Title Collaborative leadership in the institution of higher education: a sociocultural context of Pakistan /
Authors Shaikh, Shabnam A ; Lämsä, Anna-Maija ; Heikkinen, Suvi
DOI 10.1177/22779779231154646
Full Text Download
Is Part of South Asian journal of business and management cases.. London : SAGE Publications Ltd. 2023, vol. 12, iss. 1, p. 65-80.. ISSN 2277-9779. eISSN 2321-0303
Keywords [eng] leadership ; collaborative leadership ; higher education ; case study ; culture ; collaboration ; higher education organization ; Pakistan
Abstract [eng] The need for collaborative leadership to advance knowledge sharing, novel ideas, inclusion and employee engagement has increased in modern organizations, with the aim being to make organizations more effective and responsible. Yet, an interesting question arises about how this kind of leadership model, which is arguably of Western origin, is understood and whether it can be applied in sociocultural contexts where top-down leadership tends to be exercised. This study addresses this question and explores the meaning of collaborative leadership from a cultural viewpoint in Pakistan, where collaborative relationships across hierarchical levels are not common. The applicability of collaborative leadership in the study context is also highlighted. The qualitative instrumental case study was conducted in a higher education institution in Pakistan, where the data were gathered with the help of open-ended interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Two central themes were explored: the tradition of leadership collaboration and the exclusion of some groups from collaboration. The study shows that the traditional cultural attribute called Otaq lays a foundation for understanding collaborative leadership in the study context. Similarly, it was discovered that several cultural features place limits on specific people’s opportunities to participate in leadership collaboration. Cultural features and how they are linked to the inclusion of the studied organization members in collaborative leadership efforts are highlighted. It is concluded that more contextually sensitive knowledge about collaborative leadership activities is needed in the future.
Published London : SAGE Publications Ltd
Type Journal article
Language English
Publication date 2023
CC license CC license description