Effect of Leadership Behaviors on Knowledge Creation in Indian Organizations

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship as well as impact of behaviors or actions of a leader on the creative performance of employees for a sample of 204 employees from 6 organizations.Design/Methodology/Approach: A questionnaire consisting of four psychometric instruments has been provided to respondents i.e., to workers and managers spread across various functional groups, managerial levels from six selected organizations operating in different sectors of the Indian economy. A total of 204 fully-filled questionnaires have been received both personally and through emails and digital forms. Data, regarding different aspects of Knowledge Worker viz., their leaders’ behaviors, organizational culture, technology and Knowledge Creation were collected using questionnaire as given in appendix. Data were statistically treated and analyzed using SPSS software package to obtain results for the stated purpose of the study.Findings: Expectancy-free, Non-Bossy leader with collaboration and experimentation ethos in the organizations along with tailor made IT services help in knowledge identification and creation. Expectancy of a leader is considered negatively as pressure leading us to believe the anti- Pygmalion effect under the overall head of self-defeating prophesies. Expectancy is generally taken as positive as it influences the motivation of the employees. But this paper argues that expectancy of a leader creates a pressure or negatively impacts the knowledge creation and they really abhorred it in these organizations surveyed. Non-bossy leadership is well accepted by the employees of the surveyed organizations for better Knowledge Identification and Creation. Expectancy-free, Non-Bossy Leadership behaviors help in the organizational endeavor of Knowledge Creation.Research Limitations: This study was conducted in only six Indian Organizations or organizations located in India. Hence, its generalizability is limited to other similar contexts. Practical Implications: The research study offers several recommendations for helping leadership of the organization as well as top management to design and implement such practices and actions which will help in effective Knowledge Capture for Organizational excellence.Originality/Value: There is a dearth of literature and especially empirical research regarding Knowledge Creation and its determinants that take into consideration wide array of variables and their respective enabling and disabling roles and contributions. This gap is being filled by this empirical study about the impact of leaders’ behaviors on Knowledge creation in Indian organizations.