Cross-cultural leadership behavior adjustment and leader effectiveness: a framework and implications

Abstract In this paper, we propose a theoretical framework delineating the conditions under which expatriate business leaders are likely to adjust their leadership behaviors and how leadership behavior adjustment is related to leader effectiveness. The adjustment of leadership behaviors in cross-cultural contexts has been argued to be crucial for the effectiveness of leadership; however, little effort has been made to conceptualize the relationship between leadership behavior adjustment and leader effectiveness. We propose that factors at multiple levels can influence leadership behavior adjustments and that there is a reciprocal relationship between leadership behavior adjustments, leadership behaviors, and leader effectiveness. The theoretical contributions and extensions of the framework and practical implications for expatriate business leaders and multinational companies are discussed.