A Structural Equation Model of Organizational Learning Based on Leadership Style in Universities

The purpose of the present study was to provide a structural equation model of organizational learning based on leadership style in universities. The population of the research included all employees of Islamic Azad University (Roudehen, Damavand, Pardis, and Bomehen branches and educational centers) in Iran. 559 employees were selected using stratified and cluster random sampling methods. The research instruments were as follows: Bass and Avolio's (1996) leadership style questionnaire which consisted of 41 items with two underlying constructs of transformational leadership and transactional leadership and Cronbach Alpha of 0.93; and Watkins and Marsick's (1997) organizational learning questionnaire which consisted of 43 items with three underlying constructs of individual level, group level, and organizational level and Cronbach's Alpha of 0.97. The results of path analysis using LISREL software indicated that dimensions of leadership style had a direct effect on organizational learning with the indices of 0.92. The model also showed that the factor of transactional leadership had the highest direct effect on the organizational level in the factor of organizational learning. It was also concluded that the proposed model showed full fit.