Understanding Managerial Effectiveness: A Chinese Perspective.

Purpose – This study seeks to examine the managerial behavior of Chinese managers, as observed by their superiors, subordinates, and peers in a state‐owned enterprise in China. Specifically, this study aims to explore two questions. First, what managerial behaviors are perceived as being effective in the Chinese state‐owned enterprise? Second, what managerial behaviors are perceived as being least effective or ineffective in the Chinese state‐owned enterprise?Design/methodology/approach – An exploratory qualitative study was conducted using critical incident (CI) interview techniques. From 35 managers of one large state‐owned telecommunication company in Western China, 230 usable CIs were collected. In total, 31 themes were identified from the thematic analysis, of which 14 related to effective managerial behaviors and 17 related to ineffective behaviors.Findings – An effective Chinese manager is perceived as being supportive, caring, fair, engaging, self‐disciplined, unselfish, responsible, and knowledge...