The Role of Transformational Leadership in Developing Innovative Work Behaviors: The Mediating Role of Employees’ Psychological Capital

Saeid Karimi (), Farzaneh Ahmadi Malek, Ahmad Yaghoubi Farani and Genovaitė Liobikienė ()
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Saeid Karimi: Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan 6517833131, Iran
Farzaneh Ahmadi Malek: Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan 6517833131, Iran
Ahmad Yaghoubi Farani: Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan 6517833131, Iran
Genovaitė Liobikienė: Department of Applied Economics, Finance and Accounting, Vytautas Magnus University Agriculture Academy, 53361 Akademija, Lithuania

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 2, 1-21

Abstract: Despite growing research on the significance of transformational leadership as a key contextual factor that determines innovative behavior, recent studies have not investigated the psychological mechanisms that link transformational leadership to employees’ innovative behavior thoroughly. Thus, the main purpose of this study was to examine the mediating role the four dimensions of psychological capital—self-efficacy, hope, resilience, and optimism—play in the relationship between transformational leadership and employees’ innovative work behavior. Data from 178 Iranian agriculture experts were collected and analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results indicated that transformational leadership was related to employees’ innovative work behavior directly and positively. Furthermore, the results showed that hope and self-efficacy partially mediated the relationship. This study fills a gap in the literature by clarifying the way the dimensions of psychological capital influence transformational leadership’s positive relationship to employees’ innovative work behavior in the public sector of developing countries. The results imply that to be innovatively effective, organizations need to manage both employees’ contextual (transformational leadership) and psychological (psychological capital) resources to enhance their innovative work behavior. The theoretical and practical implications were further discussed.

Keywords: transformational leadership; psychological capital; innovative work behavior; agriculture expert; Iran (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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