Leadership and Innovative Work Behaviour amongst Artisans in Construction Industry: A Study of Vita Construction Ltd

Abstract

Leadership has become an important discussion in the literature because of its relevance in building the resilience of organisations. This study, therefore, examines the influence of leadership on innovative work behaviour of construction artisans at Vita Construction Ltd Lagos, Nigeria. The study focuses on adaptive and transformational leadership to drive innovative work of artisans with the aid of social cognitive theory, and adaptive leadership model. The study applied a mixed-method using questionnaire and interview schedules for 604 artisans working at Vita Construction out of which 241 were selected. In the process of questionnaire administration, 238 copies were validly filled and returned while 7 artisans from Vita Construction Limited were selected for the interview schedules. Simple regression and Pearson correlation were deployed to analyse the two hypotheses. The findings reveal that adaptive and transformational leadership styles have positive and significant influence on innovative work behaviour of construction artisans and this is validated by the outcomes of the interviews. The study, therefore, recommends that entrenching effective leadership styles can improve innovation outcomes of artisans in construction sector.

Key Words: Adaptive leadership, adaptive model, innovative work behaviour, leadership styles, transformational leadership