Contribution of Twenty-first Century Leadership to the Employees’ Innovative Work Behavior: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Employee innovative work behavior drives the generation of new ideas, which in turn fosters organizational innovation and competitiveness. Many elements
influence this behavior, the most important being the leadership. The term
"innovative work behavior" has evolved, and this has led to a great deal of
research looking into different leadership roles and how they affect employee
innovation. The research on leadership in the context of employee creativity and
innovation is extensive and encompasses more than one hundred leadership
roles from various viewpoints. Undertaking a Systematic Literature Review (SLR)
in this field is essential to establishing future leadership strategies that effectively
tackle the intricate problems of contemporary industries. The 608 empirical studies
included in the current SLR were retrieved from the reputable databases Scopus
and Web of Science. These studies investigated how leadership in primary,
secondary, and tertiary industries foster employee creativity and innovation. Three
key themes are identified by the study: a comprehensive evaluation of various
leadership studies; an industry-specific analysis that reveals a narrow focus in the
primary sector; and an investigation of the transformational, transactional, and
hybrid leadership styles. The SLR established taxonomies to classify previous
research, identify unexplored domains, and direct the selection of variables for
subsequent research. In the era of digitalization, the conventional dominance of
transformational and transactional leadership is under threat from the need for
novel approaches to problem-solving. The literature emphasizes the importance of
adaptive leadership styles and the shortcomings of old leadership paradigms in
tackling contemporary issues. The study followed five steps SLR method from
formulating the research topic, carrying out an exhaustive search, putting inclusion
and exclusion criteria to use, picking and extracting data from pertinent studies,
and to presenting and analyzing the results. The synthesis of a large body of
research in this SLR makes a substantial contribution to our knowledge of the role
that leadership plays in employee creativity. The identification of underexplored
industries requires targeted research efforts to address opportunities and
constraints unique to the primary industry, particularly in the agriculture sector.
This can be accomplished by categorizing leadership styles, recognizing market
trends, and recommending taxonomies for further investigation. In conclusion, this
study offers valuable insights for developing effective leadership strategies that
foster innovative work behavior and accelerate organizational innovation in the
twenty-first century