The Relationship Between Perceived Authentic Leadership Dimensions and Innovative Work Behaviour Among Manufacturing Employees in Penang, Malaysia

Abstract

Innovative work behaviour (IWB) is essential for manufacturing organisations in Penang, Malaysia, to remain competitive and adapt to Industry 4.0 transformations. As innovation depends on employees’ willingness to generate, promote, and implement new ideas, understanding leadership factors that encourage innovative work behaviour has become increasingly important. Authentic leadership, characterised by self-awareness, internalised moral perspective, relational transparency, and balanced processing, has been recognised for fostering positive employee outcomes. However, existing studies have largely examined authentic leadership as a composite construct, providing limited insight into how its individual dimensions influence innovative work behaviour, particularly in the Malaysian manufacturing context. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine the relationship between perceived authentic leadership dimensions and innovative work behaviour among Malaysian manufacturing employees. A cross-sectional quantitative survey design was employed. A total of 150 manufacturing employees were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling based on predefined inclusion criteria. Data were collected using an online questionnaire comprising a demographic section, the Authentic Leadership Inventory, and the Innovative Work Behaviour Scale. The data were analysed using simple linear regression. The findings revealed that all four dimensions of perceived authentic leadership, namely self-awareness, internalised moral perspective, relational transparency, and balanced processing, significantly predicted innovative work behaviour. These findings highlight the importance of authentic leadership behaviours in promoting employees’ innovative work behaviour within manufacturing organisations. This study contributes to the literature by providing a dimension-level analysis of authentic leadership and offers practical insights for organisations seeking to enhance innovative work behaviour through leadership practices that promote self-awareness, ethical conduct, transparency, and inclusive decision-making.