Authentic Leadership and Employee Innovative Work Behaviour: A Multi-Wave Study of the Enugu State Waste Management Authority (Eswama), Nigeria (Published)
This study examines whether authentic leadership predicts employee innovative work behaviour (IWB) in the Enugu State Waste Management Authority (ESWAMA), a Nigerian public-sector environmental services organisation, and evaluates the psychometric adequacy of the Authentic Leadership Inventory (ALI) in this setting. The study responds to the scarcity of time-lagged evidence on authentic leadership and IWB from African public-sector organisations, where existing evidence is limited and mixed. Design: A two-wave time-lagged survey was conducted, with authentic leadership and control variables measured at Time 1 and IWB measured eight weeks later at Time 2. Stratified random sampling by department and grade level produced a matched analytical sample of 351 employees from 410 Time 1 respondents, an 85.6 per cent retention rate. Sample size was determined a priori through statistical power analysis. Authentic leadership was measured with the 16-item ALI and IWB with the nine-item Janssen scale. Data were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) with bootstrapped confidence intervals. Findings: The measurement model showed satisfactory reliability (Cronbach’s alpha of at least 0.71 and composite reliability of at least 0.82 for all constructs), convergent validity (AVE 0.54 to 0.69) and discriminant validity (maximum HTMT below 0.85). Authentic leadership had a positive and statistically significant effect on IWB (β = 0.326, t = 6.41, p < 0.001, 95% bootstrap CI [0.225, 0.426]), explaining 11.4 per cent of the variance in IWB. Common method bias diagnostics indicated no pervasive threat. Originality: The study provides time-lagged, power-justified evidence on the authentic leadership and IWB relationship from a Nigerian public-sector environmental services organisation and re-examines the psychometric performance of the ALI in Nigeria, where earlier evidence was weak. Implications: The findings suggest that developing authentic leadership behaviours among supervisors is a promising, though not sufficient, route to stimulating employee innovation in public-sector waste management. The moderate variance explained indicates that other antecedents and mechanisms should be examined in future research.
Keywords: Authentic Leadership, PLS-SEM; Nigeria., Public Sector, innovative work behavior, time-lagged design