Impact of Servant leadership on employee creativity and innovation: Investigating the mediating roles of mindset inertia devolution and vision
Keywords:
Servant leadership, employee creativity, organizational innovation, mindset inertia, vision enhancement, psychological adaptability, organizational transformation, innovation behaviorAbstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of servant leadership on employee creativity and innovation while investigating the mediating roles of mindset inertia devolution and vision enhancement. In contemporary organizations, creativity and innovation have become essential drivers of organizational sustainability, competitiveness, adaptability, and long-term institutional success due to rapid technological advancements, digital transformation, globalization, and changing market dynamics. Employees are increasingly expected to demonstrate flexibility, innovative thinking, and openness toward organizational transformation initiatives. However, many organizations continue to face challenges associated with rigid employee mindsets, resistance toward change, limited strategic clarity, and low innovation participation, which negatively influence organizational effectiveness and modernization efforts. In this context, servant leadership has emerged as an important leadership paradigm capable of strengthening employee adaptability, strategic alignment, and innovation-oriented workplace behavior. The study adopted a positivist research philosophy and deductive research approach using a quantitative cross-sectional survey design. Primary data were collected through structured questionnaires distributed among 350 employees working in the banking sector of Pakistan using convenience sampling techniques. The questionnaire utilized a five-point Likert scale and measurement items were adapted from previously validated instruments available in existing literature. Data analysis was conducted using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), including descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, correlation analysis, regression analysis, and mediation analysis. The findings revealed that servant leadership has a significant negative effect on mindset inertia and a significant positive effect on vision enhancement and organizational creativity & innovation. The results further indicated that mindset inertia negatively affects organizational creativity & innovation, whereas vision enhancement positively influences organizational creativity & innovation. Mediation analysis confirmed that mindset inertia devolution and vision enhancement significantly mediate the relationship between servant leadership and organizational creativity & innovation. The findings suggest that servant leadership enhances employee creativity and innovation not only directly but also indirectly by reducing psychological resistance toward change and strengthening employees’ strategic clarity and future-oriented understanding. The study provides important theoretical and practical contributions by explaining the psychological mechanisms through which servant leadership influences organizational innovation and employee creativity. The findings support Social Exchange Theory and Positive Organizational Behavior Theory by demonstrating that leadership behaviors significantly influence employee adaptability, innovation participation, and organizational effectiveness through positive psychological processes. The study recommends that organizations should promote servant leadership practices, reduce employee resistance toward organizational change, and strengthen organizational vision in order to improve creativity, innovation capability, adaptability, and long-term organizational sustainability.
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