The relationship between leadership styles and organisational innovation

Abstract

PurposeThis study explores the role of leadership in organisational innovation by reviewing several publications that discuss the relationship between various leadership styles and innovation.Design/methodology/approachThe study followed a descriptive research methodology by reviewing 64 journal articles on the relationship between various leadership styles and innovation. The articles were analysed descriptively and then reviewed based on the leadership style it discusses to derive meaningful findings on the relationship between leadership and innovation.FindingsVarious leadership styles had a positive impact on organisational innovation either directly or indirectly, by influencing the organisational climate, employees' and leaders' behaviours or other organisational variables such as learning and knowledge sharing. Some leadership styles had both direct and indirect impacts on organisational innovation.Research limitations/implicationsThis study collected journal articles published in almost all major electronic databases such as Emerald, ScienceDirect, Taylor & Francis and Scopus. However, the review is limited to journal articles in which the title, abstract or author-specified keywords contain the search terms “leadership” and “innovation,” and published between 2000 and 2019. Therefore, this review may miss some relevant research insights mentioned in the literature that discussed innovation or leadership separately not combined.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the existing body of research on leadership and innovation by extensively discussing the role of various leadership styles in determining organisational innovation. The analysis reveals that prior studies had many limitations and focused on specific leadership styles only. The study goes a step further by explaining how the leadership and innovation aspects are related, and classifying various leadership styles according to their impact on organisational innovation being direct, indirect or both.

Arcabouço teórico dos estudos de inovação: tendências e oportunidades

“…Innovation consists in the application of new ideas that generate value to customers and contribute to an increase in organisational value (ALBLOOSHI et al, 2020). It is a systematic process that seeks, in a deliberate and organized way, to change the analysis of opportunities and what benefits they may offer for economic and social innovation (SAUSEN;ROSSETTO;BEHLING, 2018).…”

Determinants of Innovation Capability: An Exploratory Study of Inclusive Leadership and Work Engagement

“…From the exploratory study conducted, a number of findings are obtained with the aim of enhancing the understanding of the role of the emerging discipline of inclusive leadership (Najmaei and Sadeghinejad, 2019) in improving innovation capability. This research contributes to and enriches the existing body of research on leadership and innovation (Alblooshi, Shamsuzzaman and Haridy, 2020). Moreover, this work thus contributes to the call for more empirical and conceptual studies on inclusive leadership and its link to innovativeness.…”

“…Therefore, in the current environment, it seems useful to try to understand how engaged employees are, as collaboration is crucial in the field of innovation. (Alblooshi, Shamsuzzaman and Haridy, 2020). Following this line of reasoning, this study proposes the following research question:…”

The Influence of Leadership Style on Strategic Decision in Response to Organizational Change

“…One of the most critical factors that contribute to the successful strategic business decision are the leadership style of the managers (Çelik, Güngör & Özkul, 2016). In this respect, leaders will provide direction, guide organizational priorities, and create a supportive environment to ensure successful adaptation with change initiatives (Alblooshi et al, 2020). Abuzaid et al (2019) addressed that the transformational leadership style positively affects the Jordanian Microfinance companies' strategic decisions.…”