Leadership, stress and politics: influences on creativity and innovation in emerging markets
ISSN: 0025-1747
Article publication date: 12 June 2023
Issue publication date: 24 August 2023
Abstract
Purpose
This research explores the moderating role of empowering leadership, job-related stress and workplace politics on the link between employee creativity and innovation output.
Design/methodology/approach
To test the hypothesized relationships, the authors used a questionnaire survey to nest the data from subordinates (n = 388) and their supervisors (n = 151) working for the emerging markets of Pakistan and analyzed data by using the SmartPLS-SEM technique.
Findings
Employee creativity is positively associated with innovation output. The moderation by empowering leadership and employee job-related stress further strengthens the association between employee creativity and innovation output. However, the creativity of employees is not directed toward innovation if they are involved in politics.
Research limitations/implications
The findings will help modern managers to understand the importance of enhancing employee creativity through empowering leadership. Such leadership delegates authority enables employee motivation, develops a conducive working environment by eliminating workplace politics and ensures the well-being of employees. It offers employees the confidence to unleash their creative efforts for innovation.
Practical implications
The managers can benefit from the findings: a) to enhance the abilities of creative employees for innovation outputs by practicing the role of empowering leadership, b) the extent to which employees display job-related stress and enhances their innovation outputs and c) to be aware of the inverse effects of creative employees' involvement in workplace politics on innovation.
Originality/value
Although the previous research was well established on the link between creativity and innovation, the authors knew a little about the factors that can strengthen/weaken this relationship. The authors believe that the findings are a small effort to solve the pieces of the puzzle in the literature.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Editor-in-Chief Dr. Brandon Randolph-Seng, Associate Editor Dr. Amanda Hinojosa and two anonymous reviewers for their valuable and timely inputs on the manuscript.
Citation
Dost, M. and Qatiti, K.A. (2023), "Leadership, stress and politics: influences on creativity and innovation in emerging markets", Management Decision, Vol. 61 No. 9, pp. 2564-2581. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-12-2021-1577
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited