Leadership in context

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the contextual dimensions that form leadership behaviour amongst Kuwait’s private sector leaders. Design/methodology/approach Using a constructionist approach within which 40 leaders from Kuwaiti private sector organisations were interviewed, in the banking, investment, real estate and services sectors, this paper focuses on two main areas of study: to critically examine the literature and identify the most contextual dimensions found to have significant influence on leadership behaviour and to verify first-hand how the identified dimensions are affecting leaders’ behaviour in the specified context. Findings The research finds that although the content of leadership may not change significantly, the context of leadership is important and is able to alter the quality and behaviour of leaders. Originality/value Empirically based knowledge about leadership in context is limited, as few studies to date have examined the importance of the contextual dimensions in explaining leadership behaviour.