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Leadership Development in Saudi Arabia's Private Sector

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University of San Diego Digital USD Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 2021-05-15 Leadership Development in Saudi Arabia’s Private Sector: A Mixed Methods Approach Khaled Hanaky University of San Diego Follow this and additional works at: https://digital.sandiego.edu/dissertations Part of the Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons, Leadership Studies Commons, Organizational Behavior and Theory Commons, Other Business Commons, Other International and Area Studies Commons, and the Training and Development Commons Digital USD Citation Hanaky, Khaled, "Leadership Development in Saudi Arabia’s Private Sector: A Mixed Methods Approach" (2021). Dissertations. 195. https://digital.sandiego.edu/dissertations/195 This Dissertation: Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Digital USD. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital USD. For more information, please contact [email protected]. LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT IN SAUDI ARABIA’S PRIVATE SECTOR: A MIXED METHODS APPROACH by Khaled A. Hanaky A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2021 Dissertation Committee Fred J. Galloway, PhD, Chair Robert Donmoyer, PhD, Member William H. Davidson, DBA, Member Abdulmalik A. Alhusseini, PhD, Member University of San Diego © Copyright by Khaled A. Hanaky All Rights Reserved 2021 University of San Diego School of Leadership and Education Sciences CANDIDATE’S NAME: Khaled A. Hanaky TITLE OF DISSERTATION: LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT IN SAUDI ARABIA’S PRIVATE SECTOR: A MIXED METHODS APPROACH APPROVAL: _____________________________________, Chair Fred J. Galloway, PhD- _____________________________________, Member Robert Donmoyer, PhD - _____________________________________, Member William H. Davidson, DBA _____________________________________, Member Abdulmalik A. Alhusseini, PhD DATE: April 2, 2021 ABSTRACT There is currently a proliferation of business-focused leadership development programs in Saudi Arabia. These programs represent a reaction to the shortage of qualified leaders who can drive and sustain both recent and future advances introduced by Saudi Vision 2030, the national transformation program that is introducing social and economic reforms. Importantly, business leadership development has not been studied in this context of contemporary Saudi Arabia. This study examined the state of Saudi leadership development programs by employing an explanatory sequential case study design that focused on a particular leadership development program. Through the use of surveys and participant interviews, results revealed that most participants benefitted from the program and noticed growth in their leadership skills. Results also suggested that participants found small group activities and strategic management to be the most effective program features. Regression analysis results revealed significant positive correlations between participants’ growth in their leadership skills and the relevance of program content to their background and work, as well as their engagement in program activities, while a significant negative correlation was found between participants’ growth in leadership and their status as a parent. While qualitative interview findings confirmed the first two findings, they contradicted the parental finding, suggesting that more research is needed in this area. Interviews also pointed to some of the most valuable components of the program including the overall quality of training content and delivery, interactivity and practicality of the program, and participants’ ability to learn soft skills and change their perspectives. Some areas of improvement were also discovered including enrollment criteria and the quality and comprehensiveness of program material such as readings. The findings and recommendations from this study could benefit various stakeholders. For instance, organizations interested in these programs need to select people who are interested in learning and growing their skills. Organizations also need to consider supplementary initiatives within the workplace to expand leadership development from individual to collective levels. For trainers, practicality and interactivity are key features for successful programs. Finally, many soft skills taught in these programs could be included into school curriculum to ensure future workers are better prepared. DEDICATION To Gada, Abdullah, Jazi, Maha, and Mohammed. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS All praise and gratitude to Almighty Allah for his countless bounties and grace. And being able to express gratitude to Him is indeed the greatest grace. Alhamdulillah. I also would like to especially thank my parents Abdullah and Munera for their endless love, support, and prayers. In addition, I am grateful to my loving and supportive wife, Gada, and my wonderful children, Abdullah, Jazi, Maha, and Mohammed for their encouragement, for their love, for all the fun, for teaching me, and for keeping me going. Also, my deepest thanks to my siblings and their children and spouses for their support and prayers. Same gratitude goes to my extended family, my former colleagues from Arasco, and all my friends in Saudi Arabia. I am extremely grateful to my committee Chair and members. This would have not been possible without the guidance and inspiration from my advisor, Fred Galloway, as well as Bob Donmoyer. It was a privilege to sit in your classes and learn from your vast experiences. My heartful appreciation also goes to Bill Davidson and Abdulmalik Alhusseini for volunteering as external committee members and for their dedication and feedback. I am deeply grateful to the entire Department of Leadership Studies community including faculty, staff, and my wonderful colleagues. Finally, I am indebt to my country, Saudi Arabia, for providing me this opportunity to seek a doctoral degree. Special thanks to everyone in the Ministry of Education and the Cultural Mission in USA. vii ORDER OF PAGES ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................ vii ORDER OF PAGES ........................................................................................................ viii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. xi CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY ................................................... 1 Background to the Study ................................................................................................. 1 A New Era Begins ....................................................................................................... 2 Vision 2030 ................................................................................................................. 3 Demographic Situation ................................................................................................ 5 Problem Statement .......................................................................................................... 7 Purpose and Research Questions ................................................................................... 10 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................... 11 Leader and Leadership Development ............................................................................ 13 Importance of Leadership Development ................................................................... 16 Leadership Skills and Leadership Traits ................................................................... 17 Culture of Saudi Arabia ................................................................................................. 19 Leadership Development in Saudi Arabia .................................................................... 23 Ways of Improving Leadership Capacity in Saudi Arabia ........................................ 27 Western Models of Leadership in Non-Western Cultures ............................................ 29 Summary of Literature Review ..................................................................................... 33 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY ......................................................................... 35 Research Design ............................................................................................................ 36 Sites and Participants .................................................................................................... 37 Data Collection and Analysis Procedures ..................................................................... 38 viii Quantitative Data Collection Procedures .................................................................. 38 Quantitative Data Analysis Procedures ..................................................................... 39 Qualitative Data Collection Procedures .................................................................... 39 Qualitative Data Analysis Procedures ....................................................................... 40 Researcher’s Positionality Statement ............................................................................ 41 CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS ........................................................................................ 42 Quantitative Data Collection Procedures ...................................................................... 43 Quantitative Data Analysis and Findings (RQ1)
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