How leaders’ positive feedback influences employees’ innovative behavior: The mediating role of voice behavior and job autonomy

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of a leader’s feedback behavior on the followers’ innovative behaviors, and the mediating effects of voice behavior and job autonomy in the above relationship. To test the analytical model with the hypotheses, survey data were collected from 527 Korean employees working in 35 companies from manufacturing, distribution, and service industries. A structural equation model analysis was performed to test the hypotheses. The results of our empirical analysis are as follows. First, it was found that positive feedback from the leader positively influenced the followers’ voice behaviors, job autonomies, and innovative behaviors. Second, voice behavior and job autonomy were confirmed to have a positive mediating effect between the leader’s feedback and the innovative behavior of the followers. These findings imply that a leader’s feedback behavior contributes toward enhancing the followers’ innovative behaviors in the process of organizational innovation. We suggest that organizations and managers pay attention to the benefits of feedback activities and facilitate key mechanisms that connect them to employee innovation behavior, effectively.