When Nationality Matters

The objective of the study presented in this article is to answer the question of when nationality matters regarding employees’ interpersonal leadership preferences. Based on a literature review, 16 tenure- and demographic-based groupings of employees (four departments, five work positions, five age groups and gender) were identified. Hypotheses were developed regarding whether employee group-based belonging overrides nationality-based belonging. These were tested across 15 countries and could be rejected for almost all groups due to significant differences in leadership preferences. Although the results concerning three employee groupings: researchers, supervisors and ‘over 55-years-old’ were inconclusive, it was not possible to identify one specific employee grouping that overrode nationality-based belonging. These results contribute to earlier research by refuting the often argued notion that departments, hierarchical work positions, professions, age groups and gender are categories of employees that should be managed as distinct groups with similar leadership preferences across country borders.