PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to determine whether there is historical support for the proposal of Smith, Montagno and Kuzmenko that the specific cultures associated with transformational and/or servant leadership would be more or less applicable, based on context. Moreover, its purpose is also to demonstrate that a historical approach can be used effectively to examine such constructs.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents a historical examination of the military retreats of Xenophon, a transformational leader, and Chief Joseph, a servant leader, during very similar contextual crises.FindingsGiven similar contexts, the historical record offers support for the proposal of Smith et al.Research limitations/implicationsFirst, the retreats of Xenophon and Chief Joseph were separated by many hundreds of years and miles. Also inherent with this type of methodology is simple disagreement among readers. Although this author finds great similarity in the retreats of Xenophon and Chief Joseph, there are certainly differences that could be scrutinized as well. Moreover, others might be dissatisfied with the selection of Xenophon and Joseph to represent the leadership styles presented, or with the conclusions regarding their effectiveness. Such debate should be encouraged and could provide additional avenues for future research. Further, the current study considered leader effectiveness only as it related to the achievement of the organizational goal(s). It could be that Joseph's cohorts were more satisfied, committed, etc. than were the followers of Xenophon. This line of inquiry should also be pursued.Practical implicationsThis research suggests that transformational leader behavior is likely to be more appropriate during times of significant organizational change.Originality/valueThis is the first study that has examined the speculation of Smith et al. and the first to demonstrate that a historical approach can add to one's understanding of such constructs.

Transformational leadership theory is a relatively recent entrant into the realm of management thought. In fact, the majority of this literature has been published in the past 15 years. That being said, the ideas that are central to transformational leadership are not necessarily new. Many of these constructs can be found in the writings of earlier management theorists. The literature indicates that transformational leadership can positively impact on organizational outcomes and employee satisfaction. Without an understanding of its historical roots, however, transformational leadership risks becoming nothing more than the latest “buzzword” for enhancing organizational performance. To fully understand and appreciate the paradigm, one must trace the development of the transformational factors from a historical perspective.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive definition of green management. In the quest to systematically develop an inclusive definition, it seeks to take an exploratory approach to investigate the existing literature on green management from three different perspectives: first, tracing the history of how this concept emerged over time; second, considering the practices in which green organizations actually engage, focusing specifically on one company that has been recognized and honored for its extraordinary efforts toward sustainability; and third, reviewing the current developments in critical theory related to environmental issues and business. Design/methodology/approach -This exploratory review of the literature uses a tripartite approach to forge a sound definition and conceptualization of the term green management. Exploration of green management from the three angles mentioned revealed some commonalities and consistencies in the terminology and concepts. Factors common to the three perspectives were included in the proposed definition of green management. Findings -The ultimate product of the review is a comprehensive definition of green management. The identification of several commonalities using a tripartite approach lends support to the proposed definition and indicates to both researchers and practitioners that certain factors should not be ignored when attempting to study or practice green management. Originality/value -To the authors' knowledge, green management has never been collectively reviewed from these three perspectives and the systematic approach resulted in a comprehensive definition that can help coordinate future research efforts around a common conceptualization.

This research examined the relationship between the behaviors associated with transformational, transactional, and laissez‐faire leadership and followers’ success in marketing financial services in a proximal sales unit environment. Although transformational leadership has received significant support in non‐sales settings, empirical research investigating the transformational sales manager/sales follower dyad is limited. Recent research has suggested that a transactional style of sales management may be preferable when attempting to influence follower work outcomes. This examination reports results that support the notion that transformational sales leadership may be advantageous to services sales organizations in settings where sales managers and their followers are in close proximity.