As higher education settings are becoming more digital and knowledge-intensive, it is important to understand how innovation and engagement behaviours facilitate knowledge creation, sharing and retention. Anchored in Social Exchange Theory (SET) and Self-Determination Theory (SDT), this research proposes a research model to investigate how Entrepreneurial Leadership (EL) influences Innovative Work Behaviour (IWB) and engagement among faculty members in the Indian higher education system. Additionally, this study also examines the mediating role of Employee Engagement (EE) and the moderating effect of Psychological Contract Breach (PCB). Using the data collected from 588 faculty members across public and private HEIs in India, this study applied the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) approach. The results revealed that EL positively influences both EE and IWB, implying that entrepreneurial leaders encourage faculty to engage more deeply with their work, which leads to higher levels of innovation. EE is found to mediate the relationship partially between EL and IWB, demonstrating that engaged employees are more likely to exhibit innovative behaviours. Additionally, PCB is found to moderate the relationship negatively between EL and EE, which indicates that the positive effects of EL are weakened when faculty members perceive unmet organisational promises. However, PCB does not significantly moderate the direct relationship between EL and IWB, suggesting that strong leadership can promote innovation even amid perceived contract breaches. The study extends KM literature by linking leadership behaviours to faculty-driven knowledge processes and enabling faculty-led innovations to scale through technology-enabled learning platforms. It also provides actionable insights for institutions seeking to foster an innovation-oriented knowledge culture aligned with NEP 2020.
Singh et al. (Wed,) studied this question.