NORDIC EUROPE CLUSTER
The Nordic Europe cluster in the GLOBE Research Program consisted of Denmark, Ireland, and Sweden. In this volume, the cluster is represented by Finland and Sweden. This region is generally considered to consist of the Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. These countries are called Nordic because the word Nord means “North” in several languages. Therefore these countries are also referred to as Northern European countries.
In terms of cultural dimensions, this cluster is high on Future Orientation, Gender Egalitarianism, Institutional Collectivism, and Uncertainty Avoidance. This cluster falls in the middle range of scores on Humane Orientation and Performance Orientation. Its scores on Assertiveness, In-Group Collectivism, and Power Distance are low (House et al., 2004).
In terms of Leadership, the Nordic European cluster endorses a blend of high Charismatic/Value-Based and high Team-Oriented leadership with considerable elements of Participative leadership. Although Self-Protective leadership is strongly rejected, there is tolerance of Autonomous leadership.
Although the Scandinavian or Nordic countries are often referred to as a region of culturally similar countries, there are significant variances among these countries. For example, Finland and Sweden, the two countries represented in this volume, differ on how Humane Oriented leadership is enacted. Whereas personal sensitivity and development support are the main means of achieving Humane Oriented leadership in Finland, it is the egalitarian approach in Sweden that grants individual autonomy and hence enables enactment of Humane Oriented leadership.
REFERENCES
House, R. J., Hanges, P. J., Javidan, M., Dorfman, P. W., Gupta, V., & GLOBE Associates. (2004). Culture, leadership, and organizations: The GLOBE study of 62 societies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.