ANALYZING THE OPTIMAL LEADERSHIP STYLE TO ENHANCE ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT IN STUDENT-COMPOSED START-UP : AN ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY OF ASA CERRA

• Main Author: Odyssy Kristarno, Regatta
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/84568
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Employees make daily decisions and take actions that can significantly affect organizational performance. The way a company treats its employees can either positively influence an organization or place it at risk. Previous research has demonstrated that employees with higher organizational commitment produce better business outcomes than their less committed employees. A key question is, "Whose job is it to ensure high organizational commitment?" Many researches showed that it is the responsibility of leaders and managers to ensure employees understand how their commitment connects to organizational performance. The variability studies result in leadership effectiveness, a one-size-fits-all approach is insufficient. Identifying and implementing suitable leadership styles for specific organizational needs correlates positively in enhancing organizational commitment. Especially in small businesses like start-ups, which rely on each member’s contribution to drive rapid innovation and disruption. Leaders must be able to provide direction according to goals and strive for team members to contribute optimally. Asa Cerra, a student-based startup in the healthy food technology industry, experiencing frequent delays and underperformance, necessitating adjustments to its performance targets. Given the crucial role of a leader, having the right leadership style is important. This study aims to identify the optimal leadership style for Asa Cerra to enhance organizational commitment. By examining the current leadership styles and their effects on team members, the study seeks to provide insights into improving leadership styles in student-composed start-up environments. An ethnographic research design was employed, involving participant observation, in-depth interviews, and auto-ethnography. The findings indicate that the leader in Asa Cerra currently employed pace-setting and affiliative leadership styles. While this mixed approach has its benefits, there is a need for improvement to better align with the co-founders' aspirations for enhanced organizational commitment. Data analysis suggests that a combination of coaching and democratic leadership styles can better enhance organizational commitment. These styles align well with team members' expectations for leadership, addressing the limitations of the current pace-setting and affiliative approaches.