How ethical leaders foster salesperson creativity: exploring the roles of social power, job autonomy, and internal competitive work environment

Abstract

ABSTRACT While the benefits of salesforce creativity are well-documented, recent calls underscore the lack of research on how to develop a creative salesforce. Adopting social learning theory, we position ethical leadership as the focal antecedent to creative performance. Using this theoretical lens, we construct a model that explores two moderators and one mediator in this relationship. Analyzing survey responses from salespeople, we reveal that ethical leadership enhances social power, which in turn, increases creative performance. Results also show that job autonomy strengthens the positive influence of ethical leadership on social power while an internal competitive work environment weakens it.