The significant performance implications of individual-focused and group-focused transformational leadership have been documented for established firms, but the issue of whether they are complementary or substitutive still remains a puzzle, and whether their relationship differs in new firms remains unanswered. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between individual-focused and group-focused transformational leadership in different organizational structures in new firms.
The study draws on survey data of 209 questionnaires from 63 teams in 63 new firms in China.
The results suggest that individual-focused and group-focused transformational leadership are substitutive when the organizational structure is mechanistic, and are complementary when the structure is organic.
The study contributes to the debate on the relationship between individual-focused and group-focused transformational leadership by comparing organizational structure characteristics and offering a comprehensive understanding of the issue.
