Introduction

Examination of studies dealing with the ‘Israeli situation’, namely, Israeli policy and developments in a variety of fields, leads to the understanding that most of them focus on the political, military or social leadership, namely, dealing with the elites. This volume wishes to expand this scope by shedding light on management processes and managers in Israel. In an era where Israel is less affected by its political leaders than by business or third-sector managers, civil society entrepreneurs and organisations, as well as social and cultural change organisations, the magnifying glass can no longer be satisfied solely with the formal leadership as perceived in the political science discipline. In order to identify and study the influencing agents in Israel, one must also identify and understand the characteristics of its managers and the management culture existing therein. For instance, as some of the articles in this volume demonstrate, the dominance of the military institutions in Israel renders the modes of military administration to the common management mode in society, both in the private sector and in the public sector. Moreover, many retired Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officers are transferring to managerial positions and affecting the managerial paradigms. Another example, in a different context, is when a religious-cultural community becomes more involved in society and its members are exposed to messages encouraging them to integrate into the Israeli establishments. The managers from this community who serve in the public sector are characterised by unique conflicts, dilemmas, challenges and values that inevitably affect the interpretation of subjective managerial reality.

The articles in this volume shed light on many factors connected directly or indirectly to the Israeli management sector or to managers in Israel. They were written by scholars and practitioners in the field of management in Israel and use different research methods: qualitative, quantitative and case studies. Some articles display the current situation of managers and some review the historical developments. The studies were conducted among various social groups such as the Religious Zionist community and military veterans, in different sectors (public, private and third sector), and were conducted in diverse organisations such as prisons, schools and sports organisations. The writers represent different disciplines – such as management, business administration, sociology, education, information systems and criminology.

This volume comprises three sections. The first section, ‘The Culture of Management in Israel’, examines management and managers as reflecting on Israel’s cultural, historical and political situations. The second section, ‘The Identity Discourse of Israeli Management’, focuses on the affiliation of managers to unique communities and reflects their managerial language and the unique managerial processes that they hold. The third section, ‘Israeli Management in Specific Professional Fields’, examines issues related to management arenas in Israel, while identifying their Israeli uniqueness.

I would like to thank the authors and the 10 anonymous readers who scoffed, commented, enlightened and examined the quality of the articles, as well as Professor Efraim Karsh, Israel Affairs editor, for his help and support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.