The effects of strategic thinking and political skills on transformational leadership

Abstract

Purpose - The basic motivation of this research is the observation of the effects of strategic thinking and political skills on transformational leadership. There are some researches and investigations about these three factors in the literature, but there is no study that investigates these three factors with their dimensions. This study aims to contribute to this gap in the literature. Methodology - The research has been conducted with 496 companies located in Istanbul, Bursa and Kocaeli which are selected from 562 companies in Marmara Region from the list of 1000 largest industrial establishment of Turkey. Nearly 500 questionnaires were sent to those companies and 283 responses were collected. The survey results have been analysed with exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and the hypothesis are tested with structural equation modelling. Findings- According to the results of structural equation modelling; it has been observed that the sub-dimensions of strategic thinking and political skills has positive and significant effects on the sub-dimensions of transformational leadership. Variables with no positive and significant effects were discussed in the conclusion. Conclusion- The observed effects are the behaviours that are expected from transformational leaders. Improving the skills of the leaders is essential for a successful transformation of businesses. The research results were supported with theoretical and practical suggestions for the development of those skills and behaviours.