A Qualitative Case Study on Examining Transformational Leadership Behaviors and Employee Commitment
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Authors
Robinson, Porschia
Issue Date
2026-03
Type
Dissertation
Language
en
Keywords
Transformational leadership , Employee Commitment , Business, Engineering, Science, & Technological Innovation
Alternative Title
Abstract
Transformational leaders are an essential asset for organizational change because transformational leaders have been linked to successful business innovativeness. However, employees influence the achievement levels, as organizational changes are significant in the peculiarities of their work routines. The problem addressed in this study was that resistance to change and decreased employee commitment are caused by a lack of transformational leadership when implementing change. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how transformational leadership could improve employee commitment and organizational change behaviors among healthcare administrative professionals working in healthcare organizations in North Carolina. The theoretical framework that guided this research study was transformational leadership theory, which distinguishes leaders who have strong motivational relationships with their subordinates and encourage them to accomplish desired results driven by innovations. The research methodology involved a qualitative case study design, with data collected through semi structured interviews with 18 participants from various healthcare organizations. The study identified seven themes and 13 subthemes from the three research questions. The three research questions translated the problem into specific queries to help identify issues related to employee commitment and resistance to change. The research questions were RQ1: How do transformational leadership behaviors increase employee commitment among healthcare administrative professionals? RQ2: How does transformational change improve employee commitment among healthcare administrative professionals? RQ3: What are ways that healthcare leaders can impact the change process among healthcare administrative employees? The three themes that were determined to increase employee commitment were communication, collaboration in decision-making process, and motivation. The two themes that were identified to improve employee commitment were leaders who serve as a role model during the change process and employee involvement in the change process. The final two themes identified for healthcare leaders to drive the change process were inspiring employees throughout the change process and preparing employees for change. The findings of this study suggested recommendations for practice. A recommendation for practice is for leaders to apply transformational leadership theory while implementing organizational changes. Another recommendation for leaders is to follow each step of Kurt Lewin’s Change model to understand organizational change behavior. A recommendation for future research is to examine how communication impacts the change process within healthcare organizations. A strong positive correlation aligns with the existing literature, which showed that transformational leaders drive the success of organizational change and commitment by communicating a clear vision of organizational goals. There was also a strong correlation between transformational leadership and individual performance and innovative behavior, which influences employee commitment to change.