Autocratic leadership around the globe: Do climate and wealth drive leadership culture?

Common autocratic leader characteristics in a country's organizations are conceptualized here as cultural adaptations to noncultural components of the national environment, such as the harshness of cold or hot climate and the level of wealth. A secondary analysis of managerial survey data gathered in 61 cultures is used to retest the recently formulated theory that climatic demands matched by wealth-based resources are positively linked to democratic leadership, whereas climatic demands unmatched by wealth-based resources are negatively linked to democratic leadership. In further support of this cultural leadership theory, autocratic leadership, as the opposite of democratic leadership, is seen as less effective in richer countries with more demanding climates but as more effective in poorer countries with more demanding climates.