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This paper aims to examine managerial decision-making approaches, their antecedents and consequences in the Arabian Gulf context. Using recent survey data, the study offers a critical assessment of prevailing myths about decision-making styles in the Arabian Gulf.

Survey data were collected from a sample of 432 managers working in public and private sector companies in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A combination of statistical techniques including confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and hierarchical regression analysis was used to test research hypotheses.

The findings of this study question the myth that UAE or Gulf managers mostly pursue consultative and participative styles of management. Most UAE managers continue to practice an autocratic and a pseudo-consultative style of decision-making, undermining the value of employee input in the decision-making process. The data revealed a strong negative relationship between autocratic management style and a range of personal and organizational outcomes such as job satisfaction, organizational commitment, organizational citizenship behavior, performance and innovative human resource management practices pertaining to work-family life balance and diversity programs. Most employees perceived autocratic management style as a major source of job stress, absenteeism and turnover. Socio-demographic characteristics of managers and their work organizations, considered as antecedents of decision-making styles, played a limited role in shaping decision-making approaches or their consequences. Globalization and associated socio-cultural changes that UAE and other Gulf region countries have experienced over the past two decades seem to have only a marginal impact on decision-making styles.

Use of perceptual survey data places some constraints on the generalizability of our findings. Future research may address this issue with multiple data sources including an in-depth case study.

The findings of this research should be of special interest to both domestic and multinational companies in seeking alignment of their management approaches with the emerging competitive business environment in UAE and other Gulf countries. Theoretically, the paper documents the value of the continuum theory of managerial behavior in UAE and the Arabian Gulf context.

The study represents a first major effort to develop and test a comprehensive conceptual model of antecedents and consequences of managerial decision-making styles in UAE, which may be extended to other countries in the Arabian Gulf region. The value-added contribution of the study may be seen in its critical analysis of prevailing beliefs and assumptions about management practices in the Arabian Gulf.

Investigates managerial values as predictors of managerial decision styles. A multiple regression analysis indicated that existential values related positively to a consultative decision‐making style while tribalistic values related significantly to a pseudo‐consultative decision‐making style. Furthermore, identifies value dimensions attributed to each decision‐making style.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a scale to empirically measure the self-centered leadership SCL pattern in Arab organizations.

This paper depends on two Egyptian samples. It has conducted exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and multiple regression analyses to generate the proposed SCL measurement scale.

The analyses have revealed that the new measurement scale is valid and reliable. They have also confirmed the multidimensional structure of the self-centered leadership construct.

The Arab leadership literature is in short of scales which take into consideration the specialties of the Arab cultures. Therefore, this study fills a lacuna in international research which examines Arab leadership behaviors from a culture-bound perspective.

This study aims to investigate the relationship between ethical leadership and the employee’s perception of job insecurity in the Egyptian public sector. It also investigates the mediating effect of work locus of control on the hypothesized relationship.

The study uses a questionnaire that consists of measures adopted from existing and tested scales. The hypothesized model has been tested using multiple regression analysis.

The findings reveal that the character of ethical leadership significantly reduces the employee’s perception of threats to job features and the powerlessness to counteract threats. However, the empowerment dimension of ethical leadership has adverse effects in the employee’s perception of powerlessness.

The adverse effects of the empowerment behavior dimension of ethical leadership may be attributed to East–West differences in the conceptualization of empowerment. The Arab style of management promotes the Islamic principle of Shura, which may slightly deviate from that of empowerment.

This study extends job insecurity research in the often untapped Egyptian culture and provides new insights into the perceived role of leadership character and empowerment in a non-western context.

In the management literature there are numerous studies examining the relationship beween satisfaction and individual organisational variables. Studies have shown employee satisfaction to be correlated with leadership style, motivation, job characteristics, absenteeism and turnover, role ambiguity, autonomy, life satisfaction and goal setting. The subject of satisfaction is closely related to the well‐being of organisation members, thus it is considered to be a major variable in organisational life and a most popular topic in applied and theoretical studies.

This study focuses primarily on exploring the role of organizational culture and level of technology used in the organization as predictors of decision‐making styles in a non‐western country, the United Arab Emirates. Results suggest that organizational culture, and level of technology used in the organization in addition to decision‐maker’s education and management levels are good predictors of decision‐making styles in such an environment. Results also indicate that a tendency towards the participative style prevails among Arab, young, middle management and highly educated managers.

Investigates managerial value systems and decision styles among expatriate and indigenous managers in the UAE. Provides support for the proposition that differences among expatriate and host country nationals are manifested in their value systems. Indicates that Arab expatriate and national managers display a high preference for participative and pseudo‐participative styles while foreign expatriates show a high commitment to consultative style. Finds work values to be significantly related to some decision styles.

This paper aims to investigate whether the United Arab Emirates (UAE) business context as described in the literature still matches with the UAE business context in practice. In many managerial publications, and even in quite a few academic ones, warnings are given about the different and difficult business environment which exists in Arab countries. This environment is allegedly characterized by a high religious influence, a definitive centralization of power, a strong family and tribal culture and a strong role of wasta, which makes doing business in the Middle East arduous. However, the context of the UAE is not typical Arab, as it is very much multicultural with many expatriates working in both local and foreign companies.

The theoretical aspects of the UAE business context were derived from a literature study. The aspects of the UAE business context in practice were collected during interviews with 36 Emirati and Western and Eastern expat managers working in the UAE. Subsequently, the theoretical aspects were matched with the practical aspects.

The matching shows that the typical Arab business setting is still there but that it exists next to the international business setting.

Because of the coexisting cultural business settings, more nuance is needed in describing the typical Arab elements of the UAE business context, to fully understand the way of operating in the UAE.

As during this study a cross section of nationalities working in the UAE, including Emirati, was interviewed, it gives an unique insight into the current state of affairs in the UAE.

Economic development programs in Saudi Arabia have rapidly enlarged organizational size, and complexity. New organizations have also been created to implement the objectives of the developing nation. Yet in its quest for economic progress, Saudi Arabia continues to face challenges resulting from ways in which cultural values influence administrative structures and behavior in organizations. Current problems in organization can be understood in the context of an ongoing encounter between forces of change and forces of stability. This study examines Saudi management problems, explores alternative models for reform, cites areas of compatability between Saudi Islamic tradition and Western management practices, and makes recommendations to integrate the various systems.

This article investigates managerial problems in Kuwait. A total of 762 managers participated in the study. Managers perceived that the most important problems are: primacy of personal relationships over work relationships, favoritism and personal loyalty at work, subjectivity in evaluation and promotion, unwillingness to shoulder responsibilities, multiplicity of rules and regulations, rigid and obsolete administrative systems and policies, and influence of cliques in the workplace. No significant results were found between expatriates and nationals in their perception of managerial problems. Implications for policymakers, senior Kuwaiti managers, and multinational corporations were provided.