The leadership relationship in Hong Kong : Power, interdependence, and controversy

Deutsch's theory of cooperation and competition may be usefully extended to understanding effective, empowering leadership in Chinese settings. Results f structural equation modeling and other analyses on data collected from interviews of leaders and employees in Hong Kong indicate that cooperative goals contributed to constructive discussion between leaders and employees which in turn resulted in productive work and stronger work relationships. Cooperative goals and constructive controversy also predicted to democratic leadership and to the power of employees and leaders. These results do not argue that Chinese and North Americans lead in a highly similar manner, for how these groups operationalize the theory may differ significantly. Cooperation theory may have the potential for managers and employees to use even in cross-cultural settings to promote effective leadership and work.