Existing firms are undergoing rapid and substantial
change as a result of digital transformation. Dealing with accelerating digital
transformation is a difficult process for
business leaders. The digital transformation process presents both an opportunity and a challenge. This paper
examines how authentic leadership may contribute to increased work
engagement and innovative behaviors during
times of digital change, both theoretically and empirically. This study
investigated data from an online survey of 305 current employees of enterprises
in the fields of specialized,fined,peculiar and innovative SMEs, include information technology, media, and
networking and so on. SPSS 21.0 and AMOS 23.0
were used to analyzethe data. The findings indicate that authentic leadership positively impacts employee innovation behaviors
and engagement, and that digital transformation moderates the relationship
between authentic leadership and innovation behavior and engagement. Not only
do these findings contribute to our understanding of digital transformation and
extend and broaden applicable theories of authentic leadership, but they also
open the way for corporate leaders to adopt appropriate behavioral techniques
to encourage work engagement and innovation. Enhancing employee innovation performance, maximizing management
leadership behaviors, and offering practical inspiration all contribute
to the long-term success of the firm. The findings are conceptually significant
and provide corporate leaders with a practical roadmap.
References
[1]
Adekanmbi, F., & Ukpere, W. I. (2021). Stimulating Creative Behaviors in the Work Environment: Influences of Employee Engagement, Authentic Leadership, and Human Capital Factors on Employee Creativity. EUREKA: Social and Humanities, No. 5, 24-33. https://doi.org/10.21303/2504-5571.2021.001995
[2]
Akhmetshin, E., Ilyina, I., Kulibanova, V., & Teor, T. (2019). “Employee Engagement” Management Facilitates the Recovery from Crisis Situations. In 2019 Communication Strategies in Digital Society Workshop (ComSDS) (pp. 50-55). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/COMSDS.2019.8709645
[3]
Alavi, S. B., & Gill, C. (2017). Leading Change Authentically: How Authentic Leaders Influence Follower Responses to Complex Change. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 24, 157-171. https://doi.org/10.1177/1548051816664681
[4]
Anantha, R. A., Arokiasamy, Rizaldy, H., & Qiu, R. (2022). Exploring the Impact of Authentic Leadership and Work Engagement on Turnover Intention: The Moderating Role of Job Satisfaction and Organizational Size, Advances in Decision Sciences. Taichung, 26, 26-47. https://doi.org/10.47654/v26y2022i2p26-47
[5]
Appio, F. P., Frattini, F., Petruzzelli, A. M., & Neirotti, P. (2021). Special Issue Guest Editorial Digital Transformation and Innovation Management: A Synthesis of Existing Research and an Agenda for Future Studies. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 38, 4-20. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpim.12562
[6]
Bakari, H., Hunjra, A. I., & Niazi, G. S. K. (2017). How Does Authentic Leadership Influence Planned Organizational Change? The Role of Employees’ Perceptions: Integration of Theory of Planned Behavior and Lewin’s Three Step Model. Journal of Change Management, 17, 155-187. https://doi.org/10.1080/14697017.2017.1299370
[7]
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, 529-540. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2834.2012.01399.x
[8]
Bertani, F., Raberto, M., & Teglio, A. (2020). The Productivity and Unemployment Effects of the Digital Transformation: An Empirical and Modelling Assessment. Review of Evolutionary Political Economy, 1, 329-355. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43253-020-00022-3
[9]
Bhardwaj, A., Mishra, S., & Jain, T. (2021). Analysis of Strategic Leadership for Organizational Transformation and Employee Engagement. Materials Today: Proceedings, 37, 161-165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.04.774
[10]
Braña, F. (2019). A Fourth Industrial Revolution? Digital Transformation, Labor and Work Organization: A View from Spain. Economia e Politica Industriale, 46, 415-430. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40812-019-00122-0
[11]
Broekhuizen, T. L. J., Broekhuis, M., Gijsenberg, M. J., & Wieringa, J. E. (2021). Digital Business Models: A Multi-Disciplinary and Multi-Stakeholder Perspective. Journal of Business Research, 122, 847-852. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.04.014
[12]
Cabell, J. T. (2021). Is There a Relationship between Authentic Leadership Behaviors from the Followers’ Perspective and the Employees’ Perception of Their Employee Engagement in the Federal Healthcare Sector. Doctoral Dissertation, Our Lady of the Lake University.
[13]
Calderon-Mafud, J., & Pando-Moreno, M. (2018). Role of Authentic Leadership in Organizational Socialization and Work Engagement among Workers. Psychology, 9, 46-62. https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2018.91004
[14]
Cetindamar, D., Abedin, B., & Shirahada, K. (2021). The Role of Employees in Digital Transformation: A Preliminary Study on How Employees’ Digital Literacy Impacts Use of Digital Technologies. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1109/TEM.2021.3087724
[15]
Ciftci, E. G. (2020). Authentic Leadership. In O. Demirtas, & M. Karaca (Eds.), A Handbook of Leadership Styles (pp. 211-230). Cambridge Scholars.
[16]
Fateh, A., Mustamil, N., & Shahzad, F. (2021). Role of Authentic Leadership and Personal Mastery in Predicting Employee Creative Behavior: A Self-Determination Perspective. Frontiers of Business Research in China, 15, Article No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1186/s11782-021-00100-1
[17]
Ferrell, B. D. (2020). A Quantitative Study: The Effect of Authentic Leadership on Employee Engagement. Doctoral Dissertation, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology.
[18]
Frick, N. R. J., Mirbabaie, M., Stieglitz, S., & Salomon, J. (2021). Maneuvering through the Stormy Seas of Digital Transformation: The Impact of Empowering Leadership on the AI Readiness of Enterprises. Journal of Decision Systems, 30, 235-258. https://doi.org/10.1080/12460125.2020.1870065
[19]
Gao, W., Wang, L., Yan, J., Wu, Y., & Musse, S. Y. (2021). Fostering Workplace Innovation through CSR and Authentic Leadership: Evidence from SME Sector. Sustainability, 13, Article 5388. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13105388
[20]
Gomes, S. B, Santoro, F. M., & Silva, M. M. (2019). A Reference Model for Digital Transformation and Innovation. In 2019 IEEE 23rd International Enterprise Distributed Object Computing Conference (EDOC) (pp. 21-31). IEEE.
[21]
Goswami, B. K., & Upadhyay, Y. (2019). An Empirical Study on Digital Transformation and Its impact on Employee Engagement. In Proceedings of 10th International Conference on Digital Strategies for Organizational Success. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3320668
[22]
Guenzi, P., & Nijssen, E. J. (2021). The Impact of Digital Transformation on Salespeople: An Empirical Investigation Using the JD-R Model. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 41, 130-149. https://doi.org/10.1080/08853134.2021.1918005
[23]
Gurkina, D. (2017). The Impact of Digitalization on the Labor Market. Master’s Thesis, Empire State College, State University of New York.
[24]
Hanelt, A., Bohnsack, R., Marz, D., & Antunes Marante, C. (2020). A Systematic Review of the Literature on Digital Transformation: Insights and Implications for Strategy and Organizational Change. Journal of Management Studies, 58, 1159-1197. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12639
[25]
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, 2329-2348. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2015.1025234
[26]
Iqbal, S., Farid, T., Khan, M., Zhang, Q., Khattak, A., & Ma, J. (2020). Bridging the Gap between Authentic Leadership and Employees Communal Relationships through Trust. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17, Article 250. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17010250
[27]
Javed, B., Rawwas, M., Khandai, S., Shahid, K., & Tayyeb, H. (2018). Ethical Leadership, Trust in Leader and Creativity: The Mediated Mechanism and an Interacting Effect. Journal of Management and Organization, 24, 388-405. https://doi.org/10.1017/jmo.2017.56
[28]
Jestine, P. (2021). Viewing Digital Transformation through the Lens of Transformational Leadership. Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce, 31, 114-129.
[29]
Jiang, H., & Shen, H. (2020). Toward a Relational Theory of Employee Engagement: Understanding Authenticity, Transparency, and Employee Behaviors. International Journal of Business Communication. https://doi.org/10.1177/2329488420954236
[30]
Kalaignanam, K., Tuli, K. R., Kushwaha, T., Lee, L., & Gal, D. (2021). Marketing Agility: The Concept, Antecedents, and a Research Agenda. Journal of Marketing, 85, 35-58. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022242920952760
[31]
Khan, M. M., Ahmed, S. S., & Khan, E. (2021). The Emerging Paradigm of Leadership for Future: The Use of Authentic Leadership to Lead Innovation in VUCA Environment. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, Article 759241. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.759241
[32]
Kirkpatrick, N. S. (2021). Leading with Authenticity: My Perspective. Journal of Library Administration, 61, 366-372. https://doi.org/10.1080/01930826.2021.1883373
[33]
Kleynhans, D. J., Heyns, M. M., Stander, M. W., & Beer, L. T. (2022). Authentic Leadership, Trust (in the Leader), and Flourishing: Does Precariousness Matter? Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 798759. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.798759
[34]
Larjovuori, R. L., Bordi, L., Mäkiniemi, J. P., & Heikkilä-Tammi, K. (2016). The Role of Leadership and Employee Well-Being in Organisational Digitalisation. In T. Russo- Spena, & C. Mele (Eds.), What’s Ahead in Service Research? New Perspectives for Business and Society: RESER 2016 Proceedings (pp. 1159-1172). RESER Proceedings.
[35]
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, 136-158. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-11-2015-0262
[36]
McCarthy, P., Sammon, D., & Alhassan, I. (2021). Digital Transformation Leadership Characteristics: A Literature Analysis. Journal of Decision Systems. https://doi.org/10.1080/12460125.2021.1908934
[37]
Meskelis, S., & Whittington, J. L. (2020). Driving Employee Engagement: How Personality trait and Leadership Style Impact the Process. The Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 35, 1457-1473. https://doi.org/10.1108/JBIM-11-2019-0477
[38]
Nambisan, S., Wright, M., & Feldman, M. (2019). The Digital Transformation of Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Progress, Challenges and Key Themes. Research Policy, 48, Article ID: 103773. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2019.03.018
[39]
Nwankpa, J. K., & Roumani, Y. (2016). IT Capability and Digital Transformation: A Firm Performance Perspective. In ICIS 2016 Proceedings (pp. 1-16).
[40]
Parasuraman, A. (2000). Technological Readiness Index: A Multiple-Item Scale to Measure Readiness to Embrace New Technologies. Journal of Service Research, 2, 307-320. https://doi.org/10.1177/109467050024001
[41]
Phuong, T., & Takahashi, K. (2021). The Impact of Authentic Leadership on Employee Creativity in Vietnam: A Mediating Effect of Psychological Contract and Moderating Effects of Subcultures. Asia Pacific Business Review, 27, 77-100. https://doi.org/10.1080/13602381.2021.1847467
[42]
Purba, C. (2021). Digital Transformation in the Indonesia Manufacturing Industry: The Effect of E-Learning, E-Task and Leadership Style on Employee Engagement. International Journal of Data and Network Science, 5, 361-368. https://doi.org/10.5267/j.ijdns.2021.5.007
[43]
Ribeiro, N., Duarte, A. P., Filipe, R., & Torres de Oliveira, R. (2019). How Authentic Leadership Promotes Individual Creativity: The Mediating Role of Affective Commitment. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, 27, 189-202. https://doi.org/10.1177/1548051819842796
[44]
Ribeiro, N., Duarte, A., & Filipe, R. (2018). How Authentic Leadership Promotes Individual Performance. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 67, 1585-1607. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-11-2017-0318
[45]
Schaufeli, W., Bakker, A., & Salanova, M. (2006). The Measurement of Work Engagement with a Short Questionnaire—A Cross-National Study. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 66, 701-716. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164405282471
[46]
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. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015630930326
[47]
Scott, B., & Bruce, R. A. (1994). Determinants of Innovative Behaviour: A Path Model of Individual Innovation in the Workplace. Academy of Management, 37, 580-607. https://doi.org/10.2307/256701
[48]
Semedo, A. S. D., Coelho, A., & Ribeiro, N. (2017). Authentic Leadership and Creativity: The Mediating Role of Happiness. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 25, 395-412. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOA-03-2016-0994
[49]
Song, C., & Lee, C. H. (2020). The Effect of Service Workers’ Proactive Personality on Their Psychological Withdrawal Behaviors: A Moderating Effect of Servant Leadership. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 41, 653-667. https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-04-2019-0149
[50]
Sow, M., & Aborbie, S. (2018). Impact of Leadership on Digital Transformation. Business and Economic Research, 8, 139-148. https://doi.org/10.5296/ber.v8i3.13368
[51]
Stalmachova, K., Chinoracky, R., & Strenitzerova, M. (2021). Changes in Business Models Caused by Digital Transformation and the COVID-19 Pandemic and Possibilities of Their Measurement—Case Study. Sustainability, 14, Article 127. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010127
[52]
Syahroni, S. (2021). Evaluation of Mediating Effect of Psychological Ownership in Relationship between Leadership and Digital Transformation toward Employee Engagement. Doctoral Dissertation, Sekolah Tinggi Manajemen IPMI.
[53]
Tak, J., Seo, J., & Roh, T. (2019). The Influence of Authentic Leadership on Authentic Followership, Positive Psychological Capital, and Project Performance: Testing for the Mediation Effects. Sustainability (Basel, Switzerland), 11, Article 6028. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11216028
[54]
Varshney, D. (2020). Digital Transformation and Creation of an Agile Workforce: Exploring Company Initiatives and Employee Attitudes. In M. A. Turkmenoglu, & B. Cicek (Ed.), Contemporary Global Issues in Human Resource Management (pp. 89-105). Emerald Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80043-392-220201009
[55]
Vial, G. (2019). Understanding Digital Transformation: A Review and a Research Agenda. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 28, 118-144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsis.2019.01.003
[56]
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, 89-126. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206307308913
[57]
Wang, D., & Hsieh, C. (2013). The Effect of Authentic Leadership on Employee Trust and Employee Engagement. Social Behavior and Personality, 41, 613-624. https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2013.41.4.613
[58]
Weber, E., Krehl, E. H., & Buttgen, M. (2022). The Digital Transformation Leadership Framework: Conceptual and Empirical Insights into Leadership Roles in Technology- Driven Business Environments. Journal of Leadership Studies, 16, 6-22. https://doi.org/10.1002/jls.21810
[59]
Westerman, G., Bonnet, D., & McAfee, A. (2014). Leading Digital: Turning Technology into Business Transformation. Harvard Business Press.
[60]
Winasis, S., Djumarno, D., Riyanto, S., & Ariyanto, E. (2021). The Effect of Transformational Leadership Climate on Employee Engagement during Digital Transformation in Indonesian Banking Industry. International Journal of Data and Network Science, 5, 91-96. https://doi.org/10.5267/j.ijdns.2021.3.001
[61]
Winasis, S., Wildan, U., & Sutawidjaya, A. H. (2020). Impact of Digital Transformation on Employee Engagement Influenced by Work Stress on Indonesian Private Banking Sector. In Proceedings of the 5th NA International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management (pp. 1238-1250). IEOM Society International
[62]
Winton, B. G., Whittington, J., & Meskelis, S. (2022). Authentic Leadership: Making Meaning and Building Engagement. European Business Review, 34, 689-705. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-01-2022-0020
[63]
Yunita, T., Prabowo, H., Manurung, A. H., & Hamsa, M. (2021). How Pandemic and the Industry 4.0 Era Constraint: The Perspective of Authentic Leadership on Innovation. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 794, Article ID: 012005. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/794/1/012005
[64]
Zeike, S., Bradbury, K., Lindert, L., & Pfaff, H. (2019). Digital Leadership Skills and Associations with Psychological Well-Being. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16, Article 2628. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16142628
[65]
Zhang, Y., & Han, J. (2021). Authentic Leadership, Organizational Commitment and Innovative Behavior in Chinese Construction Industry: The Mediating Effect of Organizational Identification and Moderating Effect of Positive Psychological Capital. The Jour- nal of Eurasian Studies, 18, 73-95.
[66]
Zhou, J., Ma, Y., Cheng, W., & Xia, B. (2014). Mediating Role of Employee Emotions in the Relationship between Authentic Leadership and Employee Innovation. Social Behavior and Personality, 42, 1267-1278. https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2014.42.8.1267
