The ambidextrous leadership-innovative work behavior relationship in the public sector: The mediating role of psychological ownership

Abstract

Ambidextrous leadership reflects a style that combines opening and closing behaviors, which can stimulate employees to engage in both exploration and exploitation. Drawing from tenets of ambidextrous theorization of leadership for innovation, this study examines whether the exhibition of ambidextrous leadership by public sector managers fosters public servants' innovative behavior and whether psychological ownership feelings with the unit mediates such effect. Utilizing multisource and multilevel data from 317 public servants across 109 working units, we find that ambidextrous leadership, —that is, the interaction of opening and closing behaviors—affects employees' innovative performance such that innovative work behavior is highest when both opening and closing behaviors are high. We also find that promotive-oriented feelings of psychological ownership mediate such a relationship. In light of our findings, important implications for policy makers, public managers, and public sector's promotion procedures are discussed.