The Role of Authentic Leadership in Fostering Work Engagement and Innovative Behavior in The Creative Industry

Abstract

After the Covid-19 crisis, several countries began to focus on the development of creative industries as an option for economic recovery. Nevertheless, the creative resources available to develop this industry are still relatively insufficient because they can only be generated by human resources who have innovative behavior. This study aims to analyze how authentic leadership can increase innovative behavior through work engagement. Data was collected from surveys and interviews which involved 146 creative industry employees. Descriptive analysis techniques were used to determine respondents' perceptions of research variables. Hypothesis testing was carried out using SEM-AMOS. The results of the study demonstrated that authentic leadership did not impact on innovative behavior but on work engagement and fully mediated this influence. Furthermore, work engagement had a significant effect on innovative behavior. This study provides an in-depth review of the relationship between variables through the emphasis on the important role of work engagement to enhance innovative behavior. This research also enriched LMX Theory and Social Exchange Theory in the organizational context.