An Empirical Study on the Preferred Leadership Style of Saudi Women Entrepreneurs

Abstract

The last decade has seen increased contribution of Saudi women in senior management roles and organizational decision- making. There is also a steady progress in the number of Saudi women entrepreneurs. Women Entrepreneurs are the leaders, idea generator and the sole owner of the available resources. Women Leaders and Entrepreneurs have similar job responsibility as they both work as per the available limited resources and manage their tasks in the presence of these constraints.The principal objective of this research is to study the different leadership styles being practiced by Saudi women entrepreneurs or managers, as well as to study the effectiveness of these leadership styles. Primary data was collected through a structured questionnaire which consists of questions designed to collect data about the leadership style being practiced by the Saudi women entrepreneurs or managers. Data was collected from 210 women entrepreneurs in Saudi Arabia. The survey data was analyzed using various analytical softwares. The result shows that authoritarian leadership style is highly practiced by women entrepreneurs followed by democratic leadership style in Hail and Riyadh region. This study can be used to acquire knowledge about the various leadership styles being practiced by women entrepreneurs or managers in Saudi Arabia. It will also be useful to the Saudi women entrepreneurs / managers in identifying the most effective leadership style. This study aims to add to the limited research by offering fresh understanding into the leadership styles embraced by Saudi female entrepreneurs