TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND ITS EFFECT ON EMPLOYEE CREATIVITY

Abstract

The present study examines how a transformational leadership style could help build an innovative work climate that promotes employee creativity. It also examines whether transformational leaders are able to develop employees’ creative self-efficacy and creative role identity so as to promote creativity. The study presents an integrated model highlighting the relationship between transformational leadership and employee creativity mediated by a climate for innovation, creative role identity and creative self-efficacy. Data were collected from 480 supervisor-employee dyads of small and medium size IT companies operating in Delhi NCR, India. Employees were responded to the questions about their leader’s transformational leadership, climate for innovation, creative self-efficacy creative role identity. And, Supervisors were rated to the employee’s creativity. The findings of the study based on a computational tool for path analysis SPSS macro, i.e., PROCESS that used a sample of 480 supervisor-employee dyads from Indian IT SMEs professionals, reveals a strong relationship between transformational leadership and employee creativity. Further, the relationship is also mediated by the climate for innovation, creative selfefficacy and creative role identity. Limited sample size is a probable limitation of the study. One more limitation of the study is the factors used for the survey were self-reported by the respondents. It may not be a completely accurate response. Since the findings of the study were derived from the SME IT companies of Delhi NCR, India, they cannot be generalised to include other industrial contexts. Based on the results, this study forwards strong theoretical and managerial implications that can be used by IT organizations to assess the effect of transformational leadership on employee creativity. With the transformational leadership, leader can develop creative selfefficacy and employee creativity to do things in a better way and develop climate for innovation for high performance such as creativity. If followers do not have faith in their own capability to do their job, it may not be possible for them to develop creative environment. This study makes an attempt to examine the relationship between transformational leadership and employee creativity (1) in a developing country (like, India), (2) in an upcoming industry (IT industry), (3) Small and medium sized companies. The study also adds to the ii existing literature by enlightening the process through which transformational leadership has significant special effects with regards to fostering climate for innovation, creative self-efficacy and employee creativity in IT SMEs.