A QUALITATIVE-ANALYSIS OF LEADERSHIP AND QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

The purpose of this study was to perform a qualitative, inductively-or iented investigation of leadership and quality improvement (QI) effort s. This approach was chosen given that there is relatively little evid ence regarding the nature of effective leadership as organizations pur sue QI, potential differences across managerial levels, and the persis tence of leadership as QI efforts evolve. Our qualitative analyses inv olved the identification of relevant themes or categorical schemes, da ta collection in an open and somewhat unstructured manner, and theory development in line with the data collected. Based on the analyses, we develop a proposed model of alternative paths of leadership and manag erial commitment in association with a QI process. One path involves c ontinuing commitment toward QI efforts and results in a culture shift. In contrast, a second path involves wavering commitment and could lea d to negative outcomes such as cynicism about the possibility of organ izational change. In sum, this study demonstrates the potential value of pursuing an inductive approach in leadership research.