Enhancing employee creativity via individual skill development and team knowledge sharing: Influences of dual‐focused transformational leadership

Addressing the challenges faced by team leaders in fostering both individual and team creativity, this research developed and tested a multilevel model connecting dual‐focused transformational leadership (TFL) and creativity and incorporating intervening mechanisms at the two levels. Using multilevel, multisource survey data from individual members, team leaders, and direct supervisors in high‐technology firms, we found that individual‐focused TFL had a positive indirect effect on individual creativity via individual skill development, whereas team‐focused TFL impacted team creativity partially through its influence on team knowledge sharing. We also found that knowledge sharing constituted a cross‐level contextual factor that moderated the relationship among individual‐focused TFL, skill development, and individual creativity. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of this research and offer suggestions for future research. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Empirical analysis of shared leadership promotion and team creativity: An adaptive leadership perspective

Promoting shared leadership in teams and enhancing team creativity is aided by complementarity between leader and team member characteristics. We integrate insights from social learning theory and dominance complementarity perspective with the team leadership and creativity literature to explore the facilitating role of formal participative leadership for enhancing team creativity indirectly by promoting shared leadership. The relationships among formal participative leadership, shared leadership, and team creativity are bounded by team voice behavior and team creative efficacy. To test our theoretical model, we collected multisource and multiwave survey data from 382 members of 73 teams. Results revealed a significant positive relationship of participative leadership with shared leadership in teams, which in turn was positively associated with team creativity. Team voice behavior and team creative efficacy moderated these relationships, respectively, by strengthening the positive relationships. We discuss the theoretical contributions, practical implications, and future directions of our findings.     

Empowering leadership: A meta‐analytic examination of incremental contribution,mediation, and moderation

The concept of empowering leadership (EL) has seen increasing scholarly interest in recent years. This study reports a meta‐analysis investigating the effects of EL on employee work behavior. On the basis of data from 105 samples, we found evidence for the positive effects of EL on performance, organizational citizenship behavior, and creativity at both the individual and team levels. We further examined these relationships by exploring potential boundary conditions and the incremental contribution of EL over transformational leadership and leader–member exchange. Furthermore, at the individual level, both trust in leader and psychological empowerment mediated the relationships of EL with task performance, organizational citizenship behavior, and creativity. We also found evidence that leader–member exchange was a significant mediator between EL and task performance. At the team level, empowerment mediated the effects of EL on team performance, whereas knowledge sharing showed no significant indirect effect. Our results have important theoretical and practical implications and suggest some areas that require further research.     

When does benevolent leadership lead to creativity? The moderating role of creative role identity and job autonomy

The present study identified creative role identity and job autonomy as two moderators that influence the relationship between benevolent leadership, a leadership style that prevails in paternalistic contexts, and creativity. Using 167 dyads of supervisor and subordinate as a sample, we found that both creative role identity and job autonomy have significant moderating effects: When each moderator is high, the positive relationship between benevolent leadership and creativity is stronger; when each moderator is low, this relationship is weaker. Our results suggest that the effect of benevolent leadership upon creativity is dependent on the coexistence of important individual and contextual factors. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A multilevel study of group‐focused and individual‐focused transformational leadership,social exchange relationships,and performance in teams

Using matched reports from 73 team leaders and 359 of their members across 23 companies in Korea, we examined a multilevel model where group‐ and individual‐focused transformational leadership and their influence processes operate at the team and dyadic levels independently and interactively to be associated with team and member performance. Results indicated that group‐focused transformational leadership was positively associated with team performance through team member exchange (TMX), whereas individual‐focused transformational leadership positively related to team members' in‐role and extra‐role performance through leader–member exchange (LMX). TMX not only positively mediated the relationships between group‐focused transformational leadership and member performance after controlling for LMX but also positively moderated LMX–performance relationships. Moreover, the indirect effect of individual‐focused transformational leadership through LMX on member performance was contingent upon the level of TMX. Theoretical and applied implications are discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A multilevel investigation of predictors and outcomes of shared leadership

For modern organizations, shared leadership becomes increasingly important. Knowledge on shared leadership may be limited, as past research often relies on cross-sectional data or student samples, and most studies neglect the multilevel nature of shared leadership. Our research model includes transformational leadership, trust, and organizational support as predictors of shared leadership. Furthermore, we analyze the influence of shared leadership on team performance and team creativity. In total, 160 teams with 697 employees participated in our field study. Data collection took place at three time points. To test our hypotheses, we used multilevel modeling with a Bayesian estimator. We found relationships of transformational leadership and trust with shared leadership at the team level and of transformational leadership, trust, and organizational support with shared leadership at the individual level. Furthermore, shared leadership fully mediated the effect of the three input factors on team performance and team creativity. This study contributes to the understanding of the antecedents and outcomes of shared leadership. Furthermore, the dynamic development of team processes based on an input–mediator–output model is explored. On the basis of the results, organizations can increase shared leadership behavior by focusing on transformational leadership and trust building.     

Transformational leadership and creativity: A meta‐analytic review and identification of an integrated model

We conduct a meta‐analytic review that yields important insights about the existing research on transformational leadership and creativity. Additionally, we propose and test an integrated model using meta‐analytic structural equation modeling (MASEM) and full information MASEM (FIMASEM) techniques to better understand the intervening mechanism through which transformational leadership acts on creativity. The results of the meta‐analysis of 127 studies show that most of the bivariate relationships among transformational leadership, employee creativity, and pre‐identified mediators are significant; further, geographic base of studies significantly moderates some of the relationships. The MASEM results indicate that several mediators intervene in the relationship between transformational leadership and creativity. Although the total effect of transformational leadership on creativity is positive, its direct effect is negative when mediators are included. Additionally, there are significant relationships among the mediators that can be theoretically supported, but have not been investigated in prior transformational leadership and creativity studies. On the basis of these findings, we provide conclusions and directions for future studies.     

Social support,group consensus and stressor–strain relationships: social context matters*

In this study, we examined the degree to which individuals' reactions to stressors were influenced by the quality of their shared social environments. Based on social support theory, we proposed that individuals in positive social environments would show lower levels of strain when exposed to stressors than would individuals in negative social environments. The quality of the shared social environment was assessed by measuring the degree of consensus among group members about an issue of importance to the group—namely about the group leadership. Social influence theory provides compelling reasons to believe that this measure of consensus should be a strong indicator of the quality of the social environment within the groups. In multilevel analyses using a sample of 1923 soldiers who were members of 52 Companies deployed to Haiti, we found that the quality of the social environment moderated relationships between (a) work stressors and morale and (b) work stressors and depression. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Leadership styles and group organizational citizenship behavior across cultures

This study investigates (a) the effects of societal culture on group organizational citizenship behavior (GOCB), and (b) the moderating role of culture on the relationship between directive and supportive leadership and GOCB. Data were collected from 20 336 managers and 95 893 corresponding team members in 33 countries. Multi‐level analysis was used to test the hypotheses, and culture was operationalized using two dimensions of Hofstede ( 2001 ) and GLOBE (2004): Individualism (IDV) and power distance (PD). There was no direct relationship between these cultural dimensions and GOCB. Directive leadership had a negative relation, and supportive leadership a positive relation with GOCB. Culture moderated this relationship: Directive leadership was more negatively, and supportive behavior less positively, related to GOCB in individualistic compared to collectivistic societies. The moderating effects of societal PD were explained by societal IDV. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Positive group affective tone and team creativity: Negative group affective tone and team trust as boundary conditions

Drawing on multiple group‐level theories, we explored boundary conditions of the relationship between positive group affective tone (PGAT) and team creativity. We collected data from members and leaders of 68 research and development teams and performed hierarchical linear modeling analyses to test our hypotheses. Consistent with the “group‐centrism” perspective, we found that PGAT was beneficial for team creativity only when team trust was low; when trust was high, PGAT had a negative relationship with team creativity. In accord with the “dual‐tuning” perspective, the positive effect of PGAT on creativity was present only when team trust was low but negative group affective tone was high. We discussed the theoretical and practical implications. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Team job‐related anxiety and creativity: Investigating team‐level and cross‐level moderated curvilinear relationships

Researchers have examined the effects of individual job‐related anxiety on employee attitudes and behaviors but have yet to examine whether team job‐related anxiety would have similar or different effects. Building on prior research on negative group affective tone and creativity, we propose that team job‐related anxiety has an inverted U‐shaped curvilinear relationship with both team and individual creativity. Furthermore, we posit that team cooperativeness moderates those curvilinear relationships. Using a two‐wave research design and matched employee‐supervisor data from 290 employees nested in 65 teams, we found support for the proposed inverted U‐shaped relationships. Moreover, the intermediate level of team job‐related anxiety was associated with higher individual creativity in teams with higher cooperativeness. We conclude the study with a discussion of the theoretical and practical implications of our findings.     

Context matters: Combined influence of participation and intellectual stimulation on the promotion focus–employee creativity relationship

In this paper, we examined the interactive effects of two contexts—participation and intellectual stimulation, and promotion focus on creativity. On the basis of a multi‐organization sample of 213 employees, we tested and found that although promotion focus was positively related to creativity, the relationship between promotion focus and creativity was most positive when both participation and leader intellectual stimulation were high. We discuss the way contexts in combination influence employee creativity for promotion‐oriented individuals, through increasing decision latitude as well as stimulating and promoting creativity. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effects of leadership dimensions,safety climate,and assigned priorities on minor injuries in work groups

This study is based on three premises: (a) Leadership style affects the level of concern for subordinate safety; (b) Concern for safety, operationalized with supervisory practices, provides the source for safety climate perceptions; and (c) Safety priority as assigned by higher superiors influences supervisory safety practice independently of leadership style. Assigned safety priority was expected to moderate the relationship between leadership style and injury rate in organizational subunits, with safety climate mediating this leadership–injury relationship due to its demonstrable effect on safety behavior. A within‐group split‐sample analysis of 42 work groups, coupled with prospective design, indicated that transformational and constructive leadership predicted injury rate, while corrective leadership provided indirect, conditional prediction. Leadership effects were moderated by assigned safety priorities and mediated by commensurate safety‐climate variables. The results suggest that transformational and transactional leadership provide complementary modes of (mediated and moderated) influence on safety behavior of group members. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Relationship between organizational justice and employee work outcomes: a cross‐national study

This study examined the influence of organizational justice perceptions on employee work outcome relationships as moderated by individual differences that are influenced by societal culture. Power distance, but not country or individualism, moderated the relationships between perceived justice and satisfaction, performance, and absenteeism. The effects of perceived justice on these outcomes were stronger among individuals scoring lower on power distance index, and most of these study participants were in the U.S. (versus Hong Kong) sample. Limitations of the study and the implications of the findings for managing cross‐culturally are discussed. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Can self‐sacrificial leadership promote subordinate taking charge? The mediating role of organizational identification and the moderating role of risk aversion

The extant literature on the relationship between self‐sacrificial leadership and subordinate behavioral outcomes has primarily focused on the influence of this leadership on subordinate affiliative behaviors. Our research proposed a theoretical model explaining why and when self‐sacrificial leadership might promote taking charge, an exemplar of challenging behaviors. We tested this model across two studies conducted in China. In addition, we also examined the differences in the boundary conditions for self‐sacrificial leadership to influence taking charge and affiliative behaviors (cooperation in Study 1 and helping in Study 2 ). Our results revealed that (i) self‐sacrificial leadership was positively related to subordinate taking charge, with organizational identification acting as a mediator for this relationship, and (ii) risk aversion moderated both the self‐sacrificial leadership–subordinate taking charge relationship and the mediating effect of organizational identification, such that the relationship and its mediating mechanism were weaker for subordinates high rather than low in risk aversion. These moderating effects, however, could not generalize to cooperation and helping. Finally, the theoretical and practical implications of our results and directions for future research were discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Antecedents and consequences of empowering leadership: Leader power distance,leader perception of team capability,and team innovation

The evidence that empowering leadership is an effective form of team leadership brings the question on what the antecedents of empowering leadership are into focus. We propose that empowering leadership is driven by considerations of the normative and situational appropriateness of empowering leadership that are associated with leader power distance value and leader perception of team capability. We propose that leader power distance and perceived team capability interact such that the influence of leader power distance on empowering leadership is stronger with higher perceived team capability. We extend our model to show that by affecting empowering leadership, the interaction of leader power distance and perceived team capability indirectly influences team innovation, an important team outcome associated with empowered teamwork. We tested our model in two multisource surveys in China: Study 1 of 84 technical teams and Study 2 of 83 financial service teams. We discuss how our study contributes to empowering leadership theory by providing a theoretical perspective that lends itself well to identifying other trait and situational antecedents of empowering leadership.     

Rewards and employee creative performance: Moderating effects of creative self‐efficacy,reward importance,and locus of control

The effects of extrinsic rewards on creative performance have been controversial, and scholars have called for the examination of the boundary conditions of such effects. Drawing upon expectancy theory, we attend to both reinforcement and self‐determination pathways that reveal the informational and controlling functions of creativity‐related extrinsic rewards. We further identify the individual dispositions that moderate these two pathways. Specifically, we propose that extrinsic rewards for creativity positively predict creative performance only when employees have high creative self‐efficacy and regard such rewards as important. We likewise propose that extrinsic rewards positively affect the intrinsic motivation of employees with an internal locus of control, thus enhancing their creative performance. Results based on a sample of 181 employee–supervisor dyads largely supported these expectations. The current analysis enriches the creativity literature by combining different perspectives in a coherent framework, by demonstrating the positive effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation, and by demonstrating that the rewards–creativity relationship varies across employees depending on their individual differences. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Personal need for structure as a boundary condition for humor in leadership

Recent research has established a positive relationship between humor in leadership and organizational behavior variables. However, neither the mechanisms nor the boundary conditions of the positive effects of humor in leadership are completely understood. In this study, we contribute to these questions by investigating the relationship between humor in leadership and follower commitment and burnout in more detail. We propose that these relationships unfold via a relational process and specified this relational process in terms of leader–member exchange. Moreover, we assume that these relationships depend on followers' personal need for structure. We tested the hypothesized moderated‐mediation model in a two‐wave survey study with 142 employees. Our results support the proposed model. We found the predicted indirect effect of humor on commitment and disengagement to be stronger for followers low in need for structure. However, we did not find the proposed effects for emotional exhaustion. We discuss implications for leadership theory, humor theory, and for leadership training and practice. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

When can culturally diverse teams be more creative? The role of leaders' benevolent paternalism

The current research examines the conditions under which cross‐cultural teams can realize their creative potential—a consequence of their cultural diversity. We propose that in more culturally diverse teams, team members are less open when communicating with each other, which impairs the team's ability to elaborate on the information contributed by different members, ultimately limiting team creativity. We further theorize that leaders' benevolent paternalism, a leadership style that is particularly prevalent in East Asian contexts, can reduce the negative consequence of intercultural diversity on intercultural communication openness. On the basis of multiwave, multisource data from 48 culturally diverse teams in China, we found that perceived intercultural diversity is negatively related to intercultural communication openness, which, in turn, is positively related to information elaboration, and ultimately, team creativity. Leader benevolent paternalism attenuates the negative relationship between intercultural diversity and intercultural communication openness. These findings enrich the literature on intercultural diversity by calling attention to communication‐related obstacles.     

Transformational leadership,relationship quality,and employee performance during continuous incremental organizational change

Although transformational leadership has been investigated in connection with change at higher levels of organizations, less is known about its “in‐the‐trenches” impact. We examined relations among transformational leadership, explicit change reactions (i.e., relationship quality), change frequency, and change consequences (i.e., task performance and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB)) during continuous incremental organizational change at lower hierarchical levels. In a sample of 251 employees and their 78 managers, analyses revealed that the quality of relationships between leaders and employees mediated the influence of transformational leadership on employee task performance and OCB. We also found that change frequency moderated the positive association of relationship quality with task performance and OCB, such that associations were stronger when change frequency was high. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.