Examine the Effect of Generation in Leadership Process: A Cross-cultural Study in America and China

Abstract

Today’s workforce is more diverse than ever. One diversity issue that has not been generally recognized is generational difference. Generation was examined as a moderator of the relationship between transformational leadership and its effectiveness in this study. The study also provides a crosscultural comparison of the perception of leadership effectiveness in America and in China using a principal component analysis (PCA). The Americans are found to have higher levels of transformational leadership effectiveness than did the Chinese. The results report non-significant correlations between generation and transformational leadership effectiveness. This study broadens the still fragmentary knowledge of the conditions under which transformational leadership is likely to have more or less positive effects on employees’ performance.