Modelling the effect of transformational leadership on entrepreneurial orientation in academic department: the mediating role of faculty members’ speaking up

The creation of an entrepreneurship university involves the promotion and institutionalisation of the orientation towards entrepreneurship of all parts of the university, especially the scientific departments, which is affected by several factors. Therefore, our research investigates the effect of transformational leadership style of academic departments’ heads on entrepreneurial orientation of these departments mediated by speaking up behaviour of faculty members. Data were collected from 217 faculty members of 50 academic departments in universities of Qom city and provided support for the model. The findings demonstrated a positive and significant relationship between transformational leadership and speaking up, between speaking up and entrepreneurial orientation, and between transformational leadership and entrepreneurial orientation. Furthermore, speaking up mediates the relation between transformation leadership style and entrepreneurial orientation. These findings highlight the catalyst role of speaking up, leveraging transformational leadership as antecedents of entrepreneurial orientation in academic departments. These findings are valuable inputs for managers in university, and policy makers in a higher education sector. Eventually, the theoretical and practical inferences of this research are discussed.