Leadership and culture from onboard perspective: Qualitative study about leadership and culture on multicultural tanker vessel

Abstract

Living and working on board a ship is demanding in many ways. The work environment is demanding, being isolated from family and friends for months and long working days can affect the seafarer's mental health. Often there are several cultures on board which can also be challenging, and cultural differences can lead to misunderstandings and frustration. As captain, with the overall responsibility on board, leadership plays a big role on board. Therefore, this study will focus on how the captains work on board with their leadership in a multicultural work environment, what challenges they experience and what strategies they use. The study is limited to Scandinavian captains working with Filipino and Scandinavian/Baltic crew. The study has a qualitative approach in the form of semi-structured interviews. The results showed that the captain adapts his leadership to a certain extent depending on who they meet on board, some multicultural challenges arise informing about cultural clashes, language deficits and misunderstandings. Communication and understanding the culture have been the leaders' key strategies for leading in a multicultural environment.