Choi Sang Long - Faculty of Business, Raffles University Iskandar, Malaysia
Lim Zhi Yong - Faculty of Business, Raffles University Iskandar, Malaysia
Tan Wee Chuen - Faculty of Business, Raffles University Iskandar, Malaysia

This research was conducted to address leadership styles and affective organizational commitment and what types of leadership styles that contribute the most to affective organizational commitment within SMEs in Johor retail sector commitment. Quantitative was used for conducting this research and the questionnaire was distributed to the person in charge in order to distribute to his colleagues. The prepared questionnaire which covered dimensions of transformational leadership style and transactional leadership style, and affective organizational commitment was adapted from Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire and other research. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) was used for analysing data. Pearson Correlation Analysis will be used to measure the relationship in linear correlation between two numerical data variables, Regression and Multiple Regression analysis was used to test single or multiple independent variables and one dependent variable. Inspirational motivation has a significant and strong positive relationship with affective organizational commitment. The finding showed that leadership styles have a very strong relationship with affective organizational commitment. By further dividing into two different leadership styles, the transformational leadership style has a significant and strong positive relationship with affective organizational commitment while the transactional leadership style has a significant and weak positive relationship with affective organizational commitment. Even both leadership styles have contributed to the affective organizational commitment, the transformational leadership style contributes the most to the affective organizational commitment followed by transactional leadership style.

Affective commitment; transformational leadership; transactional leadership; regression; small medium enterprises