Revisiting Innovation Leadership: Hazaz Abdullah Alsolami, Kenny Teoh Guan Cheng, Abdulaziz Awad M. Ibn Twalh
Revisiting Innovation Leadership: Hazaz Abdullah Alsolami, Kenny Teoh Guan Cheng, Abdulaziz Awad M. Ibn Twalh
Revisiting Innovation Leadership: Hazaz Abdullah Alsolami, Kenny Teoh Guan Cheng, Abdulaziz Awad M. Ibn Twalh
Abstract
Innovation leaders must possess multiple attributes in order to effectively manage the increasing
demands for innovation in many facets of business organizations, especially in influencing crea-
tivity and innovation. Research findings have indicated that the behaviours of innovation leaders
differ from the leadership behaviours that are deemed sufficient in conventional leadership situa-
tions. However, the literature on leadership suggests that there remains a research gap—what are
the attributes required of successful innovation leaders?—That warrants a study to determine
more precisely what those attributes are. A review of the current literature indicated that innova-
tion leadership is a multi-leadership phenomenon consisting, inter alia, of charismatic leadership,
transformational leadership and innovation leadership attributes and competencies. This paper
discussed the innovation leadership attributes as portrayed in the literature, thereby providing a
firm, structural foundation for researching the components of innovation leadership and provid-
ing insights to define the construct and, ultimately, to develop a psychometric measure.
Keywords
Contemporary Leaderships, Innovation Leadership, Innovation Leadership Attributes
1. Introduction
Research in management practices has placed great emphasis on the critical role of leadership in achieving an
organization’s vision and mission, and to face challenges especially during turbulent times (Chen, 2007; Samad
& Abdullah, 2012; Sattayaraksa & Boon-Itt, 2012). Empirical studies have consistently postulated that leader-
ship is one of the most important factors for organizational success (LeBrasseur, Whissell, & Ojha, 2002; Samad,
2012; Seltzer, 1990).
*
Corresponding author.
How to cite this paper: Alsolami, H. A., Cheng, K. T. G., & Twalh, A. A. M. I. (2016). Revisiting Innovation Leadership. Open
Journal of Leadership, 5, 31-38. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ojl.2016.52004
H. A. Alsolami et al.
Innovation leadership plays a multitude of roles when facilitating innovation in organizations and the role of
leader is especially important in influencing creativity and innovation. With the appropriate leadership, success-
ful innovation becomes a realistic and achievable goal; but without it, the challenge may prove insurmountable
(Hunter & Cushenbery, 2011). Senior and Fleming (2006) and Samad (2012) contend that there is no single
leadership theory that is appropriate to all situations. Taking different perspectives, contemporary scholars have
proposed various theories. This study focuses on five main theories: namely, Leader-Member Exchange Theory
(LMX), Transactional Leadership, Charismatic Leadership, Transformational Leadership, and Innovation Lead-
ership approach. The main purpose of this research is to determine the attributes of innovation leadership. The
study will provide the insights of new attributions for successful innovation leadership.
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cause of the leader’s personal characteristics (Kouzes & Posner, 2003; Nahavandi, 2009; Smith, Montagno, &
Kuzmenko, 2004). Charismatic leadership is most likely to emerge during uncertain conditions in the organiza-
tional life cycle, particularly in the early and late stages when the organization is more likely to lose its direction
(Hinkin &Tracey, 1999). Nahavandi (2009) suggests that such leaders are more likely to appear in organizations
that are characterized by a flexible and organic structure and a non-bureaucratic culture. Charismatic leadership
is a leadership style that is identifiable, but its characteristics may be less tangible than those of other leadership
styles (Bell, 2013).
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The term “innovation” is often used interchangeably with other terms, such as new or novel idea, radical,
change, and creativity (Waples, Friedrich, & Shelton, 2011). Organizational success requires innovation leaders
who can inspire a mind-set that opens an organization to discovery; and the development of the framework that
supports an innovation strategy and empowers people to make the right choices (Stevenson, 2012). As Horth
and Vehar (2012) explain, innovation can be a “new-look” or a “re-look”, but both require innovation leadership.
Innovation leadership is a process of creating the direction, alignment, and commitment that is needed to create
and implement something new that adds value to an organization. Hence, innovation leadership is about being
able to form an integrated overview of innovation and, at the same time, lead the components of innovation in a
strategic manner (Ailin & Lindgren, 2008). Thus, innovation leadership is not the management of an innovative
product development project; rather, it is the process of leading the company‘s innovation portfolio strategically.
Specifically, innovation leadership is vital for consistent superior organizational performance (Samad et al.,
2015).
Innovation leadership is defined as the process of creating the context for innovation to occur; creating and
implementing the roles, decision-making structures, physical space, partnerships, networks, and equipment that
support innovative thinking and testing (Porter & Malloch, 2010). Adjei (2013) defined innovation leadership as
the synthesis of different leadership styles in organizations to influence employees to produce creative ideas,
products, services and solutions. According to Adjei, because innovation leadership is a complex concept, there
is no single explanation or formula for a leader to follow to increase innovation.
Further consideration of innovation leadership is important to improve the body of behavioural leadership
theories, which mainly stress only the capability of individuals or leaders (Adjei, 2013). Hence, in line with the
definition given by Van de Ven and Chu (1989), innovation leadership encompasses the encouragement of indi-
vidual initiatives, clarification of individual responsibilities, provision of clear and complete performance
evaluation feedback, a strong task orientation, emphasis on quality group relationships and trust in organiza-
tional members.
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formance. The researchers had adopted innovation leadership behaviours from the Minnesota Innovation Insti-
tute, which proposed six leadership behaviours as follows: 1) Encouraging individual initiative; 2) Clarifying
individual responsibilities; 3) Providing clear and complete performance evaluation feedback; 4) Maintaining a
strong task orientation, 5) Emphasizing group relationships and, 6) Demonstrating trust in organizational mem-
bers.
Vlok (2012) also suggested an innovation leadership profile based on competencies of innovation leaders, that
is: 1) strategist, 2) capacity builder, 3) match maker and 4) achiever. Vlok’s (2012) findings concluded that the
model provided a coherent profile of innovation leadership competencies rather than being just another contri-
bution at individual element or specific discipline level. Vlok’s competencies were derived from observations of
successful innovation leaders in practice. The profile is descriptive enough to serve as an assessment framework
for leadership development, but it provides opportunities for further refinement and validation. Further research
on the profile will contribute tothe professionalization of the innovation leadership discipline.
3. Discussion
Empirically, the effectiveness of a charismatic, transformational and innovative leadership on organizational
performance has already been established. For instance, charismatic and transformational leadership have been
shown to be positively related to performance in the US and North American organizations (see, for example,
Bass, 1990; LeBrasseur et al., 2002; Mekraz, 2011), in Korean companies (Jung & Sosik, 2002), and in Tai-
wanese organizations (Liaw et al., 2008). Such leadership is important for performance in the private sector (e.g.
Hater & Bass, 1988; Yammarino & Dubinsky, 1994), the educational sector (e.g. Harvey, Lins, & Roper, 2004),
in non-profit organizations (e.g. Bass, Avolio, Jung, & Berson, 2003), and in the government sector (Goodwin,
Wofford, & Whittington, 2001).
The literature shows that transformational leadership increases the effectiveness of the strategic planning role
in enhancing the organization’s performance (Goodwin et al., 2001; LeBrasseur et al., 2002; Mekraz, 2011).
Samad and Abdullah (2012) found that transformational leadership played a significant role in the organiza-
tional performance of logistics companies in Malaysia. Samad et al., (2015) in their model of organizational
performance, have proposed the role of leadership as the moderator in the relationship between strategic plan-
ning and organizational performance. This is consistent with Sherman et al., (2006), who suggested that, to
strengthen the relationship between strategic planning and organizational performance, certain variables must be
integrated in the relationship; Among these variables are organizational culture, organizational contextual fac-
tors, organizational strategy, and leadership. This underscores the importance of leadership as a key moderator
variable in the strategy- performance relationship.
Innovation leadership has been explored in creativity research (Mumford, Scott, Gaddis, & Strange, 2002;
Redmond, Mumford, & Teach, 1993). It has also been studied from various perspectives (Van de Ven & Chu,
1989), including from the perspective of entrepreneurial research (Gupta, MacMillan, & Surie, 2004; McGrath
& MacMillan, 2000). All these studies indicate that innovation leadership promotes and supports an exploratory
orientation by cultivating a context for change and adaptation among organizational members (Christensen,
2013; Hammer & Champy, 2009; Van de Ven & Chu, 1989) which usually result in enhanced organizational
performance (Carmeli et al., 2010). Deschamps’ (2003) research on innovation leadership has revealed that in-
novative leaders are very interested in and receptive to new ideas proposed by their colleagues and subordinates,
and this can potentially lead to new products, services and processes and, ultimately, can improve organizational
performance (Horth & Vehar, 2012). Carmeli et al., (2010) examined the role of innovation leadership in culti-
vating the strategic fit of the organization with its environment, and enhancing various economic relationships
and product performance outcomes. Their findings reveal that innovation leadership is an important factor that
significantly enhanced firm performance.
Vlok (2012), who proposed innovation leadership competencies, suggests that there is a knowledge gap re-
lated to which innovative competencies might be critical for successful leadership to take place. This was also
raised by Deschamps (2003), who stressed that the contemporary literature and research on innovation provided
a fragmented picture of innovation and leadership. Therefore, Vlok argues, there should be a specific focus on
the combination of innovation and leadership, or on the strategic role that innovation leadership plays in compa-
nies (2012). Carmeli, Gelbard, and Gefen (2010) investigated the role innovation leadership in cultivating the
strategic fit of the organization with its environment, and enhancing various economic relationships and product
performance outcomes. The results indicated that innovation leadership significantly enhanced firm perform-
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ance.
The preceding discussions have examined the concepts, models, theories and rationale for innovation leader-
ship. The arguments are persuasive and widely applied in organizational research, especially in relation to char-
ismatic and transformational leadership. For example, transformational leadership theory has been widely stud-
ied with validated instruments, and this construct has demonstrated an empirical link to organizational excel-
lence (Samad et al., 2015). However, a broad review of all of leadership theories demonstrates that they are in-
complete without the attribute of innovation leadership. According to numerous researchers (for example, Car-
meli et al., 2010; Deschamps, 2003; Horth & Vehar 2012; Shavinina, 2011; andVlok, 2012), this element is
critical for bringing about change and enhancing the performance of organizations. Shavinina (2011) has sug-
gested that, in thelight of the ever increasing importance of innovation in contemporary society, innovation
leadership should become the focus of intensive research.
It can be concluded that innovation leadership has a significant role to play in organizational performance and
it adds considerably to the corpus of leadership theory. The results of the current literature review show that in-
novation leadership is relevant to multi-leadership attributes, and should be examined from different perspec-
tives.
4. Conclusion
Although new attributes for leaders are needed to meet the increasing demands for innovation in many aspects
of organizations, limited attention has been paid to identifying which specific aspects are required for a success-
ful innovation leader.This paper has revealed that innovation leadership is relevant to multi-leadership attributes.
Attributes of charismatic leadership, transformational leadership and innovation leadership are the principal
precursors to innovation leadership. This clarification may provide some insights into how innovation leadership
can enhance organizational performance in modern organizations. The paper’s findings are of value to academ-
ics, because they provide a starting point for further research in this area. In-depth analysis of innovation lea-
dership attributes and the development of more comprehensive innovation leadership measurements are required.
In addition, future research should focus on examining the role of innovation leadership, based on multi-lead-
ership attributes and competencies, in achieving higher levels of organizational performance and sustainability.
Acknowledgements
This paper was presented at the 2nd Academic International Conference on Business, Marketing and Manage-
ment (AICBMM-2016), held in Harvard University, Boston, USA, 5-7 April 2016. The authors thank the con-
ference participants for their comments on the paper.
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