Acculturation matters?: Comparing the leadership perceptions among Chinese professionals in Australia and China

Despite the increasing participation of Chinese immigrant professionals in Australian workplace, they are still underrepresented in senior leadership positions and their perspectives have been overlooked in management and leadership research. Drawing on the literature on acculturation and leadership, this study explores the acculturation experiences of Chinese immigrant professionals (CIPs) and in turn their leadership perceptions, relative to a comparison group of Chinese Professionals (CPs) in China. We found that CIPs’ acculturation experiences influence their perceptions of ethics and respect for authority, but not their preference for participative decision making. Our study highlights the dynamic relationship between acculturation and key leadership issues from a follower’s perspective for immigrant professionals with a Chinese background. It extends current understanding of the cognitive outcomes of acculturation and has strong implications for cross-cultural leadership competency training, talent management and diversity and inclusion of minority workers.