The Inter-Relationship between CSR, Inclusive Leadership and Employee Creativity: A Case of the Banking Sector

Muhammad Sanaullah Shah,Cisheng Wu,Zia Ullah

doi:10.3390/su13169158

Muhammad Sanaullah Shah, Cisheng Wu + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su13169158

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Abstract

The stiff situation of competitiveness in every industry has posed some serious challenges for businesses all over the world. Thus, every segment of the business is realizing the importance of creativity to remain alive in a cut-throat competitive environment. However, the banking sector has not received due attention in this regard. To bridge this gap, the current study was carried out to explore the relationship of employees’ perception of corporate social responsibility (CSR) of their bank and employee creativity with the mediating effect of inclusive leadership (IL). The data for the current study were collected from the banking sector of Pakistan through a self-administered questionnaire (n = 533) and were analyzed by using structural equation modeling (SEM) in AMOS. The statistical findings of the current survey validate the direct relationship between CSR and employee creativity. The results also confirm the mediating effect of IL in this relationship. The findings of the current survey will help policymakers from banking institutions to improve their understanding of CSR. Furthermore, these findings will help policymakers to embrace employee creativity as a “new normal” for this sector.

Highlights

The current era characterized by digitalization, globalization, and a stiff situation of competitiveness in almost every business sector has posed significant challenges for corporations to remain alive in their respective industries
The current study identifies different practical implications for the banking sector of Pakistan to realize the importance of effective leadership that can develop a work environment in which employees are encouraged to perform their work-related tasks in a creative way
Given the fact that the current survey collected the data of the constructs from a single source, there is every possibility that the dataset of the current survey is confronted with a situation that gives rise to the potential issue of common method bias (CMB)

Summary

Introduction

The current era characterized by digitalization, globalization, and a stiff situation of competitiveness in almost every business sector has posed significant challenges for corporations to remain alive in their respective industries. The same argument was presented by Na et al [3], as they acknowledged the important role of creativity and innovation for sustainable competitive advantage Perhaps this is one of the underlying reasons that a recent surge in the related literature on the topic of creativity and innovation is evident [4,5,6,7]. Contemporary businesses are searching for effective ways of creativity In this regard, it is very recently in the literature that the role of employees, as a source of creativity in a corporation, has been recognized by various scholars. Imam et al [9] posited the importance of employee creativity to better survive and compete in the context of the telecom sector They further emphasized that when appropriate leadership exists in an organization, employee creativity is fostered. The same findings were shared by Tong et al [10], who referred to employee creativity as an important factor for organizational performance by stressing that positive CSR perceptions of employees about their organization shape their creative capability

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