Determinants of transformational and transactional leadership styles on organizational commitment among top management of organizations in Malaysia

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate the determinants of leadership styles and organizational commitment among top management across a range of organizations in Malaysia by utilizing Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) to measure transformational and transactional leadership styles. The research also utilized organizational commitment instrument developed by the researchers to measure organizational commitment. Simple random sampling technique was used to draw up the respondents consisting of 379 administrative employees and their supervisors in selected organizations in Malaysia. The result of correlation analysis revealed that the independent variables were statistically significant at 0.01 level of significance with organizational commitment. Besides, the result of multiple linear regression indicated that individualized consideration, management-by-exception and inspirational motivation were the significant predictors. Organizations need transformational and transactional leaders to be able to achieve their mission and vision. Therefore, organizations that have the capacity to change their top management approach to leadership styles will gain substantial support from their employees thereby increasing organizational commitment and performance among them. © Medwell Journal, 2012.