European J. International Management, Vol. 7, No. 5, 2013 501 Copyright © 2013 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. An exploration of two perspectives on leadership in globalised contexts Rune Rønning*, Bjarne Espedal and Atle Jordahl NHH – The Norwegian School of Economics, Breviksveien 40, 5041 Bergen, Norway Email: rune.roenning@aff.no Email: bjarne.espedahl@nhh.no Email: atle.jordahl@aff.no *Corresponding author Abstract: This paper explores two models of leadership in the globalised context, one rooted in instrumentality and the other in appropriateness. While the logic of instrumentality assumes that leadership practices are universal across national and institutional borders, the logic of appropriateness is sensitive to cross-national cultural and institutional differences. These two standpoints and their relation to multinational enterprises (MNEs) are traced in organisational global leadership theory. Ultimately, the consequences of implementing either of these two thought processes while designing leadership development programs are identified. We argue that applying the logic of instrumentality uncritically to leadership in the globalised context of multinational enterprises is fraught with great risk because this logic tends to ignore the diversity and complexity of MNEs and their environments. It is suggested that the logic of appropriateness in leadership constitutes a viable, suitable and complementary alternative. Keywords: leadership; global leadership; globalised contexts; institutional theory; international management. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Rønning, R., Espedal, B. and Jordahl, A. (2013) ‘An exploration of two perspectives on leadership in globalised contexts’, European J. International Management, Vol. 7, No. 5, pp.501–516. Biographical notes: Rune Rønning is the R&D Director of The Administrative Research Institute at The Norwegian School of Economics in Bergen, Norway. He holds the degree of DMan from University of Hertfordshire, UK, and his primary education is as a clinical psychologist. He has a worked as a consultant within organisational psychology for close to 30 years, and as a researcher within the field of social capital and organisation development as well as gender balance. At present he leads a nationwide research project on Norwegian managers. Bjarne Espedal is Professor of Leadership and Organisational Theory at NHH – The Norwegian School of Economics in Bergen, Norway. His research interests are concentrated on organisational learning and change. He has published numerous articles in journals such as Human Resource Management, British Journal of Management, Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, Leadership, Journal of Organizational Change Management, Journal of