The purpose of this descriptive, quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional study was to determine the self-perceived leadership style of principals in an era of accountability. The research instrument was the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire with added demographic questions. In addition to the determination of the self-perceived principal leadership style, the intention of this study was to determine the possible relationship of demographic variables such as principal gender, experience, ethnicity, school type (elementary, middle school, and high school), school grade, and school socioeconomic status determined by Title I on leadership styles. The participants of the study were principals from three large school districts in the state of Florida. The dependent variable was the principal leadership style categorized on the Multi-Factor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) as transactional, transformational, or laissez-faire. The MLQ also determined the use of behaviors categorized as laissez-faire, authoritative, or participative. The independent variables were the demographic variables, principal gender, ethnicity, years of experience as a school principal, school type (elementary, middle, and high school), school grade, and school socioeconomic status defined by Title I. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and a series of Factorial ANOVAs to examine the research questions. The results found moderate differences among the demographic variables gender, ethnicity, school level, SES, and change in school grade. No differences were found between leadership styles and the years of experience for principals. The findings of the study may have significance for principals of elementary, middle, and high schools in the identification of different leadership approaches and styles in an era of accountability. The findings of the study may also provide a benefit for principals of schools examining alternative leadership methods to motivate teachers and students to improve academic outcomes.

Adapting to change in a constantly changing environment is a challenge that organisations face on a daily basis. In order to stay competitive globally, the management of resistance to change becomes crucial. Research done on leadership reveals the very strong effect that leaders have on followers’ behaviours and attitudes and it is emphasized the role leadership plays in the implementation and supporting of change. The purpose of this dissertation is to determine whether a relationship between leadership and resistance to change exist within the higher education sector. The study obtains data of 75 participants within the faculty of engineering. The survey was done by means of a questionnaire. The statistical analyses included frequency analysis, descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, correlations, independent t-tests, Mann-Whitney tests, ANOVAs and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Results indicated that employees’ reactions toward change could be influenced by the type of leadership style present in the organisation, therefore it is necessary that the correct leadership style within an organisation cannot be underestimated. It could mean the difference between success and failure. For the purpose of this study, the researcher considered the scales of the Resistance to Change questionnaire sufficiently reliable, but further exploration of the scales and its adaptation to this context may be needed in future to enhance reliability measures. An important insight of this research is that, to be more effective in creating and supporting change within organisations, managers need to learn to recognise and understand resistance within them as well as in others. This research contributes to the already vast content of research on leadership and resistance to change and does so by being focused on studying these constructs under a unique set of circumstances. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

Adapting to change in a constantly changing environment is a challenge that organisations face on a daily basis. In order to stay competitive globally, the management of resistance to change becomes crucial. Research done on leadership reveals the very strong effect that leaders have on followers’ behaviours and attitudes and it is emphasized the role leadership plays in the implementation and supporting of change. The purpose of this dissertation is to determine whether a relationship between leadership and resistance to change exist within the higher education sector. The study obtains data of 75 participants within the faculty of engineering. The survey was done by means of a questionnaire. The statistical analyses included frequency analysis, descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, correlations, independent t-tests, Mann-Whitney tests, ANOVAs and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Results indicated that employees’ reactions toward change could be influenced by the type of leadership style present in the organisation, therefore it is necessary that the correct leadership style within an organisation cannot be underestimated. It could mean the difference between success and failure. For the purpose of this study, the researcher considered the scales of the Resistance to Change questionnaire sufficiently reliable, but further exploration of the scales and its adaptation to this context may be needed in future to enhance reliability measures. An important insight of this research is that, to be more effective in creating and supporting change within organisations, managers need to learn to recognise and understand resistance within them as well as in others. This research contributes to the already vast content of research on leadership and resistance to change and does so by being focused on studying these constructs under a unique set of circumstances. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

Syftet med föreliggande studie var att undersöka sambandet mellan emotionell intelligens (EI )och ledarskapsstilar i Sverige. Tidigare studier har funnit ett samband mellan emotionell intelligens och transformativt ledarskap. Studien syftade även till att undersöka ifall tidigare forsknings resultat mellan emotionell intelligens och ledarskapsstilar skiljer sig i förhållande till ett svenskt urval. Ledarna (N=61) besvarade på frågor angående emotionell intelligens (SEIS) samt på frågor angående ledarskapsstil (MLQ5X). Resultatet visade ett signifikant positivt samband mellan emotionell intelligens och alla fyra komponenter i transformativt ledarskap. Inga signifikanta resultat fanns mellan emotionell intelligens och ett transaktionellt ledarskap. Ett signifikant negativt samband fanns mellan emotionell intelligens och ett laissez-fairledarskap. Resultatet visade att föreliggande studie låg i linje med tidigare forskningsresultat. / The purpose of this study was to examining the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and leadership styles in Sweden. Previous studies have found a link between emotional intelligence and transformational leadership. The study also aimed to investigate whether previous research results between emotional intelligence and leadership styles differ in relation to a Swedish sample. The leaders (N=61) answered questions about emotional intelligence (SEIS) and questions regarding leadershipstyle (MLQ5X). The results showed a significant positive correlation between emotional intelligence and all four components of transformational leadership. No significant results were found between emotional intelligence and transactional leadership. A significant negativ ecorrelation was found between emotional intelligence and al aissez-fair leadership. The results showed that the present study was consistent with previous research.

Η παρούσα εργασία αποβλέπει στην μελέτη αλλά και διερεύνηση της σημασίας δύο μορφών ηγεσίας, της συναλλακτικής και της μετασχηματιστικής, καθώς και της έννοιας της συμβουλευτικής, στα πλαίσια των χρηματοπιστωτικών οργανισμών. Συγκεκριμένα, θα παρουσιαστεί αρχικά το θεωρητικό υπόβαθρο των παραπάνω εννοιών, ο ορισμός τους, τα χαρακτηριστικά τους γνωρίσματα, οι συσχετιζόμενες με αυτές έννοιες. Στη συνέχεια θα επιχειρηθεί η περαιτέρω έρευνα για την εξακρίβωση της σημαντικότητας και του ρόλου της συναλλακτικής, μετασχηματιστικής ηγεσίας και συμβουλευτικής στην ανάπτυξη του στελέχους στα πλαίσια των χρηματοπιστωτικών ιδρυμάτων. Παράλληλα, η εν λόγω εργασία δύναται να προσφέρει μία διευρυμένη προσέγγιση των παραπάνω εννοιών μέσα από τα ευρήματά της. / The purpose of the present paper is to study two types of leadership, transactional and transformational leadership, as well as the significance of mentoring in the frames of financial institutions. Specifically, this search intends to show the influence of those concepts in the development of the executives in the frames of financial institutions. Transformational leadership is the one of the most suitable types of leadership, which is adopted by the contemporary organizations. Moreover, mentoring is an important educational process that provides the executive with the necessary experience in order to develop. Transformational leadership, transactional leadership and mentoring are correlated in the frames of financial organizations. Finally, the present paper consists of the theoretical overview of those concepts as well as the research of transactional leadership, transformational leadership and mentoring in the frames of financial organizations.

Problem: The number of MNCs in the world are expanding and there is an ever-growing interest in how knowledge is shared since it is said to improve the organization's competitive advantage. It is further argued in existing literature that leadership, and more specifically the leadership behaviors, play a role in how knowledge is shared within multinational corporations. However, few examples from the international setting exist, which led the authors of this thesis to further explore this area of research. Purpose: The purpose of this research paper is to explore what types of leadership behaviors influence knowledge sharing in a multinational corporation, and how these behaviors impact how leaders share knowledge. Methodology: In order to fulfill the purpose of this thesis and to properly answer the research question a qualitative approach was chosen. The empirical data was collected through a single case study of a Swedish MNC, Alpha, with subsidiaries abroad. The sample consisted of six participants who hold leadership positions within Alpha, and who continuously travel abroad to the subsidiaries in their work assignments. Findings: The authors of this thesis found evidence that leaders working in an international setting, such as an MNC, need to possess certain behaviors found in the description of both transactional and transformational leaders. However, the empirical data contribute to the current body of research by showing that these leaders also need to possess the behavior of cultural awareness, to have a deeper understanding of how the different cultures are represented within an organization.

There is a general scarcity of empirical studies investigating the impact of leadership styles on e-Government use in the service industry. This is doubly true of styles such as transformational, transactional and servant leadership. Theorised models propose that leadership style forms the desired organisational culture for implementing e-services, organisational culture being the mediator and the national culture the moderator. This research fills the empirical gap by investigating how leadership forms the organisational culture that facilitates and enhances the implementation and use of e-government in organisations in Saudi Arabia. The research was conducted through the sampling of employees in private and public sectors. While the data for the leadership styles, organisational culture and national culture were collected through the use of questionnaires designed for employees, the e-services were measured through organizations’ official websites. All data were processed and analysed using computer software (WarPPLS) and SPSS. The results support the hypothesized relationships proposed in the theoretical model, wherein all constructs under study (except for the mediating effect of National Culture (NC) on the relationship between leadership styles and organisational culture) positively affect e-services implementation, including Individualized Influence (IINF), Intellectual Stimulation (ISTIM), Individualized Support (ISUP), Contingent Reward (CR), Management by Exception (MbE), Servant Leadership (SL), Bureaucratic Culture (BC), Involvement Culture (INVC), Mission Culture (MC), Innovative Culture (INC), Task Culture (TC) and Future Culture (FC) and the mediating effect of National Culture (NC) on the relationship between organisational culture and e-services implementation. The results also indicated that specific leadership styles have direct and positive impacts on e-services implementation and indirect influences through a mediating organisational culture and a moderating national culture. The empirical findings bring new evidence in support of this proposal, indicating that specific leadership styles play crucial roles in influencing processes and outcomes within organizations. According to these results, e-services differ from one organization to another, and these variations were correlated to leadership styles and organizational culture. It was found that there were positive and significant correlations between total leadership styles (hybrid) and total organizational cultures (hybrid) in the full sample and in e-services implementation. E-services implementation increases when the mean for leadership styles rises, but types of organizational culture were also crucial factors in achieving better e-services. The national culture variable, which was used as a moderator, did not have a significant influence on the relationship between leadership style and organisational culture. Therefore, the moderating role of national culture in the relationship between leadership styles and organisational culture did not have any level of statistical significance, which means that regardless of the national culture (power distance or uncertainty avoidance) the effect of leadership style on organisational culture in the model adopted in this study appeared to be quite consistent. The study links theory to practice by explaining the subject of modern leadership styles and shows their relevance to the Saudi organisations and business environment. As such, it opens up a domain for investigating the application of modern management theories in a different culture. Although a plethora of studies have investigated the effect of factors such as organisational culture and/or national culture on e-services implementation in Saudi’s organisations, no study (to the best of this writer's knowledge) has tackled the issue of e-services implementation and leadership styles in those organisations. Therefore, studying e-services implementation and leadership styles in Saudi’s organisations is a contribution to the literature on the service industry, adding to its knowledge with a case study from a different cultural setting. The study also opens up a horizon for future research on developing the business sector, as it uses standardized tools in terms of reliability and validity within the context of the e-services implementation. Therefore, this study contributes to existing knowledge in that leadership and organisational culture are revealed to be key contributors to e-services implementation. The three leadership styles - transformational, transactional, and servant leadership - were empirically found to be appropriate styles that work well in e-services implementation projects. These styles have direct and positive benefits to e-services implementation and an indirect impact through the mediating means of organisational culture, and empirical findings bring new evidence for this notion. Moreover, the six organisational cultural dimensions were judged to be appropriate supporters of e-services implementation, specifically: involvement, mission, innovation, task-orientation, bureaucracy, and future-orientation.

Purpose: While it is commonly accepted that organizational innovation is vital for organizations‘ sustainability and competitive advantage, existing literature has not fully determined the relationship between different types of leadership and organizational innovation. The purpose of this study is to seek how transformational and transactional leadership behaviors influence organizational innovation and further examine the moderating role of empowerment. Methodology: The authors collected data from surveying senior and middle level managers from the four largest organizations in Greek telecommunication industry. The data collected were analyzed via regression analysis and the results were compared to the findings of existing literature and studies. Findings: The empirical findings validate that both transformational leadership and transactional leadership positively influence organizational innovation. Additional evidence highlights the importance of specific leadership components, inspirational motivation and contingent reward, in pursuing organizational innovation. Moreover, the results indicate a plausible moderating role of empowerment in the relationship of organizational innovation with both leadership styles. Originality /value: This study contributes to organizational innovation literature by finding that both transformational and transactional leadership can promote organizational innovation even in organizations operating in dynamic environments. Combining and balancing the different characteristics of transformational and transactional leadership can help leaders enhance their follower‘s behaviors towards an innovation-oriented strategy, even in large and mature organizations.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between school principals’ self-reported spirituality and their transformational leadership behaviors. The relationship between spirituality and transactional leadership behaviors was also explored. The study used Bass and Avolio’s (1984) Full Range Leadership Model as the theoretical framework conceptualizing transformational leadership. Data were collected using online surveys. Overall, six principals and sixty-nine teachers participated in the study. Principal surveys contained three parts: the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ Form-5X Short), the modified Spirituality Well-Being Scale (SWBS) and demographic information. Teacher surveys included two parts: the MLQ-5X and demographic information. The MLQ-5X was used to identify the degree of principals’ transformational and transactional leadership behaviors. The modified SWBS (Existential Well Being) was used to determine principals’ degree of spirituality. The correlation coefficients for the transformational leadership styles of inspirational motivation and idealized behavioral influence were significantly related to principals’ spirituality. In addition, a multiple regression analysis including the five measures of transformational leadership as predictors suggested that spirituality is positively related to an individual’s transformational leadership behaviors. A multiple regression analysis utilizing a linear combination of all transformational leadership and transactional measures was predictive of spirituality. Finally, it appears that the inspirational motivation measure of transformational leadership accounts for a significant amount of unique variance independent of the other seven transformational and transactional leadership measures in predicting spirituality. Based on the findings from this study, the researcher proposed a modification of Bass and Avolio’s (1985) Full Range Leadership Model. An additional dimension, spirituality, was added to the continuum of leadership styles. The findings from this study imply that principals’ self-reported levels of spirituality was related to their being perceived as displaying transformational leadership behaviors. Principals who identified themselves as “spiritual”, were more likely to be characterized by the transformational leadership style of inspirational motivation.

The role of the principal in school settings and the principal’s perceived effect on student achievement have frequently been considered vital factors in school reform. The relationships between emotional intelligence, leadership style and school culture have been widely studied. The literature reveals agreement among scholars regarding the principal’s vital role in developing and fostering a positive school culture. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between elementary school principals’ emotional intelligence, leadership style and school culture. The researcher implemented a non-experimental ex post facto research design to investigate four specific research hypotheses. Utilizing the Qualtrics Survey Software, 57 elementary school principals within a large urban school district in southeast Florida completed the Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i), and 850 of their faculty members completed the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ Form 5X). Faculty responses to the school district’s School Climate Survey retrieved from the district’s web site were used as the measure of school culture. Linear regression analyses revealed significant positive associations between emotional intelligence and the following leadership measures: Idealized Influence-Attributes (β = .23, p = < .05), Idealized Influence-Behaviors (β = .34, p = < .01), Inspirational Motivation (β = .39, p = < .01) and Contingent Reward (β = .33, p = < .01). Hierarchical regression analyses revealed positive associations between school culture and both transformational and transactional leadership measures, and negative associations between school culture and passive-avoidant leadership measures. Significant positive associations were found between school culture and the principals’ emotional intelligence over and above leadership style. Hierarchical linear regressions to test the statistical hypothesis developed to account for alternative explanations revealed significant associations between leadership style and school culture over and above school grade. These results suggest that emotional intelligence merits consideration in the development of leadership theory. Practical implications include suggestions that principals employ both transformational and transactional leadership strategies, and focus on developing their level of emotional intelligence. The associations between emotional intelligence, transformational leadership, Contingent Reward and school culture found in this study validate the role of the principal as the leader of school reform.