Situational leadership theory: An analysis within the European cultural environment

Globalization is associated with considerable change in the market environment, adding to organizational complexity and thereby challenging current global executives to maintain effectiveness for their organizations. Organizations are seeking a possible common leadership theory that would be conducive to improving organizational competitiveness throughout their global organizations addressing respective local culture influences, in support of greater overall organizational effectiveness. The Situational Leadership Theory (SLT) potentially is such a global organizational leadership theory. However, SLT still requires additional testing in diverse cultural environments prior to confirming it as a preferred global leadership theory. SLT was tested within the European cultural environment to possibly advance the theory's acceptability for organizations to improve their effectiveness while meeting modern market challenges within the global cultural environment. Replicating Silverthorne's positive Taiwan SLT study, as a research design for a European analysis of the SLT involving four organizations from Germany, Spain and Sweden, indicated strong support for the SLT and its associated survey instruments as being an important step forward for the advancement of the SLT in the process of possibly confirming it as a preferred global leadership theory.