Leadership in a multicultural Arab organisation

Purpose This paper aims to investigate supervisor‐subordinates relations in a multicultural organisation and establish relationships between the background of employees and leader‐member (LMX) exchanges. Design/methodology/approach A large‐scale survey was designed and distributed to 300 employees of the national university in the United Arab Emirates. Quantitative data analysis using regression was conducted on SPSS. Findings The quality of exchanges and relations between supervisors and subordinates is related to the work experience of employees. Leadership should be top‐down and emphasise charisma to win employees' admiration and increase satisfaction. Commitment to the organisation is related to the quality of supervisor‐subordinate relations. Research limitations/implications The research does not analyse supervisor‐subordinate dyads across multidisciplinary boundaries. All dyads work within the same discipline. Practical implications In a multicultural organisation, transformational leadership in supervisor‐subordinates demonstrates care for the personal relationships with a diverse group of people that in turn builds better leader‐member exchanges, trust and organisational commitment. Originality/value The study contributes to the understanding of how employees in a multicultural organisation perceive leadership and relations with supervisors.