Applied mathematics in Engineering, Management and Technology 2 (4) 2014: 416-420

www.amiemt-journal.com

Investigate the role of Transformational leadership in organizational

change (Case study of an industrial company in Iran)
Elham Gorgani1, Malihe Nasiri2, Elahe Jafari3, Hossein Nazok tabar4
1

Department of Management, Islamic Azad University, Babol, Iran

Department of Management, Islamic Azad University, Babol, Iran
3
Department of Management, Islamic Azad University, Babol, Iran
4
Corresponding author: Department of Management, Payame Noor University, Babol, Iran (iemba167@yahoo.com)
2

Abstract
Due to the competitive environment on the market today Organizational change is
among the most important. Focus on leadership as a strategy to enhance
organizational transformation. The present study sought to achieve leadership roles
in organizational change. In this study, a questionnaire to assess the impact of
leadership on organizational transformation of industrial enterprises designed. The
questionnaire among 212 experts from industrial companies in the Mazandaran of
Iran has been distributed. Once collected, the data were analyzed by Spss software.
The results of the analysis showed leadership in the cognitive skills, practical skills
and social skills managers on organizational change has had a significant positive
impact.
Keywords: leadership, organizational change, industrial company

1.Introduction
The implementation of organizational changes is a considerable challenge for industrial company. Due to the
changing world and the changing competitive environment in the market today, Organizational change is
important.
Today organizational change is pervasive as organization strives to adapt or decline in uncertain business
environment of global economic and political world, with many robust forces in the environment in the form of
competition, technological advancement to name a few shape the process of organizational adaptation
(HAGARGI & DEENE, 2013). The importance of organizational change has influenced organizational change
management to be-come highly required management skill (GRAETZ, 2000).
Organizational changes mean that organizations are undergoing / and or undergone transformation. It may be
define their success story or any type of experience or failure (Hage, 1999). The organizational change is the set
of different actions that results shifting in directions and/or processes that affect the way in which organizations
work before (Hage, 1999). The need for organizational change starts when organizational management feels
dissatisfaction from the current situation. Organizational changes may be planned or unplanned but in both
cases the organizational changes are very important and sometimes become crucial to handle the changes.
Leadership planning and vision is most important (Abbas & Asghar, 2010).
Leadership Behavior plays an important role in any organization. With little careful of companies can be found
that great leaders can make a big difference. Effective leaders are those who that obtain result in a certain time
frame to be effective for the industry (Askari et all, 2012).
Effective leadership is one of the most important contributors to the overall organizational performance and
change.
So far, much research has been done on leadership and organizational change.
Effective leadership is always required to bring effective changes (Kennedy, 2000). The competent leadership
can handle and manage such problems. According to Gruban (2003) the competence is an ability to manage
knowledge and other skills and capabilities.
There are some leadership competences that have been proven and are mandatory for effective and successful
leadership (Bennis, 1987). There are different competences which are very effective for leaders and which also
have connection with the successful organizational change.

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Virtanen highlights some competencies of leaders and relates them to successful organizational change in his
model of leader competencies (Virtanen, 2000). The table above highlights the role of leadership and h/her
competencies with successful organizational change. The table also defines that these are the most important
capabilities and competences which are helpful and useful for organizational changes. According to the
different authors the leadership competences are strongly connected with the successful organizational change,
the leadership competences have a great relation with the organizational success and change (Gruban 2003).

2.Literature review
2.1.Organizational change
Scholars of organizational change have described and defined change in several ways. In one study by Van de
Ven and Poole (1995), organizational change was expressed as an empirical observation of difference in form,
quality, or state over time in an organizational entity. The entity may be an individuals job, a work group, an
organizational strategy, a program, a product, or the overall organization (p. 512). Ford and Ford (1995)
described change as the difference(s) between two (or more) successive conditions, states, or moments of
time (p. 543). Change has also been defined as an event that is frozen, unfrozen, and refrozen (Lewin, 1951).
Similarly, innovation is a term that has become associated with organizational change (Barnett, 2005).
An organization that does not adopt changes cannot survive long in market (Boston.MA, 2000). Organizational
changes provide different significant benefits e.g. it improves competitiveness, improves financial performance,
enhances employees and customer satisfaction and most important is that it leads organization towards
continuous improvement and sustainability. These are organizational benefits and not every individual in any
organization can get benefits personally from these changes but every individual working in an organization,
usually have common goals and objectives and these changes made the organization as a whole stronger
(Boston.MA, 2000).
The change process is very challenging and important for organizations and can lead an organization towards a
path of success. It can also make them capable to meet future demands and to compete with other market player
in effective way. (Robbins, 1999) Ulrich also highlight that change for organizations is necessary to deal with
the diversities and the complex market situations (Ulrich, 1998). There are different forces that influence
organization for change and these forces may create expectations of improved efficiency and better services,
usually external forces leads towards innovation. When organizational changes are well planned and carried in a
structured way it leads to continuous improvement and organizational innovation (Boston.MA, 2000).

2.2.Transformational Leadership
Transformational leadership is relatively a new model in leadership studies. This theory focuses on relationship
established between the leader and his followers. The initial concept of transformational leadership was
presented by Burns in Yukl (1998:296) stating that the model of transformational leadership essentially
emphasizes that a leader needs to motivate his subordinates to perform their responsibilities more than what is
being expected. The transformational leader has to be able to define, communicate, and articulate the
organizational vision, and the subordinates have to accept and acknowledge the credibility of their leader
(Ngadiman and ET, 2013).
The conceptual model below shows the impact of transformational leadership on change management in
industrial companies.

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Figure 1 - Competency Model - Leadership on Change Management (Pagon and et, 2008)

3.Research methodology
This conceptual model explaining the impact of transformational leadership is the management of change in
organizations. The questionnaire in this study consist 35 multi choice questions. Also we gathered some
demography information from respondents in this questionnaire. The configuration of the questions was in this
way:
Questions are shown in table:
Table 1: relation between questions and research variables
Variables

Questions

cognitive
functional
personal/social
successful change management

1-7
8-14
15-22
23-35

The measured from research parameters is calculated as shown in table 6.

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Table 2: Questioner Alfa Cronbach
Variables

cognitive
0.804
functional
0.834
personal/social
0.826
successful change management
0.834
As it is obvious from the above table, in all approaches Cronbach is accepted.
Primarily in all researches, there are some time, place and subject frames which should be defined carefully.
Obviously all researchers encounter some obstacles and limitations which prevent them from doing more
extensive researches in all studies, some limitations such as time required for the study, research costs and so
on.

4.Result
In this part of research it has been attempted to determine leadership in organizational change and its
dimensions, using result analysis obtained from responses to questionnaires which were distributed between
experts. Correlation test and frequency methods have been used for questionnaire data analysis. The required
data for hypothesis testing is extracted from subjected response to questions. In order to test this hypothesis, we
performed the following method:
Table 3: Model Summary
Adjusted Std. Error of
Model
R
R Square
R Square the Estimate
1
.700(a)
.490
.483
.42185
Predictors: (Constant), social, functional, cognitive

Model

Table 4: Coefficients (a)

Unstandardized
Standardized
Coefficients
Coefficients
B

(Constant)
cognitive
functional
social

Std. Error

Beta

1.007
.176
.215
.059
.274
.139
.060
.160
.348
.063
.368
A Dependent Variable: change

Sig.

Std. Error

5.709
3.668
2.317
5.551

.000
.000
.021
.000

5.Conclusion
The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of leadership on organizational change in industrial
companies.
According to analysis of the questionnaire results confirmed the positive role of leadership on organizational
development in industrial companies in Iran. Spss software inventory data analysis, the following results have
been obtained.
1.
Given that a significant amount higher than 0.05, was obtained from the relationship, significant
positive impact on the cognitive skills of managers in organizational change in industrial companies.
2.
Given that a significant amount higher than 0.05, was obtained from the relationship, Executive
functional skills and significant positive impact on organizational change in industrial companies.
3.
Given that a significant amount higher than 0.05, was obtained from the relationship, Social skills
significant positive impact on organizational change management in industrial companies.

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Table 5: research results
Hypothesis
Significant positive impact on the cognitive skills of managers in
organizational change in industrial companies.
Executive functional skills and significant positive impact on
organizational change in industrial companies.
Social skills significant positive impact on organizational change
management in industrial companies.

Sig

Result

0.000

Accept

0.021

Accept

0.000

Accept

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