Abstract:
This thesis examines leaders‘ behaviours differential effects on the work/home
balance of their followers through a leader/follower fit perspective. The study
explores perceived effects of leader‘s actions on followers‘ work/home balance
in a Lebanese context. At the individual/dyad level, this research attempts to
integrate these two areas of study. It aims to better understand, Lebanese
employees‘ perspectives on the Lebanese leaders‘ practice of leadership in the
banking industry and the perceived effect of this practice on the followers‘ work
and home boundary management. Based on the adoption of a qualitative
exploratory approach, the author conducts thirty semi-structured interviews with
five leaders and twenty-five followers in different regions and divisions of the
XYZ bank.
The dissertation makes several theoretical and empirical contributions. First,
boundary theory is empirically extended through the identification of one of the
antecedents, i.e., polychronicity, of an individual‘s work/home
segmentation/integration preference. Second, boundary theory is developed
through the exploration of the Lebanese leaders‘ actions‘ impact on the
followers‘ management of their work/home boundaries. Third, the literature on
fit between the leader and the follower along different dimensions of interest to
them is extended and developed. Fourth, the literature on the Middle East and
in Lebanon on specific is enhanced. The implications of the Lebanese context,
subject of this study, on the leadership and work/home literature are
meaningful.
In addition to these contributions, this study helps to surface ―actionable
knowledge‖ on how to facilitate an employee‘s struggle to reach a harmony
between his work and home life. This search for balance is increasingly sought
nowadays as a result of the increase in work-related pressures especially for
dual-earners.
