The challenge of transactional and transformational leadership in projects

•Research model on leadership in temporary organizations•Extension of transactional and transformational leadership theory•Propositions on the effects of leadership on followers' project commitment•Effects differ depending on project characteristics•Transformational leadership suited for high uncertainty and task novelty

Projects as a form of temporary organizing are different from standard organizational processes. Due to their temporary and unique nature, projects are characterized by discontinuous personal constellations and work contents. Although leadership research has called for a consideration of context factors and their effects on leadership, leadership in a temporary setting has hardly been investigated. We therefore extend transactional and transformational leadership theory by looking at it from the perspective of the temporary organization. We develop a research model with testable propositions on the effects of the temporary organizations' characteristics on leadership and on followers' commitment in projects.