Leadership and its impact on the use of process technologies and management practices in the manufacturing sector

O'Regan, Nicholas; Ghobadian, Abby

Abstract

Leadership is widely acknowledged as the key driver of innovation and the achievement of overall organizational performance. In doing so, it draws on both process technologies and the use of management techniques. This paper examines the relationship between leadership, the operating environment, the use of process technologies, management practices, innovation and performance within a single study. The results indicate that a transformational/human resources leadership style is more conducive to innovation and the introduction of new products whereas transactional leadership firms tend to modify products. Transactional type firms focus on 'hard' processes suggesting that they largely compete on efficiency related activities, whereas transformational/human resources type firms emphasize management practices to a greater extent. The number of transformational type firms relying on the problem solving techniques is likely to reach over 90%. Arguably, this reflects their continuing emphasis on innovation and new product development. Copyright © 2007 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Sep 28, 2007
• Journal: International Journal of Business Performance Management
• Print ISSN: 1368-4892
• Electronic ISSN: 1741-5039
• Publisher: Inderscience
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 9
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 419-433
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1504/IJBPM.2007.013363
• Keywords: leadership, innovation, hard technologies, management practices, process technology, organisational performance, manufacturing
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/1033806
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1504/IJBPM.2007.013363