39 03 / 24 PERSONALquarterly people are expected to prioritize the will of the society. The latter will return the care through protection when needed. M asculinity versus femininity represents the societal division of roles according to gender. Masculine societies are more concerned with performance, achievement and showing off than feminine societies. People in masculine societies, including both Italy and Japan, admire the strong. We chose to compare servant leadership in Italy versus Japan, because the cultures in both nations present preconditions that seem to hamper servant leadership behaviours. The hierarchical structure of both countries likely hinders the possibility of treating others as pares. Additionally, Italian individualism combined with strong masculinity likely prevents the idea of leadership as service. Japanese strong collectivism instead likely goes against the focus on individuals’ development because prioritizing the work group or the organization is the norm. The aim of our study is to show the tailored constructions of servant leadership in its practice across different cultures, specifically in Italy versus Japan, where practicing servant leadership is a challenge, and where we can expect to observe cultural differences. Methodological approach Our case study approach focused on two exemplary CEOs from each country who symbolize servant leadership and entrepreneurial success. Italy is represented by Alberto Balocco from Balocco S.p.A and Brunello Cucinelli from Brunello Cucinelli S.p.A, Japan by Akio Toyoda from Toyoda Motor Corporation and Takeshi Niinami from Suntory Holdings Limited. All four represent outstanding companies for their respective countries and are publicly recognised for creating an excellent corporate culture. We conducted an online search and analysis of podcasts, interviews, and speeches to explore and crystallize narratives and behaviours of the leaders, via extraction and interpretation of insightful sentences and expressions. We followed an abductive approach that contains open, inductive interpretation of our data as well as relating identified concepts with prior literature. Our iterative process of moving between our data and the literature was guided by the Gioia methodology, resulting in a focus on four aspects: S tewardship (intention and commitment to serve others’ needs, moral integrity, and concern for the community) E mpowerment (facilitating growth multidimensionally) H umility (modesty and understanding of one‘s own limits) F orgiveness (empathy and compassion). Exploring servant leadership practice in Italy versus Japan Italian servant leadership summary. The Italian servant leaders enacted servant leadership focusing on needs of their followers which are related to Italian national culture. They focused on safety (addressing uncertainty avoidance) and self-realization (addressing masculinity), and highlighted that their aim was to unify individual aspirations and interests with those of the community. This seemed to be a strategy to integrate "serving" with the cultural tendencies stemming from individualism and power distance in their country. They did not reject individualism but restricted its influence by highlighting the relevance of family bond, presenting themselves as a father in a peer relationship, switching the focus from the sole self to others, and showing exemplary self-restraint avoiding misbehaviour like egoism. They also seemed to adjust the excess of masculinity by demonstrating discipline in controlling unwarranted ambition, combining personal development with others’ development, and showing strength through the moral authority of a father and firmness in guiding followers’ transformation to fulfil their full potential. Moreover, they explicitly addressed power distance by flattening hierarchy and sharing power with employees, almost like in a peer relationship, and by providing indications for a change towards empowering attitudes. They also addressed uncertainty avoidance by reassuring individual worth and investments in well-being, and consistent adherence to principles as part of a father’s moral integrity. In sum, the Italian servant leaders’ approach can be pinpointed, and contrasted to the Japanese servant leaders’ perspective, along the following four dimensions. Italian stewardship: The peer and the father. The Italian servant leaders’ stewardship became evident in their self-perception and aspiration. They had the attitude of a father inside the orABSTRACT Forschungsfrage: Wie unterscheidet sich Servant Leadership in verschiedenen Kulturen, insbesondere zwischen Japan und Italien? Methodik: Qualitative Analyse der Führungsansätze erfolgreicher italienischer und japanischer CEOs mit Schwerpunkt auf den Merkmalen der dienenden Führung und den kulturellen Unterschieden Praktische Implikationen: Anleitung, wie Servant Leader ihr Führungsverhalten an kulturelle Unterschiede anpassen können.
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