The Impact of Transformational and Transactional Leadership on Organisational Bureaucracy

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to empirically investigate through an industry survey, the effect of transformational and transactional leadership on the dimensions of organisational bureaucracy. Results indicate that the leaders who inspire followers to transcend their own self-interests and who are capable of having a profound and extraordinary effect on followers (transformational leadership) tend to impede bureaucracy in organisations. The findings also indicate that the leaders who guide and motivate their followers in the direction of established goals by clarifying role and task requirements (transactional leadership) tend to foster and support the bureaucratic dimensions. Theoretical implications and practical applications of these findings are discussed.