Organizational culture and leadership in Egypt, Iran, and Turkey: The contextual constraints of society and industry

Drawing on institutional theory, this paper aims to examine whether society and industry act as constraining factors on organizational culture and leadership preferences in three countries in the Middle East and North Africa. The sample includes 55 organizations in Egypt, Iran, and Turkey operating in the finance and food industries. The findings show that organizational culture and leadership preferences vary across different societies in the region. Moreover, some organizational culture practices differ across industries, whereas leadership preferences do not. These findings demonstrate the importance of context (mainly on society and partially on industry) on shaping organizational culture and perceived leadership effectiveness. The practical implications suggest that managers must be aware that even countries in the same region have practice differences.