Alhamami, Mohammed Ali (2024) Leading for Innovation: How Different Leadership Styles Shape Employee Innovation in Saudi Higher Education. PhD thesis, Victoria University.

Abstract

Higher education institutions (HEIs) in developing countries are increasingly challenged by the volatile environment characterised by globalisation, rapid technological change, and competition. To overcome these challenges, a growing body of research highlights the importance of employee innovation in organisational competitiveness, survival, and growth. Of all factors related to employee innovation, leadership has been found to be one of the most critical factors in driving and supporting employee innovation. However, the leadership style that is more effective in cultivating employees’ innovative behaviour remains unclear. Thus, the current study aims to examine the influence of different leadership styles (transformational, servant, empowering, and authentic) on employee innovative behaviour within Saudi Arabian HEIs. Furthermore, leadership is a relational process in which the interaction between leaders and followers evolves at different stages. Since the leadership approach is critical to enhancing employee innovation through developing high-quality relationships with the followers, this study examines the mediating role of leader-member exchange. In addition, the effectiveness of these leadership styles may vary, depending on the cultural values held by followers; thus, the moderating of individual power distance orientation was assessed. Relying on a positivist research paradigm in conjunction with a deductive reasoning approach and a cross-sectional design, this study employed a quantitative research methodology with a survey approach. A self-administered survey was conducted in the top five universities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The data of (381) participants were analysed by combining two analytical techniques: partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) and necessary condition analysis (NCA) using SmartPLS4. Empirical findings from the PLS-SEM path analysis revealed that most of the hypothesised relationships were supported. Notably, except for the impact of transformational leadership, all direct hypothesised paths showed a statistically significant and positive influence on employees' Innovative Work Behaviour (IWB). The findings also showed that the Leader-member-exchange (LMX) mediated the relationship of servant, empowering, and authentic leadership with IWB. Meanwhile, power distance orientation only moderated the relationship of servant and empowering leadership with IWB. Additionally, findings from NCA demonstrated the supremacy of servant style as a necessary and sufficient condition in promoting innovative behaviour over transformational, empowering, and authentic leadership in KSA HEIs. Considering the overall results of the study, servant leadership appears to be the most suitable style for promoting innovative behaviour in a high-power distance country like KSA. This thesis offers several theoretical, practical, and methodological implications. First, the current study is one of the few studies that examine and compare the effect of prominent leadership styles in a single study to better understand the dynamics of IWB in the workplace. The findings expand the understanding of the direct effects of servant, empowering and authentic leadership styles, assessed through an integrative model in supporting IWB. Secondly, this study adds to the theoretical understanding of the mediation mechanisms of LMX and moderating role of cultural value (Power Distance Orientation) in illuminating the effectiveness of leadership behaviour. Finally, and relating to practical implications, the outcomes of this thesis enrich the leadership and employee innovation literature by highlighting the importance of developing servant leadership behaviours as a necessary condition in academic institutions to achieve high level of innovation among KSA faculty members.

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