Strategic change leadership

Implicit change leadership theory (ICLT) highlights the importance of determining congruence between the ideal and actual change leadership schemas of employees in successful change management. This paper utilized ICLT in exploring effective change leadership and management in secondary schools and examined how these influence teachers’ commitment to change. Data were gathered from 707 secondary school teachers from both private and public high schools in the Philippines. Findings indicated that (1) teachers seem to have a more holistic and integrative view of change leadership schemas than employees of business organizations, (2) teachers’ change leadership schemas significantly predicts perceived effectiveness of change management, and teachers’ affective commitment to change, and (3) perceived effectiveness of change management significantly mediates the effect of change leadership schemas on teachers’ affective commitment to change. This study expanded the applicability of ICLT in basic education settings and contributes to the understanding of effective change leadership and change management in schools. Implications on practice and further recommendations for school leaders are also discussed.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to track the changes of leadership attributes during the process of social development from 1998 to 2008 in China, and then to explore whether the significant events have potential impacts on the changes of leadership attributes during this time.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted two studies through qualitative approach, based on data collected from Chinese official newspapers (People's Daily and Guangming Daily) covering 216 stories (90 stories in Study 1 and 126 stories in Study 2). The first study focuses on comparing the leadership attributes in 2008 with those in 1998 and 1988 presented in previous research to find out the changes. In the second study, the most significant events are selected during the period of 1998‐2008 and their effects on the changes of leadership attributes are examined.FindingsThe findings show that leadership attributes changed during the ten years and some new attributes are advocated in China. Furthermore, the changes of leadership attributes, especially for non‐business leaders, relate to the occurrence of significant events and reflect the changes of government policies.Originality/valueAlthough some literature has explored leadership attributes in China, this study contributes to the extant research in two ways. First, it promotes the use of existing documents as data sources of longitudinal study to track the changes of leadership attributes. Second, it advances the line of inquiry of leadership attributes in China by concentrating on the factors driving those changes.

Theoretical basis Change in culture brought about by effective leadership is at the core of this case. Therefore, two broad topics can be discussed using this case: organizational culture change and Change Leadership OR Role of leaders in organzational change. Research methodology The case was prepared using primary data collected through a series of interviews conducted with participants of the change process. The participants included R. Sivanesan, Senior Vice President (Quality, Sourcing and Supply Chain) of Ashok Leyland, many members of the quality team, production department, HR executives and members of the marketing team. Secondary data in the form of an interview of Mr Vinod Dasari published in a popular magazine Autocar Professionals and organizational documents/presentations used during the change process were also used to build the case. Case overview/synopsis In 2011, when Vinod Dasari took over as the Managing Director and CEO of Ashok Leyland (AL), he hired R. Sivanesan. The quality standards of the vehicles produced in the AL plants in 2011 was far from satisfactory. He decided to change this. Part A of the case discusses the challenges faced by Sivanesan and Vinod Dasari in bringing about a change in the quality management practices at AL. Part B discusses the steps they actually took and the change that resulted from it. Learning objectives At the end of the case discussion, the participants will be able to develop an understanding of the various aspects of organizational culture and how it manifests itself; become aware of the underlying causes of resistance to change; critically evaluate and apply various theories of change management; create an action plan for changing the culture of any organization; and appreciate the role of leaders as change agents. Complexity academic level The central theme in this case is managing culture change within organizations through effective leadership. Instructors teaching courses in organizational theory, organization structure/culture and leadership will find this case relevant. It is primarily intended for use in MBA and Executive Education programs in Management.

In this chapter, we offer the explanation of The Ten Enablers Model. The illustration of the ten enablers serves as a guide to empower change leaders to approach the process of change in a systematic manner. We start with the foundation of Ethos (Enabler 1), which focuses on the common good and not the enrichment of a selected few individuals or groups. Ego Mastery (Enabler 2) is essential for change leaders to remain centred, balanced and energised throughout the marathon of implementing change processes. Enablers 3 and 4, Explore and Eureka are focused on the context or external environment. Effective change leadership thus entails analysing external variables, such as the Political, Economic, Technological, Legislation and Environmental dynamics in the context. A systemic view of the organisation within its particular context serves the change leader in identifying past, present and future trends with hindsight, insight and foresight as aspects of contextual intelligence.

The importance of leadership in changing schools and building quality programs is the focus of this paper. While leadership is often seen as a management aspect of school life, the role of leadership in curriculum change may be quite different from that of school leadership vis-a-vis the principal. In the context of small remote schools where there are many factors impacting on school reform, this paper explores curriculum leadership where the schools successfully performed against numeracy benchmarks. Features of curriculum leadership are drawn from these cases to develop a framework for considering effective leadership in remote Indigenous contexts.

Leadership continuity is essential for maintaining organizational performance, strategic stability, and long-term competitiveness. Nevertheless, many organizations encounter challenges during leadership transitions, often due to inadequate succession planning, insufficient leadership development frameworks, and the diminishing of organizational memory. This conceptual paper examines the relationship between succession planning, leadership development, and organizational memory. Succession planning enables organizations to proactively identify and prepare future leaders, thereby minimizing disruptions resulting from leadership changes. Leadership development is focused on systematically equipping high-potential employees with the essential skills, competencies, and experiences needed to step into leadership roles. Additionally, organizational memory—composed of institutional knowledge, historical insights, and experiential learning—plays a crucial role in safeguarding strategic knowledge and leadership expertise during transitions. The integration of these three components creates a robust leadership pipeline, reduces the risks associated with leadership voids, and fortifies the retention of institutional knowledge. This paper provides a critical analysis of existing literature concerning executive transitions, talent management, and knowledge retention, aiming to establish interlinks among these variables. The study emphasizes how organizations can utilize structured mentorship programs, knowledge transfer strategies, and leadership development initiatives to facilitate seamless leadership transitions. Furthermore, it addresses the obstacles to effective leadership continuity, such as short-term mindsets in succession planning, the failure to institutionalize leadership knowledge, and resistance to leadership changes. This conceptual paper adds value to both academic research and managerial practices by synthesizing insights from human resource management, strategic leadership, and organizational behavior. The findings highlight the necessity for organizations to embrace a comprehensive approach to leadership continuity, integrating succession planning, leadership development, and organizational memory into a unified strategy. The paper concludes with recommendations for policymakers, HR professionals, and corporate leaders on promoting sustainable leadership transitions in dynamic and competitive environments.

It has generally been assumed that effective leadership is a key to successful change. But, as some authors have noted, there is a dearth of empirical research regarding the impact of leadership on organization change. In this chapter, we review the empirical evidence from the past 20 years in an attempt to determine the impact of leadership on the conduct and outcomes of organizational change. Our conclusions indicate that the leadership of change is more complex than envisioned, involving multiple forms of leadership engaged in different approaches, behaviors, and activities, only some of which are effective.

PurposeAs the cost of healthcare continues to rise, healthcare organizations internationally are seeking long-term solutions to eradicate inefficiency, achieve value-based healthcare, and minimize hospital inpatient services. This requires transformational change in healthcare organizations, and associated change management and leadership capability at multiple levels. Despite the critical need for effective change leadership and management in healthcare, limited evidence exists that this currently occurs in addition to the capability and capacity for managing change in health systems.MethodsSemi-structured interviews were undertaken with 16 healthcare managers and leaders at a range of levels in nine healthcare organizations across the public health system of one Australian state (New South Wales), including metropolitan, regional and rural geographical areas. Thematic content analysis was undertaken with the emergent data.ResultsFour key themes emerged from the data: 1) lack of adoption of frameworks and methods for change management for any scope or scale of change, 2) inadequate resources for delivering, managing and leading change, 3) insufficient leadership, capacity and capability in managing change, and 4) the need for support and culture that supports change at all levels of the system.ConclusionEnsuring dedicated resources for change and sufficient capacity and capability amongst health professionals and managers at every level in a health system are required for effective management of change. An enabling culture for change, supported by adequate education and training in change leadership and management are critical in order for the benefits of health service and system changes to be realised.

Purpose – A change in leadership can signal a shift in corporate strategy to drive future value creation. To help achieve this, a different emphasis may be placed upon the intellectual capital (IC) resources within the organisation. The purpose of this paper is to examine the changes in volume, composition and emphasis of IC disclosure in annual reports mapped against the re-orientation of corporate strategy and associated leadership change. Design/methodology/approach – A longitudinal period of over three decades (1979-2010) is examined. Adopting a case-based approach, Daimler AG is purposively selected for this research having a number of distinct changes in strategy over the period, reflective of leadership change. Using content analysis, annual report IC-related disclosures (structural, relational and human capital) by Daimler AG are examined, by category and more detailed sub-categories, against corporate strategy. Findings – The composition and emphasis of IC disclosures found in the annual reports changes over the longitudinal period and is reflective of the prevailing corporate strategy at that time. There were four identified periods of strategy, each associated with leadership change. The prevalence and qualitative focus of IC disclosures relevant to each period reflects the importance of respective IC components in corporate value creation. Research limitations/implications – The research is based on annual report IC disclosures within one case company and hence reflect the messages conveyed by that company over the longitudinal period. Additionally, the authors recognise that the annual report is only one source of corporate information, but as a historic record it serves to consistently capture management disclosure over a long-time period. Future research, adopting an econometric approach, could further test the linkages between leadership change, strategic shift and IC-related disclosure. Practical implications – The research reveals how IC-related disclosure shifts to reflect leadership and strategic change within a case company. Through such disclosure, the authors are able to gain greater insight into how a specific business seeks to create value drawing on the components of IC underpinning corporate strategy. Originality/value – The research provides new insights into IC disclosure by mapping its content and emphasis against changes in corporate strategy. This has contemporary significance due to the wider disclosure debate concerning strategy and value creation in the annual report, for instance through integrated reporting. Further, the research shows the value of annual reports for longitudinal disclosure research.

Operation efficiency of many public universities in Kenya has been poor. Hence, the study examined the antecedents of change management and operational efficiency of public universities in Kenya. The specific objectives were to examine the effect of change leadership, technological factors and resource allocation on operational efficiency of public universities in Kenya. The study was a literature-based review. It was found that the antecedents of change management can include change leadership, technology factors and resource allocation. The extent of the change leadership, technology factors and resource allocation influence the direction of the change administration.  The study concluded that change leadership includes bringing together the resources allocated toward meeting the change efforts. The effectiveness of the change leadership has a positive impact on the operation efficiency. The change leadership is to develop strategies and policies that can be used for any strategy implementation. The effectiveness of change leadership provides high leadership commitment, accountability and change management expertise. Technological change has an impact on all organizations and impacts operational efficiency positively. Technological change is a critical requirement for strategic planning in change management. The introduction of the technology is deemed to improve users' efficiency, thus increasing operating efficiency. Resource allocation is one of the critical determinants of change management and influences operation efficiency positively. The resource allocation is based on budgetary allocation, financial considerations and scheduling available resources. The study recommended that change leadership in the universities needs to understand why the organization needs to change/critical purposes. The leadership needs to be practical to ensure employees follow the change plans to prevent deviating from the change process. The employees need to be enlightened on the organization's technological changes to ensure that changes are implemented thoroughly and smoothly. The universities need to allocate financial resources for strategic planning implementation. An organization should plan ahead of the change process and the resource required to ensure that it determines the changes that need to be made and how long it will take to get them done. Resource allocation need to be effectively and economically to accomplish goals. Keywords: Change management, change leadership, technological factors, resource allocation, operational efficiency, public universities, Kenya

Investigation of the Effects of Strategic Leadership on Strategic Change and Innovativeness of SMEs in a Perceived Environmental Uncertainity

The instructional leadership of a principal has a positive effect on teacher readiness for change. As such, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between three dimensions of principal instructional leadership and teacher readiness for change in implementing School-Based Assessment (SBA) among secondary school teachers in Selangor, Malaysia. A quantitative correlational design was used to collect the data using an adapted questionnaire to measure principal instructional leadership and teacher readiness for change. Data was obtained from 402 secondary teachers in Selangor, who were selected through stratified random sampling. Data was analysed using SPSS in the form of mean, standard deviation, and Pearson correlation analysis. The findings show that the level of instructional leadership of the principal as a whole is high with a mean of 3.68 and standard deviation 0.57. The overall level of readiness for change among the teachers is high with a mean of 3.72 and standard deviation of 0.51. Tests to determine the correlation between the dimensions of the mission of school (r = 0.321, p <0.05) and creating school learning climate (r = 0.371, p <0.05) with readiness for change among the teachers show a significant positive but low correlation. Meanwhile, the relationship between managing the teaching program (r = 0.470, p <0.05) with readiness for change among the teachers shows a significant positive but moderate correlation. Overall, the effect of principal instructional leadership on readiness for change shows that instructional leadership has a positive and significant correlation with the readiness for change. This study provides the basis for teacher readiness to face changes and strengthening the educational administration field in enhancing instructional leadership in schools.

The rapid expansion of e-learning, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, has reshaped the educational landscape, necessitating strategic leadership and organisational change. This study examines the pivotal role of strategic leadership in navigating the complexities of digital learning environments and driving successful e-learning initiatives. A comprehensive literature review and data analysis were conducted, utilising sources from the US, West African countries, China and other Asian and European nations. The findings highlight the importance of digital competence, visionary leadership and effective change management strategies in implementing e-learning. Challenges such as technology access disparities, digital fluency and integrating interactive learning tools were identified. The emergence of e-leadership, emphasising adaptability and fostering positive digital learning environments, was also noted. Strategic leadership and organisational change are critical in successfully adopting and managing distance and e-learning. Therefore, policy makers should prioritise addressing technology access gaps, enhancing digital literacy and supporting educators and students. Visionary leadership must be cultivated to steer educational institutions through the evolving demands of the 21st century. The study needs longitudinal data on the long-term impact of e-learning on student outcomes to deal with its limitations and thoroughly examine the financial implications of transitioning to e-learning for educational institutions.

PurposeThis research examines the relationship between strategic leadership, dynamic capabilities and sustainable competitive advantages. Unlike previous studies that focused on different independent variables or lacked intervening variables altogether, this research delves into how the various dimensions of strategic leadership and sustainable competitive advantage can enhance, thereby strengthening the dynamic capabilities of the organization and how strategic leadership itself can impact on sustaining competitive advantage.Design/methodology/approachThe descriptive analytical method was used to achieve the objectives of the study and answer its questions. Statistical information was conducted through structured equation modelling with Smart-PLS.4 with data coming from a representative sample of Palestinian pharmaceutical companies.FindingsThe results of the study concluded that strategic leadership positively impacts sustainable competitive advantages and that sustainable competitive advantage is positively affected by the dimensions of strategic leadership (human capital, social capital) in Palestinian pharmaceutical companies. The results also showed that strategic leadership has a positive impact on the dynamic capabilities of Palestinian pharmaceutical companies. Furthermore, the results showed that sustainable competitive advantage has a positive impact on the dynamic capabilities in Palestinian pharmaceutical companies and that dynamic capabilities are affected by sensing ability, learning ability and integration ability. Finally, the results showed that sustaining competitive advantage impacts on the technological innovation, knowledge management and organizational agility of Palestinian pharmaceutical companies.Practical implicationsThe study provides guidelines for managers and policymakers with practical insights on how to utilize strategic leadership practices to improve dynamic capabilities and foster sustainable competitive advantages; furthermore, how to create supportive environments for leadership and innovation in regions with socio-economic challenges, and also assists in strategic leadership’s ability to adapt in emerging economies.Originality/valueThis research shows that strategic leadership contributes to achieving sustainable competitive advantages in Palestinian pharmaceutical companies by directing them towards change and innovation and developing dynamic capabilities that allow the company to adapt to industrial transformations and compete effectively in the market. Firms can, therefore, provide evidence through this analysis of how sustainable competitive advantages can be explained as a result of effective strategic leadership and the deployment of dynamic capabilities.

The scholarship of both organizational change and leadership is extensive. However, there have been few attempts to systematically integrate these fields of research in terms of theory or empirical examination. As a result, our understanding of the role and impact of leadership on organizational change outcomes is incomplete. This symposium is designed to generate a dialogue about what constitutes effective change leadership. It is comprised of four papers (two empirical and two theoretical), which explore factors that influence the effectiveness of change leadership in terms of strategic choices, behaviors, and the demands and resources related to the change leader role. Authors of the two most comprehensive reviews of change leadership scholarship – Jeffrey Ford and Shaul Oreg – will introduce and conclude the symposium. In introductory comments, Dr. Ford will comment on the state of change leadership research to date and remaining questions. Shaul Oreg will offer discussant comments that integrate the insights from the papers and propose directions for further research. A Process Model of Organizational Change and Leadership Presenter: Myeong-gu Seo; U. of Maryland Leaders’ Choice of Change Processes: The Option of Dynamic Application to Improve Change Outcomes Presenter: Bradley J. Hastings; UNSW Sydney Presenter: Gavin M. Schwarz; UNSW Sydney The Motivation of Leader Change Messages: An Examination of Regulatory Fit & Follower Responses Presenter: Jill Waymire Paine; IE Business School Presenter: Myeong-gu Seo; U. of Maryland Presenter: Sirkwoo Jin; Merrimack College The Demands and Resources Underlying Change Leader Effectiveness Presenter: Art Uprety; IE Business School, IE U. Presenter: Jill Waymire Paine; IE Business School