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The importance of leadership to the change management process is underscored by the fact that change, by definition, requires creating a new system and then institutionalizing the new approaches. While change management depends on leadership to be enacted, to date there has been little integration of these two bodies of literature. Thus, the purpose of this article is to draw parallels between the change literature and the leadership literature; specifically, the transformational leadership literature that is primarily concerned with the capabilities required to enact change successfully. This is done by describing areas of convergence between the two literatures that point to the appropriateness of transformational leadership in enacting change. Finally, the papers in the special issue are previewed by identifying their underlying themes.

In 1985, Steve Jobs, CEO and co‐founder of Apple Computers Inc., was fired for his highly opinionated and visionary approach to management and leadership. In 1997, however, he came back and rescued the company from dire straits … by using the same means for which he was sacked.

The purpose of this paper is to examine differences in implicit change leadership schemas and their relationship with change management (CM) of employees of academic institutions and business enterprises.

This study used a quantitative approach through surveys with 645 employees in academic institutions and business enterprises. Path analysis and regression were conducted to determine the relationships between the constructs.

Results show that CM mediates the relationship of change leadership schemas and affective commitment to change in both business enterprises and academic institutions. However, differences were found in the change leadership schemas that predict perceived effectiveness of CM. Execution competencies predicted effectiveness of CM in business enterprises whereas strategic and social competencies predicted perceived effectiveness of CM in academic institutions.

The limitations of the study were the use of self-report data and its cross-sectional design. Future research may use longitudinal designs and multiple sources of data to explore the relationship of change leadership schemas and perceived effectiveness of CM. Moreover, leadership schemas may be examined in other types of organizations such as non-profits, government agencies and social enterprises.

Results suggest that change leadership schemas are context-dependent. Thus, it is important to consider organizational culture and follower schemas when choosing change leaders and executing change. Moreover, differences in the saliences of change leader schemas by type of organization suggest the need to adopt contextually nuanced approaches to the selection and development of change leaders.

This paper contributes to organizational change literature by providing evidence of differences in change leadership schemas among academic institutions and business enterprises.

The purpose of this paper is to aim mainly at further understanding how servant leadership can affect engagement during a merger with high levels of uncertainty through the mediating role of organizational identification and psychological empowerment. In addition, the research aimed at validating the servant leadership survey (SLS) in a new culture and language.

In total, 1,107 respondents from two merging Portuguese companies answered a survey. Structural equation modeling was used to further test the mediation model proposed.

SLS proved to be valid and reliable in the Portuguese context and language. Servant leadership strongly affected work engagement in conditions of high uncertainty. Organizational identification and psychological empowerment acted as mediating variables.

Future research could include longitudinal studies, the effect of specific servant leadership dimensions and the distinction between servant leadership and other leadership models during a merger in conditions of high uncertainty.

This study extends the applicability of the servant leadership model, and the corresponding SLS in a new national culture and as an effective leadership approach under conditions of high uncertainty, such as in a merge process.

Multinational corporations can see servant leadership as a valid model that can permeate the whole organizational culture, inducing greater performance and the well-being of the workforce for increased engagement. Given the increasing uncertainty and volatility of the work environment, servant leadership could be particularly useful in such contexts.

This study benefits both leadership scholars and practitioners by providing evidence on the value of servant leadership in ensuring workforce engagement in conditions of high uncertainty, as in dynamic merger processes. The fact that the study was conducted right in the middle of the change process is rather unique. Moreover, servant leadership effectiveness is for the first time tested in Portugal, a country typically with a relatively strong power distance culture.

This research aims to separate the effect of a promise from an apology, examine interactional justice as a theoretical mechanism explaining the relationship between these accounts and post‐violation trust, examine how message content compares to the gesture of sending a message, and test offense severity as a moderator.

This study employed the Trust Game.

Results indicated significant apology × promise and apology × promise × offense severity interactions on interactional justice, and interactional justice fully mediated the relationship between promises and post‐violation trust.

Although this study was completed using a laboratory game with anonymous partners, results suggest that interactional justice provides a means for relationships to quickly get back on track after a violation. Specifically, promises provide “forward‐looking” information (trustworthy intent) and interpersonal sensitivity (demonstration of courtesy and concern) that enable interactional justice to affect subsequent trust.

These findings attest to the efficacy of clear accounts to foster interactional justice; in particular, apologies lead to higher interactional justice for less serious offenses. Furthermore, accounts that are “forward‐looking” lead to higher post‐violation trust via interactional justice perceptions.

Recent empirical studies suggest that apologies are associated with higher post‐violation trust, but, unlike this article, have not explicated this process or its boundary conditions.