Let's get everyone involved! The effects of transformational leadership and organizational culture on organizational excellence

Abstract

PurposeThis paper posited a dynamic relationship between transformational leadership, organizational culture, and organizational excellence in order to develop a better understanding of the casual linkages between these three areas.Design/methodology/approachThe research methodology includes a multi-item scale questionnaire survey which included 448 samples from United Arab Emirates (UAE) with an average response rate of 61.1%. The hypotheses were tested by applying structural equation modeling (SEM) and path analyses. Analyses used the Mplus software package.FindingsThe key finding in this study suggests that creating the involvement culture provides the all-inclusive participation and holistic engagement from employees, which consequently leads to organizational excellence.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is more focused on particular type of leadership and can extend to other types of leadership as well the other regions. The study extends the findings of previous studies that suggested authoritative was essential initially but that this would change with the emerging culture.Practical implicationsManagers should foster an involvement culture and adopt transformational leadership style in order to reap the benefits of the quality management approaches.Originality/valueFrom existing research on leadership in QM context, we adopt transformational leadership in connection with organizational culture and organizational excellence. The originality of the study lies in its quantitative approach to test an already demonstrated phenomenon about the relationship between transformational leadership, organizational culture and business excellence. This study significantly contributes to the literature on QM by discovering that organizations with transformational leadership styles and involvement or adaptability cultures can perform well and achieve organizational excellence.