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Leading innovation: Empirical evidence for ambidextrous leadership from UK high-tech SMEs

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  • Busola Oluwafemi, Tolulope
  • Mitchelmore, Siwan
  • Nikolopoulos, Konstantinos

Abstract

This study explores the important issue of how leadership facilitates employee innovation behaviors in SMEs. Ambidextrous leadership is introduced to the SME literature by investigating the influence of opening and closing leadership behaviors on employee’s explorative and exploitative innovation behaviors. Using survey-generated data from 98 high technology SMEs in the UK and by means of regression analyses, our findings reveal that opening and closing leadership behaviors predicted employee explorative and exploitative innovation behaviors respectively above all control variables. The combination of both leadership behaviors (ambidextrous leadership) also predicted employee ambidextrous innovation behaviors above all other leadership behaviors. A significant revelation was that the effect of ambidextrous leadership behaviors on employee ambidextrous innovation behaviors is mediated by adaptive/flexible leadership behavior. This study indicates that ambidextrous leadership is important for SMEs seeking to enhance employee innovative work behaviors.

Suggested Citation

  • Busola Oluwafemi, Tolulope & Mitchelmore, Siwan & Nikolopoulos, Konstantinos, 2020. "Leading innovation: Empirical evidence for ambidextrous leadership from UK high-tech SMEs," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 195-208.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:119:y:2020:i:c:p:195-208
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.10.035
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