The effects of transformational leadership, trust, and tolerance of ambiguity on organization culture in higher education

Organizational culture has emerged as a valuable commodity in organizations during seasons of change. An organization must possess a culture that is prone to adapt to the external demands in order to remain competitive. Today, higher education institutions are facing demands from multiple constituencies that call for changes in the operation of the university and the delivery of educational programs and services. In this research, the effects of three predictor variables (transformational leadership, trust, and tolerance of ambiguity) on organizational culture were empirically tested in the context of higher education. Data were collected from educational leaders and administrators in a for profit university using standardized measures of the constructs of interest. Analysis of the data showed that trust was the strongest predictor with transformational leadership contributing a smaller, but statistically significant, amount of variance in organizational culture. Implications for future research and the ability of the university to develop and maintain organizational cultures that enhance adaptability to change are discussed.