The influence of CEO leadership on organizational learning in internationalizing high-tech companies in China

Wu, Fan (2023) The influence of CEO leadership on organizational learning in internationalizing high-tech companies in China. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

This research explores how CEO leadership affects the learning process of internationalizing high-tech companies. There has been a growing recognition of the role of leadership in the international learning process. For example, scholars have discussed the influence of several factors, such as leaders’ cognition, decision-making style, and entrepreneurship, on international learning process. Moreover, CEO leadership has been treated as an important factor that can affect a company’s organizational learning. However, very few studies have discussed the role of leadership in the organizational learning process of companies’ internationalization. Based on a review of existing research gaps in the role of leadership in organizational and international learning literature, this research seeks to gain rich insights into how leadership influences organizational learning in high-tech companies’ internationalizing in the Chinese context. This research focused on two common leadership styles in China, authoritarian leadership and empowering leadership. These two leadership styles can be explained through Chinese traditional philosophy and from the lens of power, authoritarian leadership and empowering leadership are deserved to be compared.

This research adopts a qualitative approach based on 8 case studies of Chinese high-tech internationalizing companies. Semi-structured interviews with the CEO and at least two senior managers were carried out in each case. This research contributes to international learning process literature. CEO leadership is proposed as a key factor that can influence each construct associated with the international learning process and cause different international learning processes. This research also contributes to both leadership and internationalization literature as it uses organizational learning as a bridge linking leadership and internationalization. Different leadership styles could cause different internationalization outcomes in performance and management perspectives due to different international learning processes. Moreover, CEO leadership could be changed during companies’ internationalization process.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Subjects: H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management
• Colleges/Schools: College of Social Sciences > Adam Smith Business School
• Supervisor's Name: Fletcher, Professor Margaret and Robinson, Professor Sarah
• Date of Award: 2023
• Depositing User: Theses Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2023-83487
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 20 Mar 2023 16:30
• Last Modified: 23 Mar 2023 09:57
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.83487
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/83487