This study examines the behavior of Thai leaders as it relates to the psychosocial phenomenon known as "face." Ethnographic research clarifies the anatomy of Thai face, documents face as essential social capital for Thai leaders, and delineates ways that leaders can lose face, maintain face, and gain face. The researcher explores face dynamics of traditional Thai patron-client relations, known as bunkhun , and traces distinct differences in face behavior stemming from divergent sources of power available to Thai leaders. He also probes indigenous views of virtuous leadership behaviors and their implications for facework between leaders and followers.
This qualitative research, based on social anthropology, explores the social nature of face in Thai culture, the social values of face, the social dimensions of leadership, and the social context of power. The central argument is that when a Thai leader perceives the honor inherent in his repository of face to be founded upon virtue rather than wealth, hegemony, or any other form of excellence, face can become a potent resource for empowering the most preferable emerging leaders.
The researcher conducted two stages of fieldwork in Thailand using the central Thai language. In stage one he utilized participant observation, unstructured interviews, eight focus groups, and twenty-one long interviews with a total of sixty-four leaders and followers from diverse levels of society. In stage two he conducted seventeen personal interviews and three focus groups with prominent Buddhist and Christian leaders.
Research pursued a central question: "Can face be used to empower new leaders, and if so, how?" Findings will: (1) help cross-cultural workers in Thailand to understand social values pertaining to face and show sensitivity and resourcefulness as they address face-related problems; (2) assist Thai leaders to empower worthy subalterns and cultivate a sense of contentment when protégés grow and succeed; (3) provide a deepened understanding of the relationship between face and power, including the pathway to increasing power without threatening trust that has been built with followers; (4) build a case for the place of virtue in all discussions of facework; and (5) prove applicable to other leader-follower contexts that share similar notions of face, especially those in Asia.
