Analysis and discussion

Difference in the role of transformational leadership and transactional leadership

The result shows that the transformational leadership has a greater effect on organizational learning than the transactional leadership, mainly because transformational leadership can better stimulate the internal impetus of organizational learning, while transactional leadership stimulates the external impetus. Transformational leadership stimulates the internal learning potential of every

Table 4.20 Relationship between transformational leadership, transactional leadership and organizational learning: the mediating effect of organizational culture (iV = 224)

• **p< 0.01.
• *p < 0.05.

employee through visionary guidance of the company and personalized consideration for employees; it also boosts the morale of the entire company to make everyone learn and improve together. In contrast, the contingent reward and management-by-exception in transactional leadership make positive or negative feedback based on the work results of employees, teams and even the entire organization, which stimulates more passive learning motivation and willingness.

The full mediating role of organizational culture

The study results indicate that organizational culture plays a foil mediating role in the relationships between transformational leadership, transactional leadership and organizational learning. This study contributes theoretical in three ways. First, if a leader wants to manage organizational learning, then organizational culture that suits organizational learning must be built, which is a key pathway between leadership and organizational learning. Second, organizational culture is a necessary soft condition for leaders to promote organizational learning. If an organization wants to fundamentally improve its learning capability, it must rely on its leaders to create an organizational cultural. Third, it provides a great perspective for understanding the relationship between leaders and organizational culture. Leaders promote organizational learning by building organizational culture, but whether or not leaders can be attracted and cultivated by a strong organizational culture to maintain organizational learning capability remains to be tested by further empirical research.

The inspirations of this study for leaders to lead organizational learning in chinese companies

This study offers three inspirations for Chinese company leaders. First, the building of organizational culture is an important strategy for leaders to manage organizational learning. Second, transformational leaders’ building of a learning-oriented organizational culture is a good pathway to improve organizational learning capability and set up a learning organization. Third, transactional leadership can also promote organizational learning by building a relevant organizational culture. This conclusion does not verify the view held by many that such transactional leadership camiot improve organizational learning capability; in addition, it suggests that transactional leaders can also promote organizational learning by creating a cultural atmosphere suitable for the organization.