The objective of this study is to investigate transformational leadership practices in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) that operate in construction sector of Turkey and to determine how these practices are perceived by the observers. In this direction 49 people were subjected to Kouzes and Posner's 3600 assessment on “Leadership Practices Inventory” (LPI) analysis which examines transformational leadership qualities under five practice category. A Mann-Whitney hypothesis test is applied in order to determine the similarities and differences in the leaders’ opinion on their leadership practices and the observers perception of these practices. The study reveals that perceptions of leaders and observers match under 4 practices where they differ in the 5th practice, “encouraging the heart”, which addresses the motivation of employees. Accordingly it is that the effort leaders make to motivate their employees do not meet its purpose. When the employees do not recognize this motivation, the satisfaction for the work being carried out at the enterprise, work performance and satisfaction of customers decrease and this leads to decline in revenue (Deeb, n.d.). This is one of the factors that cause problems in SMEs regarding management and guiding in respect to efficient operation styles.
Akgemci, T. (2001). The main problems of SME’s and supports that provided, Retrieved from http://www.kobider.org.tr/pdf/kobi_sorunlar_destekler.pdf
Al-Baradie, S. R. (2014). Encouraging the heart, International Journal of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 11 (1), 11-16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpam.2014.09.008
Association Internationale Des Etudiants En Sciences Economiques Et Commerciales. (AIESEC). (n.d.) Small and medium enterprises development organization supports construction sector. Retrieved from http://aiesec.org.tr/kosgeb- insaat-sektorunu-destekliyor/
Bakan, I., Ersahan, B., Buyukbese, T., Dogan, I. F. & Kefe, K. (2015). The relationship between transformational - transactional leadership and levels of teachers' burnout. International Journal of Economic and Administrative Studies, 14, 201-222. Retrieved from http://dergipark.ulakbim.gov.tr/ulikidince/article/viewFile/5000113780/5000105854
Berber, A. (2000). Transformational and transactional leadership concept, development and the role of transformational leadership in management and organization. Istanbul University Faculty of Business Administration, Business Administration Journal, 36, 33-50. Retrieved from http://isletmeiktisadi.istanbul.edu.tr/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Yonetim-36-2000-4.pdf
Boz, T. (2013). Providing non-financial services to SMEs [PDF document]. Retrieved from https://smefinanceforum.org/sites/default/files/post/files/457445_teb_turkey.pdf
Turkey Bureu of Census. (2015). Small and medium enterprise statistics. Retrieved from http://www.tuik.gov.tr/HbPrint.do?id=21864
Bursuk, A. (2018). Contributions of SME’s for economic and social system, strengths and weaknesses [PDF document]. Retrieved from Lecture Notes Online Web site: http://kulamyo.cbu.edu.tr/db_images/site_212/file/Giri%C5%9Fimcilik3.pdf
Catal, F. M. (n.d.). The role of SME’s in regional development. Retrieved from http://dergipark.gov.tr/download/article-file/32070
Cetin, S., Korkmaz, M., & Cakmakci, C. (2012). Effects of transformational and transactional leadership and leader-member exchange on teachers’ organizational citizenship behaviors. Educational Administration: Theory and Practice, 18 (1), 7-36. Retrieved from http://dergipark.gov.tr/download/article-file/108181
Conger, J. A. (1999). Charismatic and transformational leadership in organizations: An insider's perspective on these developing streams of research. Leadership Quarterly, 10, 145-179. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1048-9843(99)00012-0
Deeb, C. (n.d.). Consequences of no employee motivation. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/consequences-employee-motivation-41238.html
Duygulu, S. (2007). Effects of transformational leadership education programme applied for service responsible nurses on Leadership Practices Inventory. Doctoral dissertation, Hacettepe University, Istanbul.
Duygulu, S., Karabulut, E., Abaan, S., & Kublay, G. (2011). Assessing validity and reliability of the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) for nurses in Turkey. Hacettepe University Faculty of Health Sciences Nursing Journal, 18 (1), 14–27. Retrieved from
http://www.hacettepehemsirelikdergisi.org/pdf/pdf_HHD_109.pdf
Eraslan, L. (2006). A post-modern paradigm in leadership: Transformational leadership. Journal of Human Sciences, 1, 1-32. Retrieved from https://www.jhumansc iences.com/ojs/in dex.php/IJH S/article/view/168/168
Eren, M. S., & Titizoglu, O. (2014). The impact of transformational and transactional leadership styles on organizational identification and job satisfaction. Selcuk University The Journal of Social and Economic Research, 27, 275-303. Retrieved from http://sead.selcuk.edu.tr/sead/article/view/464/454
European Commision. (n.d.). What is an SME. Retrieved from
http://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/business-friendly-environment/sme-definition_en
Principles of management science. (2018) Retrieved from
http://slideplayer.biz.tr/slide/2742571/
Ibicioglu, H., Ozmen, I., & Tas, S. (2009). Relation of s
In-Text Citation: (Asal & Koksal, 2018)
To Cite this Article: Asal, B., & Koksal, A. (2018). Transformational Leadership Practices for Small and Medium Sized Companies in the Construction Industry. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 8(2), 69–82.
Copyright: © 2018 The Author(s)
Published by Human Resource Management Academic Research Society (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
