Leadership and leadership development in Asia

Over the course of the last two decades there has been growing empirical research on leadership in Asian organizational settings (Arvey, Dhanaraj, Javidan, & Zhang, 2015; Liden, 2012). Whilst one stream of research suggests that cultural and institutional factors have led Asian managers to adopt distinct leadership styles (Farh & Cheng, 2000), another stream of research has examined the differences and similarities in individuals’ perceptions as to what constitutes effective leadership in Asia and the West (Kirkman, Chen, Farh, Chen, & Lowe, 2009), and whether Western models of leadership are applicable in the Asian context (Leong & Fischer, 2011). This work asserts that many leadership behaviors are universally accepted and effective in promoting positive work outcomes amongst followers (Arvey et al., 2015).