Leadership styles and management practices of russian entrepreneurs: Implications for transferability of western HRD interventions

This study explores the degree of readiness among Russian entrepreneurs to adopt Western HRD interventions. Structured interviews were conducted with 256 owners and CEOs of private Russian companies created after 1986 as independent start-ups or as spinoffs from state-owned firms. Manufacturing, retail, wholesale trade, and service sectors were represented. Entrepreneurs from the eight largest Russian cities were selected to represent the major economic regions. The study examined leadership styles, management decision-making processes, and the degree of involvement in management and HRD interventions. Among other results, it found that work design and performance management interventions were used more often than employee training and development or interventions aimed at changing the organizational culture.