Ethical leadership and employee creativity among engineering employees: evidence from a developing economy
Benchmarking: An International Journal
ISSN: 1463-5771
Article publication date: 25 April 2023
Issue publication date: 2 May 2024
Abstract
Purpose
Based on the trait activation theory, the current study systematically integrates how autonomy interacts with proactivity to influence the relationship between ethical leadership style and employee creativity.
Design/methodology/approach
Using simple random sampling and questionnaires, a sample of 475 engineering employees of 3 leading telecommunication companies in Ghana were obtained. The analysis was done using structured equation modeling (SEM), using SmartPLS.
Findings
The results showed that ethical leadership style provides employees with job autonomy which facilitates individual creativity. Employee proactivity also moderates a positive relationship between autonomy and creativity such that high-proactive employees are well placed to produce more creative outcomes when given autonomy. At the individual level, personal characteristics determine the degree of creativity.
Practical implications
The current study implies that telecommunication companies should put in more efforts to train and encourage leaders to be ethical in leaders' dealings with employees and employees must be rewarded for taking initiative.
Originality/value
With a focus on the integrative approach from a developing economy, this work is novel in exploring how contextual and personal features impact creativity.
Keywords
Citation
Tetteh, S., Dei Mensah, R., Opata, C.N. and Mensah, C.N. (2024), "Ethical leadership and employee creativity among engineering employees: evidence from a developing economy", Benchmarking: An International Journal, Vol. 31 No. 4, pp. 1142-1162. https://doi.org/10.1108/BIJ-05-2021-0266
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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