Executive Courage Across Cultures: An Organizational Perspective

Executive courage is an important cultural variable that influences the survival of a business organization in an increasingly competitive global business environment. This study presents the results of an empirical cross-cultural investigation of executive courage. Forty American and 29 Arab executives participated in the study. Nine hypotheses were tested. Results indicated that the two samples exhibited significant differences with regard to their perceptions of the dimensions of executive courage, the role of executive courage in today's business organization, the relative importance of personal growth and personal courage, and the interaction between executive courage and the organizational reward system. It is concluded that executive courage is a positive cross-cultural force, deserving careful consideration by researchers and practitioners. It is also concluded that business organizations can best serve their need for survival by rewarding those who seek to do the right things, rather than those who do the expected things right.