Impact of CEO leadership styles on firm performance during environmental uncertainty: A study of privately owned Korean companies

This study analyzes the relationship between a CEO's leadership style and firm performance under conditions of perceived environmental uncertainty. It also seeks to determine whether the impact of the CEO's leadership on a firm's subjective and bjective performance is significantly different. This study considered the leadership styles of owner-managers and compared the effect of transformational and transactional leadership on both objective and subjective firm performance. Results supported the view that a transformational leadership style of a CEO who owns and operates a firm positively influences both the objective and subjective performance of the firm. Under uncertain conditions, the impact of the CEO's transformational leadership style on firm performance became greater. The CEO's transactional leadership style, contrastingly, was not found to significantly impact the firm's objective performance. The impact of a CEO's transactional leadership style on the firm's subjective performance was found to be greater in a context of high uncertainty.