Entrepreneurial leadership and team creativity: the roles of team psychological safety and knowledge sharing

Purpose Creativity is vital for the innovation and survival of organizations. The present study aimed to explore the impact of entrepreneurial leadership on team creativity through team psychological safety and knowledge sharing. Social learning theory (SLT) was used to explore the relationships in this study. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from the manufacturing sector of Pakistan, and a sample composed of 70 team leaders and 378 team members was used. Findings The results showed the positive influence of entrepreneurial leadership on team creativity. Furthermore, team psychological safety and knowledge sharing mediated the relationship between entrepreneurial leadership and team creativity. Finally, team psychological safety and knowledge sharing sequentially mediated the relationship between entrepreneurial leadership and team creativity. Research limitations/implications A small sample size and cross-sectional research design may hinder the generalizability of the findings. The findings suggest that leaders should practice entrepreneurial leadership principles to develop team creativity. Organizations should provide training and development programmes for their leaders and employees to learn the importance of entrepreneurial behaviors and how to explore and exploit entrepreneurial opportunities. Originality/value This study extends the leadership and creativity literature by exploring the role of entrepreneurial leadership in developing team creativity. Furthermore, this study was conducted in established organizations to explore entrepreneurial leadership's influence on team creativity. In contrast, earlier scholars recognized entrepreneurial leadership as a leadership style of entrepreneurs and thus examined its implications in new ventures or small and medium enterprises.