Effects of Transformational and Transactional Leadership Styles and the Use of Enabling and Coercive Managerial Control Systems in Creative thinking

This study aims to analyze the effects of leadership styles and the use of a management control system on creative thinking. Descriptive research was carried out using a survey with 215 mid-level managers from the Brazilian textile industry and hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. Results show that transformational leadership is significantly related to divergent thinking and enabling and coercive approaches. Moreover, transactional leadership is significantly related to convergent thinking, besides coercive and enabling approaches. The enabling approach exerts complete mediation in the relationships between transformational leadership and divergent thinking, as well as the coercive approach mediates between transactional leadership and convergent thinking.