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This paper aims to attempt to collate and understand the fragmented research on female entrepreneurship in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The review assesses the literature at the macro, meso and micro analysis levels and addresses the obstacles, challenges, motivations and characteristics of female entrepreneurship in the MENA region.

The analysis bases on a gender aware, narrative review, which is an appropriate method when aggregating studies of different methodological approaches, covering broad and fragmented topics in different settings. The study analyzes the areas that have received sufficient research attention and those which are still under-developed.

Important gaps in the field are lack of theoretical foundations; an over emphasis on macro level indicators, such as culture and religion and an under emphasis on organizational level variables; a lack of studies that analyze female entrepreneurship within ethnic groups, or studies that acknowledge the complex social, cultural and religious diversity of the region; and inattention to particular regional experiences (e.g. refugees crisis) and emerging trends.

This is the first integrative review of the literature in the growing field of female entrepreneurship in the MENA region that identifies areas of particular research interest and questions that are still under-developed. The study proposes further avenues for future research.

The audit expectation gap has been examined in many regions of the world, but the extent of such a gap has not been investigated in many Middle‐Eastern countries. This study attempts to assess the possible existence of an expectation gap between accountants and non‐accountants in Lebanon.

Survey research was conducted on a sample of accountants and non‐accountants and comparisons made.

A significant “reasonableness gap” was uncovered. There is a gap between the auditors' understanding of their profession compared with the perceptions of others. There is a significant difference in perceptions of the role of the auditor in respect of fraud detection. Neither group had a strong image of the Lebanon profession compared with worldwide audit practices or with the technical qualifications of the auditors.

This research can be extended through assessing whether there are differences between different non‐accountants (judges, lawyers, bankers, brokers, etc.) in terms of their understanding of the role of external auditors.

Much more concerted effort needs to be exercised from professional syndicates and other relevant stakeholders in developing the image of the profession and addressing the varying perceptions and attitudes towards it.

This paper adds evidence to the important debate about expectation gap from a region that has had little coverage.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the role of speech on transformational leadership attributions and the role of follower self‐esteem in fostering the relationship between followers and their leaders.

Survey research was used testing specific relationships. A 2‐by‐2 experimental design was conducted including treatments of leader speech and attributes with follower self‐esteem acting as a covariate.

Significant relationships between most attributions of transformational leadership and follower self‐esteem were found. Inspirational leader speeches were found to lead to higher levels of attributed transformational abilities.

It is suggested that there are contextual differences between different types of transformational relationships. Researchers are invited to distinguish between different types of charisma (social charisma vs business charisma).

Although the use of appropriate speech is an influential asset for the transformational leader, effective leadership does not solely depend on it. Organizations may benefit from inculcating communication training programs into their training agenda towards elevating their trainees to a higher level of leadership capability.

Leadership research has been heavily dominated by an overriding focus on leader attributes. This study concentrates on a specific leader impression management behavior (speech) and inculcates a follower variable (self‐esteem) into the equation towards a better understanding of the leadership phenomenon.

This study aims to address gender gaps in labor participation and earned income. The paper assesses the role of education and cultural dimensions in impacting female labor indicators. The paper tests two separate models predicting female labor participation as a percentage of male participation (FPM) and female earned income as a percentage of male earned income (FIM) across 59 nations.

Data were taken from those published by World Bank and International Labor Organization, in addition to the GLOBE study. The paper relies on relationships among such data to assess the hypotheses under investigation.

FPM was explained by institutional collectivism, gender egalitarianism, and education. FIM was explained by gender egalitarianism and institutional collectivism. Contrary to expectations, in-group collectivism was not found to be a predictor in this model. Based on earlier research and this study, the paper presents the “female labor indicators model”.

More data need to be collected about gender-related attitudes and behaviors from a larger number of countries. There is also a need to collect culture data at the individual level not only at the country level. The model that the paper presents – explaining gaps in female participation and pay – deserves additional research support.

There is a need for practitioners to be conscious of hidden forces that work against women who aspire to work despite their high educational levels. Improving women's labor conditions requires a concerted effort from many parties including government and private sector.

The link between GLOBE's cultural dimensions and female labor indicators has not been sufficiently addressed in prior research. The paper suggests that explaining deficits in female labor indicators requires looking past economic and demographic variables into institutional and cultural factors. The paper presents a comprehensive model that helps in explaining gender gaps in participation and pay.

The purpose of this paper is to understand challenges facing organizations in the twenty-first century and address these challenges through suggesting future leadership development based on relevant leadership theories, which would motivate and guide future research directions in a streamlined manner.

The present study adopted the exploratory literature review, using the integrative method, to review the theoretical and empirical literature on leadership development published since the 2000s, primarily focusing on research published in the Journal of Management Development.

The findings of the current review confirmed that leadership theories are the base for leadership development theories, particularly if the purpose is to address and overcome the current challenges facing organizations. The authors suggest that leadership theories and leadership development theories do not exist in isolation from one another, nor do they exist in isolation from challenges facing organizations.

This review does not cover all studies before the 2000s nor other journals in the field of leadership.

Given that most organizations are suffering from one or more of the following issues: sexual scandals, unethical behaviors, individualism, crises and a low level of performance or productivity, the development of particular leadership skills has become a priority. This study is one of few studies guiding both future leadership development research directions and leadership development initiatives.