THE EFFECT OF AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP ON INNOVATIVE WORK BEHAVIOR, PSYCHOLOGICAL EMPOWERMENT AND WORK ENGAGEMENT: A RESEARCH IN BANKING SECTOR

Purpose- The increasing uncertainty and complexity faced by organizations especially in the 21st century has made it more challenging for organizations to gain and maintain a competitive advantage. As it has been agreed more recently, the success of organizations and their long-term sustainability depend mostly on their employees. In order to cope with these difficulties and necessities of business life, employees need to exhibit different behaviors. Engaged, empowered and innovative employees create extraorninary results for their organizations. The effect of the leadership on employee behavior is confirmed toward the researches in management field. The subject of discussion is which behaviors of leaders provide expected results and the most appropriate leadership style for the situation. In the current circumstances, leaders are expected to inspire and empower employees to make decisions about how to achieve their goals; to behave ethically and have strong values, and to be aware of themselves and others, to be transparent in their relationships, and to evaluate situations objectively and impartially. The behaviors expected from leaders today lead us to think about authentic leadership. The impact of transformational and servant leadership on innovative work behavior, empowerment, and work engagement has been more studied so far. But research on the effect of authentic leadership is scarce. In this context, this study was designed to discover the effect of authentic leadership and its sub-dimensions on innovative work behavior, work engagement, and psychological empowerment. Methodology- This study is based on a quantitative method, and as such, data was collected using a questionnaire methodology. Authentic leadership, innovation work behavior, psychological empowerment and work engagement scales were used in the questionnaire to obtain the data of the research. A total of 600 usable questionnaires from Turkey's banking sector were obtained via convenience sampling methodogy. The study's data was analyzed using SPSS 24.0 and the Lisrel 8.7 program. Findings- As a result of this research, significant positive effects of authentic leadership on innovative work behavior, psychological empowerment, and work engagement were determined. Conclusion- Based upon findings, it can be stated that authentic leadership is effective in revealing employee’s innovative work behavior, psychological empowerment, and work engagement. From the practical perspective, the results of this study show that it is important for the leaders to truly understand themselves and how they affect their employees.

Keywords:

Authentic leadership, innovative work behavior, psychological empowerment work engagement, banking sector,

PDF

___

Albrecht, S. L., Green, C. R., & Marty, A. (2021). Meaningful work, job resources, and employee engagement. Sustainability, 13(7), 40-45.
Avolio, B. J., Gardner, W. L., Walumbwa, F. O., Luthans, F., & May, D. R. (2004). Unlocking the mask: A look at the process by which authentic leaders impact follower attitudes and behaviors. The leadership quarterly, 15(6), 801-823.
Bamford, M., Wong, C. A., & Laschinger, H. (2013). The influence of authentic leadership and areas of worklife on work engagement of registered nurses. Journal of Nursing Management, 21(3), 529-540.
Černe, M., Jaklič, M., & Škerlavaj, M. (2013). Authentic leadership, creativity, and innovation: A multilevel perspective. Leadership, 9(1), 63-85.
Fragoso, H. (2000). An overview of employee empowerment: Do's and don'ts. IU South Bend Undergraduate Research Journal, 3, 30-34.
Gardner, W. L., Avolio, B. J., Luthans, F., May, D. R., & Walumbwa, F. (2005). “Can you see the real me?” A self-based model of authentic leader and follower development. The Leadership Quarterly, 16(3), 343-372.
Gardner, W. L., Avolio, B. J., Luthans, F., May, D. R., & Walumbwa, F. (2005). “Can you see the real me?” A self-based model of authentic leader and follower development. The Leadership Quarterly, 16(3), 343-372.
Gardner, W. L., Cogliser, C. C., Davis, K. M., & Dickens, M. P. (2011). Authentic leadership: A review of the literature and research agenda. The Leadership Quarterly, 22(6), 1120-1145.
Hsieh, C. C., & Wang, D. S. (2015). Does supervisor-perceived authentic leadership influence employee work engagement through employee-perceived authentic leadership and employee trust?. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 26(18), 2329-2348.
De Jong, J. P., & Den Hartog, D. N. (2008). Innovative work behavior: Measurement and validation. EIM Business and Policy Research, 8(1), 1-27.
De Jong, J., & Den Hartog, D. (2010). Measuring innovative work behaviour. Creativity and İnnovation Management, 19(1), 23-36.
Lukes, M., & Stephan, U. (2017). Measuring employee innovation: A review of existing scales and the development of the innovative behavior and innovation support inventories across cultures. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 23(1), 136-158.
Mahmod, L. S., Uysal, B. (2022). The effect of authentic leadership on innovative work behavior, psychological empowerment and work engagement: A research in banking sector. (Publication No. 723625) Master’s thesis, Istanbul Okan University. YOK Thesis Center.
Northouse, P. G. (2021). Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publications.
Purwanto, A., Asbari, M., Hartuti, H., Setiana, Y. N., & Fahmi, K. (2021). Effect of psychological capital and authentic leadership on innovation work behavior. International Journal of Social and Management Studies, 2(1), 1-13.
Saks, A. M. (2006). Antecedents and consequences of employee engagement. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 21(7), 600-619.
Schaufeli, W. B., Salanova, M., González-Romá, V., & Bakker, A. B. (2002). The measurement of engagement and burnout: A two sample confirmatory factor analytic approach. Journal of Happiness Studies, 3, 71-92.
Schaufeli, W. B., & Bakker, A. B. (2004). Job demands, job resources, and their relationship with burnout and engagement: A multi‐sample study. Journal of Organizational Behavior: The International Journal of Industrial, Occupational and Organizational Psychology and Behavior, 25(3), 293-315.
Scott, S. G., & Bruce, R. A. (1994). Determinants of innovative behavior: A path model of individual innovation in the workplace. Academy of Management Journal, 37(3), 580-607.
Seibert, S. E., Wang, G., & Courtright, S. H. (2011). Antecedents and consequences of psychological and team empowerment in organizations: a meta-analytic review. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96(5), 981.
Spreitzer, G. M. (1995). Psychological empowerment in the workplace: Dimensions, measurement, and validation. Academy of Management Journal, 38(5), 1442-1465.
Spreitzer, G. M. (2008). Taking stock: A review of more than twenty years of research on empowerment at work. Handbook of Organizational Behavior, 1, 54-72.
Walumbwa, F. O., Avolio, B. J., Gardner, W. L., Wernsing, T. S., & Peterson, S. J. (2008). Authentic leadership: Development and validation of a theory-based measure. Journal of Management, 34(1), 89-126.
Zhang, J., Song, L. J., Wang, Y., & Liu, G. (2018). How authentic leadership influences employee proactivity: the sequential mediating effects of psychological empowerment and core self-evaluations and the moderating role of employee political skill. Frontiers of Business Research in China, 12(1), 1-21.
Zubair, A., & Kamal, A. (2017). Perceived Authentic Leadership, Psychological Capital, and Creative Work Behavior in Bank Employees. Pakistan Journal of Psychological Research, 32(1), 15-29