The Effect of Leadership Styles on Knowledge Acquisition: A Research on Logistics Firms Operating in Turkey

Abstract

The importance of knowledge and knowledge acquisition has increased in today’s business environment due to the challenges in keeping up with the pace of change. Knowledge acquisition is widely accepted as a potential source of competitive advantage for firms and it is related to the leadership styles of business managers. Having different leadership styles distinguishes the approaches for knowledge acquisition processes. Regarding this, in this study, we investigated the effects of the senior executives’ leadership styles on knowledge acquisition process in logistics industry. The data collected through a survey from the mid-level managers’ working in the logistics firms operating in Turkey.  Consequently, we found a relationship between change-oriented leadership characteristics and knowledge acquisition activities.

Keywords: Leadership styles, relations-oriented behaviours, task-oriented behaviours, change-oriented behaviours, knowledge, acquisition.