Face’s Consequences: The Impact of “Face” on Leadership, Management and Follower Behaviour in Malaysia

As our world continues to “flatten” with growing globalization, managers are increasingly required to adapt to different cultures. It has been argued by many authors that failure to make such adaptations can lead to negative consequences (Hofstede, 1980a; 2001; Hofstede & Hofstede, 2005; House & Aditya, 1997). Statistics suggest that 70% of international ventures fail (Yan & Luo, 2001), often due to cultural misunderstandings (Livermore, 2011). It is not surprising, therefore, that interest in cross-cultural management research continues to grow (Dickson, Den Hartog & Mitchelson, 2003). It has been argued that a significant barrier to adopting Western management practices in Asia is “face” (Abdullah, 1996; Hofstede, 2001). While significant work has been carried out in this area, it has tended to focus more on the impact of face on societal interactions overall (Earley, 1997; Goffman, 1972; Holtgraves, 1997), on negotiations (Ting-Toomey, 1999), and less on specific management behaviour. Given the importance of face in Asia (Abdullah, 2001; Hofstede, 2001), it is important for Westerners to understand how to adapt their behaviour appropriately to manage and lead others effectively. While recent empirical research on face in Asia exists, notably in China (Kwang, 2006; Leung & Chan, 2003), the concept appears to be under-researched in Southeast Asia and Malaysia in particular.