Transactional Leadership Behaviors Research Articles

Transformational and transactional leadership influence on knowledge management activities of librarians in university libraries in Nigeria

This paper aims to determine the influence of transformational and transactional leadership on knowledge management activities of librarians in university libraries in Nigeria. Quantitative methodology was considered appropriate for this type of research and adopted to accomplish the main goal of this study. A questionnaire was used to collect data from a total of 215 librarians who participated in the study. Factor analysis and multiple regressions were used to analyze data. The results of the study reveal a positive and significant influence of transformational and transactional leadership on knowledge management activities of academic librarians in university libraries in Nigeria. Further, the results show that transformational leadership behaviours impacted knowledge management activities of librarians more than transactional leadership behaviours. The study provides both theoretical and empirical evidence on the impact of transformational and transactional leadership behaviours on knowledge management processes.

Enhancing job satisfaction among local government servants in Ghana

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of transformational and transactional leadership behaviours on local government worker’s job satisfaction as well as to determine which one of these two leadership behaviours is a better predictor of job satisfaction among local government servants in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachThe research used a questionnaire to collect 322 usable data from the respondents, and employed multiple regressions to analyse the data.FindingsThe results showed that both transformational leadership and transactional leadership behaviours have significant positive effects on employee job satisfaction in Ghana’s Local Government service. Surprisingly, critical examination of the results further revealed that transactional leadership behaviour is a better predictor of job satisfaction relative to transformational leadership behaviour in Ghana’s Local Government Service. Moreover, the findings suggested that the influence of both leadership behaviours on job satisfaction may vary by workers’ age, level of education and gender.Practical implicationsThese results imply that the more transactional and transformational leadership behaviours are exhibited or demonstrated by leaders, the more satisfaction local government servants will experience with their jobs. It further means that depending on the context or work environment, transactional leadership can surpass transformational leadership in enhancing employee outcomes. It also reinforces the need to ensure equity in employee reward systems as well as treatment of different age, educational and gender groups.Originality/valueThis result has contributed to knowledge by providing empirical evidence to refute the popular claim that transformation leadership produces better outcomes than transactional leadership. Besides, this study highlights the important roles of transformational and transactional styles in ensuring job satisfaction among the local government sub-sector, a generally under-researched sector.

The Mediating Effect of Regulatory Focus on the Relationship between Transformational, Transactional Leadership and Organizational Citizenship Behavior, In-Role Behavior

The Mediating Effect of Regulatory Focus on the Relationship between Transformational, Transactional Leadership and Organizational Citizenship Behavior, In-Role Behavior

Psychological identification with job: a leadership-OCB mediator

Purpose This study aims to examine influence of transformational and transactional leadership styles on employees’ organisational citizenship behaviours (OCBs), as well as the mediating role of job involvement in the Ghanaian hospitality industry. Design/methodology/approach Data were gathered from 258 employees in some selected hotels and restaurants in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana through a survey and analysed using covariance-based structural equation modelling. Findings The results indicated that both leadership styles influenced employees’ OCBs positively. Furthermore, job involvement positively influenced OCB and mediated between transformational leadership and OCB but not between transactional leadership and employees’ OCBs. Practical implications The study reaffirms the importance of employees’ OCBs and recommends that hotels and restaurants must encourage their supervisors to exhibit more transformational leadership behaviours (motivational, inspirational and visionary behaviours), as well as a combination of transformational and transactional leadership behaviours which can influence their employees to go beyond formal requirements, and get more involved in their jobs to the benefit of the organisations. Originality/value This study reveals the extent to which internal motivations of employees, specifically their job involvement, causes their extra-role behaviours and influences the leaders–OCB relationships from a developing country perspective.

Perceived leadership behaviours and their effects on IT departments in Swiss financial companies

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of perceived transformational, transactional and laissez-faire (LF) leadership behaviours on both the effectiveness of the leader and satisfaction with the leader, as perceived by information technology (IT) subordinates in the Swiss financial sector.Design/methodology/approachIn total, 182 IT professionals from 45 Swiss financial companies rated their perceptions using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ 5X short). Results were evaluated using partial least squares based structural equation modelling.FindingsIdealised influence (attributed) and individualised consideration as well as contingent reward (CR) leadership are positively related to effectiveness and satisfaction. LF leadership had a strong, significant negative effect on both outcomes. No augmentation effect of idealised influence and/or inspirational motivation over the effects of CR was found. These results are partly contradictory to findings of earlier studies. Additionally, stability problems/discriminant validity issues were found for some of the examined constructs.Practical implicationsManagers and leaders in IT departments in Swiss financial institutions should be advised of the possibly strong effects of CR on outcomes, together with the risks of potentially highly negative impacts of LF leadership, as well as the possible limitations of the stability and validity problems found. Leadership training could be used to this end. The paper gives specific advice on how the different findings could be included in such training.Originality/valueIT can significantly contribute to a firm’s success, and leading people who deliver technology is becoming more important in an increasingly digitised world. No previous research has illustrated the effects of leadership behaviours on IT departments in Swiss companies.

Transactional leadership and employee safety behavior: Impact of safety climate and psychological empowerment

We explored the influence of transactional leadership on employees’ safety behavior, and investigated the impact of safety climate and psychological empowerment on this influence. By surveying 260 employees in the construction industry, we obtained the following results: First, transactional leadership negatively predicted safety climate, psychological empowerment, and employees’ safety behavior. Second, safety climate and psychological empowerment positively predicted employees’ safety behavior. Third, safety climate and psychological empowerment played a mediating role in the relationship between transactional leadership and employee safety behavior. Practical and theoretical implications of the findings are discussed.

Leadership and Job Satisfaction: Addressing Endogeneity With Panel Data From a Field Experiment

The interaction between leaders and employees plays a key role in determining organizational outcomes and performance. Although the human resources management literature posits positive effects of leadership behaviors on employee job satisfaction, the causal path between the two is unclear due to potential endogeneity issues inherent in this relationship. To address the issue, we first provide theoretical explanations about why and how transformational and transactional leadership behaviors would enhance employee job satisfaction. Second, we test the relationship between leadership behaviors and employee job satisfaction using panel data from a year-long randomized field experiment that engaged leaders and employees from hundreds of public and private organizations in Denmark. Primary findings suggest that although leadership training does not have direct effects on changes in employee job satisfaction, leadership-training-induced changes in leadership behaviors (transformational leadership and verbal rewards) are positively related to changes in job satisfaction.

The transactional leadership behaviours, learning organization dimensions and job motivation in the schools

The purpose of this research is to examine the relationship of the school administrator’s transactional leadership behaviours and learning organization dimensions in the educational institutions with the job motivation of the teachers. In order to determine the interrelationship between the concepts, a field study was conducted in 18 schools at the elementary, secondary and high school levels in Izmir in Turkey. The questionnaire form applied to the teachers working in the determined institutions within the cross-sectional research process by a purposive sampling method on the basis of volunteering, and a total of 352 measurement tools is evaluated. The reliability and validity results are examined by applying the confirmatory factor analysis to the scales. According to the obtained findings, a relationship that is significant at enough level and in the same direction is ascertained between the transactional leadership behaviours and the job motivation (r= .383 p<0.01) while a relationship that is significant at medium level and in the same direction is ascertained between the learning organization dimensions and the job motivation (r= 0.696 p<0.01). It can be seen that the model can be accepted according to the obtained values of the goodness of fit, when the model test results are analysed by the structural equation modelling analysis, too.

Full-Range Leadership as a Predictor of Extra Effort in Online Higher Education: The Mediating Effect of Job Satisfaction

Online higher education has rapidly expanded in the United States and displays a great opportunity for growth. Coupled with the growth of e-learning is the need for adjunct faculty to satisfy the need for additional online classes. Despite the importance of online adjunct faculty, little research has been performed to determine their work experiences. This quantitative, correlational study investigated the predictive relationship between the perceived use of transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership behaviors on the extra effort of adjunct faculty who facilitate online classes at a for-profit university in the United States. In a further investigation, the researcher investigated the variable of job satisfaction to determine if it mediated the relationship between leadership style and extra effort. The researcher used the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire and Spector’s Job Satisfaction survey to collect data used in inferential analysis. The researcher performed a stepwise multiple regression and a Baron and Kenny mediation analysis to answer the research questions. The results showed perceived transformational leadership behaviors displayed a statistically significant positive predictive relationship with extra effort, and job satisfaction was a partial mediator between the relationship of transformational leadership and extra effort. The results suggest transformational leadership is beneficial to the extra effort put forth by the sample of adjunct faculty who teach online classes.

Understanding Principal Investigators’ Differences in Leadership Style and Perceptions of Teamwork to Leverage Leadership Development

The purpose of this study was to begin exploring the nature of leadership behavior and style, as it relates to team functionality. The extent to which the problems we face grow and become more complex; solutions require multiple perspectives, requiring researchers to be prepared to lead large groups of collaborators from a variety of disciplines. This study sought to explore the self-perceptions of principal investigators related to their leadership style and team functionality. Using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire developed by Bass and Avolio (1995) and Lencioni's Team Assessment (2002), it was found that transformational leadership was self-perceived to be used the most in contrast to transactional leadership behaviors. With respect to team functionality, absence of trust and inattention to results showed the greatest concern to principal investigators, yet fear of conflict did not.

Staff Nurses' Perceptions of Their Nurse Managers' Transformational Leadership Behaviors and Their Own Structural Empowerment.

The aim of this study was to investigate staff nurses' perception of their nurse managers' transformational leadership behaviors and their own structural empowerment. Transformational leadership behaviors in nurse managers have been linked to increased staff nurse satisfaction and decreased turnover and burnout. Perception of nurse managers' leadership behaviors by staff nurses and the relationship to the staff nurses' structural empowerment is important to advance our understanding of the leadership role of nurse managers. A descriptive correlational design was used to examine the relationship between staff nurses' perception of their nurse managers' transformational leadership behaviors and their own structural empowerment. Staff nurses at a conference were offered an opportunity to participate in the study. The transformational leadership behaviors of nurse managers were moderately correlated to staff nurses' structural empowerment. Transactional leadership behaviors were associated with staff nurses' structural empowerment to a lesser degree. Nurses who perceived their nurse managers as demonstrating transformational leadership behaviors experienced higher structural empowerment.

İlköğretim Kurumu Yöneticilerinin Liderlik Tarzları İle Öğretmenlerin Yaşadıkları Yıldırma (Mobbing) ve Örgütsel Sessizlik Davranışları Arasındaki İlişki

Bu araştırmanın amacı, ilköğretim kurumlarında görev yapan öğretmenlerin algılarına göre, okul yöneticilerinin liderlik tarzları ile öğretmenlerin yaşadıkları yıldırma ve örgütsel sessizlik davranışları arasındaki ilişkiyi saptamaktır. Araştırmanın evrenini Aksaray ili Merkez ilçedeki 5 eğitim bölgesinin sınırları içerisinde bulunan ilköğretim kurumlarında görev yapan 1301 öğretmen; örneklemi ise 395 öğretmen oluşturmaktadır. Araştırmadan elde edilen sonuçlara göre, okul yöneticileri dönüşümcü ve işlemci liderlik davranışları sergiledikçe, öğretmenlerin yıldırmaya maruz kalma ve örgütsel sessizlik yaşama düzeyleri azalmaktadır. İşlemci liderlik, yıldırma ve örgütsel sessizlik üzerinde, dönüşümcü liderliğe kıyasla daha güçlü bir etkiye sahiptir.

Reducing workplace accidents through the use of leadership interventions: A quasi-experimental field study

There is increasing evidence to suggest that leaders need to use a combination of leader behaviors to successfully improve safety, including both transformational and transactional styles, but there has been limited testing of this idea. We developed a leadership intervention, based on supervisor training in both transformational and active transactional behaviors, and implemented it with supervisors at a UK-based chemical processing company. The study found that the supervisory training intervention led to significant improvements in perceived employee safety climate, over an eight-week period, relative to the comparison group. Although we found no change in the frequency of leader behaviors, the intervention was effective in helping supervisors to apply active transactional leader behaviors in a safety-critical context. The results indicated that transformational leader behaviors were already at a high level and effectively linked to safety. Our findings suggest not only that employees may be receptive to safety-related active transactional behaviors within high-risk situations, but furthermore, leaders can be trained to adjust their behaviors to focus more on active transactional behaviors in safety-critical contexts.

Leadership Behaviour, Entrepreneurial Orientation and Organisational Performance in Malaysian Small and Medium Enterprises

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the organizational performance and entrepreneurial orientation of Malaysian Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Literature has shown that leadership and entrepreneurial orientation are important for organizational performance but still inadequate. Thus, this investigation hopes to close this gap in the literature and contribute to a new understanding of relationships between leadership and organizational performance, and entrepreneurial orientation served as a mediator. This study comprised a sample of owners or managers in the manufacturing and service sectors of SMEs located in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, as their largest representation of SME establishments and significant contributions to Malaysia economy. A cross-sectional research design was used to examine the relationships between leadership behavior, entrepreneurial orientation and organizational performance among SMEs. The respondent’s lists were sought from the SME Corp. Malaysia at http://www.smecorp.gov.my and http://www.smeinfo.com.my. Data were gathered based on a mailed questionnaire and personal administered questionnaires. The findings indicate that entrepreneurial orientation acted as a partial mediator in the relationship between leadership behavior and organizational performance. Transformational leadership and transactional leadership were found to have a significant relationship with entrepreneurial orientation and organizational performance of SMEs. An important implication of this research indicated that both transformational and transactional leadership behavior positively increased the individual outcome and lead to higher organizational performance.

Exploring the Relationship Between Innovative Work Behavior and Leadership: Moderating Effect of Locus of Control

The topic of innovative work behavior has recently received an increased amount of attention due to a highly competitive, complex, and dynamic economic environment. This paper examines the effect of the leadership styles (transformational and transactional) on innovative work behavior. Moreover, the study explores moderation effects of internal and external locus of control in the relationship between transformational and transactional leadership and innovative work behavior. The findings indicate the importance of alignment of the transformational and transactional leadership styles with employees’ locus of control while aiming to transform organizational and individual resources into innovative outcomes. More specifically, the results show that contingent reward has stronger relationship with internal locus of control, whereas passive management by exception has stronger relation to external locus of control proving that enhancement of external employee motivation may boost employee innovative work behavior. Therefore, this study confirms that different leadership practices show specific linkage to certain locus of control type subordinates, meaning that their effectiveness can rise, if applied to this specific type of individuals. The research contributes to the existing knowledge of leadership styles and locus of control role in managing innovative work behavior and overall to the knowledge about how innovation can be managed in modern organizations.

Developmental readiness and leadership development in medicine

PurposeLeadership is a key competency for physicians. Based on the premise that not everyone benefits equally from leadership development programmes, the leader developmental readiness (LDR; ability and motivation to develop)...

Online Adjunct Faculty: A Quantitative Examination of the Predictive Relationship between Leadership and Job Satisfaction

Advances in technology and the rapid expansion and affordability of the internet have helped facilitate the use of online education, or e-learning. To accommodate increased online enrollments, universities are hiring adjunct faculty to teach online courses. Despite the importance of adjunct faculty, there is a lack of research on the experiences of adjuncts, and particularly on the experiences of adjunct faculty who teach online classes. Likewise, there is a lack of research in the for-profit sector of post-secondary education in the United States. This quantitative correlational study addressed this gap in knowledge by investigating the predictive relationship between dimensions of the Full Range Leadership Theory, transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership behaviors, and the overall job satisfaction of adjunct faculty who teach online classes at a for-profit university in the United States. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire and Spector’s Job Satisfaction Survey were used to collect data to measure the faculty’s perceptions of leadership and job satisfaction. The results of multiple linear regression indicated transformational leadership was a significant predictor of job satisfaction, and increased overall satisfaction when present. Transactional leadership was also a significant predictor of overall job satisfaction, but demonstrated a negative relationship. Laissez-faire leadership was not a significant predictor of overall job satisfaction.

Leadership style of nurse managers as perceived by registered nurses: A cross-sectional survey

Given rapid changes in the health care landscape, nurse leaders need to be equipped with effective leadership skills. Those who are aware of their styles of working and its impact on their employees could adopt a better leadership style. The study aim was to assess the leadership styles of nurse leaders, as perceived by their employees. The secondary objectives were to explore differences between self-ratings and others’ ratings of leadership styles, as well as correlation between perceived leadership styles and organisational outcomes. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among registered nurses from four inpatient wards in an acute tertiary hospital in Singapore. Respondents were asked to complete a questionnaire that consisted of demographic questions, the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire and the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire, as well as a Three-index item Questionnaire, to elicit turnover intention. A total of 111 completed surveys (37% response) were received. Overall, registered nurses reported that their nurse leaders exhibited both transformational and transactional leadership behaviours and, to a lesser extent, laissez-faire. Of interest was the finding that nurse leaders in this study tend to rate themselves higher than others rate them. The results implied a need to incorporate self-awareness elements in nursing leadership development programmes.

High Performance Expectations: Concept and Causes

ABSTRACTEmployees contribute more when they are aware of their leaders’ high performance expectations (HPE), but how can leaders successfully convey HPE? Here it is argued that both transformational and transactional leadership behaviors involve goal-setting, which can affect employee-perceived HPE. Using a leadership training field experiment with 3,730 employees nested in 471 organizations, the findings support that training in transformational, transactional and combination leadership training significantly increased employees’ HPE relative to a control group. Furthermore, transformational leadership and pecuniary rewards seem to be important mechanisms. This implies that public leaders can affect HPE through leadership and thus potentially organizational performance.

The moderating effect of managers' leadership behavior on salespeople's self-efficacy

The authors develop a conceptual framework depicting relationships between salespeople's self-efficacy and customer response (defined as satisfaction, word-of-mouth, loyalty and cross-selling) as moderated by two dimensions of manager leadership behavior. The conceptual framework hypothesized that transactional leadership behavior amplifies the positive association between salespeople's self-efficacy and these four customer response variables. Otherwise, transformational leadership behavior reduces the positive influence of salesperson´s self-efficacy on customer satisfaction, word-of-mouth, loyalty and cross-selling. The authors collected data from the main retail companies and distributed a survey questionnaire to 341 customers. These customers were attended by 174 salespeople in the retail segment (electronics products), and these salespeople were managed by 55 managers who supervised the retail stores. The results showed that (i) salesperson self-efficacy has a positive and main effect on customer satisfaction, word-of-mouth, loyalty and cross-selling, (ii) transactional leadership behavior moderates positively the association between salesperson's self-efficacy and customer satisfaction, word-of-mouth and loyalty, and (iii) transformational leadership behavior negatively moderates the association between salespeople's self-efficacy and word-of-mouth. The results are robust to endogeneity concerns, supporting our hypotheses. The original value comes from path-goal theory (House, 1971, 1996), which explains the positive effect of transactional leadership behavior on vendor behavior. Path-goal theory suggests that the leader guides the followers to choose the best paths to reach their goals. Since this guidance happens, it amplifies the influence of self-efficacy. In addition, the second original value originates from the negative effect of transformational leadership (Khoo and Burch, 2008; Kark et al., 2003). Transformational leaders increase follower dependency on their actions and decisions and this dependency reduces the effects of self-efficacy.