3.1. WoS Database on Leadership and Organizational Commitment Publications: Evolution, Contributors, and Methodological Issues
To quantify publishing activity, one counts the number of publications published by a certain unit (authors, citations, journals, affiliations, publishers, and countries, among others) within a specific period. Measures of publishing activity provide us with a perspective on the structuring of the topic under investigation, as well as the most relevant journals, academic institutions, and countries reporting on it (
Bautista-Bernal et al. 2021). This section presents the most relevant bibliometric analysis outcomes in order to examine how the body of literature on leadership and organizational commitment has developed over the duration of the study period (1992–2022). There were 2110 papers published in 41 different scientific journals. The most significant and efficient academic institutions are analyzed, as are their interconnections.
According to the findings, the literature on leadership and organizational commitment has developed at an exponential rate in recent years.
Figure 2 shows that there was very little publishing activity over the first 10 years, averaging 5 to 10 publications each year. As can be seen, the rise has multiple peaks during the next ten years, followed by a yearly increase of ten publications. Over the next two years, the number of articles grew, reaching 77 in 2013 and 88 in 2014. The revolution, on the other hand, began in 2015. The majority of publications (n = 246) were published in 2020; however, the majority of citations were made in 2022 (9941 citations).
There has been a significant increase in the number of publications related to leadership and organizational commitment in recent years. This trend is likely due to a number of factors, including the increasing importance of effective leadership and commitment to organizational goals in today’s business environment as well as the growing interest in research on these topics within the academic community (
Herrera and De Las Heras-Rosas 2021). Likewise, leadership and organizational commitment are both critical factors in the success of any organization. Effective leaders are able to inspire and motivate their teams, while organizational commitment is essential for building a strong, cohesive team and achieving long-term success. Therefore, it is not surprising that there has been a rise in the number of publications on these topics as researchers and practitioners seek to better understand and improve upon these important areas (
Berkovich and Bogler 2021).
On the other hand, there are many different approaches to studying leadership and organizational commitment, and the research on these topics is likely to continue to grow and evolve over time. However, the increasing focus on these topics is a positive development, as it will help organizations better understand how to foster strong leadership and commitment within their teams and achieve their goals.
Table 1 lists the journals and publishers with the most publications demonstrating leadership and organizational commitment. The first is the Leadership Organization Development Journal, which contains 52 articles, has an h-index of 18, and a total of 944 citations (TC). Then there is Frontiers in Psychology, which has 48 publications, an h-index of 11, and 323 total citations. Therefore, these two journals account for 4.74% of all published works. The Journal of Applied Psychology, however, has a higher citation rate (n = 5733). The Emerald Group Publishing, on the other hand, has 365 articles, a 37 h-index, and 4587 total citations (TC). Taylor and Francis came in second, with 231 articles, a 37 h-index, and 4586 total citations. Therefore, these two publishers are responsible for 28.5% of all publications. Elsevier, on the other hand, has a higher citation rate (n = 9922).
Furthermore, the Journal of Applied Psychology has contributed to a wide range of topics related to leadership and organizational commitment, such as the effects of leadership on employee performance, the relationship between leadership style and organizational commitment, and the impact of individual and organizational factors on leadership effectiveness. Therefore, research in these areas has significant implications for increasing organizational and leadership performance as well as employee well-being and satisfaction. Elsevier publications and investigations have looked at a variety of topics related to leadership and organizational commitment, such as the effects of leadership on employee performance, the relationship between leadership style and organizational commitment, and the impact of individual and organizational factors on leadership effectiveness. Therefore, research in these areas has significant implications for increasing organizational and leadership performance as well as employee well-being and satisfaction.
In
Table 2, we can observe that the USA, China, Turkey, Canada, Malaysia, South Korea, and Australia accounted for 1381 out of the 2110 articles or 65.45% of the analyses with reference to nations and territories. The majority of articles (582 or 27.58%) were produced in the USA; therefore, strong academic and research infrastructure, funding possibilities, demand for leadership and organizational commitment research, and high-quality publication channels may all contribute to the high volume of scientific study on these keywords in the United States.
In the United States, scientific publications on leadership and organizational commitment have investigated a wide range of topics, including the effects of leadership on employee performance, the relationship between leadership style and organizational commitment, and the impact of individual and organizational factors on leadership effectiveness. These papers frequently contained empirical investigations in which hypotheses were tested and statistical methods were employed to assess the data received from study participants. Overall, research in these areas has significant implications for increasing organizational and leadership performance as well as employee well-being and satisfaction.
Table 3 ranks the most prominent authors based on the total number of publications they produced or co-wrote and the number of citations they received in the WoS database. Each of the top authors published at least seven publications throughout the period under consideration. Based on the number of publications, Vandenberghe C was the most productive author and had the highest academic reputation, with an h-index of 10 and a g-index of 63. Walumbwa FO, on the other hand, received the most citations (n = 1006).
Table 4 shows that the top publication affiliations are all academic institutions. There are 60 Canadian publications and 270 American publications. The University System of Ohio and the State University System of Florida are the most productive, with each publishing 70 papers. The majority of the top affiliations, on the other hand, were American, with the Pennsylvania Commonwealth System of Higher Education (PCSHE) and the Pennsylvania State University leading citations (n = 5572). Three were Canadian, while the others were from Iran, Belgium, and China.
Universities in the United States, as well as universities and research institutes across the world, have made major contributions to the subject of leadership and organizational commitment via their research endeavors. University faculty members who are experts in these fields and perform studies on leadership and organizational commitment are common. Furthermore, graduate students working on research projects in these areas as part of their courses or doctorate dissertations are common in universities. These researchers’ studies can serve to expand our understanding of these themes and can have practical consequences for boosting organizational success and member well-being. Universities may also help to prepare the next generation of leaders and practitioners in various fields through their teaching and training programs.
3.2. VOSviewer Software on Leadership and Organizational Commitment Publications: Mapping and Visualizing
Bibliographic coupling is a measure of two sources’ similarity based on the overlap of their reference lists. It is often used in bibliometrics, the study of patterns and trends in scientific research and publishing, to uncover linkages between diverse sources and investigate the structure of research domains. To determine bibliographic coupling, we compared the reference lists of two sources and counted the number of references they shared. This is given as a percentage or proportion of the total number of references in each source. A high level of bibliographic coupling between two sources indicates that they are connected and may belong to the same study tradition or topic. A low amount of bibliographic coupling may imply that the sources are unrelated or belong to separate research traditions. The biggest circle in
Figure 3 corresponds to the Journal of Management Development, which contains the most papers on leadership and organizational commitment, according to
Table 2. The map with the most citations (176) and the highest overall link strength (488) is The Leadership and Organizational Development Journal, which has the most published papers and the highest total link strength (526) on the map. It also received the second-highest number of citations (150). Finally, the requirements include one minimum citation from each of the 41 publications. In total, 373 links and 1994 total link strengths were discovered, resulting in four distinct clusters.
Figure 4 depicts the network of collaboration between countries and regions. To generate results, at least one document’s criterion is used, and up to fifty of the most representative bibliographic links are shown. Labels represent items, and circles are the default shape. The label and circle size of an object correspond to its weight; therefore, the item with the largest label and circle is the most significant. The distance between different items represents how closely related the nations are in this research subject, and lines linking items represent relationships. The ability to examine countries or areas with comparable characteristics is the map’s main advantage. Countries that share a continent, in particular, generally have a similar profile and appear adjacent to one another on maps (
Alqudah et al. 2023b;
Alshanti et al. 2024).
The United States is represented by the first largest circle in
Figure 4, which is near Malaysia, Belgium, Turkey, Spain, England, Taiwan, and Canada. Similarly, in the United States, where the majority of articles were produced in the fields of Management, Psychology Applied, Business, Public Administration, Nursing, Education Educational Research, Hospitality Leisure Sport Tourism, Psychology Multidisciplinary, Industrial Relations Labor, Ethics, Social Work, Communication, Public Environmental, Occupational Health, and Health Policy Services, it is expected that 27.55 percent of all link strengths were produced (
Alqudah et al. 2023a;
Abdo et al. 2021). Psychology, sociology, and political science are all disciplines included in this research. Concurrently, additional publications on the implications of leadership and organizational commitment account for an estimated 28% of published research on these topics (
Qudah et al. 2021a;
Al Karabsheh et al. 2021). This research includes studies focused on the social ties specific to leadership as well as the development of research and environmental ramifications. There was also interest in the construction of an intelligent leadership and organizational structure, which had already begun in the United States and was rumored to be spreading to other nations (
Abu Huson et al. 2024;
Magboul et al. 2024). As seen in
Figure 3, the five groups are intimately tied to discussions about leadership and organizational commitment.
The organizational cooperation network is depicted in
Figure 5. At least one document is included in the findings, and up to fifty of the most relevant bibliographic associations are presented. By default, items are symbolically represented by a circle and a label. The label and circle size of an object correspond to its weight, so the item with the largest label and circle is the most essential. In this study subject, the distance between various elements reveals how linked they are to one another, while the lines linking them disclose their relationships. The map’s main value is its ability to pinpoint universities that have comparable characteristics. The study developed nine clusters, as universities from the same continent generally have similar features and appear together on maps (
Alqudah et al. 2024;
Al Karabsheh et al. 2024). Ghent University (Belgium) has the most citations, as shown by the largest circle (189). Using three published publications on leadership and organizational commitment as well as the map’s acceptable total connection strength (450), Nova Southeastern University (United States) follows with citations (122) and total link strength (518), as shown in
Figure 5. The fact that colleges in the United States are highly networked demonstrates that there is an active exchange of methods, leadership, and organizational commitment.
On the other hand, author bibliographic coupling (ABC) is a subcategory of bibliographic coupling that refers to the occurrence in which two authors cite the same article(s) in publications produced by the exact same authors. According to the ABC presumption, the more references two authors share within their collected works, the more similar their study is (
Alqudah et al. 2023a;
Al Momani et al. 2023). The value of document bibliographic linkage for investigational data mining and scientific visualization has been examined. The top 124 contributing authors are shown in
Figure 6 in order of the number of publications referenced. With 477 citations, Devos, Geert, Van Keer, Hilde, and Ebrahim are the most referenced writers in leadership and organizational commitment articles (
Al Qudah et al. 2023;
Arabyat et al. 2023). Each of the top 124 authors has 30 publication citations related to leadership and organizational commitment. The red, green, and purple clusters in
Figure 6 correspond to the names of authors whose research focuses on the keywords listed in that figure. Furthermore, the purple cluster in
Figure 6 is significantly different from other authors’ involvement and interest in other clusters (
Aldabbas et al. 2023;
Aladayleh et al. 2023).
3.3. Main Research Interests Concerning Leadership and Organizational Commitment
VOSviewer was utilized to conduct a keyword co-occurrence analysis based on the bibliographic data. The full counting strategy was employed to identify instances of phrases across all texts. A minimum occurrence threshold of three was set to determine the most significant keywords, which were then selected to define the trend in the study of leadership and organizational commitment.
Figure 7 presents the frequently recurring keywords found in the publications. The appearance of keyword maps in a certain number of articles is determined by their co-occurrence in the title, abstract, and keyword sections.
Mapping and clustering techniques are employed to gain insights into the network structure, and these approaches are commonly used in bibliometric and scientometric studies. Density and overlay visualizations allow us to identify the most prominent phrases in the field and highlight additional terms that may require further investigation.
In this study, the term “co-occurrence” was employed to conduct a clustering analysis, which involves grouping connected entities into clusters based on their relationships. These word associations can span various scientific domains, allowing for the identification of patterns within the research. The cluster analysis in this study was conducted by examining the co-occurrence of terms in the data.
The analysis resulted in the identification of five distinct clusters, consisting of a total of 66 keywords out of the initial 207. These clusters were determined based on the number and strength of linkages between the keywords. The map representation (
Figure 7) shows the interconnectedness of the clusters, with stronger keyword links observed in the central clusters and weaker links in the peripheral clusters.
Cluster 1 consists of 17 items, while Clusters 2, 3, 4, and 5 comprise 14, 11, 15, and 9 items, respectively. Additionally, similar characteristics were identified in the fourth, sixth, and seventh clusters, leading to their consolidation as they can mutually benefit and contribute to future trends.
3.6. Discussion and Future Trends
In order to improve theoretical knowledge in this area, this study explored the existing literature regarding leadership and organizational commitment. Based on bibliometric analysis, five notable clusters were found to dominate the literature:
Cluster 1: “The Future of Remote Work and Its Impact on Organizational Commitment” discusses the increasing trend of remote work and how it may impact employee commitment to their organization. This may include factors such as communication, trust, and autonomy. As technology progresses and businesses recognize the benefits of a remote workforce, remote work is becoming more prevalent. The trend of remote labor is anticipated to continue in the future, undermining organizational commitment. Employee engagement and commitment may be altered as a result of changes in communication, trust, and autonomy within a business. Effective management and communication practices, on the other hand, can help offset negative consequences and foster a pleasant remote work experience for employees.
Cluster 2: “Authentic Leadership in the Age of Climate Organizational Change” examines the role of authentic leadership in navigating the challenges of organizational change related to climate change. This may include topics such as sustainability, ethics, and social responsibility. Organizations are challenged with adopting and implementing sustainable practices. In this climate, authentic leadership is becoming increasingly vital as leaders must negotiate the difficulties of organizational transformation while being honest and loyal to their principles. Authentic leaders may inspire and steer their firms toward sustainable practices while still acting morally and socially responsibly. This trend of true leadership in climate change mitigation is expected to continue in the future as organizations face increased pressure to act and solve this global catastrophe.
Cluster 3: “Job satisfaction promotes leadership and organizational commitment by empowering attitudes and perceptions” suggests that job satisfaction can have a positive impact on both leadership and organizational commitment by empowering employees’ attitudes and perceptions. According to the trend, work satisfaction may result in beneficial results such as better leadership and enhanced organizational engagement. This is because pleased employees have more favorable views and impressions of their jobs, which may lead to higher motivation, productivity, and engagement. This, in turn, can lead to improved performance and increased dedication to the company.
Cluster 4: “Study of Leadership Style and Culture as Antecedents of Organizational Performance” examines the relationship between leadership style, organizational culture, and performance. This may include topics such as transformational leadership, cultural intelligence, and strategic management. Organizational performance is strongly influenced by leadership style and organizational culture. A study of this connection can reveal how various leadership styles can be employed to foster a favorable company culture that leads to increased performance. Transformational leadership, for example, focuses on inspiring and encouraging followers to work toward a common goal, and it has been linked to beneficial results like employee engagement and satisfaction. Cultural intelligence, on the other hand, refers to a person’s capacity to comprehend and adapt to various cultural norms and values, and it is becoming increasingly relevant in today’s international economic climate. Furthermore, the study of leadership style and culture may aid firms in strategic management by aligning their leadership style and culture with their overall strategy, leading to improved performance. This trend is expected to continue as the value of strong leadership and a healthy organizational culture in generating organizational success becomes more generally acknowledged.
Cluster 5: “Leadership in the Digital Age: Exploring the Intersection of Transactional and Transformational Leadership Styles” looks at how leadership styles are evolving in the digital age, with a focus on the intersection of transactional and transformational leadership styles. This may include topics such as technology, innovation, and change management. According to the trend, as the world grows more digital, leadership styles will evolve as well. The convergence of transactional and transformational leadership styles is becoming increasingly essential as leaders must balance the need for stability and structure (transactional) with the need for creativity and change (transformational). Leaders will need to modify their leadership styles as technology advances and firms become more digital in order to effectively manage these changes and generate innovation. Topics like technology, innovation, and change management may be covered, as well as the development of skills such as digital literacy and strategic thinking.
3.7. Implications for Theoretical and Practical
This study enriches the leadership and organizational commitment literature by introducing several novel theoretical insights. It integrates authentic leadership with climate-related organizational change, offering a fresh perspective on how leaders can drive sustainability and environmental responsibility within organizations. Additionally, it broadens our understanding of leadership in remote-work contexts by highlighting the crucial role of community and connection in sustaining engagement, a topic not extensively explored in previous research. The study’s exploration of the combined use of transactional and transformational leadership styles in the digital era provides a nuanced framework for understanding leadership effectiveness amidst technological and organizational changes. By focusing on job satisfaction as a key factor influencing leadership effectiveness and organizational commitment, the study adds depth to the theoretical discourse on how employee engagement impacts organizational outcomes. Overall, these contributions offer a more comprehensive view of leadership by addressing contemporary challenges such as remote work, climate change, and digital transformation, thereby advancing the theoretical understanding of the field.
The practical implications of this study are multifaceted and actionable for organizations aiming to enhance performance and employee engagement. Employers should prioritize fostering a sense of community among remote employees through regular virtual meetings, social events, and other engagement strategies to counteract the lack of face-to-face interactions. Providing remote workers with essential tools and support is also crucial for maintaining productivity. In terms of climate-related organizational change, developing authentic leaders who model sustainability and promote a culture of learning and empowerment is vital. Organizations should leverage technology to support sustainable practices and improve operational efficiency. Additionally, creating a fulfilling work environment that emphasizes effective communication, collaboration, and idea sharing can enhance job satisfaction, leading to higher employee retention and organizational stability. Leadership styles that balance transactional and transformational approaches, along with a focus on ethical and sustainable practices, are likely to drive better performance. By addressing these practical considerations, organizations can better navigate the complexities of remote work, climate change, and the digital era, ultimately achieving more effective and sustainable outcomes.