Transformational leadership, transactional leadership, and affective organizational commitment: a closer look at their relationships in two distinct national contexts

Abstract

This study compared the relationship between leadership style and affective organizational commitment (AOC) for Korean and U.S. employees, based on path-goal leadership theory and culturally endorsed implicit leadership theory. The results showed that the positive relationship between transformational leadership and AOC was stronger for U.S. employees than their Korean counterparts, whereas transactional leadership was positively related to AOC only for Korean employees. Also, we tested Bass’s (Leadership and performance beyond expectations, Free Press, New York, 1985) augmentation effect and House’s (Leadersh Q 7(3):323–352, 1996) negative moderating effect of the two leadership styles. Interestingly, our results differed from theirs in this cross-national context. The findings provide important theoretical and managerial implications.