Can transformational leadership be associated with innovation among hotel employees? A dual examination of the mediating role of psychological empowerment and the moderating role of perceived organizational support
Article excerpt
BackgroundIn the increasingly competitive hotel industry, innovation represents a central source of organizational advantage, and employees’ innovative work behavior forms the foundation of organizational renewal. Although prior research has explored the relationship between transformational leadership and employee innovation, less is…
BackgroundIn the increasingly competitive hotel industry, innovation represents a central source of organizational advantage, and employees’ innovative work behavior forms the foundation of organizational renewal. Although prior research has explored the relationship between transformational leadership and employee innovation, less is known about how psychological empowerment and perceived organizational support operate together within hotel settings characterized by standardized service routines, emotional labor, and intensive customer contact. Grounded primarily in social cognitive theory and supplemented by leader-member exchange-informed relational reasoning, this study examined a moderated mediation model incorporating transformational leadership, psychological empowerment, innovative work behavior, and perceived organizational support.MethodsStandardized instruments were administered to 500 employees in Chinese hotel enterprises, and the data were analyzed using PLS-SEM.ResultsTransformational leadership was positively related to innovative work behavior, and psychological empowerment partially accounted for this relationship. Perceived organizational support positively moderated both the transformational leadership, innovative work behavior link and the psychological empowerment, innovative work behavior link, with a stronger moderating pattern for the former. Multi-group analysis further showed that the relationship between transformational leadership and psychological empowerment was stronger among female employees.ConclusionThe findings highlight the joint relationships among transformational leadership, psychological empowerment, perceived organizational support, and innovative work behavior among hotel employees. The study provides theoretical and practical insights for leadership practices and innovation in hotel settings.