Leadership and its impact on the use of process technologies and management practices in the manufacturing sector

Leadership is widely acknowledged as the key driver of innovation and the achievement of overall organisational performance. In doing so, it draws on both process technologies and the use of management techniques. This paper examines the relationship between leadership, the operating environment, the use of process technologies, management practices, innovation and performance within a single study. The results indicate that a transformational/human resources leadership style is more conducive to innovation and the introduction of new products whereas transactional leadership firms tend to modify products. Transactional type firms focus on 'hard' processes suggesting that they largely compete on efficiency related activities, whereas transformational/human resources type firms emphasise management practices to a greater extent. The number of transformational type firms relying on the problem solving techniques is likely to reach over 90%. Arguably, this reflects their continuing emphasis on innovation and new product development.