Inclusive leadership: Catalyzing creative self-efficacy and challenge-oriented organization citizenship behavior in IT industry

Background While there is extensive research on leadership’s role in fostering proactive behavior among, only a few studies have examined the link between inclusive leadership (IL) and followers’ challenge-oriented organizational citizenship behavior (COCB). This relationship remains largely unexplored in the information and technology industry, where the challenges are unprecedented, and creativity is essential for survival. Objective The study aims to validate the proposed association between IL and COCB in the context of IT industry. Moreover, this research introduces creative self-efficacy (CSE) as a mediator and organizational innovative climate (IC) as moderator, deepening the understanding of the mechanisms further. Design/Methodology Cross-sectional study was conducted on 321 respondents employed in IT industry. To test our hypotheses, SEM analysis was conducted to measure the path coefficients, followed by bootstrapping analysis to assess the indirect impacts of creative self-efficacy at work. Results The findings indicate that inclusive leadership promote subordinates’ COCB directly, as well as through enhancing CSE, and these relationship are stronger in organizational IC. Conclusion Managers should promote inclusive leadership through HR practices and training, select leaders with inclusive traits, and foster an innovative climate with regular cross-departmental events to boost challenge-oriented OCB and organizational effectiveness.