An assessment of the leadership style in Malaysian construction firms

Abstract

The current competitive environment proposes that a proper leadership style in a construction firm is necessary to sustain business and to keep pace with rapid changes. Based on Bass and Avolio’s transformational and transactional leadership theory, the objective of this study is to investigate the leadership styles of owner-managers and the preference of leadership styles by subordinates in Malaysian construction firms. It also aims to compare the leadership styles of Malay and Chinese owner-managers and to assess the relationship between leadership styles and leadership outcomes. Based on a survey of 31 subordinates, the findings of this study showed that the majority of owner-managers mainly practise transformational leadership style. However, the subordinates place a higher ranking on the preferred transformational leadership style exerted by their employers. The subordinates also demand more reward and recognition for their job. Moreover, the findings revealed that some Malay owner-managers lean toward adopting a laissez-faire leadership style compared to their Chinese counterparts. The dominance of transformational leadership style applied in construction firms provides significant contribution to leadership outcomes in terms of effectiveness, satisfaction, and extra effort.