Entrepreneurial leadership and hospitality firm performance: the roles of employee creativity and competitive advantage

Purpose Although previous studies have established a positive relationship between entrepreneurial leadership (EL) and firm performance, the underlying mechanisms through which EL positively impacts firm performance are unclear and under-researched. Against this backdrop, this research aims to investigate the serial mediating roles of employee creativity and competitive advantage in the relationship between EL and hospitality firm performance. Design/methodology/approach Adopting a survey research design, we collected data from 176 employees working in 15 hospitality firms in Southwest Nigeria using a self-reported questionnaire. We performed ordinary least squares regression analysis to test the research hypotheses using the PROCESS macro 4.0 for SPSS. Findings EL has a significant positive impact on employee creativity, competitive advantage and hospitality firm performance. Moreover, employee creativity and competitive advantage are positively and significantly related and, in turn, have a significant positive impact on hospitality firm performance. Furthermore, employee creativity and competitive advantage independently and sequentially mediate the relationship between EL and hospitality firm performance. Practical implications Our findings underscore the importance of EL in enhancing employee creativity, competitive advantage and hospitality firm performance. Thus, to achieve superior performance, hospitality firms should develop entrepreneurial qualities (e.g. risk-taking, innovativeness and proactiveness) among their managers, foster an environment that encourages employees to generate novel ideas and focus on excellent service quality delivery. Originality/value To the best of the authors' knowledge, this research is the first to provide empirical evidence of the significant serial mediating roles of employee creativity and competitive advantage in the relationship between EL and hospitality firm performance. The study integrates resource-based, dynamic capability and social learning theories to offer valuable insights into how EL contributes positively to hospitality firm performance.