Authentic Leadership and Employees’ Innovative Behaviour: A Multilevel Investigation in Three Countries

Abstract

The innovativeness of individual employees is a vital source of competitive advantage of firms, contributing to societal development. Therefore, the aim of this multilevel study was to examine how entrepreneurial firm owners’ authentic leadership relates to their employees’ innovative behaviour. Our conceptual model postulates that the relationship between business owners’ authentic leadership (as perceived by their employees) and their employees’ innovative behaviour is mediated by employees’ personal initiative and their work engagement. Hypotheses derived from this model were tested on data collected from 711 employees working in 85 small firms from three European countries: the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain. The results of the multilevel modelling confirmed our model, showing that when business owners are perceived as more authentic leaders, their employees show higher personal initiative and are more engaged at work and, in turn, identify more innovative solutions to be implemented in the organization. A cross-national difference was observed: employees from Spain (in comparison to Dutch and Polish employees) reported engaging less frequently in innovative behaviour. These research findings suggest that the innovative behaviour of employees can be boosted through leadership training, improving the quality of relationships between leaders and subordinates, and strengthening employees’ personal initiative and work engagement.

Do Work Engagement and Transformational Leadership Facilitate Knowledge Sharing? A Perspective of Conservation of Resources Theory

“…Work engagement refers to an active, positive, fulfilling, work-related state of mind characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption [31,48]. In the previous studies, work engagement has been proven to be positively related to desirable outcomes, such as innovative behavior [49] or organizational citizenship behavior [50]. According to COR, individuals with more resources are more likely to invest in future resources [29,30].…”

<p>Impact of Entrepreneurial Leadership on Innovative Work Behavior: Examining Mediation and Moderation Mechanisms</p>

“…[16][17][18] Numerous studies have suggested that leadership plays a critical role in shaping and promoting innovative work behaviors in all kind of industrial settings. [19][20][21] Precisely, Tung, 22 Gumusluoğlu, Ilsev, 23 Rousseau, Aubé, Tremblay 24 proposed that employee innovative behavior is not produced automatically, but the leaders shape such behaviors by supporting and encouraging them during the creative process.…”

Quality of Leadership and Organizational Climate in a Sample of Spanish Workers. The Moderation and Mediation Effect of Recognition and Teamwork

“…In changing environments, motivated and capable human resources are required to drive change [36], to achieve this, the challenge of companies is to guarantee corporate well-being through adequate levels of organizational climate, to improve the quality of life of employees, and achieve higher levels of satisfaction, commitment, and retention of talent.…”

“…Leadership should facilitate the personal initiative and active participation of the members of the work team so that in being motivated, they push the necessary innovative ideas in the changing environment [36]. For this to happen, the leadership must recognize the individual contributions to achieve the challenges and objectives of the work team.…”