Creativity for gaining and sustaining competitive advantage: the role of leadership styles

The main object of this paper is to examine the effect of leadership styles on employee creativity. Thus the research was performed in Iron and Steel, Automotive and Textile industries listed in Istanbul Chamber of Industry’s Turkey's Top 500 Industrial Enterprises 2008. As the results of analyses, transformational, transactional and laissez-faire leadership styles have effect on employee creativity (64%), controlling creative personality. Also results show that creative personality had a strong explanatory effect on employee creativity (54,5%). It is determined that, “Challenge & Enjoyment” partially mediated the relationship between leadership styles and employee creativity and it increased employee creativity 16,9%. In addition Climate for Creativity partially mediated the relationship between leadership styles and employee creativity, and it increased employee creativity 14, 9%. On the other hand, Compensation partially moderated between transactional leadership and employee creativity and between transformational leadership and employee creativity; Acceptance partially moderated between transactional leadership and employee creativity, and Goal Setting partially moderated between transformational leadership and employee creativity. Results also show that Compensation had a negative association with creativity. Finally, it was seen that Conservation partially moderated between transformational leadership and employee creativity. This study’s theoretical contribution is examination of effects of leadership styles on employee creativity in a comprehensive model; proposing new mediating and moderating variables in this correlation and filling this gap in the research. Furthermore, this study’s practical contribution is there is lack of research that consists of stated variables in our model conducted such a wide scope. And finally, this study offers a methodological contribution to empirical studies on employee creativity under different leadership styles to developing countries like Turkey, as it shows the external validity of these theories which were developed and investigated in Western developed countries.

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Leadership Styles Employee Creativity ,

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation ,

Creative Personality ,