Title: The effect of leadership and climate for initiative on team workers in the German economy during the COVID-19 pandemic

Authors: Laura Sophie Aichroth

Addresses: Faculty of Business and Law, Universidad Catolica San Antonio de Murcia (UCAM), Campus de los Jeronimos, Guadalupe 30107, Murcia, Spain

Abstract: Drawing on the co-evolving model of team research, we explore the role of perceived team-level transformational leadership in team innovation and individual learning and the mediating effects of a climate for initiative on these relationships in the context of Germany. Additionally, we analyse the moderating effects of positive leadership in the first stage and team size and duration of collaboration in the second stage. Specifically, we apply partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to data collected from 220 employees through convenience sampling. The results indicate that team-level transformational leadership wholly affects individual learning while partially affecting team innovation through a climate for initiative. No moderating effects were identified. This is among the earliest studies to investigate the association between team-level transformational leadership, team innovation, and individual learning in Germany, specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic. Contradicting previous results, the findings can inform future research efforts.

Keywords: team-centric transformational leadership; climate for initiative; individual learning; team innovation; Germany; COVID-19.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBPM.2023.132340

International Journal of Business Performance Management, 2023 Vol.24 No.3/4, pp.504 - 525

Received: 28 Oct 2021
Accepted: 15 Dec 2022
Published online: 18 Jul 2023 *

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