Literature review
Burns’ (1978) seminal study of leaders of large-scale political systems undergoing
radical and destabilizing change attracted considerable attention. He opined that
leadership could be characterized as either transacting or transforming, with the latter
much more effective than the former. This theory attracted considerable attention
among management researchers who sought to explore its validity and applicability to
other forms of organization. Utilizing factor analysis, Bass (1985a) operationalized
transformational leadership as being a composite of charisma (later described as
idealized influence), intellectual stimulation, individualized attention, and inspirational
motivation, factors that have become known as the four I’s of transformational
leadership. These four I’s are part of a full range of leadership (Avolio, 1999; Bass and
Avolio, 1990) describing a range of influence styles characterized on passive-active and
ineffective-effective continuums.