Experiencing Leadership in Bureaucracy: A Qualitative Study on Organizational Identification in Hierarchical Organizations
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2025-06-24
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en
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This study investigates how different leadership styles influence organizational identification (OID) in bureaucratic organizations. Although bureaucracy often provides structure and stability, it also poses a challenge to employee engagement due to rigid hierarchies and limited autonomy. This qualitative case study examines how employees experience leadership and how these experiences influence their connection to the organization. Based on 21 semi-structured interviews with employees from various faculties and hierarchical levels, the study identifies a series of leadership behaviors that influence OID. The results indicate that leadership style has a strong influence on employee identification and motivation. Democratic and transformational leadership styles promote OID by encouraging autonomy, transparency, and relational safety. Authoritarian leadership, characterized by control and micromanagement, consistently undermines OID. Delegative leadership supports OID only when accompanied by adequate guidance. The findings are structured into four aggregate dimensions: identification and motivation states, leadership power configurations, process ownership signals, and relational safety climate. The study concludes that OID in bureaucratic organizations is most effectively strengthened under participatory and context-sensitive leadership. The results support both theoretical research and practical leadership training, particularly in hierarchical organizations that aim to expand employees’ involvement and organizational cohesion
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen