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• A-Z Publications

Annual Review of Psychology

Volume 60, 2009, review article, leadership: current theories, research, and future directions.

• Bruce J. Avolio 1 , Fred O. Walumbwa 2 , and Todd J. Weber 3
• View Affiliations Hide Affiliations Affiliations: 1 Department of Management, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588-0491; email: [email protected] 2 Department of Management, The Arizona State University, Glendale, Arizona 85306-4908; email: [email protected] 3 Department of Management, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588-0491; email: [email protected]
• Vol. 60:421-449 (Volume publication date January 2009) https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.60.110707.163621
• © Annual Reviews

This review examines recent theoretical and empirical developments in the leadership literature, beginning with topics that are currently receiving attention in terms of research, theory, and practice. We begin by examining authentic leadership and its development, followed by work that takes a cognitive science approach. We then examine new-genre leadership theories, complexity leadership, and leadership that is shared, collective, or distributed. We examine the role of relationships through our review of leader member exchange and the emerging work on followership. Finally, we examine work that has been done on substitutes for leadership, servant leadership, spirituality and leadership, cross-cultural leadership, and e-leadership. This structure has the benefit of creating a future focus as well as providing an interesting way to examine the development of the field. Each section ends with an identification of issues to be addressed in the future, in addition to the overall integration of the literature we provide at the end of the article.

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• Article Type: Review Article

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Most cited most cited rss feed, job burnout, executive functions, social cognitive theory: an agentic perspective, on happiness and human potentials: a review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being, sources of method bias in social science research and recommendations on how to control it, mediation analysis, missing data analysis: making it work in the real world, grounded cognition, personality structure: emergence of the five-factor model, motivational beliefs, values, and goals.

Publication Date: 10 Jan 2009

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Research Journal of Business Management

• Vol 13 (1), 2019

Systematic Review

A systematic review of literature about leadership and organization.

Received: April 19, 2018;   Accepted: June 26, 2018;   Published: February 26, 2019

How to cite this article

Introduction.

From trait theory, through human relations school of thought, to contingency and/or situational model, leadership research has come a long way 1 . However, as observed by Wren 2 , still very little is known about leadership and much remain unexplained. Around a century back, Stogdill 1 remarked, “There are almost as many different definitions of leadership as there are persons who have attempted to define the concept”. More recently, while commenting on the huge number of articles written about leadership, Winston and Patterson 3 state that there seem to be a lot of blind men describing a moving elephant. Winston and Patterson 3 further remark that even 90+ dimensions of leadership are not sufficient enough to understand leadership. Such has been the history of leadership research that no clarity or consensus about its definition, styles, effective methods, etc., could emerge in the literature even after centuries of research.

During the last two decades or so, focused research about leadership issues has started gaining ground 4 . The field is now starting to take a rather holistic view of leadership as a result of which more positive forms of leadership are getting incorporated into the literature. This can mainly be attributed to the introduction and popularity of focused yet holistic journals in the field of leadership.

The journal covered under this article has emerged as one of the most regarded journal in the field of leadership research. While most of the prominent journals focus on either of organizational or leadership issues, this journal takes a coherent view and attempts to understand the effective application of leadership and other issues in an organizational context. Its vision of advancing the theory, research and practice of all aspects of leadership and organizations, makes the journal attract a wide range of contributors and readers from academia and corporate world. In order to inform the researchers and readers about the directions in the integrated field of leadership and organizational research, this paper systematically reviews the research papers published in the journal between 2010 and 2017 and makes an attempt to set-up the research agenda for future.

This paper uses the methodology of systematic review. Presenting a critique of reviews conducted in the field of Management research, Hart 5 maintains that those are usually narrative and biased as per the implicit biases of the researcher. This view is also supported by Davies 6 , Sharma and Bodla 7 , Sharma and Sanchita 8 . Davies 6 further argues that systematic reviews help overcome these limitations by bringing out the consistencies and variability’s of studies reviewed. In their landmark work on the methodology of systematic reviews, Tranfield et al . 9 stress upon producing a reliable knowledge stock by developing context-sensitive research. This paper follows the methodological rigor suggested by Tranfield et al . 9 .

THEORETICAL FRAME OF REFERENCE

Intended to recognize the key themes in reviewed literature, the authors conducted a systematic analysis of 208 papers published during 2010 to 2017 10 - 14 . For current study, the broad areas were leadership motivation, leadership excellence and leadership communication. These subjects were further divided into following topics:

Effect on job performance and work satisfaction: Taking into consideration the themes of the reviewed literature, this paper briefly presented these topics in the following sub-sections. It was important to emphasize that the objective of this section was not to discuss the main topics in leadership and organization but rather to present the themes explored by papers published during the selected time-frame.

Leadership style in general: Successful leader was one who can influence the followers to achieve the organizational objective. Different leadership styles affect the organizational and employee performance differently 15 . Leadership style did;//mz affect the culture of the concern, thus its efficiency. Leadership is a process of influencing the followers socially so that they can participate intentionally to achieve the organizational objective 16 . Leadership style can affect organizational commitment and work satisfaction explicitly and work satisfaction can further positively affect organizational commitment and work performance. The perception of employees about the transactional and transformational leadership style has a high degree of correlation with the motivation factors of the leader in the organization. The style of leadership has an impact on satisfaction level and trust in the leader. Organizational citizenship behavior directly influences the relation between style of leadership and commitment towards the organization 17 .

Leadership style can be divided into two broad types, namely transformational and transactional. A transformational leader is one who is influential, innovative and encourages others. This type of style creates an open and trustworthy culture, which motivates them to achieve the goal 18 . Transactional leader focuses on supervision, organization and performance. Both reward and punishment have used as a tool to encourage the followers to fulfill the required task. In the current scenario an organization needs a leader who can understand the demand of a complex environment. The relation between the leader and an employee and the leadership style enhances the satisfaction level of the follower.

Moderating factors in leadership: Moderating variables in leadership had drawn attention in the recent research. A number of theories had explored the moderating effects of variety of factors like subordinate, work and psychology on the relation between leadership and effectiveness. Knickerbocker 19 projected a theory of leadership that emphasized on the needs of the employees’.Knickerbocker 19 maintained that a coordinated relationship between the team members was required to achieve the target of a team, which could be achieved by presence of a leader. His opined that leadership effectiveness was dependent on the need of the employees. In contrary to this theory, De Vries et al . 20 explored the moderating role of need for the leader and found that higher urge for leader showed weaker relation between work stress of employees and task oriented leader. De Vries et al . 20 further maintain that high task oriented leader makes the employee feel more pressurized and thus leads to stress. The need for leadership was related to the characteristics of a leader. The study raised two important questions-(a) when the employees need support of a leader, do they show and (b) would the leader change the style of motivation and inspiration depending on the need of the employees.

Quitting intentions and leadership: To remain competitive in the dynamic business environment, holding on to the productive human resources and reducing the employee turnover, is the key. High turnover rate among employees can adversely impact the company in terms of high training cost, high selection cost, decreased productivity and low staff morale. Loyalty towards organization and leader, leads to positive intentions in employees to stay with the organization for long time 21 . Transformational leadership were found to be negatively related to employees’ voluntary organizational turnover intention, on the other side availability of job opportunity did not affect the transformational leadership and turnover intention 22 . Long et al . 23 remark that transformational and transactional leadership styles had negative impact on quitting intention. Puni et al . 24 found a positive association between autocratic leadership style, quitting intentions and counterproductive work behavior and a negative relationship between democratic leadership style, quitting intentions and counterproductive work behavior. Puni et al . 24 further noted that the leaders using laissez faire style yield negative relation with quitting intentions but positive with counterproductive work behavior. Further, the study observed that in autocratic style of leadership, a leader emphasized more on productivity than on people due to which employees’ quitting intentions increased dramatically.

Leadership perception: The climate and organizational environment highly depends on the perception of leaders, managers and employees. Perception was a difficult part of human behavior, the perception of different individual need not to be same. In the context of organization it became difficult to accomplish objectives when leaders and followers had very different perception 25 .

In today’s organizational perspective employees expects leader to be people oriented as they consider team work, relationship building as a basic pillar for organizational management. Madden 26 in his study found that there was a stereotype that women were insecure, over controlling and enable to engage in team play. Helgesen 27 argued that women were relationship oriented, non-hierarchical and take interest in sharing power and information.

Perception which was negative can lead to wrong decision and it could be dangerous for the leaders well as organization. Understanding the perception was a process in which the leader needs to analyze the situation and information in a rational manner. Listening and communication skills of leader lead to deal with the situation more empathetically and efficiently.

Role in learning: The competency of a leader in terms of technical proficiency is positively related with the employees’ creativity and learning behavior. In addition to these learning acts as a mediator between innovativeness of employees and competencies of the leader 28 . The transformational leaders enhance creativity in employees. Therefore, companies prefer such candidates as leaders who possess these skills or at least have the potential to become one.

Brown and Posner 29 found that leadership development programs and approaches should accomplish at personal and emotional level which furthers enhance insights about self and helps in creating learning and leadership mind sets. Transformational learning theories could be used to help and develop transformational leader.

Effect of leadership on job performance and work satisfaction: Saleem 30 observed that transformational leadership style increased job satisfaction among employees while transactional leadership leaves a negative impact on job satisfaction of employees. Goleman 31 suggests, “a leader should hold each leadership style in his bag like a golfer and he should be well averse to know that what style he should use in which situation because at every round of golf, you cannot use the same ball”. It is important to know that contingency theories play an important role in enhancing the job satisfaction.

Rad and Yarmohammadian 32 concluded that employees showed less satisfaction with salaries, benefits, promotion and communication and they will more satisfied with type of job and good supervisor. They proved significant correlation between the leadership behaviors and employees and job satisfaction. Good relationship with staff increases the satisfaction level of employees; however, situational leadership can negatively impact job satisfaction of employees.

METHODS AND RESEARCH TECHNIQUES

This paper systematically reviews 208 papers published on leadership and related areas from 2010 through 2017. As shown in Fig. 1 , out of 208 papers selected for study, 33 were out of context so they have been rejected, 56 papers have been rejected on the ground of not being related to the topic. Finally 119 papers used for further systematic review which were related to leadership studies.

By summarizing the issues addressed by the journal during the reference period, the paper provided valuable insights to the current researchers about the research gap and future research areas of leadership 9 . This research was divided into five major tasks:

Research mechanism and implementation: To get the miniature view of the articles studied for this systematic review, the authors had tabulated the leading points by coding each distinct feature.

Some of the articles have also covered more than one subject or domain so, multiple codes have also been assigned to the article on different key areas. Table 1 depicted that first classification of codes had been based on the context. The culture of every country was different, so was their management view of getting the things done and their leadership style. A motivation or leadership technique that had been proved successful in one country may not be replicated in another country. In this classification of context, the countries were categorized into four series, i.e., developed country, developing and emerging country, under developed country and if the research was not specifically done in/or for a particular country then it was categorized as not applicable. The codes A to D had been used to classify the context to the research.

The next classification in Table 1 had been done on the basis of the geographical region. For the purpose of coding, seven geographical regions have been used, namely-USA, UK, France, Germany, China, India and Islamic countries represented by code A to G respectively. Code H had been assigned to the papers not belonging to any of these countries. In case, research was not country specific then I code was used.

The third classification was done on the basis of the objective of the study. Code A was assigned to the empirical studies, in which direct or indirect observation had been used to gain the knowledge. For case study method, code B was assigned. If the article makes theoretical and methodological contributions to the topic, it came under Code C. Code D was used for conceptual study, while code E has been assigned to the studies not falling in the above categories.

Main subject of the research articles reviewed forms the basis for the fourth classification. The papers were coded as A, B, C and D. It depicts the focus point of the study on which the research article is based. The key subjects taken for the systematic review were leadership motivation, leadership excellence and leadership communication and others.

Fifth classification had been done on the basis of the main topic of the research. This classification further narrows down the research area that had been chosen in fourth category. Codes ranging from A to I have been assigned. It includes topics resembling leadership style in general, moderating factors, quitting intentions, leadership perception and role in learning, effect on job performance, work satisfaction, virtual leadership and others.

The sixth classification makes an attempt to categorize the leadership style evaluated in the papers coded as letter A to H. This categorization holds significance since style provides direction, helps implement the plans and motivates people. Besides giving codes to seven styles of leadership, one code is assigned to a category where no particular style is studied.

Industry studied, forms the base for the seventh classification. Leadership style, the way of working, culture and organizational structure is not common across industry. So, this part has been divided into four categories, namely-manufacturing, service, trading and others. Codes have been assigned from A to D, respectively.

Eighth classification depicts the time period of the research. Time period of research was taken as very crucial distinction in research design categorization. This category had been divided into five codes ranging from A to E. A was assigned to the articles with time-frame of less than one year, B depicts 1-5 years, C is assigned to papers with time frame of 6-10, years followed by D for more than 10 years. E was assigned to the articles where the time period was not applicable.

Ninth classification involves identifying the research methods used for research. Codes A to G have been assigned to this category. It was important to classify whether research is qualitative or quantitative. Other categories in this classification include conceptual method, case study and others if a research paper does not fall in the given category.

The tenth classification reveals the sample size of the research article. By sample size, the authors recognize a group of subjects that is selected from the population. For this category, the codes range from A to D. A category covers articles with sample size of less than 50, B category includes sample size of 51-100, C category is for more than 100 and D category covers the papers not falling in any of the above categories.

The eleventh classification relates to the size of the industry and is coded from A to C. Large scale industry is coded by A, small and medium industry by B, while others are coded as C. Size of the industry is important to categorize as different sizes of industry show different types of results since the number of employees, decentralization level, span of control is not same in each size.

Lastly, the twelfth category highlights different aspects of the results from the articles under review. This category had been divided into five codes ranging from A to E. In this coding, attempt has been made to seek the results of articles based on the information gathered. It included whether the results were consistent with previous literature or does it offer a new perspective.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

This section revealed the data classification and categorization of 119 papers on the basis of codes assigned to those in the previous section. The results were produced in Table 2 followed by their analysis and interpretation. On the basis of results, research gaps had been highlighted for further research.

Context: The first classification identified the context of the papers under review. For the purpose of coding, the context was divided into four parts A, B, C and D. Code A was assigned to developed countries, code B for developing and emerging countries, for under developed countries code C was given and code D if it was not applicable to any of these. The results were shown in the form of pie chart in Fig. 2 .

As depicted by Fig. 2 , majority of the studies 14 , 17 , 22 , 26 were not country specific. None of the reviewed studies focused on underdeveloped countries, 13.45% of the studies 18 , 21 deal with developed countries, 5.88% studies had been done in the context of developing and emerging countries, while 5.04% of the research articles belong to the context of both developed and developing and emerging countries. This revealed that studies on leadership and organizational issues pertaining to the underdeveloped country were lacking. This indicated a major research gap that needs to be investigated in future research.

Geographical area: For this category, seven geographical regions have been used namely USA, UK, France, Germany, China, India and Islamic countries represented by codes A to G respectively. Code H is assigned to the papers that do not belong to any of these countries. In case research was not country specific, code I is used. Figure 3 shows the analyses of codes based on the geographical area. Figure 3 showed that majority 19 , 22 , 25 of research articles (75%) were not specific to any geographical area, 6% of the studies belong to USA and 8% deal with other countries, 5% research articles focus on China, while 1% do not belong to any of these countries.

Objective: The third classification refers to identifying the objectives of the analyzed papers. Code A is assigned to the empirical studies, code B is assigned for case study method, code C is assigned to the articles based on theoretical and methodological contribution, code D is used for conceptual studies focusing on concept or theory explaining the phenomenon, code E has been assigned to studies belonging to any other category. The results as shown in Fig. 4 revealed that 69% of the reviewed papers 14 , 16 , 17 , 22 , 24 , 26 employ the empirical method, while 18% were conceptual studies, 6% use case study method and literature review.

Main subjects: The next classification was based on the main subject of the research articles reviewed for systematic review as A, B, C and D. It depicts the focus point of the study. The key subjects taken for the coding are leadership motivation, leadership excellence, leadership communication and others. As shown by Fig. 5 , the main focus of maximum research in the articles studied 18 , 22 , 26 was on leadership excellence (29%). 4% of the articles are relate to leadership motivation and 4% to leadership communication.

The remaining articles focus on other than the given subjects. The combinations studied are leadership motivation and excellence (5%), Leadership excellence and others (8%). The analysis of main subject shows that there are certain avenues open for the researchers in study of leadership motivation and leadership communication, though the previous researchers have focused on leadership excellence.

Topics: This classification was based on identification of the main topic of research. The codes assigned for this category range from A to, I. This classification further narrows down the research area t chosen in the previous category. It includes topics resembling leadership style in general, moderating factors, quitting intentions, leadership perception and role in learning, effect on job performance, work satisfaction, virtual leadership and others.

As shown in Fig. 6 , many code combinations had got developed while analyzing the papers for this category. The topics emerged during the research were the combination of two or more subjects. About 6% of the papers focused on moderating factors and effect on job performance, 8% study other factors along with moderating factors, 5% cover effect on job performance, work satisfaction with grouping of other topics. All the other combinations of codes contribute to only 1%. Only few articles focus on a single topic.

Leadership style evaluated: This classification is an attempt to categorize the leadership style evaluated in the papers studied, coded from A to H ( Fig. 7 ).

Besides giving codes to seven styles of leadership, one code is assigned to a category where no particular style is being evaluated. Majority of the studies (71%) do not concentrate on any particular leadership style, 15% of the articles evaluate transformational leadership style, 3% of the papers study mixed style and remaining researchers study combination of two or more styles.

Type of organization: This classification shows the categorization on the basis of industry. This part has been divided into three categories Manufacturing, Service, Trading and others. Codes have been assigned from A to D respectively. 21% articles focus on service industry, while 76% articles have not chosen any specific type of organization for their research. Figure 8 exhibits the results with regard to this classification.

Time period: The eighth classification depicts the time period of the research as exhibited in Fig. 9 . This category has been divided into five parts assigning codes from A to E; A- less than 1 years, B-1-5 years, C-6-10 years, D-10 years and more, E for the articles where time period is not applicable.92% percent of the articles do not cater to any specific time period, 5% articles base their analysis on less than one year, 2% of the research articles are based on 1-5 years of category.

Method: This category of classification involved identifying the research methods used for research as plotted in Fig. 10 . Codes from A to G had been assigned in which quantitative, qualitative, conceptual, quantitative and qualitative both, case study and none of these categories had been coded. About 42% of the papers use quantitative methods, 28% papers employed both quantitative and qualitative methods, 18% articles used conceptual method.

Sample size: This classification revealed the sample size of the articles analyzed as shown in Fig. 11 . For this category, codes ranged from A to D. A category contains the articles with sample size of under 50, B category comprises of papers with sample size of 51-100, C included papers with sample size of more than 100, D included papers other than these. Majority of the articles (52%) use the sample size more than 100, 40% articles fall in others category where sample size was not applicable, 6% articles had used sample size below 50.

Size of the industry: This classification related to size of the industry and the codes assigned ranged from A to C as shown in Fig. 12 . Large scale industry is coded by A, small and medium sized industry coded by B and others fall in category C. Most of the studies did not focus on analysis of a particular size of industry, 11% analyze the large industries, 2% focus on small and medium enterprises.

The last category ( Fig. 13 ) highlighted different aspects of the results of the research articles studied. This category had been divided into five codes ranging from A to E. It included whether the results were consistent with previous literature or leading to a new perspective, was it a previous model with different data set and time period, comparative study and others.

Majority of the articles (52%) present comparative analysis, 9% articles deal with each of category B and C that was consistent with previous literature and previous model with different data set and time period.

CONCLUSION AND FUTURE RECOMMENDATIONS

The main contribution of the current paper was to summarize the issues addressed by these articles and to bring out the research gaps. The current study explored 119 articles which were purely devoted to the study of leadership and organization. On the basis of the gaps explored, it can be stated that the research arena is wide open for the future research in the area of leadership and related areas that can be explored by novel research. The current research found that the future researchers can focus on underdeveloped countries and explore how leadership in organizations of underdeveloped countries can meet current and future organizational challenges. The future researchers can focus on conducting research in specific regions and explore the influence that leadership has on organizations of different regions. Future research can also focus on meta-analysis and explore the significance of case study/literature review or comparative analysis in addressing leadership problems in organizations. With respect to main subject of the study, it is found that most of the studies focus on leadership excellence whereas research on leadership motivation and communication is lagging behind. Therefore, future research can examine how leadership motivation and communication can help an organization achieve its results. It is vital to explore how an organization from a specific sector manages and motivates its employees through effective leadership. Future research can focus on other techniques that can justify the objective of leadership study.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT

This study holds immense significance for two core reasons. One, the paper consolidates the existing literature about leadership and organization. Two, the paper brings out the research gaps and sets a research agenda for future researchers in the field. The organic contribution of the authors is in listing out (a) the objectives that can be pursued by the future researchers, (b) the methodology that can be adopted by the future researchers, (c) the tools that can be put to use while researching in this area and (d) the industry that the future researchers may emphasize upon.

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Journal of Knowledge Management

ISSN : 1367-3270

Article publication date: 29 May 2020

Issue publication date: 17 June 2020

This paper aims to investigate how the relationships between different leadership approaches and organizational learning have been examined in the literature, from which future research areas can be recommended.

Design/methodology/approach

This systematic literature review applies matrix method to examine major literature in leadership and organizational learning. A total of 57 peer-reviewed English publications from 45 journals were selected and analyzed.

The synthesis of these empirical studies revealed as follows: the relationship between leadership and organizational learning has been mostly quantitatively investigated in many countries and sectors; multiple leadership styles have been identified to ameliorate processes, levels and capabilities of organizational learning and transformational leadership still remains the most commonly used style; there are mediating mechanism and boundary conditions in the relationship between leadership and organizational learning.

Research limitations/implications

The literature search in this study was mainly focused on English articles only; therefore, some papers in other languages may have not been included.

Practical implications

This review offers an overall picture of the existing knowledge of organizational learning and leadership that will be fruitful for practitioners to understand and replicate these concepts.

Originality/value

There are little systematic literature reviews on the relationship between leadership and organizational learning. This paper is among the first systematic reviews to analyze how leadership has been associated with organizational learning and provide potential research directions.

• Organizational learning
• Leadership styles

Do, T.T. and Mai, N.K. (2020), "Review of empirical research on leadership and organizational learning", Journal of Knowledge Management , Vol. 24 No. 5, pp. 1201-1220. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-01-2020-0046

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Leadership Dissertation Topics

Published by Grace Graffin at January 4th, 2023 , Revised On May 30, 2024

Leadership is an attribute of leading and guiding subordinates for collective wellness. Many people aspire to become leaders, but only a few succeed. This is because leadership and management are two relatively different concepts. A manager is not always a leader, and a leader cannot always be a manager. So, a leader knows how to manage a group without having distinguished power.

That said, leadership is an exciting discipline to explore and study. If you have aimed to write your dissertation about leadership and are direly looking for some exceptional leadership research topics, do not worry; we have got your back. Find out the most relevant and striking list of leadership topics for the research.

You can start your leadership dissertation by requesting a brief research proposal  from our writers on any of these topics, which includes an  introduction  to the problem,  research question , aim and objectives,  literature review , along with the proposed methodology  of research to be conducted. Let us know if you need any help in getting started.

Check our  example dissertation  to get an idea of  how to structure your dissertation .

You can review step by step guide on how to write your dissertation  here .

List Of Top New Dissertation Topics On Leadership

• Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Leadership Development
• How to Lead Through Crisis in a Volatile World
• How Leaders Can Drive Employee Engagement Through Shared Goals
• The Impact of Remote Work on Leadership Styles and Team Dynamics
• Building Trust and Transparency in a Hybrid Work Environment
• Developing Emotional Intelligence for Effective Leadership in a Digital Age
• Can servant leadership foster employee Wellbeing and productivity?
• The Gig Economy and the Challenges of Leading a Dispersed Workforce
• The Influence of Social Media on Leadership Communication and Public Perception
• The Impact of Agile Leadership on Project Management and Team Performance
• An Analysis on the impact of Analytics on Making Informed Decisions and Driving Results
• How Leaders Can Create a Risk-Taking Environment for Growth
• The Evolving Role of Mentorship in Leadership Development Programmes
• The Role of Leadership in Managing Conflict within Teams and Organisations
• The Impact of Leadership on Employee Wellbeing and Mental Health in the Workplace
• How Leaders Can Effectively Navigate Organisational Transformation
• How Leaders Can Set Positive Standards and Inspire Ethical Behaviour
• How Leaders Can Motivate Teams Through Recognition and Appreciation
• The Importance of Strategic Thinking for Effective Leadership
• The Role of Leadership in Building a Strong Organisational Culture
• The Impact of Leadership on Organisational Reputation and Public Perception
• The Evolving Skills Needed for Effective Leadership in the 21st Century
• The Impact of Leadership on Customer Satisfaction and Brand Loyalty
• How Leaders Can Empower Their Teams for Greater Success
• Handling Rapid Change and Disruption in Business
• The Importance of Effective Time Management for Leaders
• The Role of Leadership in Building High-Performing Teams
• The Impact of Leadership on Employee Turnover and Retention Rates
• The Power of Networking for Leaders

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Trending Leadership Dissertation Topics

Topic 1: a comparative analysis of the impact of transformational and servant leadership styles on employee satisfaction and performance..

Research Aim: The research aims to conduct a comparative analysis of the impact of transformational and servant leadership styles on customer satisfaction.

Objectives:

• To analyse the factors impacting employee satisfaction and performance.
• To determine the similarities and differences between transformational and servant leaders.
• To conduct a comparative analysis of the impact of transformational and servant leadership styles on customer satisfaction.

Topic 2: Investigate the suitable leadership attributes for handling crises and the financial stability of the business.

Research Aim: The research aims to investigate the suitable leadership attributes for handling crises and the financial stability of the business.

• To analyse the leadership attributes ideal for handling crises and unpredictable situations.
• To evaluate the factors impacting the financial stability of businesses.
• To investigate the suitable leadership attributes for handling crises and the financial stability of the business.

Topic 3: Analysis of the medical leadership response in the NHS during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK.

Research Aim: The research aims to analyse the medical leadership response in the NHS during the initial stages of the Covid-19 pandemic in the UK.

• To analyse the impact of medical leadership on staff morale and the quality of patient care.
• To determine the medical leadership in the NHS and its impact on staff productivity and efficiency.
• To investigate the medical leadership response in the NHS during the initial stages of the Covid-19 pandemic in the UK.

Topic 4: How does poor leadership impact the overall organisational revenue and culture?

Research Aim: The research aims to analyse how poor leadership impacts the overall organisational revenue and culture.

• To analyse the ramifications of poor leadership in organisations.
• To evaluate the factors contributing to organisational revenue generation and shaping the organisational culture.
• To analyse the impact of poor leadership on overall organisational revenue and culture.

Topic 5: Analysis of the potential use of AI for enhancing leadership performance and decision-making.

Research Aim: The research aims to analyse the potential use of AI for enhancing leadership performance and decision-making.

• To analyse how AI contributes to leadership decision-making.
• To identify the factors impacting leadership performance and the role of technology.
• To analyse the potential use of AI for enhancing leadership performance and decision-making.

Topic no.1: Significance of leadership in business

Research Aim: In times like the present, when there is wavering financial stability, it is imperative for businesses to become as strong as they can be. Only good leaders in a company can help make the right and timely decisions to make it successful. The research will deeply analyse and study the importance of leadership in a business. It will figure out the challenges posed to business due to poor or absence of good leadership.

Topic no.2: Leadership and management

Research Aim: Leadership and management are two different things, but they go hand in hand. But it is significant to understand in what premises and situations leadership becomes more crucial than management and vice versa. It is also significant to find whether or not one is independent of the other. The main of the research will be to find out the answers to all of the aforementioned questions.

Topic no.3: Political leadership; the ramifications of poor leadership

Research Aim: The aim of the research would be to analyse and evaluate political leadership and study the consequences of poor leadership. The researcher can study different political leaders, their model of leadership and their repercussions on the citizens of their state.

Topic no.4: Role of women in educational leadership

Research Aim: Women are no less than men in any field, especially leadership. In fact, women leaders have proved themselves over and over again throughout history. The aim of the research would be to identify and analyse women’s role in educational leadership. It will find out the women who played a centrifugal role in the sector of educational leadership.

Topic no.5: Climate leadership

Research Aim: Fairly a new avenue of leadership, climate leadership is one of the most needed and prospering kinds of leadership. When it comes to saving the earth, many are raising their voices, and some are taking crucial actions. The research would aim to explore the nature of leadership predominating for climate preservation, who are the key leaders at the forefront, what approaches they are using to inhibit global warming, and what recommendations would be in that regard.

Topic no.6: Impact of leadership style on the performance of employees

Research Aim: The aim of the research would be to understand the interrelation of leadership style and the performance of employees. The researcher will evaluate the performance of employees under different types of leadership styles, i.e., authoritative leadership, participative leadership, delegation leadership, transactional leadership, and transformational leadership. It will evaluate the psychological and behavioural traits of employees under each specified type of leadership.

Topic no.7: Traits of Good Corporate Leadership

Research Aim: The aim of the research is to identify the features and characteristics of good corporate leadership and design a model that can be followed to achieve business goals.

Also Read : How to Write Dissertation Aims and Objectives?

Topic no.8: Leadership responses during the pandemic

Research Aim: The aim of the research is to study the role of leaders in crisis management, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research will study the leadership responses of different countries and evaluate their measures and their repercussion in response to the outbreak.

Topic no.9: Leadership and economy

Research Aim: The economy of a country depends largely on how the leaders are amending the bogus policies and creating effective, updated ones for economic growth. In essence, it is the leaders whose policies lead to a thriving economy. The aim of the research is to find the relationship between leadership and the economy and how good leaders lead to a better economy.

Topic no.10: How leaders are using AI for their optimal performance

Research Aim: The aim of the research is to find out how(if) global leaders are using technology to improve their performances in their respective fields. There are many leaders, apart from technological leaders, who are using different forms of technology to boost their performance and interact with their subordinates.

How Can ResearchProspect Help?

ResearchProspect writers can send several custom topic ideas to your email address. Once you have chosen a topic that suits your needs and interests, you can order for our dissertation outline service which will include a brief introduction to the topic, research questions , literature review , methodology , expected results , and conclusion . The dissertation outline will enable you to review the quality of our work before placing the order for our full dissertation writing service !

Topic no.11: Digital leaders of the future

Research Aim: The aim of the research would be to understand and analyse how digital leaders use information and technology to help an organisation become more receptive to customer needs and changing business requirements.

Topic no.12: Leadership culture

Research Aim: The leadership culture is how leaders interact and communicate with the group of people they are commanding. The aim of the research is to study and evaluate the leadership culture prevalent in our society versus how it should ideally be.

Topic no.13: Leadership and Managing Adversity

Research Aim: The prime aim of the research would be to understand the art of managing adversity and adversaries that leaders employ to swipe off the obstructions that hinder their goals. In order to become a good leader, it is eminent to get familiar with the strategies to get rid of the oppositions that cause damage to the goals.

Topic no.14: Leadership and emotional intelligence:

Research Aim: Emotional intelligence is more important than IQ, and for leaders, it is more than important to hold their nerves to pass the testing times. The aim of the research is to identify and explore the importance of emotional intelligence in leaders and how they use it strategically to cope with difficult times.

Topic no.15: Women's leadership styles vs men's leadership style

Research Aim: Leaders are leaders, and they have nothing to do with gender, but it is said that there are a few differences between women’s leadership and men’s leadership. The aim of the research would be to analyse each one’s leadership styles and determine their differences.

Topic no.16: Leadership and ethical paradigms

Research Aim: The aim of the research would be to analyse leadership in the context of five ethical paradigms. It will understand and evaluate how leaders company different levels of ethics during their period of management.

Topic no.17: A case study of Jacinda Ardern's leadership

Research Aim: New Zealand was the first country to wipe off the covid 19 cases from the first wave. It was attributed to the policies of the state and leadership for impressive achievement. The main aim of the research is to study and analyse the role of Jacinda Ardern in crisis management.

Topic no.18: A case study of Margret Thatcher- the iron lady

Research Aim: Probably no one would be unaware of the first woman prime minister of Britain, Margret Thatcher. The aim of the research is to analyse and evaluate the leadership style that earned her the title of Iron Lady.

Topic no.19: Leadership and Education

Research Aim: Leadership in the education sector is as important as in any other field. The aim of the research is to study the inclusive or exclusive relationship between leadership and education. It will also provide suggestions about how to improve leadership approaches in education.

Topic no.20: Transformational and transactional leadership; the right approach to lead a business

Research Aim: Two main types of leadership include transformational and transactional leadership styles. The aim of the research would be to analyse and evaluate both styles, suggest the benefits and downsides of each style, and determine which approach is the best.

Conducting research on leadership and related topics can be very useful and exciting, but when it comes to writing, students become dreadful. But do not worry, we have got your back. Whether you want a section of the dissertation to be written impeccably or the whole of it, we are here. Don’t wait; click here .

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• Study effective leaders.
• Examine leadership theories.
• Consider organisational issues.
• Select a topic resonating with your passion and research goals.

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Leadership Dissertation Topics

• Updated on  
• Jan 10, 2023

A dissertation is a lengthy essay that is based on the independent research of the author. In the final semester of UG , PG , and PhD courses, it is submitted. The dissertation requires a lot of research and written documentation, so it usually takes 1-2 years to finish. The purpose of a dissertation is to evaluate a student’s capacity for research. Through this, students can improve their research , problem-solving , project management , and numerical skills. Students learn how to present their evidence-based conclusions to the thesis they selected while writing a dissertation.

This Blog Includes:

Leadership dissertations, leadership and organisational culture, negative leadership and its effects on the organization, how employee productivity can lead to effective leadership, how decision making can make an influence ethical leadership, how organisational challenges can be solved through a leadership role, additional leadership dissertation topics, skills required, organize your time first, leave the introduction until the conclusion, don’t wait until the very last minute to ask your boss for feedback.

Leading and guiding subordinates for group well-being is a quality of leadership . Few people actually succeed in achieving their dream of becoming a leader. It’s because management and leadership are two very dissimilar ideas. Neither a manager nor a leader can be both at the same time. Consequently, a leader is capable of managing a team without having formal authority.

Having said that, exploring and studying the field of leadership is fascinating. If you want to write a dissertation on leadership and are in desperate need of some outstanding leadership research topics , don’t worry; we’ve got you covered. Find the most interesting and pertinent list of leadership research topics.

Below mentioned is a suitable list of leadership dissertation topics to guide you as a potential researcher.

To analyse how leaders can help in improving the culture of the organization.

To check how negative leadership can affect the organization.

To examine how the productivity of employees can turn out in leadership quality.

To analyse how effective decision-making can make ethical leadership.

To analyse how leaders can be helpful in sorting out organisational challenges.

Check out the additional leadership dissertation topics mentioned below:

• How Leadership & Sustainability can lead to Climate Crisis
• Transformations and leadership
• How emotional intelligence can enhance leadership development
• Team Behavior and Aspects of Leadership
• Effective leadership learning processes in an organisation
• How do your innovation strategy and leadership create a business?
• A closer look at leadership in evidence-based management
• How can communication skills enhance leadership development?
• How do leadership and management relations build up a business?
• Analysis of leadership style on the performance of employees
• Exploring the link between poor leadership and organizational culture?
• A critical analysis of social and leadership skills for new Entrepreneurs

No matter what kind of dissertation you write or what subject you choose, you must demonstrate the following skills:

• Defining and outlining a research topic with a particular issue: determining the most significant issues.
• Getting the required information: Taking its reliability and validity into account.
• Considering the evidence from both sides of a debate to reach a well-informed decision
• putting your study’s results into a coherent, engrossing, and persuasive presentation while adhering to all formatting requirements.

Effective Dissertation Writing Tips

Some of the main writing tips to write a dissertation are as follows:

Create a schedule for the day and specify your deadlines. Determine how long a section or chapter will take to write. Select the time and begin working on it. You’ll be able to finish this within the allotted time if you do it in this manner.

Keep in mind that the first draught of your essay is not the finished product. Verify your writing several times for errors. This will force you to be more specific when describing your augmentations.

To give yourself time to collect your thoughts, try to write the main body first. As you have been working on the introduction for a while, you will be able to present it clearly in this way.

Try to share your research work more frequently and much earlier than the deadline to give yourself plenty of time to correct any mistakes. You might be able to avoid having to rewrite several chapters and sections.

Use a reference manager to save time and make it simpler for you to cite sources.

To get a sense of how to organise your dissertation, look at our example. Here is a guide that will walk you through the process of writing a dissertation.

One challenging quality for leadership skills is “Self-Awareness”.

It represents a study of theories, approaches to its development, and styles of leadership.

Becoming an effective leader depends on the leader’s leadership style. Successful leaders have vision and charisma, also Leaders should have an ongoing personality, and be talkative, careful and self-disciplined.

These were some popular leadership dissertation topics common for recruitment and admission processes. Hopefully, this blog has given you a better insight into leadership. For further assistance on how to prepare an application to universities abroad, seek help from the Leverage Edu experts to make your dream come true. Our mentors will help you draft a perfect application and guide you with other admission-related rounds. 

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Organizational Development Research Paper Topics

This guide aims to provide students with a comprehensive list of organizational development research paper topics divided into 10 categories, expert advice on how to choose the best topics, and tips on how to write a successful research paper. Organizational development is a critical aspect of modern workplaces, and students studying this field often need to write research papers to explore various aspects of it. Additionally, iResearchNet offers custom writing services designed to help students produce high-quality, well-researched papers on any organizational development topic. By following the steps outlined in this guide and utilizing iResearchNet’s services, students can produce research papers that contribute to the field and provide valuable insights for academics, policymakers, and industry professionals.

Introduction to Organizational Development Research Paper Topics

In modern workplaces, organizational development plays a critical role in creating a healthy and productive work environment. Students who study organizational development often need to write research papers to explore various aspects of this field, ranging from leadership and change management to employee motivation and performance.

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The purpose of this guide is to provide students with a comprehensive list of organizational development research paper topics divided into 10 categories, expert advice on how to choose the best topics, and tips on how to write a successful research paper. Additionally, iResearchNet offers custom writing services designed to help students produce high-quality, well-researched papers on any organizational development topic.

By following the steps outlined in this guide and utilizing iResearchNet’s services, students can produce research papers that contribute to the field and provide valuable insights for academics, policymakers, and industry professionals. Whether you are just beginning your research or are well underway, this guide will provide you with the tools and resources you need to succeed in your research paper on organizational development.

100 Organizational Development Research Paper Topics

Organizational development research paper topics can cover a wide range of issues and areas within the field. To help students choose a topic that aligns with their interests and research goals, we have compiled a list of 10 categories of organizational development research paper topics.

Leadership and Management:

• The impact of leadership style on organizational culture
• Cross-cultural leadership: Challenges and opportunities
• The role of emotional intelligence in effective leadership
• Effective strategies for managing remote teams
• The impact of gender on leadership styles and practices
• Leadership and innovation: Strategies for fostering creativity in the workplace
• Transformational leadership: An analysis of its impact on employee motivation
• The relationship between ethical leadership and employee well-being
• The role of shared leadership in team performance
• The impact of leader-member exchange on employee job satisfaction

Organizational Change:

• Managing organizational change: Best practices and strategies
• Overcoming resistance to change: A case study analysis
• The impact of organizational change on employee motivation and job satisfaction
• Change management in the public sector: Challenges and solutions
• The role of communication in change management
• Change management in mergers and acquisitions: Lessons learned
• Change management in healthcare organizations: A case study analysis
• The role of leadership in successful change management
• Change management in non-profit organizations: Strategies for success
• The impact of technology on change management in organizations

Employee Motivation and Performance:

• The impact of job design on employee motivation and performance
• Employee engagement: Best practices for fostering a motivated workforce
• The role of rewards and recognition in employee motivation
• The impact of organizational culture on employee motivation and performance
• The relationship between job satisfaction and employee turnover
• The impact of work-life balance on employee motivation and performance
• Performance management: Best practices for setting and measuring employee goals
• The role of leadership in employee motivation and performance
• The impact of workplace diversity on employee motivation and performance
• The relationship between employee motivation and organizational performance

Organizational Culture and Climate:

• The impact of organizational culture on employee behavior
• Building a positive organizational culture: Best practices and strategies
• The role of communication in shaping organizational culture
• The impact of organizational culture on customer satisfaction
• The impact of leadership on organizational culture and climate
• Organizational climate: A conceptual framework for analysis
• The role of conflict resolution in shaping organizational culture
• The impact of employee diversity on organizational culture and climate
• The impact of job design on organizational culture and climate
• The impact of technological change on organizational culture and climate

Human Resource Management:

• The impact of HR practices on employee performance and job satisfaction
• Talent management: Strategies for identifying and retaining top talent
• The impact of training and development on employee performance
• The role of HR in managing workplace diversity and inclusion
• The impact of HR technology on employee recruitment and retention
• Employee benefits and compensation: Best practices for designing and implementing programs
• The impact of performance management systems on employee engagement and performance
• HR policies and procedures: Best practices for designing and implementing effective programs
• The role of HR in managing employee health and wellness
• The impact of employee engagement on organizational performance

Organizational Communication:

• Communication and leadership in organizations
• Effective communication strategies for remote teams
• The role of communication in conflict resolution in organizations
• Cross-cultural communication in multinational organizations
• Communication and organizational change
• Communication and employee engagement
• Communication and decision-making in organizations
• Communication and knowledge management in organizations
• Communication and organizational culture
• Communication and ethical issues in organizations

Organizational Culture:

• Developing a strong organizational culture for improved productivity
• The role of leadership in shaping organizational culture
• Measuring and assessing organizational culture
• The impact of mergers and acquisitions on organizational culture
• The influence of national culture on organizational culture
• Managing culture change in organizations
• Creating an inclusive organizational culture
• Culture and diversity in the workplace
• The impact of organizational culture on customer experience

Human Resource Development:

• Employee training and development programs
• Talent management and succession planning
• The role of HRD in organizational change management
• Strategies for developing a diverse and inclusive workforce
• The impact of technology on HRD practices
• The role of HRD in performance management
• Employee retention strategies
• HRD and knowledge management
• The role of HRD in career development
• HRD and employee engagement

Organizational Leadership:

• Leadership styles and their impact on organizational culture and performance
• Developing effective leadership skills in organizations
• Gender and leadership in organizations
• Leadership development programs
• Ethical leadership in organizations
• The impact of transformational leadership on organizational change
• Authentic leadership and employee engagement
• The role of leadership in promoting innovation in organizations
• Distributed leadership in organizations

Organizational Change Management:

• The process of organizational change
• Resistance to change and how to overcome it
• Change management strategies for successful implementation
• The role of leadership in managing organizational change
• The impact of technology on organizational change management
• Managing change in a global context
• Change management and employee engagement
• Communicating change in organizations
• The role of organizational culture in change management
• The impact of mergers and acquisitions on organizational change management

The categories of organizational development research paper topics discussed above are just a few of the many areas that can be explored. Students can use these topics as a starting point to identify research areas that interest them the most, and they can then tailor the research paper to their specific academic and professional interests. It is also important to remember that organizational development is a constantly evolving field, and new topics are emerging all the time. Therefore, it is crucial for students to stay up-to-date on the latest trends and developments in the field to identify new and relevant research topics.

Choosing an Organizational Development Topic

Choosing a research paper topic can be a challenging task for students, particularly in a complex and evolving field like organizational development. Here are some expert tips to help students choose an appropriate topic for their research paper:

• Identify Your Area of Interest : The first step in choosing a research paper topic is to identify your area of interest. Organizational development is a vast field, and there are many areas to explore. It is essential to choose a topic that aligns with your academic and professional interests.
• Read Widely : The next step is to read widely to identify the latest trends and research gaps in the field. Academic journals, books, and conference proceedings are good sources of information for students to keep abreast of the latest research.
• Consult with Your Professor : It is advisable to consult with your professor or academic advisor for guidance on choosing a research topic. They can offer insights and recommendations on suitable topics based on your academic background and interests.
• Narrow Down Your Topic : Once you have identified an area of interest and read widely, narrow down your topic to a specific research question. A specific research question will help you focus your research and keep it within manageable limits.
• Consider Practical Implications : Organizational development is an applied field, and research should have practical implications. Students should choose a research topic that has practical implications for organizations and can contribute to the development of effective organizational practices.
• Ensure Feasibility : It is essential to ensure that the research topic is feasible within the given time and resources. Students should consider the availability of data, access to research participants, and research methods when choosing a topic.
• Seek Inspiration : Inspiration for a research topic can come from a variety of sources, such as current events, case studies, and personal experience. Students should look for real-world problems and challenges facing organizations to identify relevant research topics.
• Be Creative : Finally, students should be creative when choosing a research topic. The field of organizational development is constantly evolving, and there is always room for innovative research ideas. Students should not be afraid to explore new and exciting areas of research.

In conclusion, choosing a research paper topic is an important step in the research process, and students should take the time to carefully consider their options. By following the expert advice outlined above, students can choose a research topic that aligns with their interests and has practical implications for organizations.

How to Write an Organizational Development Research Paper

Organizational development is an interdisciplinary field that requires both theoretical and practical knowledge. To write a successful research paper in this field, students need to have a clear understanding of the theoretical foundations of organizational development, as well as the practical tools and methods used to implement change within organizations. In this section, we will provide expert advice on how to write an effective organizational development research paper.

• Choose a topic : The first step in writing a research paper in organizational development is to choose a topic that is both interesting and relevant to the field. This can be a challenging task, as there are numerous topics to choose from within the field of organizational development. To narrow down your topic, consider the following questions: What are the current issues facing organizations today? What are the areas of organizational development that need improvement? What are the latest trends in the field of organizational development? Once you have identified a topic, make sure it is specific enough to be manageable, but broad enough to allow for sufficient research.
• Conduct research : The next step is to conduct research on your chosen topic. This can involve reading academic journals, books, and other sources related to organizational development. It is important to keep track of the sources you use, as you will need to reference them in your paper. In addition to academic sources, it can also be useful to conduct interviews with experts in the field or to observe real-world examples of organizational development in action.
• Develop a thesis statement : Once you have conducted your research, it is important to develop a thesis statement that summarizes the main point of your paper. This should be a clear and concise statement that outlines the argument you will be making in your paper. Your thesis statement should be based on your research and should be supported by evidence.
• Outline your paper : Before you start writing your paper, it can be useful to create an outline. This will help you organize your thoughts and ensure that your paper is structured logically. Your outline should include an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph should have a clear topic sentence, supporting evidence, and a concluding sentence.
• Write your paper : Once you have created an outline, it is time to start writing your paper. Your introduction should provide background information on your topic and should end with your thesis statement. The body of your paper should present your argument and should be supported by evidence from your research. Each paragraph should focus on a single point and should be structured logically. Your conclusion should summarize your main points and restate your thesis statement in a new way.
• Revise and edit : After you have written your paper, it is important to revise and edit it. This can involve checking for grammar and spelling errors, as well as ensuring that your paper is structured logically and makes sense. It can also be useful to have someone else read your paper and provide feedback.

In summary, writing a successful organizational development research paper requires careful planning and attention to detail. By following the steps outlined above, students can produce a well-researched and well-written paper that demonstrates their knowledge of the field.

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Choosing the right organizational development research paper topic is critical for producing a high-quality research paper that will earn you good grades. We hope that this guide has provided you with insights on various organizational development research paper topics that you can explore in your research. Remember that choosing the right topic is the first step, and you must also follow the appropriate research paper writing guidelines to produce an excellent paper.

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