Abstract
Although transformational leadership is a fundamental research area of leadership literature, it has also spread to other disciplines. Transformational leadership has been a remarkable topic for the hospitality field in terms of the effects that the leader has on his/her followers. For this reason, there has been an important accumulation of knowledge about transformational leadership in the hospitality literature. However, there is no research in the literature that addresses the progress of transformational leadership research in hospitality to help researchers develop theoretical perspectives and guide practitioners' decisions. Therefore, this research aims to systematically review transformational leadership research in the hospitality field. The review included 36 studies from seven key hospitality journals. The findings basically indicate that that research on transformational leadership in the field of hospitality has not experienced sufficient development. There is a need to develop theoretical perspectives specific to the field in the field of hospitality.
TopIntroduction
The hospitality sector has experienced intense competition that requires exceptional understanding and skills. In line with that, environmental conditions are constantly changing and becoming more unpredictable. In such an environment, the leadership skills of hospitality managers come to the fore and transformational leaders are needed to overcome such difficult conditions (Salem, 2015; Prikshat, Rajesh, & Rajaguru, 2021). Therefore, the research on transformational leadership creates value for the hospitality industry. Leadership research has long served as a theoretical lens for the prediction of executive and employee behavior. For more than sixty years, hospitality researchers have been making efforts to identify the types of leadership that lead to higher employee and firm performance (Arici et al., 2021). Out of leadership styles, transformational leadership has particularly received more attention than other leadership styles. As a result of this, articles on transformational leadership are among the most cited leadership articles (Antonakis, Bastardoz, Liu, & Schriesheim, 2014). Huertas-Valdivia, González-Torres, & Nájera-Sánchez (2022) identified eleven main leadership research trends in the hospitality literature and revealed that transformational and servant leadership are the most widely used styles. Transformational leadership is defined as a leadership style that changes the values, ideals, morale and interests of followers of leaders, leading followers to perform better than expected (Bass, 1985; Pieterse et al., 2010). The secret behind the success of transformational leaders is often their charisma and the strong relationships they build with their followers. Such leaders develop collaborative relationships by communicating openly and clearly, supporting teamwork and creating a common vision (Brownell, 2010).
Although transformational leadership is a fundamental research area in the leadership literature, (Bass & Riggio, 2005), it has spread to many industries and disciplines, including the hospitality sector (Giddens, 2018; Elkhwesky et al., 2022). Transformational leadership has been a remarkable issue in the field of hospitality, considering the effects that the leader could have on the followers. For example, Gui, Luo, Zhang, & Deng (2020) conducted a meta-analysis study and found that transformational leadership in the field of hospitality has the strongest effect on relational perceptions, followed by attitudinal and behavioral consequences on subordinates. For this reason, an important accumulation of knowledge about transformational leadership has been formed in the hospitality literature.
However, there are no studies in the literature that address the progress regarding transformational leadership research in the field of hospitality to help researchers develop theoretical perspectives and guide field practitioners in their decision-making processes. Just single research (Gui et al., 2020) conducted a meta-analysis on transformational leadership and focused on a quantitative review of transformational leadership and its consequences. However, this research has not carried out qualitative research. Therefore, this research aims to systematically review transformational leadership research in the field of hospitality. For this purpose, this book chapter seeks answers to the following questions;
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What are the levels of development and current trends in transformational leadership studies?
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What are the consequences of transformational leadership?
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What are the research gaps and suggestions for future studies?
Key Terms in this Chapter
Systematic Review: It is a synthesis of knowledge that comprehensively defines and evaluates previous studies in a field and expands horizons for future studies.
Theoretical Perspective: A theoretical lens that helps explain the facts.
Evidence-Based Knowledge: The knowledge that is created by scientific research and guides practitioners.
Consequences of Transformational Leadership: Refers to the effects of transformational leadership on individuals and organizations.
Transformational Leadership: It is a type of leadership that enables its followers to show superior performance when influenced, inspired, showed individual attention, and acted intellectually by leaders.
Leadership: The sum of all actions used to lead an organization or a community.
Meta-Analysis: It is a type of statistical analysis that combines the findings of studies in a particular field.