Social Review of Technology and Change 2980-1621 Işık University Press Business Administration İşletme Liderlik Teorilerinin Evrimi ve Modern Organizasyonlarda Dönüşümcü Liderliğin Rolü The Evolution of Leadership Theories and the Role of Transformational Leadership in Modern Organizations https://orcid.org/0009-0007-0452-5495 Reyhan Cem ISIK UNIVERSITY https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2973-5118 Tuncay Çelikel Aslı ISIK UNIVERSITY https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8349-607X Sarıca Yeşim Pınar ISIK UNIVERSITY https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1185-4397 Yılmaz Kemal Özkan ISIK UNIVERSITY 04 29 2026 4 1 64 78 03 13 2026 04 06 2026 Copyright © 2022, Social Review of Technology and Change 2022 Social Review of Technology and Change

Bu derleme çalışması, liderlik teorilerinin evrimine ilişkin güncel çalışmaları incelemekte ve volatilite, belirsizlik, karmaşıklık ve muğlaklık (VUCA) ile karakterize edilen modern organizasyonlarda dönüşümcü liderliğin önemini vurgulamaktadır. Mevcut literatüre göre, erken dönem liderlik yaklaşımları liderlerin kişisel özelliklerine odaklanırken, sonraki yaklaşımlar davranışsal kalıplar ve durumsal faktörleri ön plana çıkarmıştır. Daha yakın dönemde ise çağdaş liderlik teorileri, liderler, takipçiler ve örgütsel çevre arasındaki karmaşık etkileşimi dikkate almaktadır. Araştırmalar, dönüşümcü liderliğin işletme araştırmalarında en etkili liderlik modellerinden biri olarak öne çıktığını göstermektedir. Dönüşümcü liderliğin ortak vizyon oluşturma, yeniliği teşvik ve bireysel gelişimi destekleme yoluyla çalışanları motive ettiği yaygın olarak kabul edilmektedir. Performans ve ödül temelli değişim ilişkilerine odaklanan işlemsel liderliğin aksine, dönüşümcü liderlik çalışanları bireysel çıkarlarının ötesine geçerek daha geniş örgütsel hedeflere yönelmeye teşvik etmektedir. Geniş kapsamlı veri tabanı taramasına dayanan bu derleme, 1970–2025 yılları arasında yayımlanmış 38 akademik kaynağı sentezleyerek dönüşümcü liderliğin kuramsal gelişimi ve örgütsel yansımalarına ilişkin kapsamlı bir analiz sunmaktadır. Bulgular, dönüşümcü liderliğin motivasyon, yaratıcılık, takım çalışması ve örgütsel performans gibi temel çıktılar üzerinde anlamlı olumlu etkiler yarattığını ortaya koymaktadır. Ayrıca dönüşümcü liderler, modern organizasyonlarda değişime uyum sağlayabilen örgüt kültürünün geliştirilmesinde ve yenilik odaklı stratejilerin desteklenmesinde kritik bir rol oynamaktadır.

This review paper examines recent studies on the evolution of leadership theories and highlights the importance of transformational leadership in modern organizations operating in volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environments. Leadership has been widely studied in management literature, and its conceptualization has evolved from early trait-based approaches to behavioral and situational perspectives, and more recently to contemporary theories emphasizing the complex interactions between leaders, followers, and organizational contexts. The literature indicates that transformational leadership has emerged as one of the most influential leadership models in business research. It is widely recognized for motivating employees through the articulation of a shared vision, fostering innovation, and supporting individual development. In contrast to transactional leadership, which is based primarily on reward and performance exchanges, transformational leadership encourages employees to go beyond their individual interests and align with broader organizational goals. Based on an extensive review of 38 academic sources published between 1970 and 2025, this study synthesizes the theoretical development and organizational implications of transformational leadership. The findings suggest that transformational leadership has significant positive effects on key organizational outcomes, including motivation, creativity, teamwork, and organizational performance. It also plays a critical role in fostering adaptive organizational cultures and supporting innovation-oriented strategies in modern organizations

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