Transformative Leadership and Building Innovation Culture in Local Administrative Organizations in the Digital Era: An Analysis of Sakon Nakhon Provincial Administrative Organization
Keywords:
Transformative leadership, Innovation culture, Local Administrative Organizations, Digital transformation, Distributed leadershipAbstract
Local Administrative Organizations (LAOs) in the digital era face urgent demands to transform their governance paradigm from traditional bureaucracy to agile, innovation-driven entities. However, a 2023 survey by Thailand's Digital Government Development Agency reveals that only 12% of LAOs effectively integrate digital technologies into public service delivery, while 68% maintain organizational structures and cultures inhospitable to innovation (OPDC, 2022). This scholarly article analyzes the role of transformative leadership as a critical mechanism for building innovation culture within LAOs, employing Transformational Leadership Theory, Organizational Culture Theory, and Public Sector Innovation frameworks. The study utilizes theoretical analysis complemented by an in-depth case study of Sakon Nakhon Provincial Administrative Organization. Findings reveal that transformative leadership comprises five core dimensions: Digital Strategic Vision, Adaptive Capacity, Innovation Ecosystem Building, Distributed Leadership, and Digital Emotional Intelligence. This article proposes an integrated framework for developing transformative leadership and cultivating innovation culture in LAOs aligned with digital society transformation, accompanied by actionable policy recommendations for practical implementation. The research contributes to the literature by bridging the gap between transformative leadership theory and its application in Thai local governance contexts, while offering empirically grounded insights into the mechanisms through which leaders can effectively foster innovation culture in digitally transforming organizations.
References
สำนักงานคณะกรรมการพัฒนาระบบราชการ. (2565). รายงานการวิจัยการพัฒนานวัตกรรมในองค์กรปกครองส่วนท้องถิ่น. สำนักงาน ก.พ.ร.
สำนักงานพัฒนารัฐบาลดิจิทัล. (2566). รายงานสถานะการใช้เทคโนโลยีดิจิทัลในองค์กรปกครองส่วนท้องถิ่น. สำนักงาน DGA.
Avolio, B. J., Sosik, J. J., Kahai, S. S., & Baker, B. (2014). E-leadership: Re-examining transformations in leadership source and transmission. The Leadership Quarterly, 25(1), 105-131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2013.11.003
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. W.H. Freeman.
Bass, B. M., & Avolio, B. J. (1993). Transformational leadership and organizational culture. Public Administration Quarterly, 17(1), 112-121.
Bass, B. M., & Riggio, R. E. (2006). Transformational leadership (2nd ed.). Psychology Press.
Borins, S. (2014). The persistence of innovation in government. Brookings Institution Press.
De Vries, H., Bekkers, V., & Tummers, L. (2016). Innovation in the public sector: A systematic review and future research agenda. Public Administration, 94(1), 146-166. https://doi.org/10.1111/padm.12209
Fernandez, S., & Rainey, H. G. (2006). Managing successful organizational change in the public sector. Public Administration Review, 66(2), 168-176. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6210.2006.00570.x
Gronn, P. (2002). Distributed leadership as a unit of analysis. The Leadership Quarterly, 13(4), 423-451.
Hartley, J., Sørensen, E., & Torfing, J. (2013). Collaborative innovation: A viable alternative to market competition and organizational entrepreneurship. Public Administration Review, 73(6), 821-830.
Jung, D. I., Chow, C., & Wu, A. (2003). The role of transformational leadership in enhancing organizational innovation. The Leadership Quarterly, 14(4-5), 525-544.
Kane, G. C., Palmer, D., Phillips, A. N., Kiron, D., & Buckley, N. (2019). Accelerating digital innovation inside and out. MIT Sloan Management Review and Deloitte.
Mergel, I., Edelmann, N., & Haug, N. (2019). Defining digital transformation: Results from expert interviews. Government Information Quarterly, 36(4), 101385.
Moore, M. H., & Hartley, J. (2008). Innovations in governance. Public Management Review, 10(1), 3-20.
Northouse, P. G. (2021). Leadership: Theory and practice (9th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Osborne, S. P. (2010). The new public governance? Routledge.
Osborne, S. P., & Brown, L. (2013). Handbook of innovation in public services. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Schein, E. H. (2017). Organizational culture and leadership (5th ed.). Wiley.
Schwarzmüller, T., Brosi, P., Duman, D., & Welpe, I. M. (2018). How does the digital transformation affect organizations? Management Revue, 29(2), 114-138.
Spillane, J. P. (2006). Distributed leadership. Jossey-Bass.
Tummers, L., & Bekkers, V. (2014). Policy implementation, street-level bureaucracy, and the importance of discretion. Public Management Review, 16(4), 527-547.
Wang, X. H., Fang, Y., Qureshi, I., & Janssen, O. (2015). Understanding employee innovative behavior: Integrating the social network and leader–member exchange perspectives. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 36(3), 403-420.
Westerman, G., Bonnet, D., & McAfee, A. (2014). Leading digital: Turning technology into business transformation. Harvard Business Review Press.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Modern Public Administrative Science
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
