Angry leaders and coworkers

Cross-cultural evaluation of anger expression through high-status and equal-status roles

Bibliographic Data

ID12701554
AuthorsSeoungbeom Hong (Chungbuk National University, Korea), Rosemary Hyejin Moon (0000-0002-8079-970X, Hansung University, Korea, corresponding author), Jae Yoon Chang (0000-0003-1803-5896, Sogang University, Korea), Jin Nam Choi (0000-0001-7890-3195, Seoul National University, Korea), Jiyoung Park (0000-0002-0249-5129, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology)
Year2024
Volume24
Issue2
Pages235-257
Publication date2024-04-06
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Cross Cultural Management (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1470-5958 • E-ISSN: 1741-2838
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/14705958241245370
OpenAlexW4394013204
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited74

Anger expressed in organizations conveys potent social information that influences social perceptions and determines subsequent relationships among employees. The present research examined how cultural contexts and hierarchical structure of a given relationship interact to shape perceptions of anger expression. Conducting a survey on subsidiary employees of a multinational high-tech company, Study 1 showed that employees from the Confucian Asian culture (specifically Korea) evaluate anger expressed by high-status counterparts (i.e., managers) more positively in terms of appropriateness and effectiveness compared to those from the Anglo culture (specifically the United States). Study 2, which was based on different samples from the same company, showed that employees from another Confucian Asian country (Japan), compared to those from the Anglo culture (the United States), provide more positive evaluations of the anger expressed by high-status counterparts. In contrast, Study 2 further showed that this cultural difference is reversed when anger is expressed by equal-status counterparts (coworkers). Finally, Study 3 replicated the findings of Study 2 using online-recruited samples and further demonstrated that Confucian Asian sample (Koreans) is more likely to decide to hire a job applicant who expressed anger as a leader than Anglo sample (Americans) is. In contrast, this pattern is reversed when considering a job applicant who expressed anger as a coworker. Theoretical and practical implications for social emotions and cross-cultural management are discussed

Anger · Cross-cultural · Cultural diversity · Expression (computer science · Sociology · Cultural Differences and Values · Emotional Intelligence and Performance · Emotions and Moral Behavior · Psychology · Social Psychology

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