The influence of leadership style on innovation

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.