Abstract:
Innovation is an important aspect of organisational survival and competitiveness. It has
been found that leadership has a profound influence on innovation outcomes. However,
the innovation process is complex and leading in a complex, dynamic and adaptive environment
makes it even more so. Thus, the efficacy of three leadership styles, authentic
leadership, complexity leadership and contextual intelligence were tested and compared
on exploitive and exploratory innovation, within the South African context. This research
found that complexity leadership and contextual intelligence both grounded in non-
Newtonian paradigms had the greatest positive influence on exploitive and exploratory
innovation outcomes.
