Ambidextrous leadership, social capital, creative behaviour and well-being: a mediation-moderation model

Abstract

Purpose Since the past two years, workplace dynamics has changed, as employees have witnessed uncertainty and a constantly fluctuating business environment due to COVID-19. The outbreak is nearly over, but it has led to new work settings in most parts of the world. This requires a suitable leadership approach to derive strategic decisions and cultivate proficiency amongst employees in the new work setting. The purpose of the article is to explore the effects of ambidextrous leadership (AL) in boosting social capital (SC) which further lead to employee creative work behavior. Further, the study also examined the moderating role of well-being in enriching creative work behavior. Design/methodology/approach In this study, 281 knowledge workers working in Mumbai were selected as subjects for the study. Structural equation modelling using analysis of moment structure was used to test the mediation. Later, moderated regression analysis confirmed the moderating role of well-being in employee creative behaviour. Findings The results confirmed the role of AL comprising closed and open leadership behaviours in enhancing the SC, which is an important element to cultivate creative behaviour amongst employees. In addition, the role of well-being is found to be critical for enhancing creative work behaviour. Practical implications The study will help organizations to understand the role of AL, SC and well-being in enhancing creative behaviour amongst knowledge workers. Originality/value This study contributes to leadership literature by attempting to integrate the concepts of leadership with SC, well-being and creative work behaviour, which has rarely been done in the Indian context.