Ethical leadership and employee creativity among engineering employees: evidence from a developing economy

Purpose Based on the trait activation theory, the current study systematically integrates how autonomy interacts with proactivity to influence the relationship between ethical leadership style and employee creativity. Design/methodology/approach Using simple random sampling and questionnaires, a sample of 475 engineering employees of 3 leading telecommunication companies in Ghana were obtained. The analysis was done using structured equation modeling (SEM), using SmartPLS. Findings The results showed that ethical leadership style provides employees with job autonomy which facilitates individual creativity. Employee proactivity also moderates a positive relationship between autonomy and creativity such that high-proactive employees are well placed to produce more creative outcomes when given autonomy. At the individual level, personal characteristics determine the degree of creativity. Practical implications The current study implies that telecommunication companies should put in more efforts to train and encourage leaders to be ethical in leaders' dealings with employees and employees must be rewarded for taking initiative. Originality/value With a focus on the integrative approach from a developing economy, this work is novel in exploring how contextual and personal features impact creativity.