Mixed Signals? Consequences of Dual Sources and Mis/Alginment of Empowering Leadership on Innovation

Abstract

In recent decades, organizations have increasingly emphasized the importance of innovation to stay competitive and emphasized the value in empowering staff to do so. In this study, we integrate arguments from leader distance and social information processing theory to explain how empowering leadership behaviors coming from two different sources (dual empowering leadership) uniquely and jointly motivate employee innovation through employee psychological empowerment. Empirical results, based on 322 IT employees who report to 105 direct supervisor and 17 senior managers, suggest that empowering leadership from a direct (close) supervisor positively and significantly predicts employee psychological empowerment, and in turn innovative performance. The relationship between empowering leadership from a senior (distant) leader and employee innovation follows a J-shaped, curvilinear pattern. Further, what we call misalignment between a close and a distant leader empowering leadership relates positively to employee psychological empowerment. By contrast, we conceptualize and empirically find that mid-levels of empowering leadership coming from both sources (i.e., neither high nor low) are deleterious to employee innovative performance through the mediator of psychological empowerment. Theoretical and practical implications conclude our work.