Unpacking the relationship between ethical leadership and innovative work behavior: A moderated mediation model

Abstract

This study delves into the significant role of innovative work behavior among bankers in achieving competitive superiority and addressing contemporary business needs. It uncovers a research gap in understanding the influence of bankers’ innovative work behaviors and the factors driving these behaviors. This study proposes to examine ethical leadership’s direct and indirect effects on innovative work behavior through the mediating role of bankers’ resilience and the moderating role of a manager’s gender. The study collected perceptual cross-sectional data from employees across Thailand’s ten largest commercial banks via self-administered questionnaires, analyzing 960 responses using structural equation modeling. Anchored in social learning theory, the study’s regression analysis found significant positive effects of ethical leadership on bankers’ innovative work behavior (B = 0.197, p < 0.001), ethical leadership on bankers’ resilience (B = 0.388, p < 0.001), and bankers’ resilience on their innovative work behavior (B = 0.649, p < 0.001). Furthermore, it identified that bankers’ resilience mediates the relationship between ethical leadership and innovative work behavior (B = 0.240, p < 0.05), with the gender of leaders moderating the impact of ethical leadership on innovation. These findings suggest that banks can enhance their competitive edge by fostering ethical leadership and resilience, highlighting the strategic importance of these factors in promoting innovation within the banking sector.