Investigating the Role of Ethical Leadership on Employee Innovativeness through Bottom-Up Job Redesigning: Self-Leadership as a Catalyst

Muhammad Asif, Muhammad Ali Hussain (), Shazia Humayun, Muhammad Awais and Mingxing Li ()
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Muhammad Asif: School of Management, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Muhammad Ali Hussain: School of Public Affairs, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Shazia Humayun: Lyallpur Business School, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan
Muhammad Awais: NFC Institute of Engineering & Fertilizer Research, Faisalabad 38090, Pakistan
Mingxing Li: School of Management, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 9, 1-12

Abstract: In contemporary studies, leadership has been frequently highlighted as an important aspect in facilitating innovative work behavior (IWB) in ever-changing organizations. Drawn on social learning theory, this research investigated the influence of ethical leadership (EL) on employee’s innovative behaviors (IWB). The relationship between ethical leadership (EL) and employee innovative behavior (IWB) is mediated by job crafting (JC), with the moderating role of self-leadership (SL) also being studied. In total, 370 valid responses were retrieved from the service industry of Zhejiang province in China. The study used Mplus 8.0 to run the moderated mediation model. It is found that ethical leadership (EL) is positively linked with innovative work behavior (IWB) and job crafting (JC). Subsequently, the study also found that job crafting (JC) is significantly related to innovative work behavior (IWB). Additionally, the study confirms that job crating (JC) significantly mediates the relationship between ethical leadership (EL) and innovative work behavior (IWB). Additionally, the study reveals that a high level of self-leadership (SL) strengthens the association between ethical leadership (EL) and job crafting (JC).

Keywords: ethical leadership; job crafting; self-leadership; innovative work behaviors (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 (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:9:p:7190-:d:1133053

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