Abstract

With the global economy shifting in recent decades and the emergence of the technology and service-oriented knowledge organizations, we live in an increasingly hyper-competitive global marketplace where firms are fighting to stay lean and flexible in an effort to satisfy increasingly diverse and specialized consumer demand around the world. In such a hyper-competitive global economy, how do organizational leaders effectively manage and lead key organizational change efforts? What are the leadership characteristics, skills, and best practices that top leaders need to possess to have a measurable impact on increased firm effectiveness and employee productivity? How can organizational leaders more successfully manage organizational change initiatives to achieve strategic organizational goals and add value to all organizational stakeholders? These are just some of the pressing questions facing today’s organizations. This edited collection provides a comprehensive introduction to leadership and organizational change and explores the wide-sweeping impacts for the modern workplace, presenting a wide range of cross-disciplinary research in an organized, clear, and accessible manner. It will be informative to management academics and instructors, while also instructing organizational managers, leaders, and human resource development professionals of all types who are seeking effective organizational change leadership to drive firm effectiveness in an increasingly competitive global economy.