has resided

and worked in Thailand, the author has the advantage of speaking the language and of

understanding the Thai culture more than any other culture.

In sum, the intent of the present study is to examine the preferred leadership style

among Thai employees. The study will also examine the effectiveness ofperceivedstyles

of leadership by assessing their impact on employees reported level of influence in

decision-making, satisfaction with the opportunity to participate in decisions and overall

job satisfaction.

The rest of this contribution takes the following structure. The study presents a review

of the research literature and observations made by researchers regarding culturally

endorsed leadership styles. Relevant theories that provide a theoretical framework for

the study are discussed. This is followed by the formulation of the hypotheses, the

development of the questionnaire, data collection and data analysis. The study concludes

with a discussion of the key findings and implications for theory and managerial practice.

Literature review

An extensive review of the research literature reveals that there is a paucity of literature on

Thai management. Prior studies on Thai management have examined various themes, such

as work values and Thai culture, trade unions, the relationships between expatriate

managers and local staff (Kamoche 2000). Studies on leadership styles in the Thai cultural

context are scarce, and some of these date back to the 1970s. In relation to managerial

behaviour, a few studies have been undertaken to investigate managerial behaviour and

Thai culture (Deyo 1978, Runglertkrengkrai and Engkaninan 1987). More recent studies

have investigated leadership skills (Cuong and Swierczek 2008), leadership styles andsubordinate commitment (Limsila and Ogunlana 2007), leadership styles and emotional

intelligence (Sunindijo et al. 2007) and upward influence and life stage (Ralston et al.

2005). Some of the previous studies, as well as other studies by Thai scholars who studied

Thai work values and leadership styles, Thai culture and quality circles (e.g. Kumbarnaruk

1987, Komin 1990a, 1990b), appear to take the cultural specific approach.

The GLOBE study defined leadership as the ability of an individual to influence,

motivate, and enable others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of the

organizations of which they are members (House et al. 2002, p. 5). The study found

Thailand as the most future- and rule-oriented nation in comparison to the other Southern

Asian cluster of countries, including Iran, India, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Thailand also had the least assertive societal values and the highest score on power

distance practices. These findings were somewhat consistent with those from an earlier

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distribution of power) and conservatism (i.e. respect for tradition, social order). Consistent

findings were also found for Thailand on similar cultural dimensions (Trompenaars and

Hampden-Turner 1998). Interestingly, contrary to observations put forth by Thai scholars

in earlier studies, the GLOBE study found charismatic, team-oriented and participative

leadership among the top three most effective models for Thailand (Gupta et al. 2002).One of the earlier studies on leadership styles found that Thai workers favoured close

supervision rather than general supervision (Deyo 1978). Another study using Fiedlers

constructs conducted a survey of Thai senior managers, and found that the leadership style

of 69% of the managers was somewhere between the relationship- and task-oriented

extremes, whilst 31% were task-oriented (Runglertkrengkrai and Engkaninan 1987). They

argued that the mixed leadership style was consistent with traditional Thai values, while

the task-oriented style represented the new values of Thai culture which emphasized

hard work. Traditional values would stress such adjectives as helpful, close, warm,

cooperative and supportive on the least-preferred co-worker (LPC) scale. The new

urban values would stress adjectives such as, friendly, interesting, self-assured,

cheerful and open. The researchers argued that due to changes in the economic and

social context, there was a shift from traditional values to more western values, which

emphasized discipline, saving for investment and diligence. They concluded that the

results provided partial support for the expected leadership style among managers in the

Thai cultural context and called for further research.

Studies conducted in more recent years provided some evidence to suggest that

managers in Thailand appeared to be adopting more democratic styles of leadership.

A recent study found that transformational leadership style was the style adopted most

frequently by project managers in the construction industry in Thailand, followed by

transactional style which was utilized quite often, whilst laissez-fairewas rarely adopted.

Transformational leadership style also yielded the most positive outcomes (Limsila andOgunlana 2007). In another study, Thai project managers and engineers who had higher

emotional intelligence scores tended to delegate work to others, were more proactive in

their attitudes and used more open communication (Sunindijo et al. 2007). In a study of

upward influence strategies, younger Thai managers were more accepting of

organizationally beneficial behaviours than were older managers (Ralston et al. 2005),

indicating generational differences.

Some interesting findings have emerged from research studies on Thai work-related

values (Komin 1990a, 1990b), Thai culture and quality circles (Kumbanaruk 1987, Tansuvan

1993). There is some suggestion from the research literature on Thai work-related values

and quality circles that the characteristics of Thai culture may impede the successfulimplementation of quality management programmes in which employee participation in

decision-making is an integral component.

Komin (1990a, 1990b) conducted a study of Thai work-related values and identified

nine value clusters on a continuum of psychological importance from high to low, as

follows:

(1) Ego orientation face-saving, criticism-avoidance,Kreng Chai;

(2) Grateful relationship orientation Bunkhun relationships, psychological bond

between two persons, reciprocating kindness;

(3) Smooth interpersonal relationship orientation preference for non-assertiveness,

polite and humble personality, conflict-free interpersonal interactions;

(4) Flexibility and adjustment orientation emphasis on person over principles,

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(5) Religio-psychical orientation religious beliefs, fatalistic attitudes, supernatural

behaviour;

(6) Education and competence orientation emphasis on education as means of

improving social status rather than as an end-value;

(7) Interdependence orientation co-existence;(8) Fun pleasure orientation (Sanuk) easy-going, fun-loving interactions;

(9) Achievement task orientation preference for social relations over work;

The study concluded that the Thai social system is a society where interpersonal

relationships are critical. Thai culture values ego and face-saving, criticism-avoidance,

andKreng Chai(to be considerate, to take another persons feelings and ego into account).

In work situations, this implies that direct negative performance feedback, strong

criticisms, and face-to-face confrontation should be avoided and, when required, indirect

means should be used. Komin (1990b) suggested that as a means of saving face, Thais

have often used compromise to maintain surface harmony, sometimes at the expense of

task or organizational progress. Characteristics among others that epitomize Thai culture

include Mai pen rai(never mind, take it easy), Chai yen(stay cool, keep your temper) and

Kiet (dignity, honour). The first two concepts tend to promote the maintenance of

harmonious relationships, while the third encourages avoidance of open criticism and is

related to the face-saving concept. Thus, Thais are often perceived to be friendly, less

assertive and more accepting of the status quo.

Kumbanaruk (1987) conducted a study of employees in public and private

organizations in Thailand that implemented quality circles. He contrasted the Japanese

and Thai cultures, and concluded that cultural differences between the two countries may

generate great difficulties in applying QCC (quality control circles) in Thai industries

(Kumbanaruk 1987, p. 95). According to the Kreng Chai concept, there is a tendencyin Thai culture for differences in opinions between individuals to be met rather than

confronted as long as harmony is maintained (although the problem may remain

unresolved), which could be either enhancing or obstructive to the success of quality circles

in Thailand. In his study, problems associated with quality circles were identified. Among

the problems frequently cited were issues with being Kreng Chai, which would lead

employees to avoid direct confrontation in order to maintain harmonious relationships.

This characteristic was not considered to be compatible with the quality circle concept, in

which individuals would be encouraged to express their ideas to solve problems. Another

problem was a lack of self-confidence to express opinions in quality circle meetings, which

was due partly to the Kreng Chai principle and to a tradition of a top-down approach ofemployees receiving orders rather than thinking for themselves and expressing their own

ideas (Tansuvan 1993). Other problems included a lack of creative thinking and enthusiasm

at group meetings, and preference for solving problems spontaneously.

Consistent with Kumbanaruk (1987), Thianthai (1991), who conducted a study on

Japanese management in Thailand, identified Thai employees reluctance to express ideas

and a lack of enthusiasm in getting involved in decision-making as factors that make

teamwork difficult among Thai employees. Summapan et al. (1990), who surveyed

Japanese and Thai managers in Japanese-affiliated companies in Thailand, identified

similar factors to those found by Kumbanaruk (1987) and Thianthai (1991) as barriers to

group/teamwork.

It should be noted that some of the Thai social traits (e.g. superiors accustomed to

giving orders and subordinates comfortable with following orders, seniority, Kreng Chai

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corresponded closely to the characterization of high power distance cultures and

collectivist societies e.g. nepotism (e.g. Hofstede 1980, Schwartz 1999). In line with

this, the GLOBE study also found a strong preference to avoid confrontation which may

contribute to less assertive social values in Thai culture (Gupta et al. 2002).

Overall, the research literature on Thai work-related values, quality circles andemployee participation in decision-making takes a pessimistic view on the prospects of

quality circles and participative management in Thai organizations. These studies suggest

that, due to cultural incompatibility, employee participation in decision-making would be

difficult in the Thai cultural context. However, recent studies provide some evidence

to suggest more positive outcomes as a result of transformational leadership, open

communication and delegation of work.

Theories

The theoretical framework which forms the basis for the present study is based on the

value/belief theory of culture (Hofstede 1980, Triandis 1995) and the implicit theory of

leadership (Lord and Maher 1991). The value/belief theory of culture proposes that the

values and beliefs of members in a society influence how members, groups and institutions

in that society behave and the degree to which the enacted behaviours are deemed to be

acceptable, effective and legitimate (Hofstede 1980, Triandis 1995). The value/belief

theory of culture is based on Hofstedes four cultural dimensions of individualism

collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, masculinityfemininity, and power distance, which

distinguish a given culture from other cultures.

Accordingto the implicit theoryof leadership (Lord andMaher 1991),leadership qualities

are attributed to individuals. Implicit leadership theory influences the attribution of status and

privileges to theleaderby individuals (Hanges etal. 1997, Sipe and Hanges1997). Individualsare accepted as leaders based on the degree of congruence between the leaders behaviours

and the beliefs and assumptions people hold and draw on to distinguish leaders from others,

and effective from ineffective leaders. The implicit theory of leadership influences the

exercise of leadership, the acceptance of leaders and the perception of leaders as effective.

This study adopts an integration of the value/belief theory of culture and implicit

leadership theory to explain the enactment of leadership behaviours, and proposes that

there is an interaction between leader attributes and behaviours, organizational practices

and culture. Hence, leadership attributes and behaviours are influenced by organizational

practices, which are in turn affected by societal culture (Kopelman et al. 1990). Both

culture and organizational practices in turn influence and shape leader behaviours andattributes that are considered to be most acceptable and effective in a given culture.

Hypotheses

Hofstede conducted a 50-country study of IBM employees (Hofstede 1980, 1983) and

found differences between countries on employees preference for an autocratic (tells),

paternalistic/persuasive (sells), consultative (consults) or participative (consensus)

manager. (A detailed description of each type of manager is given in the methodology

section.) Hofstede (1980) found that in countries in which few employees were afraid to

disagree with their managers (e.g. low power distance countries), a larger proportion of

employees preferred a consultative manager. In countries in which many employees were

afraid to disagree with their managers (e.g. high power distance countries), subordinates

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type of manager (Hofstede replaced this type of manager with aparticipative managerin a

later survey in 19711973), but not the consultative style.

Drawing on the existing research evidence, it is predicted that a larger proportion of

Thai employees will prefer either an autocratic, a paternalistic or participative manager,

while fewer employees would prefer a consultative manager.Hypothesis 1: A larger proportion of employees will prefer either an autocratic, a

paternalistic or participative manager, while few employees will favour a

consultative manager.

Thai culture is characterized by a tight hierarchical social system, accepted existential

inequality, and a strong value of relationships, and as such Komin (1990b) reasoned that

Thai employees will be devoted to work for a leader they like and respect. A benevolent,

paternalistic leadership style will be more effective than an impersonal, cut-and-dry

managerial style. She further added that straight-forward, ambitious and aggressive

personalities similar to the West, although highly capable, will not be acceptable and

would be unlikely to succeed in Thai organizations. She argued that management theories

developed in the US that advocate participative management reflect American culture, in

which there is a low power distance between superiors and subordinates and, thus, a higher

degree of equality among its people. Therefore, American management theories will work

with American subordinates and subordinates from low power distance cultures, such as

Canada, Germany or Australia, more than with subordinates from high power distance

cultures such as Thailand (Komin 1990a, p. 218). Furthermore, Thai employees are

accustomed to a tradition of a top-down approach of employees receiving orders

(Kumbanaruk 1987, Tansuvan 1993) rather than thinking for themselves and expressing

their own views, which would be incompatible with participative decision-making.

Based on the existing research evidence, the culturally endorsed leadership style would

appear to be the paternalistic style. While it is tempting to hypothesize that Thai employees

would experience greater satisfaction working for a paternalistic manager based on this

cultural compatibility argument, there is still little empirical evidence to support this

assertion. However, recent empirical evidence from the GLOBE study found that the most

effective leadership models for Thailand were the charismatic, team-oriented and

participative styles of leadership (Gupta et al. 2002). Furthermore, it may be argued that

due to cultural incompatibility Thai employees may, in fact, welcome and highly value the

opportunity to participate in decisions, which is a less common phenomenon in Thai culture.

Hence, participative decision-making would have positive effects on employee attitudes.

A review of the available research evidence suggests that, in relation to satisfaction,employees who perceived their managers to be more democratic were more satisfied than

employees who perceived their managers to be autocratic (Gouldner 1954, Harnquist

1956, Baumgartel 1957, Ziller 1957). The research literature on participative management

concluded that participative decision-making appeared to have a clear positive effect on

satisfaction and a small, but not inconsequential, effect on performance/productivity

(Locke and Schweiger 1979, Locke et al. 1980, Schweiger and Leana 1986, Locke et al.

1986, Miller and Monge 1986, Wagner and Gooding 1987, Cotton et al. 1988, Wagner

1994, Sagie 1994).

Thus, it is hypothesized that:

Hypothesis 2: Employees who perceive their managers to be consultative or participative

will report a greater degree of satisfaction with participation than those

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Hypothesis 3: Employees who perceive their managers to be consultative or participative

will report a greater degree of job satisfaction than those who perceive

their managers to be either autocratic or paternalistic.

In terms of influence in the decision-making process, employees will have more

opportunities to be involved in making decisions if they worked with consultative orparticipative managers; therefore, it is hypothesized that:

Hypothesis 4: Employees who perceive their managers to be consultative or participative

will report a higher degree of perceived influence in decision-making than

those working with autocratic or paternalistic managers.

Methodology

Data were collected using stratified random sampling. Stratified sampling was used becauseoccupational level differences in the relationship between participation and outcomes

were examined in the study. The rationale for using stratified sampling is also to ensure that

an adequate number of respondents of the specified kind or type are included in the sample.

The workforce sample in each company was divided into two strata based on two job levels

operators and professional staff. With the agreement of the responsible managers of each

organization, a random sample of employees in each job level was surveyed.

Survey instrument

Perceived influence in decision making

This was measured based on the decision list from the industrial democracy in Europe

12-country study (IDE 1981). These decisions included those dealing with personnel

functions (e.g. appointment of an immediate supervisor), the work itself (e.g. workgroup

expenditures), working conditions (e.g. improvement in work conditions), and company

policies (e.g. whether the company should make a new product). The degree of influence

was measured on a six-point scale, from no information is made available to me (coded 1),

to I/group make(s) the final decision (coded 6). High scores represented high levels of

perceived influence. Reliability analysis of the scores on the 13 items showed an acceptable

Cronbachs alpha coefficient of .89.

Satisfaction with participation

The measure for satisfaction with opportunity for participation was based on five items,

which asked the respondents about their level of satisfaction with opportunities to give

advice, to participate in work-related decisions, and to take on responsibility. This measure

was used in a study conducted in the Netherlands (Zanders et al.1977). The responses to

the questions ranged from strongly disagree (coded 1), disagree (2), neither disagree or

agree (3), agree (4) to strongly agree (5). High scores represented high levels of

satisfaction with participation. The scale reliability was found to be acceptable (a .78).

Job satisfactionJob satisfaction was measured by seven items. The questions asked about different aspects

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pay and promotional opportunities. Heller et al. (1988) adapted the scale from an inventory

developed by Taylor and Bowers (1972). The responses to the questions ranged from

strongly disagree (coded 1), disagree (2), neither disagree or agree (3), agree (4) to

strongly agree (5). High scores indicated high levels of satisfaction with the organization

and work performed. The reliability coefficient (a

.83) was found to be satisfactory.

Preferred and perceived styles of leaders

A description of four different types of leaders or managers was given in the questionnaire.

Hofstede (1980, p. 406) defined an autocratic manager (coded 1) as someone who usually

makes his/her decisions promptly and communicates them to his/her subordinates clearly

and firmly. A paternalistic or persuasive manager (coded 2) usually makes his/her decisions

promptly, but, before going ahead, tries to explain them fully to his/her subordinates.

A consultative manager (coded 3) usually consults with his/her subordinates before he/she

reaches his/her decisions. A participative manager (coded 4) usually calls a meeting of

his/her subordinates when there is an important decision to be made and puts the problembefore the group and tries to obtain consensus. The first item asked respondents about their

preferred type of manager, while the second item about their perceptions of their own

supervisors style. The third item asked employees the extent to which they perceived

employees were afraid to disagree with their managers. The question was answered on a

five-point Likert scale, ranging from strongly disagree (coded 5) to strongly agree

(coded 1). This item was reverse scored to be consistent with Hofstedes method of scoring.

For exploratory purposes, the power distance index (PDI) was also computed using the

following formula (Hofstede 1980):

PDI 135 2 25mean score of the five 2 point scale question

% perceived manager 12

2 % preferred manager 3

The power distance index can range from 0 (small power distance) to 100 (large power

distance). The theoretical range of the index is from 290 (no one afraid, no manager

1 2, everyone prefers 3) to 210 (everyone afraid, all managers 1 2, no one prefers 3)

(Hofstede 1980, p. 103).

Data were collected using a questionnaire survey of a sample of employees in three

manufacturing firms in Bangkok. In each organization, employees participated in differentforms of formal participation programmes, such as quality circles and quality improvement

teams. A total of 546 usable questionnaires were returned. The sample was further divided

into two occupational groups: operators (n 221) and professional staff (n 325).

The sample was a predominantly professional staff group (59%), who had achieved a

higher level of education, 42% of whom held a bachelors and masters degree. Only 7%

of the operators had attained a bachelors degree, while the majority (74%) completed

either high school or a vocational qualification. Data were analysed using cross-tabulation,

correlation analysis and analysis of variance techniques.

Data analysis

Employees were asked about their preferred and actual (perceived) type of manager

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whether employees were afraid to express disagreement with their managers/supervisors.

The frequencies for preferred and actual types of managers are given in Table 1.

The most preferredtype of manager was a consultative manager (47%), followed by

participative (42%), paternalistic (10%) and autocratic manager (1%). There were some

differences between operators and professional staff in preferred type of manager.The most preferred type of manager for operators was a participative manager (45%), a

similar proportion preferred a consultative manager (43%), but only 10% preferred a

paternalistic manager, and very few preferred an autocratic manager (2%). Half of the

professional staff preferred to work under a consultative manager, 40% preferred a

participative manager, fewer than 10% preferred a paternalistic manager (9%), while very

few preferred an autocratic manager (0.3%).

According to Hofstede (1980), the subjective description of a manager (perceived type

of manager) is more relevant than an objective description of a manager in understanding

the effect of the managers/supervisors on employee behaviour. In relation to perceived

managers, the largest proportion of employees perceived their own manager/supervisor to

be consultative (44%), while 27% perceived their manager to be paternalistic, 17%

autocratic and 13% participative. There was a similar pattern for perceived type of

manager for operators and professional staff. A substantial proportion of operators (40%)

and professional staff (47%) thought their managers/supervisors were consultative.

A slightly larger proportion of operators (30%) than professional staff (25%) perceived

their managers to be paternalistic, autocratic (20% versus 14%), while a lower proportion

of operators (10%) than professional staff (14%) perceived their managers to be

participative.

For the third item employees afraid to disagree, 67% agreed that employees were

afraid to express disagreement, only 19% disagreed, while 14% were neutral. The mean

score was 2.33. A breakdown by job level indicated that a slightly larger proportion ofoperators (71%) than professional staff (64%) reported that they were afraid to disagree

with their managers/supervisors, while a slightly lower proportion of operators (16%) than

professional staff (21%) reported not being afraid to express disagreement. The mean

score also indicated that operators (2.20) were significantly (F1,544 4.28, p , .05) more

afraid to disagree with their managers/supervisors than professional staff (2.41).

In summary, employees most preferred type was a consultative manager (47%), and

many employees perceived their managers to be consultative (44%), while a lower

proportion of employees (17%) perceived their managers to be autocratic. Cross-

tabulation analysis revealed that of the 17% who perceived their managers to be autocratic,

51% preferred a participative manager, 33% a consultative manager, 11% a paternalisticmanager and only 5% an autocratic manager. In addition, of the 44% who perceived their

managers to be consultative, 58% preferred to work under a consultative manager, 35%

preferred a participative manager, 6% a paternalistic manager and only 0.4% an autocratic

manager. Therefore, about half (51%) of those employees who perceived their

managers/supervisors to be autocratic, preferred to work under a participative manager.

The question arises how preferred and reported types of managers might be related to

perceived influence in decision-making, and in particular to satisfaction with participation

and job satisfaction. The correlations for the variables are presented in Table 2 and the

mean scores for each variable in Table 3.

First, the zero-order correlations revealed that there were modest but significant

relationships between preferred manager and perceived manager (r .16, p , .01) and

employees afraid and perceived manager (r .23, p , .01). The preferred type of

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able1.

Percentageresponsesforpreferr

edandperceivedleadershipstyle.

Autocratic

Paternalistic

Consultat

ive

Participative

Preferred

Perceived

Preferred

Perceived

Preferred

Perceived

Preferred

Perceived

perator

5(2%)

43(2

0%)

22(10%)

66(30%)

95(43%)

88(40%)

99(45%)

24(10%)

rofessio

nal

1(1%)

47(1

4%)

30(9%)

81(25%)

164(50%)

151(47%)

130(40%)

44(14%)

otal

6(1%)

90(1

7%)

52(10%)

147(27%)

259(47%)

239(44%)

229(42%)

68(13%)

otes:Op

erators:n

221;professionalstaff:n

325(preferredmanager);n

323

(perceivedmanager).

Itshouldbenotedthatthenumberofcasesremoved

from

thesample

causeofmissingdatacanbeattributedtothepairwisesubcommandinSPSS,whichis

astringentcriterionbecauseitretainso

nlycaseswhichhavevalidresponsesforeveryvariable

edintheanalysis.

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analysis. In addition, employees who perceived their managers to be autocratic or

paternalistic reported feeling more afraid to express disagreement than those working

under a participative or consultative manager.

Preferred manager

As would be expected, employees who preferred democratic managers (i.e. consultative

and participative) tended to be more satisfied with participation (r .12, p , .01).

The preferred manager variable was not significantly related to any other variables.

Perceived manager

Perceived manager was significantly related to perceived influence in decision making

(r .24, p , .01), satisfaction with participation (r .19, p , .01) and job satisfaction

(r .21, p , .01). Employees who perceived their managers/supervisors to be more

democratic (i.e. participative or consultative) reported a higher level of influence in

decision-making, a greater degree of satisfaction with participation and job satisfaction.

Employees afraid

Significant correlations were found between employees afraid and perceived influence in

decision making (r .11, p , .01), satisfaction with participation (r .15, p , .01) and

job satisfaction (r .09, p , .05). Employees who were less afraid to disagree, reported a

higher level of influence, satisfaction with participation and job satisfaction.

In general, the results of the correlation analysis indicated that employees who

perceived their managers to be more democratic were more satisfied than those working

under an autocratic manager. Further tests were conducted to determine differences in the

mean scores for each of these variables under each type of manager. The results are

discussed in the following section.

Analysis of variance was conducted to test for differences between the mean scores on

perceived influence in decision-making (F3,542 10.768, p , .0005), satisfaction with

Table 2. Correlations among power distance items and associated variables.

Preferredmanager

Perceivedmanager

Perceivedinfluence

Jobsatisfaction

Satisfaction withparticipation

Preferred manager 2

.01 .02 .12**Perceived manager .16** .24** .21** .19**Employees afraid 2 .01 .23** .11** .09* .15**

Notes:n 544,* significant at .05 level (two-tailed),** significant at .01 level (two-tailed).

Table 3. Mean scores on participation and associated variables for employees with (perceived)autocratic, paternalistic, consultative and participative managers.

Autocratic(n 90)

Paternalistic(n 146)

Consultative(n 239)

Participative(n 68)

Satisfaction with participation 19.08 19.75 20.26 20.74Job satisfaction 24.58 25.38 26.60 27.39Influence in decision-making 23.46 23.65 26.75 30.01

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participation (F3,543 7.009, p , .0005) and job satisfaction (F3,541 8.039, p , .0005)

for the four perceived leadership styles. The results found overall significant differences in

the mean scores for all the associated variables across the four perceived leadership styles.

Therefore, post hoc tests using Tukey HSD were conducted to identify which of the

mean scores on the associated variables differed significantly from the others foremployees who perceived their managers to be autocratic, paternalistic, consultative and

participative. The results are discussed below:

(1) The results from the post hoc test found that employees who perceived their

managers to be participative reported a significantly higher score on satisfaction

with participation than employees whose manager was perceived to be either

autocratic (p , .001) or paternalistic (p , .05), but the mean score was not

significantly different from those who perceived their managers to be consultative.

(2) Employees who perceived their managers to be participative reported a significantly

higher degree of job satisfaction than those whose manager was perceived to be

either autocratic (p , .001) or paternalistic (p , .05), but the mean score was notsignificantly different from those whose perceived manager was consultative.

(3) The results indicated that employees who perceived their managers to be

participative reported a significantly higher level of perceived influence in decision-

making than employees whose managers were perceived to be consultative

(p , .05), paternalistic (p , .005) or autocratic (p , .005). While there were no

significant differences in the mean scores for employees whose manager was

perceived to be either autocratic or paternalistic, employees whose manager was

consultative perceived a significantly higher degree of influence in decisions than

those reported by employees in the less democratic groups (i.e. autocratic and

paternalistic).

As noted previously, for exploratory analysis, the power distance index (PDI) for the Thai

sample in the study was computed. In Hofstedes study of IBM employees (Hofstede 1980,

1983), the Thai score based on a sample of 80 (19711973) defined it a high power

distance country (PDI 64). Using Hofstedes (1980) formula, the power distance indices

for the total sample, operators and professional staff were computed as follows:

PDItotalsample 135 2 252:33 1727 2 47 73:75

PDIoperator 135 2 252:20 2030 2 43 87:00

PDIprofessional135 2 252:41 1425 2 50 63:75

In the present study, the power distance index for operators (87.00) was higher than for

professional staff (63.75), indicating that operators perceived a higher degree of inequality

between superiors and subordinates than professional staff. Hofstede (1980) also found

lower power distance values for managers than for non-managers. The average score for the

total sample was 73.75. The power distance index will be further discussed in the following

section, together with the results for the four hypotheses that were tested in this study.

Discussion

The aims of the study were to (a) identify the preferred type of leader or manager;

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each style has on employees level of influence in decision-making, satisfaction with the

opportunities to be involved in decision-making and job satisfaction.

The first hypothesis predicted that a larger proportion of Thai employees will prefer

either an autocratic, paternalistic or a participative manager, but not a consultative

manager. The results indicated that nearly half of the employees preferred a consultativemanager (47%), followed by a participative manager (42%). A smaller number of

employees preferred a paternalistic manager (10%), while an even smaller proportion

preferred an autocratic manager (1%). Thus, the results failed to support hypothesis 1.

Contrary to Hofstedes (1980) findings, the most preferred style of leadership was a

consultative manager. Further analysis by job level confirmed the initial results that,

regardless of occupational level, the most preferred style of leader was not the paternalistic

or autocratic manager. For professional staff the most favoured manager was a

consultative manager (43%), followed by a participative manager (40%), whilst for most

operators the preferred manager was a participative manager (45%), followed by a

consultative manager (43%). This finding is inconsistent with Deyo (1978), who foundthat Thai workers preferred close supervision rather than general supervision, and Komin

(1990a), who suggested a strong cultural preference for a paternalistic manager.

The finding is also inconsistent with Redding and Casey (1975), who found that Thai

managers favoured an autocratic rather than a democratic style of leadership. However,

the findings lend some support to the GLOBE study, which found team-oriented and

participative leadership styles to be the most effective models for Thailand (Gupta et al.

2002) and transformational leadership style as the most frequently adopted style of

leadership (Limsila and Ogunlana 2007).

A possible explanation may be related to the type of organizations that participated in

the study. The three indigenous organizations, which are not ethnic Chinese firms, are

reputable firms that are also well-known for their strong commitment towards promoting

employee participation in decision-making. As noted earlier, these organizations

implement different team types which provide avenues to influence decision-making

not only for professional staff but also lower level employees, including shop floor

workers who would normally have fewer opportunities to become involved in issues that

affect their work area. Therefore, it is possible that employees positive experience with

quality circles and quality improvement teams may lead to a stronger preference toward

relatively more democratic styles of management. The results are consistent with those

of more recent studies that showed transformational style of leadership was adopted more

frequently than transactional style of leadership among Thai managers (Limsila and

Ogunlana 2007). Emotionally intelligent project managers in Thailand were also found to

be more proactive and delegating in their behaviours (Sunindijo et al. 2007).

Another plausible explanation for the lack of support for hypothesis 1 may be related

to generational differences with regard to the acceptance of more democratic styles of

leadership. Younger Thai managers were found to be more accepting of organizationally

beneficial behaviours than were their older counterparts in a study examining upward

influence strategies (Ralstonet al.2005). It is possible that Thai managers in modern Thai

society are more accepting and comfortable with consultative or participative styles of

leadership than managers in the past as a result of a crossvergence effect and the influence

of globalization and modernization (Inglehart 1997). There is some evidence that new

generations of workers are increasingly absorbing western values, including the westernvalues of materialism. These emerging values of materialism are regarded as a reflection

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Additionally, the demographic characteristics of the sample may also affect the responses

to the questionnaire. This point will be discussed in more detail later.

Hypotheses 2 4 predicted that employees who perceived their managers to be

consultative or participative will report a greater degree of satisfaction with participation

and job satisfaction than those who perceived their managers style of leadership to beeither autocratic or paternalistic. The results showed that there were positive relationships

between more democratic styles of leaders (i.e. consultative and participative) and

satisfaction with participation, job satisfaction, perceived influence in decision-making.

Analysis of variance and post hoc tests further provided evidence to support the

predictions for all three hypotheses. Employees whose managers were perceived to be

participative and consultative experienced a greater degree of satisfaction with

opportunities to participate in decision-making, job satisfaction and a higher level of

influence in decision-making. The findings are consistent with evidence from prior studies

(Gouldner 1954, Harnquist 1956, Baumgartel 1957, Ziller 1957) which showed that

employees who perceived their managers to be more democratic were more satisfied than

employees who perceived their managers to be autocratic. The results are also supportive

of findings from major reviews of participative management studies which found positive

effect of participative decision making on employee satisfaction (Locke and Schweiger

1979, Lockeet al.1980, Schweiger and Leana 1986, Lockeet al.1986, Miller and Monge

1986, Wagner and Gooding 1987, Cotton et al. 1988, Wagner 1994, Sagie 1994).

However, the findings failed to support the cultural incompatibility argument asserted

by Thai scholars (Kumbanaruk 1987, Komin 1990a, 1990b, Tansuvan 1993) that

participative management would be incompatible with Thai culture. In fact, the results

found positive effects among employees whose manager was perceived to be participative

or consultative. In addition to the possibility of generational differences and the influence

of globalization and western values as noted earlier, it is possible that consultativedecision-making, as defined in the present study, leads to greater satisfaction because in

high power distance cultures the act of asking for employees opinions by a manager is a

show of courtesy, and is appreciated even though the final decision is made by the manager

and not the employees (Sagie and Aycan 2003).

With regard to the third power distance item, Thai operators were more afraid to

express disagreement with their managers than professional staff. This was consistent with

Kumbanaruk (1987) and Tansuvan (1993), who claimed that Thai employees were used to

following directions, while superiors were more accustomed to giving orders. The finding

was supportive of the cultural characteristic of avoiding confrontation which contributed

to a lower degree of assertiveness in interpersonal relations in Thai society (Gupta et al.2002, Schwartz 1999).

The average power distance index score obtained from this study (73.75) was similar

in direction but was not of the same value as Hofstedes (1980) score of 64 (although the

PDI score for professional staff of 63.75 was not very different). Nevertheless, the scores

from this study still provided evidence indicating that Thailand is a high power distance

culture based on Hofstedes indices. Hofstede noted that the PDI scores may be influenced

heavily by demographic factors, such as educational level, occupation, age, gender, type of

work organization, social class, as well as environmental factors (Hofstede 1984b, 1991).

Some of these demographic variables may have contributed to the rather different PDI

value for operators in this study. The Thai sample was a predominantly professional staff

group (59%) who had achieved a higher level of education (42% completed a bachelors

and masters degree) than operators (only 7% having obtained a bachelors degree, while

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PDI values to be influenced by occupational and educational level, the latter being the

most important factor in his study. He found that lower level of education and lower

occupational level tended to be associated with higher PDI values, as was the case for the

operators (PDI score 87 versus 63.75 for professional staff) in the present study.

Differences due to the type of business department and organization included in thestudy may also have contributed to differences in PDI indices from those obtained by

Hofstede. Hofstedes sample came largely from marketing and service units of IBM

(Singh 1990), while the Thai sample was drawn from manufacturing, engineering,

marketing, accounting and personnel departments of three separate manufacturing

organizations. It should be pointed out that the study was based on three manufacturing

organizations. The results may not be generalizable to organizations in other settings, such

as organizations in the service sector, which employ different technology. In addition,

the Thai organizations that agreed to participate were exceptional companies. Thus, the

sample may not be representative of the majority of Thai organizations.

In summary, the study set out to test four hypotheses, three of which were supported.

The preferred leadership styles among Thai employees were consultative and participative

managers regardless of job level. The results also confirmed a positive relationship

between more democratic leadership styles (i.e. consultative and participative) and

satisfaction with participation, job satisfaction and influence in decision-making.

Employees whose managers were perceived to be more democratic also reported a higher

degree of satisfaction with participation, with their job and perceived influence in

decision-making. The findings from the study provide some important implications for

future research and management practice. These implications are discussed in the next

section.

Implications for theory and practice

Implications for future research from this study include how leadership is defined, the

measurement of leadership effectiveness, the influence of demographic variables, and

the type of organization in the study. The way in which each leadership style is defined

must be reviewed and considered carefully when comparing research results across

different studies. The same label used by a researcher may not necessarily be referring

to the same leadership style by another researcher. For example, the description of

paternalistic leadership as defined by Hofstede (1980) and used in the questionnaire

appears to be somewhat different from the definition used by Thai scholars (e.g. Komin

1990a). Hence, the interpretation of key findings will need to take differences indefinitions into account.

Leadership effectiveness and how it is measured varies considerably from one study to

another. Some studies measured effectiveness by surveying the subordinates perception

of the leader, other studies used performance evaluations for the specific leader to assess

the effectiveness of that leader. Thus, the different criteria that are used to evaluate

leadership effectiveness may yield different outcomes depending on how leadership style

and effectiveness are defined and assessed.

The demographic characteristics of the respondents in the sample may influence their

responses to surveys and contribute to differences in research findings. Some of these

variables include occupational level, educational background, gender, age, social class and

environmental factors during the period of research (Hofstede 1991), which need to be

taken into account when interpreting results. For instance, the sample in the current study

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managers. The GLOBE study (House et al. 2002) was a survey of middle managers.

Incorporating lower level employees in a study may reveal differences among

occupational levels within the organization, as was the case for the present study.

The type of organization in which the research is undertaken should be considered.

Some studies draw samples of respondents from indigenous firms, whilst others arederived from multinational corporations and, in many cases, firms that are spread across

different industries. Organizational practices within multinational firms may differ from

those prevalent in indigenous firms, and specific management practices may affect the

effectiveness of certain leadership behaviours.

The findings from the study present research evidence to suggest that what some

researchers (e.g. Komin 1990b, Kumbanaruk 1987) argue to be a culturally endorsed

leadership style may not necessarily result in the highest degree of satisfaction with

participation or job satisfaction compared to other leadership behaviours. This may be

partly due to the fact that times have changed, as have societal values and attitudes

of workers. A culturally endorsed leadership style in the past may no longer be the

same style that is favoured today due to the effect of modernization and globalization

(Inglehart 1997) as well as generational differences (Ralston et al.2005). Future research

should explore generational differences and leadership style.

Finally, the results suggest that more democratic styles of leadership, such as

participative and consultative styles found in this study may be well received and can yield

positive attitudinal outcomes among Thai employees if enacted in a culturally appropriate

manner. Consideration must be given to the unique Thai cultural characteristics, such

as Kreng Chai, Bunkhun relationships (an obligation to return favours), fun-loving

interactions (Sanuk), preference for non-assertiveness and face-saving (Komin 1990a,

1990b), which form the foundation of interpersonal relationships in Thailand. In such a

society, the basis of a business relationship is personal trust, which needs to be developedover time. An aggressive, short-term approach employed in western cultures will not be

effective (Niffeneggeret al.2006). There is a strong hierarchical sense of knowing ones

place in society and in interpersonal relationships and a respect for elders. In social

relationships, Thais tend to address one another depending on whether they are older

or younger than the other person using specific personal pronouns reflective of age

differences (such asPi for someone older orNongfor someone younger). The same terms

are used among brothers and sisters. These terms reflect the practice of treating colleagues

or workers as a family member. This can complicate a supervisor subordinate

relationship, particularly when the supervisor is the younger person. There is a social

expectation that the younger supervisor would show respect to the older subordinate. Alsoimportant is the face-saving concept that is critical in interpersonal relationships, and care

should be taken to avoid situations that will cause someone to lose face. These Thai

characteristics are as critical in business relationships as they are in social relationships.

Hence, successful global managers need to adapt universal leadership styles to the

unique characteristics of a given culture.

Conclusion

The intent of the study was to establish which leadership style is the culturally endorsed

leadership style among Thai employees. Evidence was found to support participative

and consultative leadership styles as culturally preferred styles, both having stronger

positive effects on employees perceived level of influence in decision-making,

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or paternalistic leadership styles. In this study, support was not found for the

paternalistic leadership style as the most culturally endorsed leadership style among

Thai employees as was suggested by some researchers. The results, however, are

consistent with more recent research studies that provide evidence indicating that Thai

managers utilized transformational style of leadership more frequently than transactionalstyle of leadership (Limsila and Ogunlana 2007) as well as open communication and

delegation (Sunindijo et al. 2007). Hence, the present study offers some evidence to

support the cultural universal perspective.

The enactment of leadership behaviour is influenced by organizational practices,

which are in turn affected by societal culture (Kopelman et al. 1990). Both culture and

organizational practices in turn influence and shape leader behaviour and attributes that

are perceived to be most acceptable and effective in a given culture. Research findings

reflect the social values and environment of that period. Thailand experienced great

economic change over the past two decades, and was one of the fastest growing

economies in the world during the period 1985 1995 (Phongpaichit 2000). The

workforce of modern Thailand is becoming more educated, and societal values have

undergone shifts which may have contributed to changes in cultural values towards the

acceptance of more democratic styles of leadership. The new generation of Thais may be

more comfortable with and receptive to democratic styles of leadership than earlier

generations. Emerging western values of materialism and achievement have been noted

among the new generation (Niffenegger et al. 2006). Thus, the influence of external

variables may contribute to differences in research findings, and these factors need to be

considered.

Finally, the results from this study provide preliminary evidence to indicate that there

are certain leadership behaviours that may be effective and transferable across different

cultures. Future cross-national studies will need to be undertaken to confirm whichspecific leadership styles are culturally universal and effective in the Thai cultural

setting.

Notes on contributor

Vimolwan Yukongdi is a Senior Lecturer in Management in the School of Management &Marketing at the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. She holds a PhD degree from theUniversity of Melbourne, MBA from the University of Pittsburgh, and BBA (Magna Cum Laude)from Assumption University. She has lived in nine countries, including Malaysia, Thailand,Denmark, Japan, Kenya, Pakistan, USA, Australia and New Zealand. Vimolwan has worked at Esso

(ExxonMobil) and in the consulting industry. She has held academic appointments at universities inAustralia, New Zealand, and Thailand, including the University of Melbourne, University ofNewcastle, Central Queensland University, Massey University, Assumption University andBangkok University. Her research interests are in leadership, participative decision-making, andwomen managers in Asia. Her research has appeared in books, journals, and conference proceedings.She is the co-editor ofThe Changing Face of Women Managers in Asia (2009) andWomen in Asian

Management(2006).

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