Abstract:

Values are broad goals that vary in importance as guiding principles in life of people. Two types are distinguished: collectivistic and individualistic values. They differ on their emphasis on a collective or personal self, if personal goals are considered more or less important than the group goals, and the extent to which social norms or individual attitudes should determine behavior (e.g., Triandis, 1995). Values that serve individualistic interests are ambition or pleasure, while values that serve collectivist interests are, for instance, responsibility or helpfulness. Traditionally, research on gender issues has displayed that the values that serve to collectivist interests are consistent with the traditional feminine gender role, while the values that serve to individualistic interests are consistent with the traditional masculine role. In addition, stereotypically female values are not congruent with the values traditionally associated to leadership positions (Cuadrado, 2004). The masculine ones seem to be more suitable. As result, women may have difficulties to achieve leadership jobs in comparison with men (think manager-think male). However, when we think about a company which is performing poorly, that is to say, is in a crisis situation, which values are preferred in the leader, the masculine or the feminine ones?
The aim of this study is to analyze which values are considered more suitable in a leader in an organization which is facing a crisis and also to explore the gender differences in this topic. The sample was composed of 240 Spanish university students (n = 96 men and n = 144 women). The results show that participants consider that both individualistic (e.g., success) and collectivist (e.g., responsibility) values have similar relevance in a leader of a crisis organization. In addition, for male and female participants individualistic values have similar importance. In the case of collectivist values, there are gender differences. Female students in comparison with male students perceive those values more important in a leader in a crisis company. The implications of the results for education considering that values guide social attitudes, future research guidelines, and limitations of the study are also discussed.

Keywords:

Individualistic-collectivist values, gender, leadership, crisis