Transformational Leadership and Innovation Capability: Roles of Knowledge-centered Culture and Knowledge Sharing

Transformational Leadership and Innovation Capability: Roles of Knowledge-centered Culture and Knowledge Sharing

Given the gaps in the link between leadership, knowledge resource, and innovation capability, this study aims to examine the potential mediating role of knowledge sharing and moderating role of knowledge-centered culture in the relationship between transformational leadership and a firm’s capability for innovation. This study applied the Structural Equation Modeling to try out proposal hypotheses in the research model through a questionnaire survey from a sample of 301 participators in 115 small and medium firms in the field of tourism and hotel. The findings disclosed that knowledge-sharing behaviors significantly mediate the transformational leadership-innovation relationship. It highlights the significant impact of explicit knowledge sharing in comparison with the influence of tacit knowledge sharing on innovation capability. The paper also reveals the crucial role of knowledge-centered culture in boosting the knowledgesharing- innovation relationship. By exploring the mediating role of knowledge sharing and the moderator of knowledge-centered culture, the paper significantly brings insight into different mediating and moderating mechanisms to improve innovation capability. The paper significantly fills up the gaps and provides valuable initiatives on the mechanism of how transformational leadership and specific forms of knowledge-sharing behaviors positively affect innovation capability under the moderating role of knowledge-centered culture.