Investigating the Role of Transformational Leadership and Strategic Thinking on New Product Development (Case Study: Kashan Carpet Industry)

As technology changes and product life cycles decline, companies face increasing pressure on new product development. Therefore, organizations need new ways to develop their products to keep them at an acceptable level of success with their competitors. The present study investigates the role of transformational leadership in the development of new products with regard to the mediating role of strategic thinking. This research is a descriptive-correlational study and the statistical population of the study is limited society. About 1100 managers and experts of Kashan carpet industry were selected and the statistical sample consisted of 285 people was selected by available sampling method. The method of data collection was field survey and questionnaire measurement tool. Its validity was confirmed by content and face validity method and reliability of the measuring instrument was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha formula (0.942). Data analysis was performed using structural equation modeling of LISREL software. The results of data analysis showed that the significant role of transformational leadership in strategic thinking and strategic role in new product development was confirmed but the role of transformational leadership in new product development was not confirmed.