Effects of transformational leadership and work engagement on managers’ creative performance

Purpose The purpose of the study is to investigate the effect of transformational leadership on creative performance in managers and the mediation effect of work engagement. The study also explores whether manager autonomy is a moderator of the model. Design/methodology/approach The authors captured information about transformational leadership, work engagement, creative performance and autonomy, using an experimental design and surveys among a sample of managers. They modeled the first-stage moderated mediation effect using Hayes' PROCESS macro. Findings The results confirm that transformational leadership is positively related to creative performance in managers. This mediation effect is partially explained by work engagement. Interestingly, autonomy was a significant moderator of the mediation effect. Practical implications The findings suggest that learning to practice transformational leadership will positively move companies to increase managers' work engagement and creative performance. These outcomes have been associated with higher productivity and long-term satisfaction, which are predictors of an organization's effectiveness. Originality/value This paper closes a gap between transformational leadership and job demands-resources (JD-R) theory by providing evidence on the effects of transformational leadership, work engagement and autonomy on managers' creative performance. The authors supplement existing empirical tests by adopting an experimental design to eliminate potential alternative explanations.