TURKISH TYPE LEADERSHIP: SABRI ULKER EXAMPLE

Paternalistic leadership is a unique leadership approach that creates a perfect balance between people orientedness and authoritativeness. It combines a strict authority with a fatherly benevolence. In fact, paternalism encompasses two controversial leadership attitudes simultaneously. Namely, a paternalistic leader prefers to be both a caring and authoritative leader. According to the extant literature, paternalism and paternalistic leadership are culturally bounded approaches and collectivist cultures are more prone to necessiate paternalism. In this study, Sabri Ülker, founder of one of the most successful family owned businesses in Turkey will be taken under spotlight as an example of paternalistic leadership in Turkish culture, which is also known as T-type leadership. This work will try to explain paternalist leadership in Turkish business culture through Sabri Ülker's example. And Hofstede’s cultural paradigm will be used in understanding Turkish business atmosphere, and the so called T-type leadership which is the equavalent of benevolent paternalistic leadership.