SOAS Research Online

Abstract

The present study explores the unique effect of entrepreneurial leadership on the relationship between employees' creative self-efficacy (CSE) and innovative behavior. Using multi-level data from multiple sources, namely, 66 middle-level managers and their 346 subordinates from a large Chinese multinational organization, the effect of CSE on innovative behavior was found to be more influential when employees work under a strong entrepreneurial leader in their team. We also found that entrepreneurial leadership exerts a stronger moderating effect on the CSE-innovative behavior link than transformational and participative leadership behaviors. Consistent with social cognitive theory, these results suggest that leaders who engage in the role modeling of entrepreneurial behaviors to employees and in directing employees toward identifying and exploiting entrepreneurial opportunities are more likely to foster innovative behavior among employees with higher levels of creative self-efficacy, than acting in a transformational manner or allowing employees to participate in decision-making.