An investigation into the impact of transformational leadership on innovation process and knowledge sharing: the case of UAE Ministry of Interior (MoI)

Abstract

The current socio-economic and political challenges, globalisation, introduction of information technology and competition with private firms are challenging the way governments operate. In recent years, the UAE Government have thus invested heavily in the innovative projects to achieve the UAE vison 2021, which is to become one of the most innovative governments globally. Developing a better understanding of how innovation happens in governments appears to be gaining increased traction among policy makers and researchers alike.

This study examined the relationship between Transformational leadership (TL), Innovation process (INN) and Knowledge sharing (KS) within public sector organisation the case of the UAE Ministry of Interior (MoI). There are several models of innovation available, however, most of them are based on product innovation and derived from private sector experiences. Moreover, there is a lack of models linking transformational leadership, knowledge sharing, and innovation within public organisation of developing countries in general and the UAE in particular

The main research objective is to investigate the impact of the four main components of transformational leadership on knowledge sharing and innovation process within the public sector organisation, and the impact of knowledge sharing on the innovation process. To achieve the research objectives, a positivist paradigm is used throughout the research process. Using deductive approach, ten hypotheses were tested in the MoI context. Respondents no. The survey was administered to employees of the ministry of Interior as a method of data collection. Applying SPSS 23 and AMOS 23, the data was analysed and a structural model was developed, which can be serve as a predictive model for workplace innovation. Paragraph3

The findings of this research reveal that inspirational motivation (IM) has non-significant influence on the innovation process within the MoI, while the other three components of transformational leadership were found to have a significant influence on innovation process. Similarly, inspirational motivation (IM), and idealised influence (IF) were found to have non-significant influence on knowledge sharing. In addition, knowledge sharing (KS) was significantly associated with the innovation process. Finally, demographic variables specifically position and level of education were found to have a significant difference in terms of the respondents’ views towards the innovation process within the MoI.

Paragraph 3// This study contributes to the field of organizational innovation in public sector as the outcome of the research provides a specific framework for the conditions and needs of the public sector organisation. The study contributes to the theory by providing new insights into the factors that influence innovation process in the MoI. The study identifies four factors that directly and indirectly affect innovation process; these factors based on the degree of their importance are IC, IS, KS and IF. Moreover, the study contributes to the knowledge by investigating the mediating role of knowledge sharing in supporting the relationship between transformational leadership and innovation process. Finally, one major contribution of this study is the development of a 33-item instrument which measures factors affecting innovation process, particularly in the context of public sector of the UAE. From a practical perspective, MoI leaders trying to implement innovation can use the final model and set of recommendations provided to implement innovation effectively.