Fueling the intrapreneurial spirit: A closer look at how spiritual leadership motivates employee intrapreneurial behaviors

Muhammad Usman, Moazzam Ali, Chidebere Ogbonnaya, Mayowa T. Babalola

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

49 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This study enriches the hospitality literature by testing a theoretical model on the direct and indirect (via psychological empowerment) relationships between spiritual leadership and intrapreneurial behaviors among hotels' frontline employees. The study also tests the moderating role of work centrality in these relationships. Using time-lagged data from 204 employees and 48 supervisors in 48 hotels, our results show that spiritual leadership is positively associated with frontline employees' psychological empowerment, which in turn increases intrapreneurial behaviors. We also find evidence that work centrality increases the strength of these positive relationships. Our results thus provide new insights on how spiritual leadership motivates hotels’ frontline employees to depart from customary ways of performing their jobs, towards seeking new opportunities to create value for the organization. We suggest that managers, through their vision, altruistic love and faith, can indeed inspire feelings of empowerment among frontline employees and encourage them to engage in intrapreneurial behaviors.

Original languageEnglish
Article number104227
JournalTourism Management
Volume83
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2021

Keywords

  • Hospitality industry
  • Intrapreneurial behavior
  • Psychological empowerment
  • Spiritual leadership
  • Work centrality

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Development
  • Transportation
  • Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Management
  • Strategy and Management

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