TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND SUPPLY CHAIN ORIENTATION: AN EMPIRICAL DESCRIPTIVE STUDY IN MANUFACTURING RELATED BUSINESS SECTOR IN SRI LANKA

Abstract

The challenge of cultivating or developing supply chain oriented culture is often primarily an organizational one and depends on top management leadership. Strategic leader’s vision plays a critical role in shaping an organization’s direction, values and orientation. He/she must first realize the significance of strategic, operational and market impact of applying supply chain oriented culture to his/her firm. Literature suggests that transformational leaders help to realign the values and norms of their organization, to accommodate and promote both internal and external change when necessary, and to influence major changes in organization members and build commitment for the organization’s objectives. Despite the theoretical and managerial importance ascribed to the transformational leadership (TL), less emphasis has been devoted to empirically test whether or not it has direct influence over the development of supply chain oriented culture. Thus, this study attempts to address the question whether the TL style would foster a supply chain orientation (SCO) inside the firms directly involved in the supply chain. The major objective of this study is to examine the association between TL style and the degree of SCO. The study examined a descriptive hypothesis where an association between TL and SCO was inferred only. It does not examine the causal hypothesis, where the determination of degree of SCO by TL was inferred. The single cross sectional design was employed to collect data through a self administered questionnaire. Unit of analysis was the manufacturing related firms. A sample of 45 firms was randomly selected from the registry of the Colombo Stock Exchange- 2007. Results indicate an association between TL and SCO in manufacturing related organizations though the contribution of each dimension of the TL varies.