Subtle and Overt Behaviors Toward Ethnic Minority Leaders and the Moderating Role of Competence

This study extends research on stereotypes and leadership to consider the subtle and overt behavioral responses to leaders from multiple ethnic backgrounds. Specifically, the study focuses on overt and subtle discrimination toward African American, Asian American, Middle Eastern American, and White...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of leadership & organizational studies Vol. 26; no. 3; pp. 372 - 388
Main Authors Anderson, Amanda J., Ahmad, Afra Saeed, King, Eden B., Gilrane, Veronica
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.08.2019
Sage Publications Ltd
Subjects
Asian Americans
Leadership
Organizational behavior
Racial discrimination
Stereotypes
Studies
competence
individuating information
stereotypes
leadership
race/ethnicity
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Summary:This study extends research on stereotypes and leadership to consider the subtle and overt behavioral responses to leaders from multiple ethnic backgrounds. Specifically, the study focuses on overt and subtle discrimination toward African American, Asian American, Middle Eastern American, and White male leaders. Results from an experiment measuring authentic reactions to leaders reveal that Asian American leaders were treated more negatively in comparison to White and Middle Eastern American leaders. Furthermore, individuating information about the leader’s competence marginally improved performance expectations of Middle Eastern American leaders compared with White and Asian leaders. However, African American leaders were treated less positively when information about competence was provided compared with when it was not. The findings suggest that the unique stereotypes of each ethnic group can affect the utility of providing individuating information about competence.
ISSN:1548-0518
1939-7089
DOI:10.1177/1548051819859289