Transactional Leadership Theory Research Articles

Conceptualizing leadership psychosis: the Department of Veteran Affairs scandal

Purpose – This paper argues that “lack of leadership” is not an accurate descriptor for dysfunctional leadership. It proposes that some leaders fall into a type of dysfunctional performance when faced with the high and often conflicting organizational demands characteristic of the interdependent and rapidly evolving challenges of the twenty-first century. It calls this dysfunction “leadership psychosis.” The purpose of this paper is to offer a four-stage conceptual definition of leadership psychosis. Design/methodology/approach – Based on a review of the literature central to leadership psychosis, namely, transformational, authentic, and transactional leadership theories, the paper discusses the conceptualization of leadership psychosis as it progresses through four increasingly dysfunctional stages. Findings – It identified four increasingly dysfunctional stages of leadership psychosis grounded on the literature review central to transformational, authentic, and transactional leadership theories. Research limitations/implications – Transformational and authentic leadership theories are a nuanced development of the discarded trait theories of leadership. So it is fair to argue that leadership psychosis falls into the same criticism given that psychopathic leaders’ behavior can be seen as rooted in some personality trait. Measuring psychopathic leaders’ behavior will be an impressive challenge. Practical implications – It suggests replacing “lack of leadership” with a better descriptor of organizational dysfunction: leadership psychosis. Social implications – It calls attention to the rise of the organizational psychopath to leadership positions in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. Originality/value – Leadership psychosis is introduced as a new construct to explain dysfunctional leadership.

New approach to leadership skills development (developing a model and measure)

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to develop a leadership skills development model and measure, based on its effect on organizational effectiveness and moderator effect of knowledge sharing.Design/methodology/approach– Using the survey method, this paper investigates the validation of measures and model of the study. It tests the reliability and constructs validity of a leadership skills development measurement scale, created on the basis of the existing measures of leadership, organizational effectiveness and knowledge sharing. This scale is harmonized with transformational, transactional and servant leadership theories.Findings– A structural model and measure of leadership skills development is proposed.Research limitations/implications– This study is limited by its particular population; therefore, future research need to be done to illustrate whether the current results can be generalized with other samples from different situations and cultures.Originality/value– The paper provides an in depth review of leadership development, as well as developing a theory-based model and a valid and reliable questionnaire, which measures leadership skills development, effectiveness and knowledge sharing. The study results could improve the future empirical leadership development research.

Leader Profiles and Their Effectiveness on Employees’ Outcomes

An underlying premise of the transformational–transactional leadership theory is that different forms of leadership can reside simultaneously within the same individual. This fundamental hypothesis has received scarce attention in the empirical literature. The objectives of this study are thus to examine whether leader profiles combining these leadership forms do exist and to evaluate how these profiles are associated with specific employee attitudes and behaviors. Results obtained from two different samples using cluster analyses revealed six different leader profiles (i.e., superleaders, transactors, moderate leaders, distant-visionary, distant-rewarding, and distant-punitive leaders). Our results showed that these types of leaders differ in terms of employees’ perceptions of trust, justice, and commitment, as well as supervisor-rated in-role and contextual performance. Results and implications for research and practice are discussed.

Resilient leadership: a transformational-transactional leadership mix

Purpose– This paper aims to bring to bear the resemblance between the current resilient leadership theory and the transformational–transactional leadership theories. It does this with the view of re-focusing discussions of leadership on an effective mix of the transformational–transactional leadership theories to achieve the desired organisational performance, rather than a new look at leadership from the resilient leadership perspective – which is quite the same.Design/methodology/approach– It achieves this purpose by reviewing literature on the three leadership styles; and further goes on to draw a conceptual link among them to buttress the point that resilient leadership is a repetition of the ideas underlying the two already existing theories – transformational and transactional.Findings– A review of the three leadership theories in literature showed that qualities such as strategic thinking, emotional intelligence, adaptation/change orientation, learning, performance orientation and collective leadership as captured under the resilient leadership theory are already considered under the transformational–transactional leadership theories, and thus, constitutes a repetition not needed in the search for the best leadership approach.Originality/value– The current volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environment calls for a new leadership thinking/approach – one that is known and empirically tested to yield best results. In this regard, the present study advocates for a consideration of the transformational–transactional approaches, which have been proven to yield best results, to focus the discussion on leadership.

Theoretical aspects of leadership and creativity

The paper provides an overview of the theory of leadership which, within the organizational context, can contribute to the development of organizational creativity, as well as employee creativity . First, we observe the most dominant theories of creativity in the organizational context such as the componential theory of creativity and the theory of organizational creativity. Later we examine the theory of leadership within organizations that can increase and have a positive effect on creativity. Among the most important approaches to research of organizational behavior, and leadership theories, are the following : theories of personality traits, behavioral theory of leadership, situational leadership theory and new concepts of leadership. New concepts of leadership include charismatic leadership, transactional leadership theory and transformational leadership theory. According to the previous research, the latter, i.e. transformational leadership theory, has a large and significant impact on encouraging creativity within organizations.

Instrumental leadership: Measurement and extension of transformational–transactional leadership theory

Leaders must scan the internal and external environment, chart strategic and task objectives, and provide performance feedback. These instrumental leadership (IL) functions go beyond the motivational and quid-pro quo leader behaviors that comprise the full-range—transformational, transactional, and laissez faire—leadership model. In four studies we examined the construct validity of IL. We found evidence for a four-factor IL model that was highly prototypical of good leadership. IL predicted top-level leader emergence controlling for the full-range factors, initiating structure, and consideration. It also explained a unique variance in outcomes beyond the full-range factors; the effects of transformational leadership were vastly overstated when IL was omitted from the model. We discuss the importance of a “fuller full-range” leadership theory for theory and practice. We also showcase our methodological contributions regarding corrections for common method variance (i.e., endogeneity) bias using two-stage least squares (2SLS) regression and Monte Carlo split-sample designs.

Follower Perspectives on Transformational and Transactional Leadership

Research on transformational and transactional leadership to date has mostly focused on leader-centric, top-down influence processes. The present research took a follower-centered approach by differentially investigating follower preferences for the facets of transformational and transactional leadership. This was done via adaptive conjoint analysis, a method adopted from marketing research. Results from three consecutive studies with a total of 778 participants convergently show that individualized consideration and contingent reward had the greatest impact on follower preference to work for a particular leader, Study 3 also highlighting intellectual stimulation. Detailed analysis of follower preferences for high, moderate and low leader performance on each leadership facet revealed a differential pattern of results. Implications for transformational and transactional leadership theory and organizational practice are discussed.

Participative, Transformational, and Transactional Leadership in the United Kingdom, Nigeria and France

This paper describes participative, transformational and transactional leadership theories and how each theory might or might not work in the United Kingdom, Nigeria, and France. Application of the three leadership theories emphasizes performance orientation as an important requirement across the three national cultures. A number of issues are readily identifiable with the application of each theory across the three national cultures. With participative leadership, issues of time intensity, information sensitivity, and size of the labor force are unavoidable. Issues with transformational leadership include measurement difficulties and anti-democracy; while issues with transactional leadership include the need to maintain status quo and the use of rewards and punishment to achieve results. Cultures may influence leadership styles, it is however not a determinant of leadership behavior. This is in consonance with the findings of the GLOBE study which found that leadership behavior is not a function of national culture values.

The challenge of transactional and transformational leadership in projects

Projects as a form of temporary organizing are different from standard organizational processes. Due to their temporary and unique nature, projects are characterized by discontinuous personal constellations and work contents. Although leadership research has called for a consideration of context factors and their effects on leadership, leadership in a temporary setting has hardly been investigated. We therefore extend transactional and transformational leadership theory by looking at it from the perspective of the temporary organization. We develop a research model with testable propositions on the effects of the temporary organizations' characteristics on leadership and on followers' commitment in projects.

An assessment of the leadership style in Malaysian construction firms

The current competitive environment proposes that a proper leadership style in a construction firm is necessary to sustain business and to keep pace with rapid changes. Based on Bass and Avolio’s transformational and transactional leadership theory, the objective of this study is to investigate the leadership styles of owner-managers and the preference of leadership styles by subordinates in Malaysian construction firms. It also aims to compare the leadership styles of Malay and Chinese owner-managers and to assess the relationship between leadership styles and leadership outcomes. Based on a survey of 31 subordinates, the findings of this study showed that the majority of owner-managers mainly practise transformational leadership style. However, the subordinates place a higher ranking on the preferred transformational leadership style exerted by their employers. The subordinates also demand more reward and recognition for their job. Moreover, the findings revealed that some Malay owner-managers lean toward adopting a laissez-faire leadership style compared to their Chinese counterparts. The dominance of transformational leadership style applied in construction firms provides significant contribution to leadership outcomes in terms of effectiveness, satisfaction, and extra effort.

TRANSFORMING LEADERSHIP STYLES AND KNOWLEDGE SHARING IN A MULTICULTURAL CONTEXT

Despite limitations on comprehensive studies, scholars accept that transformational and transactional leadership theories will have a universal application because these models have capacity for being adapted to different cultural settings. However, more exploration is required in order to develop a strong and consistent picture of the generalizability of culturally-linked leadership styles differently perceived, evaluated or enacted in diverse cultures because the meaning and importance given to the concept of leadership vary across cultures. By comparing and contrasting the number of cultural frameworks of leadership styles and drawing conclusions as to the relationship between leadership styles and culture, more holistic understanding can be attained.

A Rhetoric on the Quest for Effective Leadership in Organisations

AbstractThis conceptual paper is an evaluation of the leadership agenda in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its subsidiary companies, and presents a platform for developing a capacity for change through effective leadership. This is based on the notion that in today’s business environment, there is an increasing demand for effective leaders who understand the complex nature of businesses/organisations and their continuous changing environment as suggested by Tseng (2010). The changing business environment requires leaders who are intellectual, sensitive, and have the ability to empathise with others. D’Amato et al. (2010) suggest that effective leaders are those who can motivate their followers to strive for excellence as depicted in the 21st century management goals. The paper critically examines the leadership styles and management practices in the NNPC and the study makes several important contributions to the field of leadership and management, especially in the NNPC and its subsidiary companies. The paper begins with an introductory background on leadership styles at the NNPC. It integrates relative concepts of organisational learning and leadership from an empirical perspective. This study gives a thematic analysis of basic leadership theories which empirically proves that adopting Transformational and Transactional leadership theories in the organisation may establish a strong relationship between leaders/managers and followers. Through this research, organisations within the public sector in Nigeria can improve their learning, accelerating business growth and innovation.

Four Leadership Theories Addressing Contemporary Leadership Issues as the Theories Relate to the Scholarship, Practice, and Leadership Model

The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast transformational,transactional, charismatic, and contingent leadership theories and to determine similarities anddifferences between these theories in able to determine their future effectiveness. Additionally thispaper looks at four leadership styles in term of how each address the following contemporaryleadership issues: knowledge management, informatics / innovations and rapid change, and ethics.

A qualitative analysis of charismatic leadership in creative teams: The case of television directors

Leadership continues to play an important role in team effectiveness [Burke, C.S., Stagl, K.C., Klein, C., Goodwin, G.F., Salas, E., & Halpin, S.M. (2006). What type of leadership behaviors is functional in teams? A meta-analysis. The Leadership Quarterly, 17(3), 288–307.]. A special type of team, television show production, utilizes an intact team of highly specialized and creative members. Charismatic leadership theory provides a useful lens from which to study how television directors facilitate the team's work and creativity. In this study we used two types of qualitative software to analyze interview transcripts from 21 television directors. Semi-structured interview protocol resulted in transcripts coded for the six factors of charismatic leadership [Conger, J.A., & Kanungo, R.N. (1988). Behavioral dimensions of charismatic leadership. In. J.A. Conger and R.N. Kanungo (Eds.), Charismatic Leadership (pp. 78–97). San Francisco: Jossey Bass Inc.], and aspects of leader distance [Antonakis, J., & Atwater, L. (2002). Leader distance: A review and a proposed theory. The Leadership Quarterly, 13, 673–704.; Shamir, B. (1995). Social distance and charisma: Theoretical notes and an exploratory study. The Leadership Quarterly, 6, 19–47.], shared leadership [Pearce, C.L., & Conger, J.A. (Eds.) (2003). Shared leadership: Reframing the hows and whys of leadership. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.], and leadership self-schema [Gardner, W.L. & Avolio, B.J. (1998). The charismatic relationship: A dramaturgical perspective. Academy of Management Review, 23(1), 32–58.; Murphy, S.E. (2001). Leader self-regulation: The role of self-efficacy and “multiple intelligences”. In R. Riggio, S. Murphy, & F. Pirozzolo, (Eds.) Multiple intelligences and leadership, (pp. 163–186). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.; Wofford, J.C., & Goodwin, V.L. (1994). A cognitive interpretation of transactional and transformational leadership theories. Leadership Quarterly, 5, 161–186.]. In addition, a computerized content analysis program DICTION was used to identify factors of charismatic speech content such as optimism and reference to collectives following the protocol used by Bligh, Kohles, & Meindl [Bligh, M.C., Kohles, J.C., Meindl, J.R. (2004b). Charisma under crisis: Presidential leadership, rhetoric, and media responses before and after the September 11th terrorist attacks. The Leadership Quarterly, 15, 211–239.]. Results of the present study revealed that charismatic leadership can be important in explaining the leadership role of television directors in teams. Directors showed vision, sensitivity to member's needs, and other charismatic behaviors. Moreover, some charismatic leader behavior differed by leader distance from followers. Leadership self-schema appeared to be an important prerequisite for shared leadership.

Leading Where it Counts: An Investigation of the Leadership Styles and Behaviors that Define College and University Presidents as Successful Fundraisers

This paper provides presidents and academic leadership with a body of literature that will strengthen the leaders’ understanding of the unique behaviors and characteristics that are paramount to successful fund raising in the academic arena. A better understanding of transformational, transactional, and transformative leadership theory, and the attributes that are associated with them, can not only help leaders shape and mold their approach to fund raising but also enable them to infuse a greater sense of meaning into their respective institutions while increasing the amount of financial support they garner.

British army leadership: is it gendered?

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the role of the female British Army officer, to determine whether female Army officers lead in different ways to male Army officers.Design/methodology/approachThe conceptual framework was transformational and transactional leadership theory. Data were gathered in semi structured interviews with 24 Army officers, split 50:50 between men and women using repertory grid, and critical incident methods.FindingsWomen and men Army officers interviewed do lead in different ways with women demonstrating a gender management aspect to their leadership. The research also identified that women officers experience an “armoured glass” ceiling in terms of career progression, the research developed a conceptual model of military leadership that differs from the transformational/transactional leadership model. It also disconfirms contemporary leadership theory that conflates leadership and change management.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper makes no claims for generalisability because of the unrepresentative sample. Further, research is needed on a representative sample basis.Practical implicationsThe paper may inform policy on the management and development of female Army officers. It may also have utility in improving leadership development in the British Army and other UK Armed Services.Originality/valueThe paper makes a contribution in two areas; it adds to the growing body of research that indicates men and women lead in different ways and assessing the implications that flow from this. It is also a research‐based contribution to conceptualising leadership in the British Army officer cadre below 1 star level.

Negotiating extra effort through contingent rewards

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the validity of contingent reward and its relationship to extra effort and to further advance understanding of the leader/follower performance reward relationship.Design/methodology/approachThe concept of contingent reward has largely remained unchanged since 1985. Consequently, the items of contingent reward were examined in terms of their content validity that was guided by transactional leadership theory, re‐formulated path‐goal theory of leadership, and negotiation theory. Three new contingent reward factors were identified (i.e. framing, clarifying, and rewarding). These were examined using one‐factor congeneric measurement models. Valid factors were identified using a high‐order confirmatory factor analysis to further confirm the structural validity of the three new factors of contingent reward. Finally, structural equation models were calculated to examine the relationships among contingent reward factors and extra effort.FindingsThree distinct factors of contingent reward were identified and their relationships with extra effort was consistent with the integrative negotiation strategies where each factor formed part of a negotiation process. Contingent reward (framing) initiates the negotiation process and directly loads on contingent reward (rewarding and clarifying); contingent reward (framing) did not directly load on to extra effort. Contingent reward (rewarding) supports the negotiation process by loading directly on contingent reward (clarifying). The negotiation process is completed with contingent reward (clarifying) directly loading on extra effort. These three contingent reward factors form a simple negotiation process that highlights several important aspect of the leader/follower reward performance relationship.Research limitations/implicationsThis study uses a cross‐sectional design that means that its findings may not be generalisable to other populations. However, the findings of this study should encourage researchers to appreciate that common leadership behaviour, like contingent reward, may have more complex interrelationships with outcome factors such as extra effort than previously expected.Practical implicationsLeaders should view their use of contingent reward behaviours in terms of a process rather than simply exhibiting a single clarifying contingent reward type behaviour. In other words, leaders need to establish the boundaries (i.e. framing), acknowledge involvement (i.e. rewarding), and then elucidate mutual outcomes (i.e. clarifying). This process should enable leaders to negotiate greater flexibilities and create more momentum within their leader/follower performance reward relationships.Originality/valueThis paper challenges the foundation ideas and empirical pedigree of contingent reward and incorporates advances in theories such as the reformulated path‐goal theory and interpret the behaviours in a broader multi‐disciplinary context, i.e. integrative negotiation strategies.

Using Role Theory to Examine Determinants of Transformational and Transactional Leader Behavior

Managers can and do behave differently in similar organizations and within similar jobs. Role theory is proposed to be useful in understanding and determining how managers' perceptions of the organizational setting influence their leadership behaviors. This paper seeks to: (1) introduce role theory as a mechanism for explaining the relationship between organizational context and leadership behavior; (2) integrate transformational and transactional leadership theories with research on organizational context and role theory; and (3) identify organizational contextual and personality variables that influence transformational and transactional leadership behaviors.

Subordinates' information inquiry: Exploring the effect of perceived leadership style and individual differences

An argument is developed and tested that a superior's perceived leadership style affects subordinates' information inquiry in an organizational setting. Transformational and transactional leadership theories were utilized to postulate that the content and frequency of information sought by a subordinate from his/her superior will vary depending on that superior's leadership style. This relationship was tested with individual difference predictors such as job‐related tolerance for ambiguity, organization‐based self‐esteem, and work‐domain goal orientation of subordinates, in mind. Empirical results, based on the field study using survey data and longitudinal checklist recording, show general support for the model.

Development of a Situational Model for Transformational Leadership

Bass's theory (1985) of transformational leadership is based upon going beyond exchanging rewards for desired performance. Einstein (1994) proposed several steps to bring about the transformation of followers. Using a situational model, we will introduce transactional and transformational leadership theories into Einstein's steps of transformation. Transactional leadership is defined by leader-follower relationships which are based on a series of exchanges or bargains between leaders and followers. Degrees of transactional leadership are supported by the leader's activity level and the nature of the interaction with followers. With transformational leadership, leader-follower relationships are built on three distinct leader behaviors; charisma, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration. The situational model we intend to develop for transformational leadership will show managers when and how to employ this theory. Transformational leadership can be learned and leaders at all levels can benefit from an understanding of how transformational and transactional leadership theory can be combined into a dynamic model.