Research Article
The Effect of Transformational Leadership on Role Behavior, Organizational Citizenship Behavior, and Innovative Behavior
Published: January 2013 · Vol. 42, No. 1 · pp. 121-152
Full Text
Abstract
This study aimed to examine the effects of supervisors' transformational leadership on subordinates' in-role behavior, organizational citizenship behavior, and innovative behavior, and to determine whether personal identification and social identification mediate the relationships between supervisors' transformational leadership and in-role behavior, organizational citizenship behavior, and innovative behavior. Data for the study were collected through surveys of 300 employees from 11 organizations, and the final analysis utilized survey data from 213 respondents. The results showed that supervisors' transformational leadership had a significant positive effect on both personal identification and social identification, and transformational leadership had a significant positive effect on all three outcomes: in-role behavior, organizational citizenship behavior, and innovative behavior. Personal identification and social identification were found to fully or partially mediate the relationships between transformational leadership and in-role behavior, organizational citizenship behavior, and innovative behavior. However, when transformational leadership, personal identification, and social identification were simultaneously entered into the analysis, social identification was found to fully or partially mediate the relationships between transformational leadership and in-role behavior, organizational citizenship behavior, and innovative behavior, whereas personal identification only mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and OCBO. Therefore, the findings suggest that in order to elicit subordinates' positive behaviors toward the organization as a whole, leaders must enable subordinates to experience social identification. Based on the research findings, implications, limitations, and directions for future research were discussed.
