A Bibliometric Analysis of Studies on The Relationship Between Transformational Leadership and Innovative Work Behavior

Abstract

Purpose – This study seeks to outline a general framework of the existing research examining the interplay between transformational leadership and innovative work behavior. Design/methodology/approach - The study employs the bibliometric analysis method, one of the quantitative literature review tools, to analyze the literature on the relationship between transformational leadership and innovative work behavior and to identify general trends, utilizing articles indexed in the Scopus database. The paper incorporates a total of 667 studies spanning the disciplines of management and accounting, business administration, and social sciences. Findings – A historical overview reveals that the years with the highest publication volume were 2023 (107 works), 2020 (78 works), and 2019 (73 works). The most prolific authors identified are Le, P.B., Garcia- Morales, V.J., and Lei, H. Ambasciano. In examining the geographical distribution of these publications, the forefront is led by the United States (98), China (94), and Malaysia (50). Analysis of the most recurrent keywords in publications addressing transformational leadership and innovative/creative work behavior highlights transformational leadership with 402 mentions, followed by leadership (84 mentions), innovation (77 mentions), interactionist leadership (53 mentions), and organizational innovation (30 mentions), delineating the thematic focal points of the discourse in this field. Discussion – The holistic examination of the literature exploring the relationship between transformational leadership and innovative work behavior is crucial for a comprehensive understanding and evaluation of the topic. In the literature, alongside studies demonstrating the direct effects of transformational leadership on innovative work behavior, some studies have observed indirect effects through various variables. Variables such as organizational support, interactive leadership, social innovation, firm sustainability, change management, innovation capability, leadership competencies, and knowledge sharing stand out as prominent moderating variables in these studies. On the other hand, intrapreneurial behaviors, collaboration and partnerships, leadership styles, leadership effectiveness, innovative capacity, digital business model innovation, innovation, technological innovation, and innovative practices are frequently identified as the most preferred mediating variables.