To what extent does transformational leadership impact employees’ innovative behaviors through the mediation of their prosocial motivation?

Abstract

The inner aim of the present research was to investigate to what extent a transformational leadership approach is able to impact employees’ innovative behaviors. In doing so, a third variable has been considered, namely prosocial motivation. Specifically, the latter has been taken into account from its state-like perspective and has been included in the current study as a mediator, capable of explaining the aforementioned relationship. From this standpoint, the related research model has been afterwards tested within a Norwegian company operating internationally in the medical industry and driven by the prosocial mission of “helping save lives”. Thanks to the examination of data gathered through a survey strategy, it was possible to corroborate the hypothesis proposing the existence of a positive impact of transformational leadership on employees’ innovative behaviors. Moreover, evidence was also found supporting the idea that the previous impact was significantly mediated by workers’ state-like prosocial motivation. In greater detail, it was rational to talk about partial mediation, since the effect generated by this construct was a negative one. Finally, the conclusive chapters of the research discussed its implications both theoretically and practically, as well as its limitations and future paths of analysis.