Collectivist Values and Open-Mindedness for Chinese Employees Trust of their Japanese Leaders

Chinese employees may be suspicious of their Japanese managers because of their historical rivalry. Based on social psychological research that enhancing interaction can reduce bias, collectivist and individualist values were hypothesized to promote open-mindedness and thereby result in strong leader relationships between Chinese employees and their Japanese and Chinese managers. Working in Japanese enterprises in Shanghai, China, 100 employees indicated the values in their relationship, interaction, trust in leader, and the effectiveness of their leader relationship. Structural equation analysis suggested that collectivist values reinforce an open-minded discussion of views that in turn results in strong relationships. These findings, coupled with previous research, were interpreted as suggesting that collectivist values and open-minded interaction provide an important foundation for productive leader relationships.