Ambidextrous leadership and team innovation

February 1, 2015 Editor 0

Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Volume 36, Issue 1, March 2015.

Purpose This paper reports the first empirical test of the recently proposed ambidexterity theory of leadership for innovation (Rosing, Frese, & Bausch, 2011). This theory proposes that the interaction between two complementary leadership behaviors—opening and closing—predicts team innovation, such that team innovation is highest when both opening and closing leadership behaviors are high. Design/methodology/approach Multi-source survey data came from 33 team leaders of architectural and interior design firms and 90 of their employees. Findings Results supported the interaction hypothesis, even after controlling for leaders’ transformational leadership behaviour and general team success. Research limitations/implications The relatively small sample size and the cross-sectional design are potential limitations of the study. The findings provide initial support for the central hypothesis of the ambidexterity theory of leadership for innovation. Practical implications The results suggest that organizations could train team leaders’ ambidextrous leadership behaviors to increase team innovation. Originality/value This multi-source study contributes to the literatures on leadership and innovation in organizations by showing that ambidextrous leadership behaviors predict team innovation above and beyond transformational leadership behavior.
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Categories: Management