Date of Conferral

4-22-2025

Date of Award

April 2025

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Management

Advisor

Robert Haussmann

Abstract

Effective leadership has long been recognized as a critical factor in organizational success, yet the role of followership remains underexplored. The purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental study was to examine the relationship between effective followership and successful leadership within small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Middle East. Followership theory, transformational leadership theory, and organizational culture theory grounded this study. The participants comprised 192 employees working in SMEs across the Middle East who completed the implicit followership theories scale developed by Thomas Sy to measure followership effectiveness. Leadership success was determined based on whether leaders achieved at least 80% of their organizational goals in the previous year. Statistical analyses, including Pearson correlation and multiple regression, were conducted to examine the relationship between followership and leadership success. The results indicated a moderate positive correlation, r = 0.57, p < .001, suggesting that higher levels of followership behaviors are associated with increased performance. The multiple linear regression showed the F statistic ~ 4.253 with df (4,11) is significant at p = 0.0031, verifying that the full model is statistically significant. Understanding this relationship may provide actionable insights about followership for leaders, human resources professionals, and policymakers aiming to enhance workplace dynamics within Middle Eastern SMEs. The implications for positive social change include the potential for SME leaders to highlight how improved leader-follower relationships could foster organizational effectiveness, enriching the employees’ quality of life and satisfaction, and long-term business sustainability.

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