Leader-member exchange and innovative work behavior: The role of intrinsic motivation, psychological empowerment, and creative process engagement
Leader-member exchange and innovative work behavior: The role of intrinsic motivation, psychological empowerment, and creative process engagement

Summary/Abstract: This study examines how leader-member exchange relates to subordinate’s innovative work behavior through intrinsic motivation, psychological empowerment, and creative process engagement. On the basis of an interactional approach, this study hypothesized that (a) there is an interaction between leader-member exchange, intrinsic motivation, and psychological empowerment that affects innovative work behavior, such that leader-member exchange has the strongest positive relationship with innovative work behavior when subordinates have high levels of intrinsic motivation and psychological empowerment; and (b) creative process engagement mediates the effect that this three-way interaction between leader-member exchange, intrinsic motivation, and psychological empowerment has on innovative work behavior. Data were collected from 337 employees and their immediate supervisors (137) from automotive industry. First, subordinates completed measures of their leader-member exchange, intrinsic motivation, and psychological empowerment. Then, the supervisors of these employees assessed their subordinates’ innovative work behavior. The results supported the hypotheses. We found that leader-member exchange, intrinsic motivation and psychological empowerment interacted to affect employee innovative work behavior in such a way that when intrinsic motivation and psychological empowerment were both high, leader-member exchange had the strongest positive relationship with innovative work behavior and creative process engagement mediated this relationship. This study is the first of its kind to empirically examine the interactional perspective of leader-member exchange on innovative work behavior through psychological empowerment, intrinsic motivation, and creative process engagement. Theoretical and practical implications and future area of research are discussed at the end.

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