Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online 2019-10
Engaging in open innovation: The mediating role of work engagement in the relationship between transformational and transactional leadership and the quality of the open innovation process as perceived by employees
This study contributes to the literature on open innovation by addressing the scarcity of individual-level literature and insight into the human side of open innovation. Specifically, it examines the relationships between transactional and transformational leadership on the one hand and the quality of the open innovation process as perceived by employees on the other, and whether these relationships are (partly) mediated by employees’ work engagement. Hypotheses were tested using partial least squares structural equation modelling analysis on a bootstrapped sample (n = 173) of employees in various organizations. Transformational leadership was shown to have a positive direct and indirect relationship with open innovation, partly mediated by engagement. Additionally, this study provides guidance for managers on how to enhance the employee’s perspective on the open innovation process through transformational leadership behaviour and work engagement.
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