Developing a grounded theory model of leadership in knowledge-based organizations in in Iran

The purpose of this study is to present a leadership model in knowledge-based organization in Iran based on Grounded Theory. Researches show that knowledge workers behavior is different from other employees, therefore their motivation drivers, influence mechanisms and leadership model are different. The present study is carried out among qualitative studies. For that, the literature and the earlier studies around knowledge workers leadership have been investigated and theoretical sampling and also deep and exploratory interviews have been arranged. Almost 15 useful interviews have been done with CEO and human resource managers of knowledge-based organizations and university Professors that are related with this organizational and interviews recorded in both written and voice versions. The analysis of data has been started with interviews simultaneously. Open, axial and selective coding steps were taken from recorded audio files through repeated reading and retrieval. Finally, 16 axial codes were obtained and the model of knowledge workers leadership was extracted using these codes. The mutual trust-based leadership style is the main code of model. Also, motivation by Job, Work Environment, Trust and Compensation are the strategies for motivating knowledge workers. This research could be useful for managers in knowledge-based organizations of different levels and the decision maker organizations in government that are related to knowledge-based organization.