Leadership Development in Egypt: How Indigenous Managers Construe Western Leadership Theories

View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by ROS: The Research Output Service. Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh Leadership Development in Egypt: How indigenous managers construe Western leadership theories By Helen T Cullina Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Business Administration Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh Business School February 2016 The copyright in this thesis is owned by the author. Any quotation from the thesis or use of any of the information contained in it must acknowledge this thesis as the source of the quotation or information. i ABSTRACT This research examines the ways in which Egyptian managers make sense of the leadership theories they are exposed to in their work interactions and their in-house leadership development training. This empirical study utilizes Personal Construct Theory to uncover how the indigenous managers construe Western evolved leadership theories. The research strategy follows a phenomenological paradigm, based on a comparative case study centered on an international design consulting firm headquartered in the Middle East region. The data collection tools, i.e., the Repertory Grid Technique (RGT), Personal Value Statements and Storytelling are consistent with an inductive, constructivist approach. The findings illustrate differences in how leadership theories are construed by indigenous managers compared to their UK counterparts and consequently which theories are more and less favoured. An emergent finding that evolved from this enquiry was the differences between Egyptian managers’ espousals and actual day to day leadership practices. This finding raises greater awareness of the role that cultural values play in the cross-cultural arena of leadership. The ethnographic technique of Storytelling brought to light the influence of national culture when leadership is enacted. The findings and results of this thesis throws some much needed light onto a geographical area that recent political events have brought to prominence as well as making a contribution towards understanding the potential barriers of transferring knowledge between cultures that differ in several important ways. The results are also useful from the perspective of Training and Development. Western trainers working in the Middle East region in addition to indigenous trainers seeking to provide effective leadership development programs will be able to discern which Western leadership theories to focus on, adapt and or disregard. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my thanks to a number of people who contributed to my achievement of this thesis. Firstly I would like to express my gratitude and sincere thanks to my mentor and supervisor Professor Devi Jankowicz. His support and genuine interest in both my thesis and personal growth is greatly appreciated. Professor Jankowicz’s timely and detailed feedback gave me confidence in what I was attempting to achieve and smoothed the path on the ambitious journey I had undertaken. I am also thankful to my employer for agreeing to be the case study in this thesis in addition to colleagues who participated in the research. Without the approval to access various staff members and without their participation this study would not have been possible. I would also like to thank members of the university staff, Adrian Carberry and Catherine Ure for their support and service delivery they each provided over the duration of my studies. iii iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii ACADEMIC REGISTRY iv LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES ix GLOSSARY OF KEY TERMS xi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Background 1 1.2 Research Aims, Objectives and Research Questions 7 1.3 Research Methodology 8 1.4 Significance 10 1.5 Outline of the thesis 11 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 14 2.1 Introduction 14 2.2 Globalization 17 2.2.1 Two Contending Positions 17 2.2.2 Conceptualizing the Global Local Tensions 19 2.3 Knowledge Transfer Across Cultures 23 2.3.1 Diffusion of Innovation 24 2.4 Translation and Travel of Ideas 26 2.4.1 Language as a Component of Knowledge Transfer 30 2.4.2 Differences and Characteristics of the Arabic Language 32 2.4.3 Sense-making 33 2.4.4 Personal Construct Theory (PCT) 36 2.5 Cross-cultural Studies 38 2.5.1 Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions 41 2.5.2 Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner’s Cultural Dimensions 43 2.5.3 Project GLOBE 45 2.5.4 The World Values Survey (WVS) 48 2.6 Egyptian National Culture 51 2.6.1 The Socio-Cultural Context 51 2.6.2 The Religious Context 52 2.6.3 Organizational Behaviour and Leadership Style 54 2.7 Leadership Theories 57 2.7.1 Traits Theory 59 2.7.2 Managerial Behavioural Grid 60 2.7.3 Situational Leadership 61 2.7.4 The Leadership Continuum 63 2.7.5 Path Goal Theory 66 2.7.6 Contingency Theory 67 2.7.7 Transactional and Transformational Leadership 68 2.7.8 The 5 Practices of Leadership 71 v 2.8 The Indigenous Manager 75 2.8.1 Arab Leadership 76 2.9 Literature Synthesis and Critical Analysis 78 2.9.1 Literature Synthesis 78 2.9.2 Gaps and Further Critical Analysis 88 2.9.3 Research Question, Framework of Analysis 89 2.10 Chapter Summary 91 CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY, DESIGN AND METHODS 93 3.1 Introduction 93 3.2 Research Design and Methodology 93 3.2.1 Research Paradigm 94 3.2.2 Data Collection and Analysis 97 3.2.2.1 Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis 98 3.2.3 Research Methodology 100 3.2.3.1 Case Study Methodology 100 3.2.3.2 Case Selection 102 3.2.3.3 Case Study Sample 106 3.4 Overview of the Data Collection 108 3.4.1 Repertory Grid Technique (RGT) 109 3.4.2 The Study of Values 115 3.4.3 Storytelling - An Ethnographic Approach 117 3.4.3.1 The Value of Storytelling 117 3.5 Data Collection of the Main Study 121 3.5.1 RGT Interview Procedures 121 3.5.2 Personal Values Statements (PVS) 123 3.5.2.1 PVS (follow up) Interviews 124 3.5.3 Storytelling 126 3.6 Data Analysis 127 3.6.1 RGT Content Analysis 128 3.6.2 Content Analysis (Honey’s Technique 1979) 129 3.6.3 PVS Analysis 132 3.6.4 Storytelling Analysis 133 3.7 Ethical Considerations 135 3.8 Chapter Summary 136 CHAPTER 4 THE PILOT STUDY 137 4.1 Introduction 137 4.2 Pilot Study Objectives 138 4.3 Procedure 138 4.3.1 Data Collection 139 4.3.2 Data Analysis 139 4.3.3 Results 139 4.4 Content Analysis 140 4.5 Pilot Study Conclusion 143 4.6 Chapter Summary 145 vi CHAPTER 5 MAIN STUDY FINDINGS 146 5.1 Introduction 146 5.2 RGT Aggregate Analysis 147 5.2.1 Construct Content Analysis 147 5.2.2 Element Analysis 156 5.2.2.1 Overall Preferences for the Different Leadership Theories 156 5.2.2.3 Differential Preferences 158 5.3 Personal Values Statements (PVS) Findings 165 5.4 Storytelling Findings 169 5.4.1 Storytelling Content Analysis 170 5.4.2 Storytelling from a Cross-cultural Analysis 173 5.5 Triangulation of Findings 178 5.6 Chapter Summary 181 CHAPTER 6 DISCUSSION AND INTERPRETATION 183 6.1 Introduction 183 6.2 RGT Categories 184 6.3 The Element Analysis 191 6.3.1 Indigenous Preferences of the Leadership Theories 192 6.4 Discussion of Emergent Findings: Espousals versus Enactment 197 6.5 Values 198 6.6 Storytelling 201 6.6.1 Storytelling Content Analysis 202 6.6.2 Storytelling from a Cross-Cultural Perspective 205 6.7 Conceptualizing the leadership theories and ‘Travel of Ideas’ 206 6.8 Chapter Summary 209 CHAPTER 7 CONCLUSIONS 212 7.1 Introduction 212 7.2 Recap on the Research Questions and Conclusions 212 7.3 Research Summary 213 7.4 Academic Contributions 215 7.5 Professional Contributions 217 7.6 Research Limitations 219 7.6.1 Strengths 219 7.6.2 Weaknesses 221 7.7 Further Research 221 7.8 Chapter Summary 222 REFERENCES 223 APPENDICES 246 Appendix A: Grid sheet 247 Appendix B: Interview File Cards 248 Appendix C: RGT Interview Procedure 250 Appendix D: RGT Pilot Study Interview 1 251 vii Appendix E: A Worked Example of Grid Sheet Calculations for the Percentage 252 Similarity Scores and H-I-L Scores Appendix F: 1st Attempt Inter-rater Agreement of RGT Content Analysis 253 Appendix G: 2nd Attempt Inter-rater Agreement of RGT Content Analysis 254 Appendix H: Construct Raw Database 255 Appendix I: Summary of Ratings on the Overall Supplied Construct - Total 267 Appendix J: Summary of Ratings on the Overall Supplied Construct - Egypt 268 Appendix K: Summary of Ratings on the Overall Supplied Construct - UK 269 Appendix L: 1st Attempt Inter-rater Agreement of Storytelling Content Analysis 270 Appendix M: 2nd Attempt Inter-rater Agreement of Storytelling Content Analysis 271 Appendix N: Personal Values Laddering Up Template 272 Appendix O: Summary of Total Number of Values 273 Appendix P: Table 5.10 Stories Reflecting Aspects of the Organizational Culture of 281 Company X in Relation to the 4 Major Cross-cultural Referenced Studies viii LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Tables Table 2.1 Definitions of National Culture 39 Table 2.2 Cross-cultural Dimensions Pertaining to Egypt (Hofstede el al, 43 2010) Table 2.3 Cross-cultural Dimensions Pertaining to Egypt (Trompenaars and 45 Hampden-Turner, 1998) Table 2.4 Cultural Clusters Classification of Societal Cultural Practices 48 Scores Pertaining to the Middle East (House et al, 2004) Table 2.5 World Values Survey (Inglehardt, 2011) 50 Table 2.6 Culturally Implicit Leadership Dimensions of the Middle East 56 Region (Javidan et al, 2006) Table 2.7 Summary of the Referenced Studies Characterizing the Egyptian 74 Manager Table 2.8 Arab Leadership.

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