Transformational leadership and firm performance: a systematic literature review

Biniam Getnet Agazu (), Chalchissa Amentie Kero () and Kenenisa Lemi Debela ()
Additional contact information
Biniam Getnet Agazu: Jimma University
Chalchissa Amentie Kero: Jimma University
Kenenisa Lemi Debela: Jimma University

Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 2025, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-28

Abstract: Abstract This systematic literature review aims to investigate the influence of transformational leadership on firm performance and to establish a theoretical background for future avenues in literature. A total of 54 studies covering transformational leadership and firm performance from January 2016 to 2023 and analyzed via a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis protocol using the descriptive content analysis with relevant articles were documented following the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Studies were found in the Scopus, Web of Science, Taylor and Francis, and PubMed databases. The findings from this review show that a large majority of the reviewed studies conclude that transformational leadership has a positive relationship and influence on firm performance. This study will contribute to the literature on leadership effectiveness and inform organizational practices aimed at enhancing firm performance through transformational leadership through mediating variable of dynamic capability and organizational innovation. Despite a rapid recent increase in publications and special issue calls, many opportune research avenues within the transformational leadership and firm performance on different research methods need further investigation.

Keywords: Transformational leadership; Dynamic capability; Organizational innovation; Firm performance; Systematic review (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1186/s13731-025-00476-x Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:joiaen:v:14:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1186_s13731-025-00476-x

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://innovation-e ... ip.springeropen.com/

DOI: 10.1186/s13731-025-00476-x

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship is currently edited by Elias G. Carayannis

More articles in Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().