Unlocking innovative work behavior during times of crisis: The role of leadership and vertical trust

In times of crisis like the one brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is crucial for organizations to remain innovative in order to stay competitive and maintain their strategic position in the market. However, fostering innovation during crises demands a different leadership behavior that creates a psychologically safe and meaningful environment for employees to engage in innovative work behavior. Based on a sample of 304 employees with data collected during the pandemic, our study focuses on the role of bureaucratic and change-oriented leadership, and the psychological dimension of innovation in terms of vertical trust, i.e., employees' trust in their leaders. Our findings demonstrate that bureaucratic leadership does not directly facilitate employees' innovative work behavior but has a significant negative impact on vertical trust. In contrast, our findings indicate that change-oriented leadership directly influences innovative work behavior and also positively affects the level of vertical trust. Furthermore, change-oriented leadership indirectly influences employees' innovative work behavior through vertical trust as a mediating variable. The results also indicate the moderation effect of vertical trust on the relationship between change-oriented leadership behavior and employees' innovative work behavior. Additionally, our findings suggest that, as vertical trust increases, the rate of increase in employees' innovative work behavior accelerates, regardless of the duration of the leader–follower relationship or organizational tenure. Our study essentially integrates leadership behaviors, vertical trust, and employees' innovative work behavior, by enhancing our understanding of the conditions under which employees’ innovative work behavior can be facilitated and supported in times of crisis.