Jordanian managers' leadership styles in comparison with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and prospects for knowledge management in Jordan

Purpose – The research reported in this paper aims to examine the newer leadership styles and their implication for implementing knowledge management in Jordanian organizations. The research seeks to investigate Jordanian managers' leadership styles and then compare them with managers in other organizations with different cultures, such as the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Design/methodology/approach – A survey of 120 managers from Jordan and IATA was undertaken using an established measurement instrument. Findings – Results revealed that meanwhile IATA managers preferred transformational rather than transactional leadership style, in Jordan, there was no clear preference for transactional or transformational style as both were being used. But when compared with IATA managers Jordanian managers showed more inclination towards transactional than transformational behaviors. Research limitations/implications – Like other comparative research this study shares the limitation of likely sampling bias. Moreover, it did not take into account the political realities of conducting social science research in countries with long authoritarian histories, such as Jordan, which present the likelihood of further response bias. Originality/value – The paper investigates the leadership styles of Jordanian managers. This has important implications for local as well as international corporations.