An Innovation-Driven Culture in Local Government

Abstract

This article analyzes how senior managers’ transformational leadership and the climate for creativity associate with employees’ perceptions regarding a culture of innovation in the context of public management reform in local government. Based on a survey of 1,576 employees in the Seoul Metropolitan Government, this study finds that the degree to which an employee perceives senior managers’ transformational leadership is positively related to the degree to which the employee perceives a culture of innovation. The findings of the study also indicate that the climate for creativity—through enhancing the recognition of employee creativity, the flexibility to change, and resources for innovation—is significantly associated with employees’ perceptions of a culture of innovation. Finally, the study finds that there is a variance in the degree to which the employee perceives a culture of innovation among agencies, and supervisors’ transactional leadership still matters in fostering a culture of innovation in local government.