Abstract
Extended abstract
1- INTRODUCTION
Today, organizations are faced with a dynamic environment characterized by rapid technological changes, products' shortened lifecycle, and globalization. in such a situation, the main challenge for firms is to create an organization of improving creativity among their ...
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Extended abstract
1- INTRODUCTION
Today, organizations are faced with a dynamic environment characterized by rapid technological changes, products' shortened lifecycle, and globalization. in such a situation, the main challenge for firms is to create an organization of improving creativity among their members besides ensuring the effectiveness of activities. the development of organizational creativity and innovation has always been considered by leaders, especially in the petrochemical industry, the leaders of which have pursued various creative approaches and strategies. not only the leadership style is important for developing creativity and innovation, but also the behavioral style of employees is crucial. in general, this study seeks to investigate the role of proactive work behaviors in the relationship between transformational leadership and creativity and innovation in the petrochemical industry.
2- THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
The role of leadership in creativity and innovation has always been considered by researchers in various organizations. in the meantime, the role of transformational leadership has been more studied, especially in domestic research. on the other hand, researchers suggested that proactive work behaviors such as influencing others, self-initiation, forward-thinking, and desire for active participation may result in organizational creativity and innovation. the present research is particularly accomplished to understand whether transformational leadership improves organizational creativity and innovation through creating proactive morale in employees to exert proactive work behaviors.
3- METHODOLOGY
The statistical population encompasses 300 employees of petrochemical companies and institutes in lorestan province, among which a sample size of 169 was selected based on cochran's formula. needed data was collected through a questionnaire having likert-type scales. obtained data was then analyzed by conducting PLS-SEM in SmartPLS v.3 software.
4- RESULTS & DISCUSSION
Current results indicated that behaviors of transformational leader which are consistent with the factors of creativity context (e.g., vision, innovation support, authority, encouragement, recognition, and challenge) act as a driving force for creativity. transformational leadership, as a role model for employees, encourages their proactive work behaviors by empowering them to question the status quo and to find new ways of doing works. proactive employees are actively looking for ideal conditions to put their creativity into action. since proactivity is an important driving force for innovation, the self-initiation component of which is associated with identifying problems and devising innovative solutions. by transformation of personal ethics, ideals, interests, and values of followers, transformational leaders inspire their employees and motivate them to proactively improve their performance.
5- CONCLUSIONS & SUGGESTIONS
The present study explored one of the mechanisms through which transformational leadership is associated with creativity and innovation. the results revealed that transformational leadership directly predicts employees’ creativity, innovation, and proactive work behaviors. proactive work behaviors are also capable of predicting organizational creativity and innovation. in total, the current findings are in line with the idea that supervisors having inspiring motivation, personal consideration, ideal influence, and intellectual stimulation play a key role in promoting the employees’ proactive work behaviors. reciprocally, proactive employees have more enthusiasm to be creative and innovative. as a general suggestion for petrochemical managers and supervisors to become transformational leaders, they are recommended to pay more attention to proactive behaviors and provide needed context to develop these behaviors.