From identification to innovation: how empowering leadership drives organizational innovativeness

• Published in: Leadership & organization development journal Vol. 45; no. 3; pp. 478 - 498
• Main Authors: Burhan, Qurat-ul-Ain, Khan, Muhammad Asif
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bradford Emerald Publishing Limited 29-04-2024; Emerald Group Publishing Limited
• Subjects: Employees; Empowerment; Human capital; Identification; Innovations; Intellectual capital; Knowledge; Leadership; Mediation; Social exchange theory; Strategic management; Intellectual capital; Organizational innovativeness; SEM-M-Plus; Empowering leadership; Organizational identification
• ISSN: 0143-7739; 1472-5347
• DOI: 10.1108/LODJ-05-2023-0215

Purpose Empowering leadership has a wide range of positive individual employee-related outcomes. However, a limited number of research studies are available emphasizing the overall organization-related outcomes. The major aim of this study is to delve into the function of organizational identification and intellectual capital (structural, relational and human) in mediating the relationship between empowering leadership and organizational innovativeness. Depending upon the resource-based view theory, this study comprehensively investigates the sequential effects of empowered leadership on the mediating roles of organizational identification and intellectual capital in organizational innovativeness.Design/methodology/approach Data were gathered through a self-administered questionnaire, which got 337 responses from telecom employees. To evaluate the hypotheses, the data were analyzed in SEM-M-Plus using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses.Findings The findings demonstrate that empowering leadership impacts organizational innovativeness with the sequential mediation of organizational identification and intellectual capital (structural, human and social).Practical implications Organizations can identify and encourage leaders who exhibit empowering behaviors such as delegating responsibilities, providing autonomy and fostering a sense of ownership among employees. Also, organizations can foster intellectual capital by providing opportunities for learning, training and development. Additionally, knowledge sharing and collaboration can help to enhance the intellectual capital of employees.Originality/value While much research has been conducted on empowering leadership, the continued development of knowledge and the emergence of new perspectives related to identification and intellectual capital highlights the importance of exploring alternative paths that have been overlooked. Therefore, there is a pressing need to conduct research that takes into account these additional factors.