Abstract: As the model of indigenous leadership research, the theory of paternalistic leadership proposed by Cheng has made a great contribution to indigenous theoretical construct and emic approach. However, because the relationship between the construct and its three dimensions is unclear, the theory is confronted with dilemma and challenge, such as monodimension vs multidimension, indigenous theory vs exotic theory. This paper firstly overviews the concept and measurement of indigenous paternalistic leadership, and then makes a survey of some relevant empirical studies and discusses the dilemma and challenges. Finally, several suggestions in terms of resolving the paradox of the construct, extending investigation levels, the comparison of different constructs) for resolving the dilemma, are given.

Key words: paternalistic leadership, authoritarian leadership, benevolent leadership, moral leadership