“My father knows the minister”

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to fill a gap in the literature on Arab women's conceptions of leadership. By comparing women's leadership authority values in three Arab countries, the paper aims to refine existing gender‐neutral research on leadership in the “Arab world”.Design/methodology/approachThe study involved administering a survey, which had been developed based on Weber's work on authority (1978) and contemporary discussions of implicit leadership theories (ILT). The data (n=320) were drawn from female subjects who were enrolled in upper‐division business major classes in three countries, Oman, Lebanon and the UAE The women thus constituted educated entrants to their respective labor markets. The data were subjected to an analysis of group means on each of the questions, using the Scheffe option available in ANOVA.FindingsThe analysis found evidence of common leadership authority values in the Gulf countries (Oman and the UAE). Lebanon, meanwhile, was distinguished by relatively low levels of “traditional” authority, and very high levels of “charismatic” authority. The findings demonstrate important regional similarities and difference in leadership authority values in the “Arab world.”Research limitations/implicationsThe study is limited by the number of countries studied. It is thus anticipated that future comparative research will be extended to include other countries (both Arab and non‐Arab), and men.Practical implicationsLeadership training in the Arab region must be sensitized and tailored to address regional and gender‐specific conceptions of leadership.Originality/valueThe paper challenges and refines widespread meta‐notions and analyses of the “Arab world” and “Arab leadership.”