Organizational culture of SMES in Serbia, influence of national culture on entrepreneurial leadership style and philosophy

Abstract

Purpose: Purpose of this paper is to search for connection between national culture and organisational cultures, especially actual and preferred leadership styles, in SMEs in Serbia, a country with very high "Power Distance" dimension of national culture. Also, national culture influence is compared with globalisation as a way of collective programming. The focus is on the leadership style of the entrepreneurs, the degree of its acceptance among employees and how those styles correspond with national culture. Design/methodology/approach: This study analysis based on Hofstede methodology, using structured data about organizational culture dimensions. Data was collected using on-line questionnaire. Data in the sample consists of fifteen self-selected entrepreneurial SMEs in Serbia where measurement of their culture by the Hofstede methodology was negotiated. Descriptive statistics and cross-case comparisons were used discuss and propose conclusions. Findings: In the research, it is found out that SMEs in Serbia have organizational culture which does not support autocratic leadership style as actual one and that is not desirable one too. This is not the logical consequence under the influence of national culture which score high in two dimensions: Power Distance and Uncertainty Avoidance. The most dominant actual leadership style is consultative and it is also the most desired one. This implies that entrepreneurial orientation and constraints for being competitive in global market shifts the organizational culture into the direction where leadership styles and its acceptance question national culture influence. Research/practical implications: The outcomes are the overview of the dimensions of organizational culture in SMEs research study of 15 entrepreneurial companies. The most interesting outcome is identification of globalization effect on national culture in case of entrepreneurship in SMEs and shows unexpected contradictory of national culture dimension influence on actual and desired entrepreneurial management styles, especially in national cultures which score high in Power-Distance index. This paper can set further hypothesis for a wider research. Originality/value: Contribution is an overview of organizational culture dimensions of SMEs in Serbia with emphasis on management philosophy and actual and desired leadership styles by qualitative analysis of structured data to show the perspective relations between national culture, leadership styles and degree of its acceptance. Limitations of this study are that no true random sample has been used and results cannot be generalized. The fact that companies do not share details about aspects of their business and potential source of competitive advantage, like organizational culture or leadership style to random researchers, this study still provides insight, presenting data hard to gather.