The influence of ambidextrous leadership on the employee innovative behavior: an empirical study based on Chinese manufacturing enterprises

A causal model of leader ethical behavior and radical innovation: the mediating effect of leader identification and the moderating effect of promotion focus

Introduction

Innovation is essential for an organization's survival and growth, with radical innovation driving transformative change. Despite its significance, the mechanisms that foster employees' radical innovation remain underexplored. This study examines how leader ethical behavior influences radical innovation, offering a novel perspective on leadership's role in fostering innovation.

Methods

A quantitative approach was employed, utilizing survey data from 371 employees of Chinese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was applied to test the research model, which links leader ethical behavior to radical innovation, emphasizing the mediating role of leader identification and the moderating role of promotion focus.

Results

The findings reveal that leader ethical behavior positively influences both leader identification and radical innovation. Furthermore, leader identification mediates the relationship between leader ethical behavior and radical innovation. Promotion focus strengthens the effects of leader ethical behavior on radical innovation, as well as the impact of leader identification on radical innovation.

Discussion

This study contributes to radical innovation research by integrating leader ethical behavior into the innovation discourse, extending theoretical perspectives beyond conventional drivers. The findings provide practical insights for organizations seeking to cultivate innovative work environments, enhance leader identification, and empower employees for radical innovation.

How can microfinance institutions successfully navigate a competitive advantage and financial performance? Exploring the role of ambidextrous leadership and intellectual capital

The main objective of this study was to investigate how ambidextrous leadership contributes to competitive advantage and financial performance in Indonesia's microfinance institutions (MFIs). A secondary aim was to analyze the moderating effect of intellectual capital on the relationship between ambidextrous leadership and competitive advantage and the mediating role of competitive advantage in the indirect link between ambidextrous leadership and financial performance. Data were collected from 88 firms in the MFI sector through purposive sampling. The Moderation-Mediation (MODMED) procedure was used to assess four proposed relationships. The results indicated that ambidextrous leadership is crucial for achieving competitive advantage, with intellectual capital as a moderator in this relationship. Furthermore, competitive advantage was found to significantly explain financial performance and serve as an intermediary in the connection between ambidextrous leadership and financial performance. This study addresses the existing literature gap by examining ambidextrous leadership's influence on competitive advantage. It also introduces a fresh perspective by suggesting that intellectual capital acts as a boundary condition in the link between ambidextrous leadership and competitive advantage. The findings offer pragmatic insights for organizations, particularly MFIs in Indonesia, to enhance their competitive advantage through effective leadership and strategic management of intellectual resources.

Impact of ambidextrous leadership on innovative work behaviour and employee performance in the IT sector

The leadership role is crucial for motivating employees to do innovative work and discover new ideas and solutions. The IT sector is known for innovation. However, more studies are needed on the impact of ambidextrous leadership on innovative work behaviour (IWB) in the IT sector. This investigation explores the effects of ambidextrous leadership on innovative work behaviour and employee performance. This study employs a cross-sectional design, in which empirical data is gathered through scales adopted and modified from previous research. A total of 371 employees from IT companies participated in this survey. The selection of participants was carried out using a systematic sampling technique, with the survey being self-administered. In order to examine the structural relationships between opening and closing leadership, IWB, and employee performance, a method known as the partial least square structural equation modelling approach is used using SmartPLS 4.0 software. The findings of this study indicate that ambidextrous leadership has a significant and positive impact on IWB. Furthermore, it is revealed that IWB plays a significant role in influencing employee performance. Moreover, the impact of ambidextrous leadership, followed by innovative work behaviour, is more significant on employee performance. From a practical standpoint, this study offers valuable insights for IT organisations, which are renowned for their innovation but face a high attrition rate within the industry.

How Does Digital Leadership Foster Employee Innovative Behavior: A Cognitive-Affective Processing System Perspective

Employee innovative behavior is crucial for organizations to engage in innovative activities and gain competitive advantages in the context of digital transformation. Despite many studies having focused on the relationship between leadership and employee innovative behavior, the role of digital leadership and the underlying mechanisms for employee innovative behavior remain unclear. Using the cognitive-affective processing system framework, the study investigated the dual mediating role of psychological empowerment and affective commitment between digital leadership and employee innovative behavior and the moderating role of a proactive personality in such relationships. Employing data from 359 employees, the study conducted structure equation modeling to examine the hypotheses. The results show that digital leadership influences employee innovative behavior through psychological empowerment but not affective commitment. Furthermore, a proactive personality does not moderate the direct effect of digital leadership on psychological empowerment and affective commitment or the indirect effect of digital leadership on employee innovative behavior. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Ambidextrous Leadership and Employee Voice Behavior: The Role of Work Motivation and Ambidextrous Culture

Purpose

In the current competitive environment of increased uncertainty and instability, it is of significance to promote employee voice behavior. To discuss the issue of how to promote employee voice behavior both effectively and reasonably, this study focuses on ambidextrous leadership, which consists of two seemingly opposite yet potentially complementary behaviors-transformational and transactional leadership-and investigates its influence mechanism on employees' voice behavior, using work motivation as a mediator and ambidextrous culture as a moderator.

Methods

Enterprise employees and their direct supervisors from 78 work teams in China were surveyed, and 387 sets of paired data were analyzed using data analysis software, such as HLM, SPSS, and AMOS.

Results

The results reveal that ambidextrous leadership can significantly positively predict employee voice behavior. Employee work motivation plays a partial mediating role in the positive correlation between ambidextrous leadership and voice behavior. Additionally, organizational ambidextrous culture positively moderates the correlation between ambidextrous leadership and the work motivation of employees. The greater the ambidextrous culture of teams is, the stronger the positive correlation between ambidextrous leadership and the work motivation of employees.

Conclusion

Leadership plays an important role in promoting employee voice behavior. Therefore, understanding how ambidextrous leadership style can effectively promote voice behavior is important for companies to utilize the power of their employees to respond quickly to change and drive innovative transformation. This study contributes to existing research by revealing how ambidextrous leadership impact employee voice behavior through work motivation, which provides new evidence for the emerging ambidextrous leadership theory and helps to understand the relationship between employee work motivation and voice behavior more comprehensively; it also identifies organizational ambidextrous culture as organizational context factor which moderate the effect of ambidextrous leadership on work motivation.

Are Your Employees Hopeful at Work? The Influence of Female Leadership, Gender Diversity and Inclusion Climate on Japanese Employees’ Hope

There are two well-known truths about Japan: one is that Japan is one of the most advanced economies, which takes pride in its highly advanced technology, social infrastructure and system; the other is that Japan ranks lowest at women’s social participation among Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries. Even though the Japanese government has initiated programs to promote female participation and advancement in society, these initiatives have not yet borne remarkable fruit. This study intends to address this issue by investigating the effectiveness of female leadership in Japan, specifically its effect on organizations’ gender diversity and inclusion (D&I) climate and employees’ task-related positive attitudes. Synthesizing social information processing theory and social identity theory, the study examines 306 Japanese employees working with their female supervisors in medium- and large-sized manufacturing companies. The findings show that female ambidextrous leadership contributes to shape and strengthen a gender D&I climate and ultimately enhances employees’ hope on their work. In addition, the positive effect of a gender D&I climate on employees’ hope is the same for all employees regardless of gender. The findings clarify the role of female leadership and the underlying psychological mechanism through which female leadership influences employees’ positive work attitudes. This first empirical study in Japan contributes to the research on female leadership and D&I management.