Management and Marketing - Theses

Permanent URI for this collection

http://hdl.handle.net/11343/406

Filters

2012 1
1
1
Reset filters

Settings
Statistics
Citations
End date: 2012 × Start date: 2012 × Subject: China ×

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Item
    Thumbnail Image
    Self-development of leadership competencies among middle managers in China
    REN, SHUANG ( 2012)
    Pressure for continuous learning, awareness of ineffectiveness associated with organisation-arranged training, and career models that require greater self-direction increase the need for middle managers to use their initiatives, take responsibility and direct their own development of leadership competencies (i.e. self-development). Such self-development (SD), however, has not received systematic research in the literature, in particular, Chinese literature. Empirical evidence of the antecedents and consequences of SD in the workplace is not well understood. What lies behind action that links cognition, person and context is also overlooked by most studies in the field of SD. Therefore, researchers and practitioners are unable to predict which middle managers will conduct SD, what leadership competencies get developed, and the conditions under which SD activities are most effective. This thesis employs a mixed-method design, through qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys, and enhances understandings of the antecedents and consequences of SD within the context of China. It goes beyond previous research and makes contributions in at least three ways. First, it develops a hybrid and dynamic perspective to understand SD with attentiveness to the ongoing interplay between different institutional influences. This challenges the prevailing ‘either/or’ formal logic to which most studies subscribe for simplistic explanation in the literature. Second, this research integrates both individual characteristics and organisational context variables to investigate the underlying mechanisms and supporting processes of SD activities. This fills in a research gap in which most prior studies focus on individual characteristics without understanding the process of SD. Third, the consequences of SD as well as the role of individuals and organisations are evaluated and tested. This fills in a critical research gap in which, despite conceptual predictions of SD as beneficial, not much empirical work is conducted. Therefore, the research findings not only contribute to the substantive theory underpinning this thesis, but also develop a better understanding of SD in a transitional economy.