Global leadership competencies of senior executives from non-state-owned companies of China: a qualitative study in a Confucian cultural context

Global leadership competencies are critically important for senior executives who wish to achieve business success in the global community. Such competencies include moral leadership competencies, which are significant for addressing unprecedented challenges in the contemporary era of globalisation. But few studies have been conducted in a culturally specific context that considers the cultural influence on cognition upon which these moral leadership competencies are established. This study contextualised the global leadership competencies within the Chinese Confucian culture. Participants were senior executives from Chinese non-state-owned companies that have undergone global expansion. This study investigated one dominant question: What are the global leadership competencies, in a culturally specific context of Confucianism, of senior executives in non-state-owned companies of China? Three subsidiary questions were also considered: (1) What is the significance of Confucianism on the global leadership competencies? (2) What is this study’s uniqueness in comparison with previous studies? (3) What is the implication for global business leaders? The data collected from 30 interviews were analysed using grounded theory methodology and Nvivo software, which identified 116 initial concepts, 42 advanced concepts, 11 categories, 4 axial codes and 1 core axis. The theoretically grounded model illustrates four clusters of global leadership competencies: moral cognition, self leadership,community leadership and sustainability leadership. This study makes five distinct contributions to leadership practice. It creates a culturally specific global leadership competency model, identifying the global leadership competencies of senior executives from Chinese non-state-owned companies in a Confucian cultural context. It articulates the Confucian influence on these competencies. It offers practical implications for management. It provides insights into the minds of Chinese senior executives. Finally, it recommends a culturally specific framework of global leadership competencies.