The role of transforamtional leadership in R&D projects teams: The proposal of the research framework

Abstract

In contemporary business conditions there is a growing number of research and development (R&D) projects whose aims are different types of innovations. They represent the strength, while research and development project teams are "building blocks" of modern organizations. Leaders who have the clear vision, use intelectual stimulation, encourage team member's creativity and motivate them to think differently are adequate leaders to lead the research and development project team. Such are the characteristics of leaders who apply transformational style of leadership. Based on existing research it has been shown that transformational leadership dominantly influences project teams' innovativeness. The aim of this paper is to define the research framework that will be applied in future research, in which authors will examine the role of transformational leadership style in research and development project teams and the impact of this leadership style on project team innovativeness in organizations on the territory of the Republic of Serbia. Based on presentations of the dominant attitudes and the existing relevant literature, research hypothesis are set. The questionnaires that will be used are the standardized MLQ (Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire) and project team's innovativeness questionnaire created by authors Lovelace, Shapiro, & Weingart.