Title: What makes teams more innovative in small high-technology ventures? The role of leadership

Authors: Asghar Afshar Jahanshahi; Tahereh Maghsoudi; Fereshteh Ghaleh Agha Babaei

Addresses: CENTRUM Católica Graduate Business School (CCGBS), Santiago de Surco 15023, Lima, Peru; Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP), San Miguel 15088, Lima, Peru ' Business Management Department, Faculty of Business and Economy, Uiversitat Rovira i Virgili, 43204 Reus, Spain ' Faculty of Management, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract: Fostering team innovation has been considered as a major leadership function in high-technology ventures because they face intense competition in the market. In this research, we analysed the direct and indirect effects of transformational leadership on team innovation in small high technology ventures. A total of 24 team leaders and 133 employees from high tech industries in Iran participated in our study. Using structural equation modelling, we found that transformational leaders play a crucial role in enhancing team innovation, facilitating team trust and team communication quality. Nevertheless, transformational leadership was not related to team innovation directly. We also found that transformational leadership plays a facilitating role in improving trust and communication within a team. In the context of developing countries, this study provides empirical evidence of the prominent role of transformational leadership in encouraging team innovation by facilitating communication and trust among team members.

Keywords: transformational leadership; team trust; team communication quality; team innovation; small high-technology ventures.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEV.2020.107933

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing, 2020 Vol.12 No.3, pp.251 - 272

Received: 19 Nov 2018
Accepted: 24 Jul 2019
Published online: 30 Jun 2020 *

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