Abstract
This study examines the effects of spiritual leadership on employees’ innovative work behavior (IWB) and how employees’ spiritual well-being intervenes this relationship. The research was based on a self-reported survey of 264 workers in China and was analyzed through multiple regression in structural equation modeling to test the hypothesized relationships. The results of the study concluded that employees’ IWB is positively influenced by the effects of spiritual leadership. Furthermore, the effects of spiritual well-being intervened in explaining how spiritual leadership influences employee innovation. This study suggests that the innovative behavior of employees can be enhanced through initiating spiritual leadership practices that enable a spiritual workplace, which, in turn, can help organizations to more effectively cope with competitive market pressures to continuously innovate. Moreover, the study expands our current understanding of the role employee well-being can play in enriching individual creativity and innovation.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Afsar, B., & Badir, Y. (2017). Workplace spirituality, perceived organizational support and innovative work behavior: The mediating effects of person-organization fit. Journal of Workplace Learning, 29(2), 95–109.
Amabile, T. M., Conti, R., Coon, H., Lazenby, J., & Herron, M. (1996). Assessing the work environment for creativity. Academy of Management Journal, 39(5), 1154–1184.
Amabile, T. M., & Pratt, M. G. (2016). The dynamic componential model of creativity and innovation in organizations: Making progress, making meaning. Research in Organizational Behavior, 36, 157–183.
Anderson, H. J., Baur, J. E., Griffith, J. A., & Buckley, M. R. (2017). What works for you may not work for (gen) me: Limitations of present leadership theories for the new generation. The Leadership Quarterly, 28(1), 245–260.
Anderson, N., Potocnik, K., & Zhou, J. (2014). Innovation and creativity in organizations: A state-of-the-science review, prospective commentary, and guiding framework. Journal of Management, 40(5), 1297–1333.
Ashforth, B. E., & Pratt, M. G. (2010). Institutionalized spirituality: An oxymoron? In Handbook of workplace spirituality and organizational performance (pp. 60–74). Routledge.
Axtell, C. M., Holman, D. J., Unsworth, K. L., Wall, T. D., Waterson, P. E., & Harrington, E. (2000). Shopfloor innovation: Facilitating the suggestion and implementation of ideas. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 73(3), 265–285.
Bakker, A. B., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2008). Positive organizational behavior: Engaged employees in flourishing organizations. Journal of Organizational Behavior: The International Journal of Industrial, Occupational and Organizational Psychology and Behavior, 29(2), 147–154.
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Bani-Melhem, S., Zeffane, R., & Albaity, M. (2018). Determinants of employees’ innovative behavior. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 30(3), 1601–1620.
Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(6), 1173–1182.
Bass, B. M., & Avolio, B. J. (1994). Improving organizational effectiveness through transformational leadership. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Bledow, R., Frese, M., Anderson, N., Erez, M., & Farr, J. (2009). A dialectic perspective on innovation: Conflicting demands, multiple pathways, and ambidexterity. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 2(3), 305–337.
Carnevale, J. B., Huang, L., Crede, M., Harms, P., & Uhl-Bien, M. (2017). Leading to stimulate employees' ideas: A quantitative review of leader-member exchange, employee voice, creativity, and innovative behavior. Applied Psychology, 66(4), 517–552.
Chen, C., & Yang, C. (2012). The impact of spiritual leadership on organizational citizenship behavior: A multi-sample analysis. Journal of Business Ethics, 105(1), 107–114.
Choi, S. B., Kim, K., Ullah, S. E., & Kang, S. (2016). How transformational leadership facilitates innovative behavior of Korean workers. Personnel Review, 45(3), 459–479.
Choi, S. B., Tran, T. B. H., & Kang, S. (2017). Inclusive leadership and employee well-being: The mediating role of person-job fit. Journal of Happiness Studies, 18(6), 1877–1901.
Dedahanov, A. T., Bozorov, F., & Sung, S. (2019). Paternalistic leadership and innovative behavior: Psychological empowerment as a mediator. Sustainability, 11(6), 1770.
De Jong, J. P., & Den Hartog, D. N. (2007). How leaders influence employees' innovative behaviour. European Journal of Innovation Management, 10(1), 41–64.
De Jong, J. P., & Den Hartog, D. N. (2010). Measuring innovative work behaviour. Creativity and Innovation Management, 19(1), 23–36.
Diener, E. (1984). Subjective well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 95, 542–575.
Dinh, J. E., Lord, R. G., Gardner, W. L., Meuser, J. D., Liden, R. C., & Hu, J. (2014). Leadership theory and research in the new millennium: Current theoretical trends and changing perspectives. The Leadership Quarterly, 25(1), 36–62.
Eisenberger, R., Armeli, S., Rexwinkel, B., Lynch, P. D., & Rhoades, L. (2001). Reciprocation of perceived organizational support. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(1), 42–51.
Ellison, C. W. (1983). Spiritual well-being: Conceptualization and measurement. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 11(4), 330–338.
Fawcett, S. E., Brau, J. C., Rhoads, G. K., Whitlark, D., & Fawcett, A. M. (2008). Spirituality and organizational culture: Cultivating the ABCs of an inspiring workplace. Intl Journal of Public Administration, 31(4), 420–438.
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39–50.
Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56(3), 218–226.
Fry, L. W. (2003). Toward a theory of spiritual leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 14(6), 693–727.
Fry, L. W., & Altman, Y. (2013). Spiritual leadership in action: The CEL story achieving extraordinary results through ordinary people. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
Fry, L. W., & Kriger, M. (2009). Towards a theory of being-centered leadership: Multiple levels of being as context for effective leadership. Human Relations, 62(11), 1667–1696.
Fry, L. W., & Nisiewicz, M. (2013). Maximizing the triple bottom line through spiritual leadership. Stanford: Stanford Business Books.
Fry, L. W., Vitucci, S., & Cedillo, M. (2005). Spiritual leadership and army transformation: Theory, measurement, and establishing a baseline. The Leadership Quarterly, 16(5), 835–862.
Gilson, L. L., & Shalley, C. E. (2004). A little creativity goes a long way: An examination of teams’ engagement in creative processes. Journal of Management, 30(4), 453–470.
Gomez, R., & Fisher, J. W. (2003). Domains of spiritual well-being and development and validation of the spiritual well-being questionnaire. Personality and Individual Differences, 35(8), 1975–1991.
Grant, A. M. (2012). Leading with meaning: Beneficiary contact, prosocial impact, and the performance effects of transformational leadership. Academy of Management Journal, 55(2), 458–476.
Grant, A. M., Christianson, M. K., & Price, R. H. (2007). Happiness, health, or relationships? managerial practices and employee well-being tradeoffs. Academy of Management Perspectives, 21(3), 51–63.
Greenhaus, J. H., & Powell, G. N. (2006). When work and family are allies: A theory of work-family enrichment. Academy of Management Review, 31(1), 72–92.
Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2014). Multivariate data analysis ((7th Ed. ed.). London: Pearson Education.
Hammond, M. M., Neff, N. L., Farr, J. L., Schwall, A. R., & Zhao, X. (2011). Predictors of individual-level innovation at work: A meta-analysis. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 5(1), 90.
Helliwell, J. F. (2014). Understanding and improving the social context of well-being. In T. J. Hamalainen & J. Michaelson (Eds.), Well-being and beyond (pp. 125–143). Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Huhtala, H., & Parzefall, M. (2007). A review of employee well-being and innovativeness: An opportunity for a mutual benefit. Creativity and Innovation Management, 16(3), 299–306.
Hunsaker, W. D. (2016). Spiritual leadership and organizational citizenship behavior: Relationship with Confucian values. Journal of Management, Spirituality & Religion, 13(3), 206–225.
Hunsaker, W. D. (2018). Workplace spirituality and well-being: Examining the relationship on employee engagement in South Korea. Journal for Global Business Advancement, 11(5), 650–664.
Hunsaker, W. D. (2020). Spiritual leadership and work–family conflict: Mediating effects of employee well-being. Personnel Review., ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-04-2019-0143.
Ilies, R., Aw, S. S., & Pluut, H. (2015). Intra-individual models of employee well-being: What have we learned and where do we go from here? European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 24(6), 827–838.
Janssen, O. (2000). Job demands, perceptions of effort-reward fairness and innovative work behaviour. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 73(3), 287–302.
Janssen, O., Van de Vliert, E., & West, M. (2004). The bright and dark sides of individual and group innovation: A special issue introduction. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25(2), 129–145.
Javed, B., Naqvi, Raza, S. M. M., Khan, A. K., Arjoon, S., & Tayyeb, H. H. (2019). Impact of inclusive leadership on innovative work behavior: The role of psychological safety. Journal of Management and Organization, 25(1), 117–136.
Jung, D. I., Chow, C., & Wu, A. (2003). The role of transformational leadership in enhancing organizational innovation: Hypotheses and some preliminary findings. The Leadership Quarterly, 14(4–5), 525–544.
Keyes, C. L. M. (1998). Social well-being. Social Psychology Quarterly, 61(2), 121–140.
Kinjerski, V. M., & Skrypnek, B. J. (2004). Defining spirit at work: Finding common ground. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 17(1), 26–42.
Kolodinsky, R. W., Giacalone, R. A., & Jurkiewicz, C. L. (2008). Workplace values and outcomes: Exploring personal, organizational, and interactive workplace spirituality. Journal of Business Ethics, 81(2), 465–480.
Krishnakumar, S., & Neck, C. P. (2002). The “what”, “why” and “how” of spirituality in the workplace. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 17(3), 153–164.
Leigh, P. (1997). The new spirit at work. Training & Development, 51(3), 26–34.
Milliman, J., Czaplewski, A. J., & Ferguson, J. (2003). Workplace spirituality and employee work attitudes: An exploratory empirical assessment. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 16(4), 426–447.
Moberg, D. O., & Brusek, P. M. (1978). Spiritual well-being: A neglected subject in quality of life research. Social Indicators Research, 5(1–4), 303–323.
Mumford, M. D., Scott, G. M., Gaddis, B., & Strange, J. M. (2002). Leading creative people: Orchestrating expertise and relationships. The Leadership Quarterly, 13(6), 705–750.
Oldham, G. R., & Cummings, A. (1996). Employee creativity: Personal and contextual factors at work. Academy of Management Journal, 39(3), 607–634.
Pawar, B. S. (2009). Individual spirituality, workplace spirituality and work attitudes: An empirical test of direct and interaction effects. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 30(8), 759–777.
Pfeffer, J. (2010). Business and the spirit: Management practices that sustain values. In R. A. Giacalone & C. L. Jurkiewicz (Eds.), Handbook of workplace spirituality and organizational performance (pp. 27–43). New York: M.E. Sharpe.
Pieterse, A. N., Van Knippenberg, D., Schippers, M., & Stam, D. (2010). Transformational and transactional leadership and innovative behavior: The moderating role of psychological empowerment. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 31(4), 609–623.
Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2004). SPSS and SAS procedures for estimating indirect effects in simple mediation models. Behavior Research Methods, 36(4), 717–731.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78.
Ryff, C. D. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it? explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57(6), 1069–1081.
Scholl, R. W. (1981). Differentiating organizational commitment from expectancy as a motivating force. Academy of Management Review, 6(4), 589–599.
Scott, S. G., & Bruce, R. A. (1994). Determinants of innovative behavior: A path model of individual innovation in the workplace. Academy of Management Journal, 37(3), 580–607.
Sinha, S., Priyadarshi, P., & Kumar, P. (2016). Organizational culture, innovative behaviour and work related attitude. Journal of Workplace Learning, 28(8), 519–535.
Song, J. H., & Kolb, J. A. (2009). The influence of learning culture on perceived knowledge conversion: An empirical approach using structural equation modelling. Human Resource Development International, 12(5), 529–550.
Staw, B. M., Sutton, R. I., & Pelled, L. H. (1994). Employee positive emotion and favorable outcomes at the workplace. Organization Science, 5(1), 51–71.
Tierney, P. (2008). Leadership and creativity. In J. Zhou & C. E. Shalley (Eds.), Handbook of organizational creativity (pp. 95–124). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
de Ven, V., & Andrew, H. (1986). Central problems in the management of innovation. Management Science, 32(5), 590–607.
Wang, G., Oh, I., Courtright, S. H., & Colbert, A. E. (2011). Transformational leadership and performance across criteria and levels: A meta-analytic review of 25 years of research. Group & Organization Management, 36(2), 223–270.
Wang, J., Yang, J., & Xue, Y. (2017). Subjective well-being, knowledge sharing and individual innovation behavior: The moderating role of absorptive capacity. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 38(8), 1110–1127.
West, M. A., & Farr, J. L. (1989). Innovation at work: Psychological perspectives. Social Behaviour, 4, 173–184.
Wilensky, H. L. (1960). Work, careers and social integration. International Social Science Journal, 12, 543–560.
Woodman, R. W., Sawyer, J. E., & Griffin, R. W. (1993). Toward a theory of organizational creativity. Academy of Management Review, 18(2), 293–321.
Yang, M., & Fry, L. W. (2018). The role of spiritual leadership in reducing healthcare worker burnout. Journal of Management, Spirituality & Religion, 15(4), 305–324.
Funding
This Research was supported by Kyunpook National University Research Fund, 2019.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The corresponding author declares that there is no conflict of interest.
Informed consent
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
Data Availability
The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hunsaker, W.D. Spiritual leadership and employee innovation. Curr Psychol 41, 5048–5057 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-01011-9
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-01011-9