Linking Authentic Leadership and Employee Creative Behavior: The Mediating Role of Autonomous Motivation and Job Complexity

Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between authentic leadership and employee creative behaviour and to reveal two different mediating mechanisms (i.e., job complexity and autonomous motivation) through which authentic leadership influences employee creative behaviour. This study is based on self-determination theory. A total of (N = 354) respondents were asked to rate themselves on creative behaviour and their leader on authentic leadership style. The research used the internet-based survey tools in a cross-sectional. The study population was employees (mainly Software Developers) of software houses (software companies) working in Pakistan. Methodological tools of the research were partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) for measuring the relationship between the variables. The results of the study show that authentic leadership positively influences employee creative behaviour directly as well as through two competing mechanisms of job complexity and autonomous motivation. Job complexity and autonomous motivation were tested as mediators between authentic leadership and employee creative behaviour independently and comparatively. Both the mediators successfully mediated the relationship between authentic leadership and employee creative behaviour with variable strength. The mediation path of job complexity was stronger in comparison with the mediation path of autonomous motivation. Further examination revealed that job complexity and autonomous motivation both mediate the relationship between authentic leadership and employee creative behaviour in a sequential manner. The results of the study are useful for both practitioners and researchers equally. For practitioners, the authors laid out the process through which managers can foster the creative behaviour of their employees using an authentic leadership style (i.e., by giving increased opportunities to indulge in complex work). Furthermore, for researchers, this study revealed the mechanisms through which authentic leadership influences and predicts creative behaviour. The findings of the study would benefit the authentic leadership theory for further development as a predictor of positive employee outcomes as this study confirmed a relatively complex mechanism through which it influences the creative behaviour of his followers. Keywords authentic leadership, autonomous motivation, creativity, employee creative behaviour, job complexity, self-determination theory, software houses of Pakistan, software developers.