Are female leadership styles culturally universal or specific? A comparative study between Italy and Japan

The aim of the present research is to analyse to what extent female
leadership styles vary across cultures – by digging more in depth
on how the new “impostor phenomenon” affect successful women
covering leadership position, since, nowadays, women still face
either difficulty in entering the job market or they receive a lower
salary compared to the male counterpart. This has been done
through the analysis of the already existing literature upon the
various leadership styles, gender differences and influences on
leadership styles, and culture. After adopting the cultural definition
and dimensions proposed by Hofstede, an experimental empirical
section started. To explore the main research question, a sample of
female managers and directors working in Italy and Japan filled out
an online self-report survey. The quali-quantitative findings clearly
reveal that leadership style varies according to the culture; while
behaviours related to the Impostor Phenomenon seems to be
universally felt. These results seem to take even more shape in the
light of the social role theory and the Hofstede cultural dimensions
of the two countries. Notwithstanding the obtained results, the
research gives a lot of other suggestions, leaving space for further
studies and consideration in the field of leadership studies,
especially in relation with the female group.