How leaders can initiate knowledge management in organizations: Role of leadership style in building knowledge infrastructure

BACKGROUND: Initiating knowledge management activities has proved challenging in many organizations as focus on wrong activities and not providing adequate leadership cause many failures. Leadership style significantly determines success of knowledge management activities, specifically activities related to knowledge infrastructure that consist of organizational culture, organizational structure and information technology. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to analyse how transformational and transactional leadership styles influence knowledge infrastructure which provides organizations a platform on which knowledge management can be developed. METHODS: PLS-SEM was used to analyse data obtained from 135 valid questionnaires. RESULTS: Transformational and transactional leadership styles both positively influence all three factors of knowledge infrastructure (organizational culture, organizational structure and information technology). The influence of transformational leadership style is, however, statistically significantly stronger. CONCLUSIONS: Based on research findings managers should use more transformational leadership elements when promoting knowledge management initiatives in organizations. Nevertheless transactional leadership style should be also used especially contingency reward as its dominant factor.