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This paper seeks to raise the question as to why knowledge management (KM) initiatives adopted by organisations fail to achieve the intended outcomes. Based on literature, it is argued, first, that internal leadership is the most critical antecedent which leads knowledge workers (KWs) propensity to engage in KM processes and second, that, transformational and transactional leader behaviours are the key predictors of KM propensity. Consequently, four types of transformational leader behaviours and two types of transactional leader behaviours are conceptualised as energisers of KWs propensity to KM processes and thus bring the KM success. Accordingly, the paper extends current understanding of the association between KM and leadership considering the specific leader behaviours in both transformational and transactional leadership theory where neither the KM nor the leadership field provides a detailed explanation of specific leader behaviours.

A leader supports teams and individuals as they turn their creative efforts into innovations (leader as facilitator) and manages the organization's goals and activities aimed at innovation (leader as manager). This review focuses on when and how leadership relates to innovation (i.e., the factors that moderate or mediate the relationship between leadership and innovation). The sample consists of 30 empirical studies in which leadership is treated as the independent variable and innovation as the dependent variable. In addition to reviewing moderating and mediating factors, we identified two factors where the findings are ambiguous. The review proposes three new factors that may mediate or moderate the relationship between leadership and innovation.

The study on which this paper is based examined the effect of transformational and transactional leadership styles as well as the effect of each component of transformational and transactional leadership on innovative behaviour. A sample of 3 180 respondents from 52 South African companies participated in this research. Two main hypotheses and six sub-hypotheses were tested using multiple regression analysis with and without interaction terms. The results indicate that it is useful to utilise both transformational and transactional leadership styles to enhance employees' innovative behaviour. The study substantiated the expected positive relationship between transformational and transactional leadership style and innovative behaviour. Furthermore, the results showed that amongst the components of these leadership styles, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and contingent reward positively influence innovative behaviour. The results showed no relationship between individual consideration, management-by-exception and innovative behaviour. Contrary to expectations, the results revealed a negative relationship between idealised influence and innovative behaviour. Recommendations and suggestions for further research are provided.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the nature of the relationship between leadership styles, organisational climate, innovation and organisational performance. The study was quantitative in nature using questionnaires submitted by 231 participants from various companies in South Africa. The statistical analysis was based on Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) using the path analysis. The results from SEM reveal that transformational leadership style influences the climate for innovation and organisational performance directly and innovation indirectly. Similarly, a direct relationship between transactional leadership style and organisational performance was found, but no relationship was found between transactional leadership style and innovation. The findings assist managers to better understand which leadership style to adopt when the aim is to increase organisational performance using innovation as an enabler. This is the first study that investigated the nature of the relationship between leadership styles, organisational climate, innovation and organisational performance taking into account the nature of innovation (i.e., incremental and radical) and the stage at which innovation is operating in the innovation process.

The purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of transformational and transactional leadership styles on firms’ financial performance in a context of knowledge-intensive firms and the mediating role of exploitative and exploratory innovations in this relationship. To achieve this purpose, a quantitative research was conducted on 201 top executives working in knowledge-intensive firms in the context of an emerging country, namely Tunisia. The data analysis was performed via the structural equation modelling method. As a result, the empirical study revealed that the transformational leadership style is a key determinant of exploitative and exploratory innovations and firms’ financial performance. In this perspective, the two types of innovation partially mediate the link between transformational leadership and financial performance. However, transactional leadership affects only exploitative innovation. This original study offers a better understanding of the contribution of the transformational and transactional leadership styles on exploitative and exploratory innovations and the firms’ financial performance in a context of firms’ intensive knowledge. It offers a reading grid for managers of knowledge-intensive firms to better lead and identify key elements that may boost the firms’ innovation ambidexterity and performance.

To enhance competitiveness, organisations should excel in adopting new business processes and ensuring the successful implementation of innovative projects. This study examined the impact of transformational, transactional, and entrepreneurial leadership styles on the innovation process, with a focus on employee innovative behaviour and the climate for innovation as mediating factors. A total of 303 participants from three organisations in the financial services sector (banking and insurance) in Namibia took part in the study.

The findings suggest that employing transactional and entrepreneurial leadership styles proves beneficial for fostering innovation within organisations. Specifically, entrepreneurial leadership demonstrates positive effects on both employees’ innovative behaviour and the establishment of an innovation-friendly climate. The study reveals that a conducive climate for innovation significantly contributes to overall innovation. Moreover, the results indicate that only the climate for innovation serves as a significant mediator in the relationship between transactional leadership and the innovation process, as well as between entrepreneurial leadership and the innovation process.

Effective leadership plays a pivotal role within an organisation, as inadequate leadership can have adverse effects on both its financial performance and brand reputation. In response to a growing demand for enhanced leadership, this research delves into the impact of different leadership styles, including transformational, laissez-faire, and transactional, on the innovative work behaviour of employees within the healthcare sector of Pakistan. The study also explores how Emotional Intelligence (EI) acts as a mediating factor in this relationship. The research design adopted a cross-sectional approach, collecting data at a single point in time from 417 project managers and healthcare sector employees in Pakistan. The analysis employed Smart PLS 4 software which revealed a positive correlation between transformational leadership and Employee Innovative Work Behaviour (EIWB), while no significant relationships were observed with laissez-faire and transactional leadership styles. However, it is important to note that EI played an indirect but positive role in influencing EIWB.

A great deal of attention had been paid to transformational leadership and transactional leadership in the existing research; however, there is little empirical research that explores the effectiveness of transformational leadership and transactional leadership in the context of higher education in China. A questionnaire was used to determine the effectiveness of transformational leadership and transactional leadership in this context. The following are the main findings.

First, there was a statistically significant relationship between transformational leadership and leadership effectiveness (e.g., job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and job performance). At the same time, there was a statistically significant relationship between transactional leadership and leadership effectiveness.

Second, the comparison of the two type of leadership showed that transformational leadership could explain extra variance for predicting the job satisfaction and organizational commitment after the variable of transactional leadership was controlled. Additionally, transactional leadership explained extra variance for predicting the job performance after the variable of transformational leadership was controlled.