Contextual Factors That Impact Leadership Practices In Cross-Cultural Settings: An Egyptian Case Study

Abstract

This paper explores the contextual factors, other than culture, that affect the implementation of companies’ leadership competencies models, in cross-cultural settings. The study employs qualitative case study, using semi-structured interviews. Two-case studies were conducted to reach more comprehensive findings. Based on the research findings, leaders’ personality and national culture, subordinates’ level of experience, the host-country situation, the company’s strategy, and the nature of the company’s departments may cause variance in leaders’ practices. However the overall variance in leader’s practices between the company’s different offices may decrease due to the company’s culture of origin as and the company’s cross-cultural experience. Thus, companies operating in cross-cultural settings should consider such factors when developing and customizing their leadership model to reach a sound cultural fit.  Based on research findings the paper proposes a model that needs to be tested in further research work.

This study was conducted only on two multinational companies from the same origin and operating in the same host-country. Thus, further research work should be conducted on companies from other origins to generalize findings. This research is among the few studies that address the contextual factors, other than culture, that impact the implementation of companies’ leadership practices in cross-cultural settings. It is also among the few studies that investigates Egyptian business environment in cross-cultural settings.

Keywords: leadership, contextual factors, national culture, multinational companies, Egypt