title: A cross-cultural investigation of authentic leadership in the United Arab Emirates
Creators: name: Hamade, Bilal
Publisher: name: University of Reading
Year: 2024

description: This research investigates the perceptions of authentic leadership of senior leaders in the 
United Arab Emirates. Additionally, it aims to identify if religiosity and personal values 
influence differences between Emirati and non-Emirati leaders’ perceptions of authentic 
leadership in both the private and public sectors. The central research question of this study is: 
“To what extent do senior leaders in the UAE perceive their leadership as authentic, and are 
differences evidenced between Emirati and non-Emirati leaders influenced by religion, 
religiosity, personal values, and national culture? 
This research is contextualized in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) within the public and 
private sectors using a cross-sectional sample of Emirati and non-Emirati leaders. The 
research design follows a quantitative approach, using data from surveys to address the 
research questions and hypotheses, using linear and hierarchical regression analysis. 
Authentic leadership is defined as leader behavior that draws upon and promotes positive 
psychological capacities and an ethical climate to foster greater self-awareness, an 
internalized moral perspective, balanced processing of information, and relational 
transparency on the part of leaders as they engage with their followers. The study found that 
this four-factor authentic leadership model, first proposed by Luthans and Avolio (2003), 
which includes the dimensions of self-awareness, internalized moral perspective, relational 
transparency, and balanced processing, is valid in the context of the UAE for both Emirati and 
non-Emirati leaders. 
No significant differences were evidenced between leaders based on the variables of religion, 
religiosity, and national culture, supporting the universality of the authentic leadership model 
in the context of the UAE. Amongst the ten universal values proposed by Schwartz (1992, 
1994, 2004), namely, universalism, benevolence, tradition, conformity, security, power, 
achievement, hedonism, stimulation, and self-direction, only achievement and stimulation 
were found to influence a leader’s perceptions of authentic leadership. Leaders with a 
substantial value of achievement have higher perceptions of authentic leadership. In contrast, 
the value of stimulation has a significant, negative influence on perceptions of authenticity. 
CEO age and education are also significant predictors of authentic leadership. Older CEOs 
have higher perceptions of authentic leadership, while CEOs who do not have a university 
degree have lower perceptions of authentic leadership.
This research is among the first to use a cross-cultural, comparative analysis between Emirati 
and non-Emirati leaders. Given that access to the upper echelons of leadership is rare, this 
study offers a unique opportunity to capture these insights. The research results are timely, 
given the increased global interest in exploring the dynamics of the Arab world related to 
leadership, particularly the UAE, and the developing economic and political importance of the 
nation and the region. This thesis has partly addressed some of the gaps in the literature 
related to authentic leadership in a cross-cultural context. It contributes to the nascent research 
on leadership in the Arab region and demonstrates the relationship between a leader’s values 
and authenticity. It offers practical insights for local and expatriate leadership development in 
the UAE. Additionally, the research calls for additional work to expand on the perceptions of 
women leaders, particularly the position of women in senior management, and if differences 
are evidenced due to intercultural values, practices, or religion.